Los resultados de las pruebas PISA en la Argentina. Una comparación intertemporal: 2000, 2006 y 2009

This paper analyzes the evolution of the educational performance of Argentinean students using data from the PISA 2000, 2006 and 2009 assessments. There are several reasons for this analysis. First, the comparatively low level of Argentina in the international context which, in 2009, ended located below other countries of the region. Second, the significant decrease, observed between 2000 and 2006, in the average score of Argentinean students, was not reversed in 2009. However, during the period considered, a variety of public policies, to improve the national educational situation, were implemented in the country. The main purpose of this paper is to quantify and account for the changes in test results, evaluating the effect of student social, economic and demographic characteristics, as well as those of their families and the schools they attend. The study utilizes two methodological approaches: first, a multivariate analysis of the factors determining academic performance, in order to evaluate, from estimating a multilevel model, the net effect of each factor, temporarily comparing its relative significance and, second, a nonparametric decomposition, using the propensity score matching technique, of the observed change in performance. The results show that the change in the composition of students by grade attended, grade repetition and the availability of computers at home played a predominant role in the evolution of the academic performance of Argentina. The change in the composition of students and the increase of the repetition rate may be associated with the inclusion process of students, especially those of low economic resources, which has taken place in the country, after the great economic crisis of 2001 - 2002 that excluded many young people in the education system.