Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Predictors of the Unifed State Exam Performance of Students from Schools with Regular and Advanced Mathematical Curricula

Abstract

Background. Exams such as the SAT, ACT, and GCSE are used to give an account of educational outcomes and provide a unified criterion for university admission. The Unified State Exam (USE) aims to fulfill these functions in Russia.All Russian students take two compulsory USE exams, mathematics and Russian, at the end of their school education. Objective. Variability in the mathematics and Russian USE scores is vast, both across and within schools. Our study investigated potential sources of this variability. Design. The sample included 196 students from regular schools (non-selected students) and 306 students from schools with advanced mathematical curriculum (selected students). The mathematical ability (numerical representation, mathematical fluency), intelligence, basic cognitive functions (working memory, reaction time), and mathematical self-efficacy of the students were assessed. We applied structural equation modeling to estimate the proportion of variability in the mathematics and Russian USE scores explained by cognitive predictors and mathematical self-efficacy. Results. In the whole sample, cognitive predictors and mathematical self-efficacy explained 54% of the variation in the mathematics USE scores and 30% of the variation in the Russian USE scores. These effects diminished after the data were analyzed in two groups separately, suggesting that the associations between predictors and exam scores were to a large extent accounted for by group differences (students from regular and specialized schools). Conclusion. The students from the schools with an advanced mathematical curriculum exhibited better cognitive performance, appraised their mathematical abilities higher, and achieved higher mathematics and Russian USE scores, compared to the students from regular schools. Within the groups, cognitive and non-cognitive predictors explained a small part of the variation of the mathematics and Russian USE scores.

Ordinary extraordinary: Elusive group differences in personality and psychological difficulties between STEM‐gifted adolescents and their peers

“…In regard to academic achievement, we found higher Year grade and Year 9 State Examination in selected sample. This is consistent with previous data, showing greater average performance on the Year 11 State Examination of adolescents attending specialist maths school than of those attending regular schools (Voronin et al, 2018). However, the effect sizes in Voronin and colleagues (Cohen's d = 3.26 and 1.48 for Math Examination and Russian Examination, respectively) are greater than those in the present study (partial eta squared converted to Cohen's d = 0.48 for Year grade and 1.08 for Year 9 State Examination).…”

“…Average sex differences are also reported for academic achievement, with females on average outperforming males (Cohen's d = [0.27-0.48];Epstein, 1998;Gustavsen, 2019;Steinmayer & Spinath, 2008;Wong, Lam, & Ho, 2002;Van Houtte, 2004). A recent large-scale study (N = 3.9 million; Reilly, Neumann & Andrews, 2018) showed that sex differences in academic achievement are mostly small-to-medium size, with other studies showing null differences (e.g., Voronin, Ovcharova, Bezrukova, & Kovas, 2018). Inconsistencies across studies may stem from differences in measures, as sex differences may be domain-specific: Females on average show better results in verbal tasks; males show better results in some maths-related tasks in both unselected (Stoet & Geary, 2013) and selected samples (Freeman & Garces-Bascal, 2015).…”

A Systematic Review on The Definition of Children’s Number Sense in the Primary School Years

“…Number sense is a critical part of mathematics instruction and curricular globally. The existing evidence discussed that number sense forms an essential foundation for understanding mathematical concepts that will be needed in later life (Voronin, Ovcharova, Bezrukova, & Kovas, 2018). Despite the large volume of the published documents concerning number sense, to date, a much objective definition is still not formulated in the perspectives of primary school mathematics education.…”