Cueto, S., Guerrero, G., León, J., Zapata, M. y Freire, S. (2013). ¿La cuna marca las oportunidades y el rendimiento educativo? Una mirada al caso peruano (Documentos de Investigación N° 66). Lima: GRADE; Niños del Milenio.

Educational research shows a strong correlation between the performance of Peruvian students and their socio-economic status (NSE for its acronym in Spanish). This paper uses data from the longitudinal study Niños del Milenio to analyse whether students’ mathematics learning opportunities (ODA for its acronym in Spanish) are associated with NSE and achievement. ODA were estimated from the analysis of the notebooks of fourth grade students in schools of various types in the interior of the country. Surveys were also administered to their teachers.

The analysis shows that family SES at one year of age predicts ODA and achievement eleven years later. Differences in ODA are mainly in the number of exercises performed and the percentage of correct exercises, in favour of students with a higher NSE. It is also found that in general the exercises have a low level of cognitive demand. Finally, the skills worked on in class are far from those presented in the National Curriculum Design for the fourth grade of primary school.

ODA variables are positively associated with performance, even after controlling for a number of variables (including NSE). It is found that, in low NSE contexts, having high ODA leads to significant improvements in achievement. Thus, improving ODA could be an instrument to decrease the inequity that plagues Peruvian education.