Se realiza un análisis comparado de la equidad educativa en muestras representativas de escuelas en seis países latinoamericanos, aportando nueva evidencia al respecto. Los datos se estudian según las características socioeconómicas de los alumnos de cada centro educativo.Se desarrolla un recorrido teórico sobre los usos del término equidad, así como sobre su medición, y se presentan antecedentes sobre el tema. Los resultados muestran importantes diferencias entre y al interior de los países; asimismo, señalan que si bien la inequidad en la dotación de recursos está presente en todos los casos, es claramente mayor en Centroamérica y en los países del Norte que en los del Sur, aunque sucede lo contrario en relación con la inequidad en los logros educativos. Como conclusión se resalta la importancia de implementar políticas que impacten tanto en los resultados académicos como en la trayectoria vital de los alumnos, así como la de realizar evaluaciones diagnóstico como medio para que todos los niños alcancen desempeños satisfactorios
This paper analyses and compares education equality in representative school samples in six Latin American countries, providing new evidence in this sense. The data is studied according to the socio-economic characteristics of the students of each educational center. It develops a theoretical framework on the uses of the concept of equality, as well as its measurement, and it presents the subject’s background. The results show significant differences between the countries and inside the countries and note that although inequality in resources is present in all cases, it is clearly larger in Central America and the countries of the North, in comparison with those in the South. The opposite occurs with regards to the inequality in educational achievements. It concludes by underlining the im- portance of implementing policies that impact both academic results as well as the life trajectory of students in the long term; also notes the importance of diagnostic assessments as a mean to enable all children to achieve satisfactory performance. It concludes by underlining the importance of implementing policies that impact both aca- demic results as well as the life trajectory of students in the long term. It also notes the importance of diagnostic assessments as a mean to enable all children to achieve satisfactory performance