The role of an equity policy in the reproduction of social inequalities: High School Ranking and university admissions in Chile

The High School (HS) Ranking is an equity policy aimed at increasing the enrolment of students from underprivileged contexts in selective higher education institutions in Chile. However, HS Ranking is considered as an admission criterion for all applicants, regardless of their contextual characteristics. In this study, we delve into how students from different high school settings interpret and deploy actions to increase their HS Ranking score. Through a Structural Equation Model with validated survey data (9 schools, N = 1.831), our results show that the role of the schools’ context in the deployment of academic strategies to increase HS Ranking score is significant, even after controlling for academic individual motivation. In a scenario of a highly segregated secondary system these results are relevant for the discussion of the role of HS Ranking – an equity-oriented admission policy – in maintaining the higher education inequalities.