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What Enhances Mathematical Ability? A Cross-Country Analysis Based on Test Scores of 15-year Olds

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  • Bailey, Mark F
  • Borooah, Vani

Abstract

This paper examines the mathematical abilities of 15-year olds in a range of countries which participated in the 2003 cycle of the OCED’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Utilising information on the scores obtained by individual students in the mathematical part of the PISA assessment, we use a range of indicators from the literature on inequality and poverty to evaluate the “mathematical performance” of participating countries. Since data from PISA contained a wealth of information on the circumstances of the students, in terms of their home and school environment, we identify, and examine the relative influence of, factors which serve to enhance the mathematical performance of students in the PISA assessment.

Suggested Citation

  • Bailey, Mark F & Borooah, Vani, 2010. "What Enhances Mathematical Ability? A Cross-Country Analysis Based on Test Scores of 15-year Olds," MPRA Paper 25676, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:25676
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    Cited by:

    1. Haeck, Catherine & Lefebvre, Pierre & Merrigan, Philip, 2014. "The distributional impacts of a universal school reform on mathematical achievements: A natural experiment from Canada," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 137-160.
    2. Giuseppe Coco & Raffaele Lagravinese & Giuliano Resce, 2020. "Beyond the weights: a multicriteria approach to evaluate inequality in education," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 18(4), pages 469-489, December.
    3. Ana Mickovska Raleva & Ana Tomovska Misoska & Olimpija Hristovska Zaeva & Suzana Cerepnalkovska & Vesna Kostik Ivanovik, 2017. "From numbers to practice – identification and analysis of the indicators related to the quality of the didactic process in the primary education in Macedonia," Finance Think Policy Studies 2017-09/9, Finance Think - Economic Research and Policy Institute.
    4. Giannelli, Gianna Claudia & Rapallini, Chiara, 2019. "Parental occupation and children’s school outcomes in math," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(4), pages 293-303.
    5. French, Joseph J. & French, Atchaporn & Li, Wei-Xuan, 2015. "The relationship among cultural dimensions, education expenditure, and PISA performance," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 25-34.
    6. Ana Mickovska-Raleva & Ana Tomovska-Misoska & Olimpija Hristovska-Zaeva & Suzana Cerepnalkovska & Vesna Kostik Ivanovik, 2017. "From numbers to practice - identification and analysis of the indicators related to the quality of the didactic process in the primary education in Macedonia," Finance Think Policy Studies 2017-09, Finance Think - Economic Research and Policy Institute.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mathematics; schools; Testing; Countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities

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