The present study examines the linkages between family socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood and educational achievement
in young adulthood using data from a 25-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of over 1000 New Zealand children. Structural
equation modeling of the association between latent SES at birth and educational achievement by age 25 years showed evidence of a
strong association between latent SES and later educational achievement. Much of this association was mediated via two pathways
relating to child cognitive ability and family educational aspirations; family economic resources and school factors did not mediate
the association. However, even when the major theoretical pathways were taken into account, a substantial component of the latent
SES/educational achievement correlation remained unexplained.