EQUITY IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE OUTCOMES: CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH AND LOW ACHIEVEMENT ON PISA 2006 IN IRELAND

Equity in education is a key concern internationally; however, it is rare that this issue is examined separately for low- and high-achieving students and concurrently across different subject domains. This study examines student and school background characteristics associated with low and high achievement in mathematics and science on the Programme for International Student Assessment. Based on the results of a multilevel multinomial model of achievement for each domain, findings indicate that a greater number of the variables examined are associated with low rather than high achievement. At student level, home language, intention to leave school early, socioeconomic status, grade level, cultural capital, and books in the home are significantly associated with achievement in mathematics and science. At school level, only school average socioeconomic status is statistically significant in the models. Significant gender differences are found in the distribution of high and low achievers, which vary across the domains. In mathematics, females are more likely to be low achievers while males are more likely to be high achievers. In science, gender interacts with early school-leaving intent whereas males intending to leave school early are more likely to be in the low-achieving group than females intending to leave early. Conclusions emphasise the need for targeting resources aimed at promoting equity in outcomes at student level as well as at school level. Future work may extend the current analyses by incorporating domain-specific variables or examining cross-country differences.     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY PERCEIVED PARENTAL SUPPORT ON STUDENT MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AND STEM CAREER ATTAINMENT

The lack of females entering STEM careers is well documented. Reasons for the gender gaps at all stages of the educational pipeline include both internal factors such as self-concept and external factors such as the influence of parents, media, and educators. Using latent growth curve analysis and nationally representative longitudinal survey data, this study compares differences in the relationship between a critical external factor (perceived early parental support), student mathematics and science achievement trajectories, and persistence in STEM career by gender. Mathematics and science trajectories were positively related to STEM career persistence for males and females. Perceived early parental support was related to growth in mathematics achievement for males but not females. There was no relationship between early perceived parental support and growth in science achievement for either males or females. These findings indicate differences in the relationship between parental support, achievement, and career persistence depending on content area and gender.     

Revolution in Mental Retardation Research

In this article, I present the results of an analysis of the relationship between teacher evaluation scores and student achievement on district and state tests in reading, mathematics, and science in a large Midwestern U.S. school district. Within a value-added framework, I correlated the difference between predicted and actual student achievement in science, mathematics, and reading for students in Grades 3 through 8 with teacher evaluation ratings. Small to moderate positive correlationships were found for most grades in each subject tested. When these correlationships were combined across grades within subjects, the average correlationships were. 27 for science,. 32 for reading, and. 43 for mathematics. These results show that scores from a rigorous teacher evaluation system can be substantially related to student achievement and provide criterion-related validity evidence for the use of the performance evaluation scores as the basis for a performance-based pay system or other decisions with consequences for teachers.     

Examining the association between empathising,systemising, degree subject and gender

Systemising is the drive to analyse or construct systems, and can be assessed by a systemising quotient (SQ). Empathising is the drive to identify mental states and respond with an appropriate emotion, and can be assessed by an empathising quotient (EQ). Previous evidence suggests that: (1) males are more drawn to systemise than females, and females are more drawn to empathise than males; and (2) males are more likely to work in science and engineering, or to study science subjects at university. This study found: (1) males score more highly on the SQ, and females score more highly on the EQ; (2) controlling for age and gender, there is an association between degree subject and SQ and EQ scores, with “scientists” scoring higher on the SQ and “artists” scoring more highly on the EQ; and (3) individuals’ scores on EQ and SQ were better predictors of degree subject than gender.     

USING INTERNATIONAL STUDY SERIES AND META-ANALYTIC RESEARCH SYNTHESES TO SCOPE PEDAGOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AIMED AT IMPROVING STUDENT ATTITUDE AND ACHIEVEMENT IN SCHOOL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

Taking lower-secondary schooling within the English educational system as an example, this paper illustrates the contribution of two bodies of international scholarship to the scoping of research-based pedagogical development aimed at improving student attitude and achievement in science and mathematics. After sketching the English context of systemic reform, the paper uses findings from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) series to illuminate changes in performance, analysed within a framework of cross-system and between-subject comparison. Contrary to the optimistic picture from national assessment, the TIMSS findings suggest that systemic reform has produced fundamental gains only in student achievement in mathematics, and serious declines in student attitude towards both mathematics and science. Prompted by more favourable patterns elsewhere, the paper then triangulates the findings of recent meta-analytic research syntheses to identify promising lines of pedagogical development. Despite important differences in the conceptual frameworks and analytic methods of these syntheses, reasonably robust conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of four teaching components: domain-specific inquiry for student achievement in both subjects, student attitude in science, and learning processes in mathematics; cooperative group work for learning and attitude in science; contextual orientation for achievement in science; and active teaching for achievement in mathematics. Equally, discrepancies between findings or insufficiencies of evidence highlight a number of impacts particularly deserving deeper analysis or further investigation: cooperative group work on achievement outcomes, differing forms of learning assessment on both attitude and achievement outcomes, contextual orientation on outcomes in mathematics, and active teaching on outcomes in science.     

Relationship between affect and achievement in science and mathematics in Malaysia and Singapore

Background : The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assesses the quality of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics among Grades 4 and 8 students across participating countries.

Purpose : This study explored the relationship between positive affect towards science and mathematics and achievement in science and mathematics among Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students.

Sample : In total, 4466 Malaysia students and 4599 Singaporean students from Grade 8 who participated in TIMSS 2007 were involved in this study.

Design and method : Students’ achievement scores on eight items in the survey instrument that were reported in TIMSS 2007 were used as the dependent variable in the analysis. Students’ scores on four items in the TIMSS 2007 survey instrument pertaining to students’ affect towards science and mathematics together with students’ gender, language spoken at home and parental education were used as the independent variables.

Results : Positive affect towards science and mathematics indicated statistically significant predictive effects on achievement in the two subjects for both Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students. There were statistically significant predictive effects on mathematics achievement for the students’ gender, language spoken at home and parental education for both Malaysian and Singaporean students, with R ² = 0.18 and 0.21, respectively. However, only parental education showed statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement for both countries. For Singapore, language spoken at home also demonstrated statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement, whereas gender did not. For Malaysia, neither gender nor language spoken at home had statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement.

Conclusions : It is important for educators to consider implementing self-concept enhancement intervention programmes by incorporating ‘affect’ components of academic self-concept in order to develop students’ talents and promote academic excellence in science and mathematics.     

Gender and Social Inequality at Oxford and Cambridge Universities

Abstract

The academic efficiency and social justice of entry procedures at Oxford and Cambridge Universities are examined over the past quarter of a century. For each major subject the mean A‐level scores of males and females entering from state and independent schools are compared with mean final examination scores in the major subjects. In any comparison of state and independent cohorts of the same gender, within the bounds of normal statistical fluctuation, the difference in A‐level score is a good predictor of the difference in finals score. For example, when between state men and independent men the difference in A‐level score is zero, the difference between mean finals score is zero also. The origin of female under‐achievement is examined. In most subjects there is pronounced gender inequality due to the following chain of circumstances: (1) to break‐even in finals women require at entry better grades at Advanced Level than men; (2) women used to have much the better A‐levels and so, in finals a quarter of a century ago, they matched and even — in some subjects — surpassed the men; (3) the A‐levels of women entering Oxford and Cambridge Universities fell off during the 1970s; (4) today female A‐level scores are slightly worse than male A‐level scores, and so female finals scores are much worse, in most subjects, than male finals scores. The concept of an ideal subject is defined; this is a subject in which zero difference in A‐level score between male and female yields zero difference in finals score. Law at Cambridge and chemistry at Oxford are ideal subjects. Ideal subjects are rare at Oxbridge: most subjects exhibit a significant male lead in finals when male and female have equal A‐level scores. The most non‐ideal subject at Oxford is mathematics, in which zero difference in A‐level score between males and females yields a male lead in finals score of 13%: at Oxford the other non‐ideal subjects are physics (male lead at equal A‐levels 11%), philosophy, politics and economics (9%), history (8%), modem languages (8%) and English (5%). An ideal subject is a paradigm which requires even‐handedness between male and female cohorts in the following parameters: (1) efficiency of course selection from school; (2) efficiency of teaching; (3) efficiency of finals assessment; (4) latent ability. A pronounced relative decline in the A‐level scores of girls educated in state maintained schools entering English and Welsh universities occurred in the 1970s; it is attributed to the reform of the state school system, particularly the growth in mixed‐sex comprehensive schools and the decline in the number of female single‐sex grammar schools. A peculiar aspect of the admissions filters at both Oxford and Cambridge ensures that state‐school educated men gaining entry do so with A‐level scores markedly superior to those of the other three cohorts.     

Vaughn Elementary's Innovative Teacher Evaluation System: Are Teacher Evaluation Scores Related to Growth in Student Achievement?

In this study, I examined the validity of a performance-based, subject-specific teacher evaluation system by analyzing the relationship between teacher evaluation scores and student achievement. From a policy perspective, establishing validity was important because it is embedded in a knowledge-and skills-based pay system, which attached high stakes to evaluation scores. In the first stage of the study, I used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to estimate value-added teacher effects, which were then correlated with teacher evaluation scores in literacy, mathematics, language arts, and a composite measure of student achievement. Additionally, teacher evaluation scores were inserted into the HLM models as subject-specific predictors of student achievement. Results indicate a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between teacher evaluation scores and student achievement in reading and a composite measure of teacher and student performance and a positive, although not statistically significant, relationship in mathematics. In the second stage of the study, I used document analyses and interviews with teachers to explore factors affecting the relationship between teacher evaluation scores and student achievement across subjects. Findings suggest that the relationship is stronger in reading than mathematics because both teachers and evaluators have more pedagogical knowledge and better alignment to standards and assessments in reading than in math.     

基于IRT模型的数学学业成就水平测试分析

对不同类型学校的774名有效被试实施数学学业成就水平测试,并应用IRT参数模型方法进行分析,得出四点判断:(1)测验分数、最优分数呈负偏态分布;(2)测验信息函数负向偏移,大体呈现双峰波形;(3)主观性试题与逻辑斯蒂模型的拟合性较差;(4)不同类型学校学生的数学学业成就水平存在显著性差异。     

The effect of spreadsheet and dynamic geometry software on the achievement and self-efficacy of 7th-grade students

Background

Since the early 1980s, there has been a growing interest in the potentiality of computers as facilitators of students' learning. The importance of using technology effectively as a learning tool has been emphasized by many researchers. However, finding good software that encourages pupils to explore and express mathematical ideas is becoming a crucial issue.

Purpose

This paper investigates the effect of spreadsheet and dynamic geometry software on the mathematics achievement and mathematics self-efficacy of 7th-grade students. The study further examines the gender differences with respect to computer self-efficacy, mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics achievement. The relationship among these three constructs is also investigated.

Sample

The study consisted of 64 7th-grade students from three different classes including all the 7th- graders in a school, which is located in an upper-middle-class area in Ankara, Turkey. Study participants were aged from 12 to 13. In total, the number of female and male students was equal. In this study, purposive sampling was used since the school where the study took place was well equipped in terms of computer laboratories and technological devices.

Design and methods

The evaluation used an experimental design where two software programs, Excel and Autograph, were used in experimental groups separately, and a control group took traditional-based instruction without using any technological tools such as a computer or calculator. The study was carried out during the spring semester of the 2001/02 academic year, where three instructional methods of study: Autograph-based instruction, spreadsheet-based instruction and traditionally based instruction, were randomly assigned to the three classes. The Mathematics achievement test was used to assess the students' performance on mathematics. In order to determine the self-efficacy expectation of the students with respect to mathematics and computers, a Mathematics self-efficacy scale and Computer self-efficacy scale were developed respectively. Analysis of covariance, bivariate correlations and t-test were used to analyse outcome data.

Results

Results revealed that the Autograph group and Traditional group had significantly greater mean scores than the Excel group with respect to mathematics achievement. The Autograph group had significantly greater mean scores than the Traditional group, while no significant mean difference was found between the Autograph and Excel groups and between the Excel and Traditional groups with respect to mathematics self-efficacy. No significant mean difference was found between boys and girls with respect to mathematics achievement and mathematics self-efficacy. On the other hand, boys had significantly greater mean scores than girls with respect to computer self-efficacy. In addition, significant correlations were found among efficacy scores and achievement.

Conclusions

The evidence suggests that students showed great enthusiasm for Autograph. Students in the Autograph group had the highest scores compared to other groups regarding mathematics achievement and mathematics self-efficacy. In addition, boys reported significantly higher scores with respect to computer self-efficacy where, during the Autograph-based instruction and spreadsheet-based instruction, boys were more willing to solve activities using computers compared to girls. On the other hand, treatments seemed not to have any effect on gender regarding mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics achievement.     

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CLASSROOM CLIMATE, SELF-EFFICACY, AND ACHIEVEMENT IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS: A MULTI-LEVEL ANALYSIS

For nearly 50 years, leaders in American industry, military, education, and politics have focused considerable attention on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Given the increased societal demand for STEM careers, the relationships among classroom climate, self-efficacy, and achievement in undergraduate mathematics needed to be examined. A purposeful sample of college algebra instructors (n = 15), employed at public 4-year universities in various states (n = 10) across the nation, was administered the Principles of Adult Learning Scale at the beginning of the semester to assess classroom climate. At the end of the course semester, their college algebra students (n = 326) were administered the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale-Revised and final college algebra examinations. The results of the multi-level analysis indicated: (a) students having higher mathematics self-efficacy also had higher mathematics achievement, (b) teacher-centered classroom climates had greater mathematics self-efficacy levels, (c) classroom climate was not a significant predictor of mathematics achievement, (c) classroom climate did not moderate the relationship between mathematics self-efficacy and achievement, and (d) although boys reported higher mathematics self-efficacy than girls, gender differences were not found to exist in regard to mathematics achievement.     

Chapter 5 Gender differences in mathematics problem solving and science: A longitudinal analysis

This study describes gender differences in achievement in the academic areas of mathematics problem solving and science. Standardized achievement test scores for a sample of 3002 students who were tested in each of ten consecutive years, grades 3 through 12, were used to assess the differences in mathematics while matched data for grades 9 through 12 were available in science. Selected percentiles (90th, 75th, 50th, 25th, 10th) were estimated for both Female and male score distributions for each area. The results indicate fairly consistent patterns of differences. Males generally performed better at the upper percentile levels of the score distributions in mathematics problem solving and science, while females closed the gap and, in some instances, outperformed males at the lower percentile levels.     

What's in a teacher test? Assessing the relationship between teacher licensure test scores and student STEM achievement and course-taking

We investigate the relationship between teacher licensure test scores and student test achievement and high school course-taking. We focus on three subject/grade combinations—middle school math, ninth-grade algebra and geometry, and ninth-grade biology—and find evidence that a teacher's basic skills test scores are modestly predictive of student achievement in middle school math and highly predictive of student achievement in high school biology. A teacher's subject-specific licensure test scores are a consistent and statistically significant predictor of student achievement only in high school biology. Finally, we find little evidence that students assigned to middle school teachers with higher basic-skills test scores are more likely to take advanced math and science courses in high school.     

Enhancement and Analysis of Science Question Level for Middle School Students

The effects of instruction and achievement on science question level for high and low science topic interests were investigated. Eight seventh‐grade classes were randomly assigned to two treatments: instruction and no instruction on researchable questioning. Each student completed the Middle School Students' Science Topic Interest Rating Scale (test‐retest reliability, r = .84); selected two topics in which she or he was least interested and two topics in which she or he was most interested; wrote questions for each topic; and took the Stanford Achievement Tests in reading, mathematics, and science. The questions were rated using the four levels described by the Middle School Students' Science Question Rating Scale (interrater reliability, r = .96). The scores for each question were averaged for two raters, then summed for each interest level for each student. The data were analyzed for main and interaction effects using general linear modeling procedures. Question level was modeled with one within‐subjects factor (science topic interest) and four between‐subjects factors (instruction and three achievement scores). The results indicate that students who received instruction outperformed those students who were not instructed; and high achievers in mathematics, reading, or science outperformed low achievers. There were no interaction effects. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 210–224, 2000     

BUILDING MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT MODELS IN FOUR COUNTRIES USING TIMSS 2003

Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 data, this study built mathematics achievement models of 8th graders in four countries: the USA, Russia, Singapore and South Africa. These 4 countries represent the full spectrum of mathematics achievement. In addition, they represent 4 continents, and they include 2 countries hugely influential in world events (the USA and Russia). In each country, students’ self-concept of ability in mathematics, mathematics values, perception of school, teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of school and other characteristics related to the classroom and school were incorporated to build an achievement model through hierarchical linear modelling. The final achievement models suggested that among student variables, self-concept of ability in mathematics had the highest relation to 8th graders’ mathematics achievement in all 4 countries. The relation between mathematics achievement and other student characteristics, along with the family, teacher and school variables, differed across the 4 countries. This suggests that self-concept of ability is a key variable for understanding achievement in high and low achieving countries and that other contextual variables vary in the magnitude of relations to mathematics achievement across countries.     

The Effects of Inquiry Teaching on Student Science Achievement and Attitudes: Evidence from Propensity Score Analysis of PISA Data

Gauging the effectiveness of specific teaching strategies remains a major topic of interest in science education. Inquiry teaching among others has been supported by extensive research and recommended by the National Science Education Standards. However, most of the empirical evidence in support was collected in research settings rather than in normal school environments. Propensity score analysis was performed within the marginal mean weighting through stratification (MMW-S) approach to examine the effects of the level of openness of inquiry teaching on student science achievement and attitudes with the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 data. Weighting subjects on MMW-S weight successfully balanced all treatment groups on all selected covariates. Significant effects were identified on both cognitive and attitudinal outcomes. For student science achievement, the highest score was achieved at Level 2 inquiry teaching, that is, students conduct activities and draw conclusions from data. For student science attitudes, higher level of inquiry teaching resulted in higher scores. The said conclusions were generally held in most PISA 2006 participating countries when the analysis was performed in each country separately.     

School belonging and math attitudes among high school students in advanced math

This study used the Trends in International Math Science (TIMSS) 2015 Advanced data from nine countries to examine the relationship between students’ sense of school belonging and their attitudes towards mathematics, and the extent to which student gender moderated these relationships. Results showed that students’ sense of school belonging emerged as a statistically significant, positive predictor of students’ liking and valuing of mathematics. For most countries, no significant moderating effect of student gender was observed. However, among Portuguese students, the relationship between students’ sense of school belonging and each attitude measure was stronger for males than for females.     

The Relationship between Students' Achievement and their Self-perception of Competence and Rigour of Mathematics and Science: A cross-national analysis

This study applies theory linking students' self-perceived competence with academic achievement, using data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Within-country data generally show a positive relationship between student achievement and self-perceived competence in mathematics and science. However, when one examines this relationship between countries, the opposite relationship occurs, i.e. countries with higher student self-evaluations usually performed poorly on the TIMSS tests and vice versa. Similarly, countries with a high proportion of students perceiving the subjects as being easy performed poorly on the TIMSS tests and vice versa. This pattern exists for both mathematics and science at grades 3, 4, 7 and 8. The authors suggest that this pattern may reflect low academic expectations and standards in low performing countries and high academic expectations and standards in high performing countries.     

Motivation,Meta-Cognition and Self-Regulation as Predictors of Long Term Educational Attainment

In a longitudinal study, long term educational attainment in secondary education was predicted by motivation, meta-cognition and self-regulation as well as student background variables and prior achievement. The dependent variables were: (1) the position in the fifth grade of the two highest tracks; (2) the choice of examination subjects; and (3) the mean achievement in the fifth grade in the chosen subjects. The position-variable correlates most strongly with the prognosis given at the end of primary education, and with the combined score on three progress tests taken during the first grade of secondary education. There was a large gender difference in the choice of examination subjects with boys choosing the three science subjects (pure mathematics, physics, chemistry) 30% more often. The choice of these subjects also correlates with the scores on the arithmetic progress test in the first grade and a mathematics test taken in the third grade. Achievement motivation and fear of failure are prominent predictors of the mean achievement in grade 5, as is prior achievement. Surprisingly meta-cognitive and self-regulation variables are hardly related to mean achievement.