Research Interests
My research examines educational policy and social inequality, both in North America and internationally. Specifically, I am interested in socio-economic disparities in academic achievement, school segregation, neighbourhood inequality, and policies around school and program choice, streaming and tracking. I use a sociological lens and quantitative methods for analysis of large-scale data. I am also interested in the methods and policy uses of international large-scale assessments, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).
Please click a research area to see associated publications.
Socio-economic disparities in academic achievement
Chmielewski, Anna K. 2020. “The Widening Socioeconomic Achievement Gap in Canada and Worldwide, 1964-2015.” In Proceedings of the Pan-Canadian Research Conference on Large-Scale Assessments, edited by Kathryn O’Grady. Toronto, ON: Council of Ministers of Education, Canada.
Chmielewski, Anna K. 2019. “The Global Increase in the Socioeconomic Achievement Gap, 1964 to 2015.” American Sociological Review 84(3): 517-544.
Salmela-Aro, Katariina and Anna K. Chmielewski. 2019. “Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in Finnish Schools.” Ch. 9 (pp. 153-168) in Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes: National Trends, Policies, and Practices, edited by L. Volante, S. Schnepf, J. Jerrim, and D. Klinger. Springer Press.
Chmielewski, Anna K. 2018. “Can We Close Gaps in Literacy by Social Background over the Life Course? Evidence from Synthetic 1950-1980 Birth Cohorts.” OECD Education Working Papers, No. 178. OECD Publishing, Paris.
Chmielewski, Anna K. and Sean F. Reardon. 2016. “Patterns of Cross-National Variation in the Association Between Income and Academic Achievement.” AERA Open 2(3): 1-27.
Chmielewski, Anna K. and Sean F. Reardon. 2016. “Education.” Pathways: A Magazine on Poverty, Inequality, and Social Policy. Special Issue: State of the Union: The Poverty and Inequality Report 2016. Stanford University Center on Poverty and Inequality.
Jerrim, John, Anna K. Chmielewski, and Philip D. Parker. 2015. “Socioeconomic Inequality in Access to High Status Colleges: A Cross-Country Comparison.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 42: 20-32.
School segregation and neighbourhood inequality
Chmielewski, Anna K. and Sachin Maharaj. “Socioeconomic Segregation between Schools in Canada.” Revise & resubmit at Canadian Public Policy.
Chmielewski, Anna K. and Sachin Maharaj. 2022. “Won’t You Be My Neighbour? Socio-Economic Segregation Between Schools in Canada: An Interprovincial Analysis.” FutureSkills Research Lab.
Chmielewski, Anna K. and Omar Khan. 2020. “Toronto’s Rich Neighbourhoods Opt for In-Person School.” Blog post.
Chmielewski, Anna K. and Corey Savage. 2015. “Socioeconomic Segregation Between Schools in the US and Latin America, 1970-2012.” Ch. 12 (pp. 394-423) in Land and the City: Proceedings of the 2014 Land Policy Conference, edited by George McCarthy, Gregory Ingram, and Samuel Moody. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Reardon, Sean, John Yun, and Anna K. Chmielewski. 2012. “Suburbanization and School Segregation.” Ch. 5 (pp. 85-102) in Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility, edited by William F. Tate IV. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Policy: School & program choice, streaming & tracking
Chmielewski, Anna K and Sheena Bell. 2023. “Cross-National Socioeconomic Inequality and Educational Policy.” Ch. 20 in The Sage Handbook of Sociology of Education, edited by Mark Berends, Barbara Schneider, and Stephen Lamb. SAGE Publications Limited.
Forster, Andrea, Anna K. Chmielewski and Herman van de Werfhorst. “Social Inequality in Student Expectations and Higher Education Enrollment – A comparison between the US and Germany.” Revise & resubmit at European Societies.
Chmielewski, Anna K. 2017. “Social Inequality in Educational Transitions under Different Types of Secondary School Curricular Differentiation.” Ch. 1.2 (pp. 51-72) in Pathways to Adulthood: Educational Opportunities, Motivation and Attainment in Times of Social Change, edited by Ingrid Schoon and Rainer Silbereisen. London: UCL IoE Press.
Jerrim, John, Phil Parker, Anna K. Chmielewski, and Jake Anders. 2016. “Private Schooling, Educational Transitions and Early Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from Three Anglophone Countries.” European Sociological Review 32(2): 280-294.
Chmielewski, Anna K. 2014. “An International Comparison of Achievement Inequality in Within- and Between-School Tracking Systems.” American Journal of Education 120(3): 293-324.
Chmielewski, Anna K., Hanna Dumont, and Ulrich Trautwein. 2013. “Tracking Effects Depend on Tracking Type: An International Comparison of Mathematics Self-Concept.” American Educational Research Journal 50(5): 925-957.
Methods & policy uses of international assessments
Jerrim, John, Philip Parker, Alvaro Choi, Anna K. Chmielewski, Christine Sälzer, and Nikki Shure. 2018. “How Robust are Cross-Country Comparisons of PISA Scores to the Scaling Model Used?” Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice 37(4): 28-39.
Chmielewski, Anna K. and Elizabeth Dhuey. 2017. “The Analysis of International Large-Scale Assessments to Address Causal Questions in Education Policy.” Background paper commissioned by National Academy of Education for workshop series on Methods and Policy Uses of International Large-Scale Assessments.
Chmielewski, Anna K., Karen Mundy, and Joseph P. Farrell. 2017. “International Indicators and Assessments: Issues for Teachers.” Ch. 13 (pp. 363-391) in Comparative and International Education: Issues for Teachers, 2nd Edition, edited by Kathy Bickmore, Ruth Hayhoe, Caroline Manion, Karen Mundy, and Robyn Read. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc.
Chmielewski, Anna K. and Yossi Shavit. 2014. “Recommendations for Measuring and Monitoring Equity in Upper Secondary Education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training.” Memo prepared for UNESCO Education For All Monitoring Report. Paris, France.