Headlines

• Policies that decrease educational inequalities are likely to also reduce societal inequalities.
• Comparing nine OECD countries over 12 years, sizable improvements for disadvantaged 15-year-olds were only found in Germany.
• Tracking of children increases educational inequalities; high quality, publicly funded pre-school decrease educational inequalities.
• Raising national achievement levels concurrently as socio-economic performance gaps are reduced remains a pressing challenge for policymakers.
• Systematic educational evaluation and data can improve our understanding of the interplay among educational policies, practices and inequalities.