Why East Asian students perform better in mathematics than their peers: An investigation using a machine learning approach

Using a machine learning approach, we attempt to identify the school-, student-, and country-related factors that predict East Asian students’ higher PISA mathematics scores compared to their international peers. We identify student- and school-related factors, such as metacognition–assess credibility, mathematics learning time, early childhood education and care, grade repetition, school type and size, class size, and student behavior hindering learning, as important predictors of the higher average mathematics scores of East Asian students. Moreover, country-level factors, such as the proportion of youth not in education, training, or employment and the number of R&D researchers, are also found to have high predicting power. The results also highlight the nonlinear and complex relationships between educational inputs and outcomes.