Monitor toolbox by theme

Main indicator

• Equity in education, measuring the share of 15-year-old students in the bottom quarter of socio-economic background who reach level 4 or higher on the proficiency scale in at least one of the domains (reading, mathematics, or science).OECD PISA

Supporting indicators

• Gap in severe underachievement, measuring the percentage-point gap in underachievement in reading, mathematics, and science (combined) among 15-year-old students between the bottom and top quarters of socio-economic status. The gap can be broken down by sex. OECD PISA

• Grade repetition, measuring the share of students who repeated a grade at least once by socio-economic status.

• School segregation, measuring the extent to which students from the lowest quarter of socio-economic status are concentrated in the same schools. The indicator is also available for migrant background and sex. OECD PISA

• Student expectations, measuring the share of students who expect to complete tertiary education among the bottom and top quarter of socio-economic background.

• Activities related to diversity, measuring the share of students at schools where principals report activities related to diversity. IEA ICCS

Policy response

• Regulations on the socio-economic composition of schools aiming to tackle educational segregation. Financial measures for teachers working in schools with many disadvantaged students.

• Regulations or recommendations on ability grouping.

• Educational tracking and tracks permeability.

• Policies concerning grade repetition.

GO TO 2025 EURYDICE system-level indicators on equity

Further reading

• European Commission 2025 report on school meal programmes in the EU.

• European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice 2023 report on diversity and inclusion.

• European Commission 2023 issue paper on tackling different forms of discrimination in and through education and training.

• European Commission 2022 final report on quality investment in education and training.

• Letta report (2024).

• Eurofound 2025 report on trends and disparities in the accessibility of services for children.

• Fundamental Rights Agency 2022 report on Roma in 10 European Countries.

• European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (EASNIE) 2025 position paper on inclusive education systems.

• OECD 2023 report on equity and inclusion in education.

• IZA Institute of Labour Economics 2021 discussion paper on online tutoring and student outcomes.

• US national bureau of economic research (NBER) 2023 research paper on tutoring.

• npj Science of Learning 2025 article on AI-driven intelligent tutoring systems.

• Spring 2022 handbook for practitioners on the integration of newly arrived migrant children.

Archived indicators

• Younger age bracket, measuring 2019 underachievement rates in maths and science (combined) among fourth graders by parental education. Data from 2021 is used to break down differences in reading performance among fourth graders by the number of books at home.IEA TIMSS & IEA PIRLS

• Severe underachievement in 2018 was broken down by language spoken at home, and compared against separate items of socio-economic background: parental education, parental occupation and a quiet place to study.OECD PISA