How do students from single-parent families perform in reading?

Across the OECD area, 17% of the students who participated in PISA 2009 are from single-parent families. In general, the parents of these students have lower educational qualifications and lower occupational status than parents on average across OECD countries. But PISA results show that theses disadvantages do not necessarily translate into lower performance among children from single-parent households. These findings prompt the question of whether public policy, including policies on welfare and childcare as well as on education, can help to make it easier for single parents to support their children’s education.