Les inégalités à l’école : ce que révèlent les statistiques

Since the 1960s, national and international statistical surveys have been conducted regularly to document students' achievements, educational trajectories and diplomas. These investigations are valuable and reliable tools that attest to the persistence of significant inequalities in schools over the decades.Édubref No. 30, entitled “Inequalities in schools: what the statistics reveal,” provides an overview of the recent contributions of these surveys on educational inequalities in France. It points out that significant inequalities can be observed according to social background, gender, but also according to migration background, geographic area, and month of birth—and that while some of these inequalities are decreasing over time, others are increasing or being reconfigured. This Édubref also highlights the interconnection between these different factors and their relative weight on schooling. Finally, it shows how these surveys make it possible to identify certain mechanisms that contribute to the production of inequalities.By summarizing the findings of these statistical analyses, while highlighting certain methodological precautions necessary for their interpretation, this Édubref provides some essential insights into educational inequalities that call into question the objective of democratisation.