Exploring the Measurement Profiles of Socioeconomic Background and their differences in Reading Achievement: A Two-level Latent Class Analysis

A large body of SES-Attainment studies has established the relationship between student’s socioeconomic background and academic achievement, making SES a single powerful predictor of student’s performance. Typically SES is measured as a composition of parental education, occupation and income. However, a variety of alternative measurement of SES has also been developed (White, 1982; Sirin, 2005). The general trend of SES measurement is moving from SES being seen as a single index to regarding it as a multi-dimensional concept that imposes its effects at different levels of observation. The measures of SES also have extended from the aforementioned aspects to a set of rather broad indicators of home possessions and activities. Due to the variability in the measures and measurement methods of SES, the estimated effects of SES on academic achievement vary and become difficult to compare and evaluate. It is thus necessary to reexamine the measurement of SES by exploring the psychometric properties of SES.