ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Assessment, Testing and Applied Measurement
This article is part of the Research TopicEvolving Social Hierarchies: Current Patterns of Stratification in Latin America and the CaribbeanView all articles
Socioeconomic Achievement Gaps in Science and Social Studies in Colombia: An Assessment of Factors Affecting School Achievement
Provisionally accepted
- 1Red PaPaz, Bogota, Colombia
- 2Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
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This paper presents empirical evidence on the factors associated with socioeconomic achievement gaps in science and social studies for high school students in Colombia, and discusses their implications for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The study analyzed the results from the SABER 11 test, a nationwide standardized examination administered to 11th grade students in Colombia, for the period 2017–2023. Sample sizes ranged from 330,152 students in 2023 to 377,354 in 2020. Multilevel modeling was used as the estimation method because data were aggregated at four levels: students, schools, municipalities, and departments. This study found that school characteristics are the most important factors explaining the achievement gap. For example, findings indicate that length of school day and school location are key predictors of academic performance in these subjects. Furthermore, the study identifies the persistence of gender and ethnic-based academic disparities among students. Additionally, socioeconomic factors such as insufficient nutrition, student employment, and lack of reading habits are negatively associated with academic achievement in science and social studies. By revealing these disparities in subjects crucial for ESD in the Colombian context, this research offers valuable insights for strengthening educational policies aimed at fostering more equitable learning outcomes and advancing sustainable development practices.
Keywords: socioeconomic inequality, Academic Achievement, Education for Sustainable Development, multilevel modeling, Colombia
Received: 03 Jul 2025; Accepted: 04 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cabra. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hans Walter Cabra, hans.cabra@gmail.com
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