Study on Regional Disparity of Academic Achievement in Indonesia

Abstract

While the access to education has been expanding primary and secondary education, the academic achievement gap became a significant issue in Indonesia. The result of national examination on 2014/2015 showed that students separated into two groups as low-achievers and high-achievers. Now, it is important to assure not an only opportunity of education access, but also equity of learning outcomes. This study investigated how the achievement gap exists, and the factors influencing academic achievement on the national examination. This study analyzed the relationship between students' test score and some indicators related to the quality of Education. The preliminary results of the research show that the financial indicators and quality of school environment yield a significant effect on the average score of the regional level. For conclusion, following the in-depth analysis of preliminary research results, and some recommendation to minimize gap will be presented. Keywords—academic achievement; quality of education; disparity; equity of education