Education is not only a desired end in itself, it can also help people move up the social ladder. But results from international assessments of students and of adults’ skills show that disadvantaged students often find themselves stuck on the bottom rungs – both at school and later on in life. In this podcast, OECD analysts Daniel Salinas and Pauline Givord discuss what OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data reveal about equity in education and breaking down the barriers to social mobility. They discuss the obstacles disadvantaged students face as they progress through school, and how education policy can help dismantle them.