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Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX™
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Socioeconomic status

Overview

  • Influence: Socioeconomic status
  • Domain: Home
  • Sub-Domain: Family resources
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Potential to accelerate
  • Influence Definition: Socioeconomic status is generally used to refer to an individual or family's resources of wealth, power, and social prestige.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 23
  • Number of studies: 1,375
  • Number of students: 5,213,109
  • Number of effects: 5,049
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.58
  • Robustness index: 5

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Psychological Bulletin White The relation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement.  2001 Socioeconomic status and achievement 101 NA 620 0.66
Journal of Research in Science Teaching Fleming & Malone The relationship of student characteristics and student performance in science as viewed by meta-analysis research 1983 Student characteristics and science achievement 273 NA 21 0.54
Review of Educational Research Sirin Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of Research 2005 Relation between SES and achievement 58 101,157 307 0.56
Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Letourneau, Duffet-Leger, Levac, Watson, & Young-Morris Socio-economic status and child development: A meta-analysis 2013 Socioeconomic status and achievement 7 665 7 0.35
Alberta Journal of Educational Research Tan Examining cultural capital and student achievement: Results of a meta-analytic review 2017 Cultural capital 41 685,393 155 0.32
The Factors Effecting Student Achievement Çiftçi & Cin The Effect of Socioeconomic Status on Students' Achievement 2017 Socioeconomic status 66 159,315 66 0.90
Journal of Experimental Education Harwell, Maeda, Bishop, & Xie The surprisingly modest relationship between SES and educational achievement 2017 Socioeconomic status and achievement 45 NA 2,610 0.37
Intelligence Strenze Intelligence and socioeconomic success: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal research 2007 Socioeconomic status and achievement 86 145,632 58 0.65
Psychological Bulletin Sackett, Kuncel, Arneson, Cooper & Waters Does socioeconomic status explain the relationship between admissions tests and post-secondary academic performance? 2009 SES on Univ entrance and GPAs 41 155,191 41 0.93
Developmental science Lawson, Hook, & Farah A meta-analysis of he relationship between socioeconomic status and executive function performance among children 2018 Socioeconomic status on executive functioning 25 8,760 25 0.32
Review of Educational Research Kim, Cho & Kim Socioeconomic status and academic outcomes in developing countries: A meta-analysis. 2019 Socioeconomic status in developing countries 49 2,828,216 49 0.06
Educational Psychology Review Liu, Peng, & Luo The relation between family socioeconomic status and academic achievement in China: A meta-analysis. 2019 Socioeconomic status in China 78 215,649 78 0.50
Journal of Housing and the Built environment Nieuwenhuis & Hooimeijer The association between neighborhoods and educational achievement,: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2016 Neighborhood SES 88 NA 88 1.01
Educational Research Review Rodriguez-Hernandez, Cascallar, & Kyndt Socio-economic status and academic performance in higher education: A systematic review 2020 Socioeconomic status with immigrants 42 NA 42 0.12
Educational Research Review Kim, Mok, & Seidel Parental influences on immigrant students' achievement-related motivation and achievement: A meta-analysis.  2020 Parental SES/education 7 NA 7 0.08
Preschool Education Research Tian, Guo, & Huang Relationship between family socioeconomic status and children's mathematical achievement. 2020 Socioeconomic status on math 36 NA 36 0.41
Journal of Education Selvitopu & Kaya A Meta-Analytic Review of the Effect of Socioeconomic Status on Academic Performance 2021 Socioeconomic status 48 386,601 62 0.52
Computers and Education Scherer & Siddiq The relation between students' socioeconomic status and ICT literacy: Findings from a meta-analysis. 2019 SES and ICT literacy 32 NA 75 0.44
Educational Research Review Tan, Peng, & Lyu What types of cultural capital benefit students' academic achievement at different educational stages? Interrogating the meta-analytic evidence.  2019 Cultural capital 98 371,385 355 0.28
Education Sciences Nunes, Oliveira, Santini, Castelli, & Cruz-Jesus A weight and meta-analysis on the academic achievement of high school students. 2022 Socioeconomic status 13 117,088 13 0.37
Educational Review Tan, Hong, Gao, & Song Meta-analytical insights on school SES effects. 2023 Socioeconomic status 74 NA 241 1.42
Current Psychology Kaya & Selvitopu The roles of family contextual factors on immigrant students' academic achievement: A meta-analysis. 2023 Family acculturation with immigrants 31 38,057 57 0.38
Preschool Education Research Fang, Liping, & Jin Relationship between family socioeconomic status and children's mathematical achievement. 2020 Socioeconomic status on math 36 NA 36 0.41
TOTAL/AVERAGE 1,375 5,213,109 5,049 0.50
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