This contribution will attempt to compare different indicators of social background for quantifying
social disparities. The focus will be on the index for economic, social and cultural status (ESCS)
used in the PISA study. The index reflects the economic, social and cultural resources of parents
and in this covers the theoretical construct better than other less comprehensive indicators of social
background. On the basis of international data on pupils from PISA 2003 and the national complementary study PISA-E, regression analyses were
carried out using various indicators of social background. Besides the ESCS the following predictors were used: socio-economic status (HISEI), highest educational attainment expressed in years of education (PARED) and an indicator for home possessions (HOMEPOS). It can be shown that
ESCS accounts for significantly more variance in mathematic competency than the single predictors HISEI, PARED or HOMEPOS. In an additional
analysis on social disparity of educational participation,
the ESCS provided more detailed findings than the HISEI. In sum, the ESCS is judged to be a valid and comprehensive index of social background