This paper aims to analyze the structure of academic performance by investigating the influence of ascribed and achieved factors on student outcomes. Specifically, it explores the impact of gender, socioeconomic status of parents, parental education, type of high school attended, and level of study on academic success. Utilizing a longitudinal survey dataset of 15,102 university students in China, this study employs various statistical techniques, including mean, standard deviation, Mann-Whitney U , Kruskal-Wallis H, and path analysis to examine the relationships between ascribed and achieved factors and academic performance. The results reveal gender differences, with female students excelling in memorization and comprehension tasks, while males demonstrate stronger spatial reasoning and mathematical problem-solving abilities. Additionally, students from prestigious high schools performed better, attributed to access to better resources and teachers, and parental education—particularly the father’s education—was a significant predictor of academic success. Although wealthier students generally performed better due to access to private tutoring, the influence of socioeconomic status was moderated when controlling for school quality and teacher effectiveness. Achieved factors, especially among master’s and PhD students, played a crucial role in academic performance, underscoring the importance of personal effort in overcoming socioeconomic disadvantages. This study enriches the understanding of the interplay between ascribed and achieved factors, suggesting that while certain inherited advantages impact academic success, individual motivation and effort are key contributors to performance, particularly in higher education. These findings offer important insights for policymakers aiming to reduce educational disparities.
Jiang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.