Factors predicting mathematics achievement in PISA: a systematic review

Abstract

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become the world’s largest comparative assessment of academic achievement. While hundreds of studies have examined the factors predicting student achievement in PISA, a comprehensive overview of the main predictors has yet to be completed. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review of factors predicting mathematics performance in PISA. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development, we synthesized the findings of 156 peer reviewed articles. The analysis identified 135 factors that fall into five broad categories: individual student, household context, school community, education systems and macro society. The analysis uncovered seven factors that are consistently associated with math achievement in PISA. Student grade level and overall family SES (socio-economic status) are consistently positively associated with math achievement while five factors are consistently negatively associated with math achievement: student absenteeism and lack of punctuality, school repeating and dropout rate, school prevalence of students’ misbehavior, shortage of teachers and general staff, and student-centered instruction. Fourteen factors tend to be positively or negatively associated with math achievement. The explanatory power of many other factors, however, remain mixed. Explanations for this result include methodological differences, complex interactions across variables, and underlying patterns related to national-cultural context or other meso or macro-level variables. Implications for policy and research are discussed.

Exploring contributing factors to PISA 2022 mathematics achievement: Insights from Indonesian teachers

“…PISA scores also play a pivotal role in identifying disparities in education. By highlighting differences in achievement based on socio-economic status, ethnicity, or gender, these assessments provide a clear picture of inequality within education systems (Ma et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2023). This information is crucial for developing targeted interventions aimed at reducing gaps and promoting equity in education.…”

“…Moreover, PISA fosters a global perspective in education. By assessing students from diverse cultures and countries, it underscores the importance of preparing students for a globalized society (Navarro-Martinez & Peña-Acuña, 2022;Wang et al, 2023). This global outlook encourages educators to integrate international content and perspectives into their teaching, thus preparing students not just for local or national challenges but for global ones as well (OECD, 2019).…”

Random Forest Regression in Predicting Students’ Achievements and Fuzzy Grades

“…While serving as essential tools to gauge the quality of the education system, national assessments of students' mathematical knowledge are influenced by various factors [25]. Gender, for instance, emerges as a significant determinant in national mathematics assessments, as indicated in the literature [26][27][28].…”

Linking school‐ and classroom‐level characteristics to child adjustment: A representative study of children from Hong Kong, China

“…Indeed, reflecting the collectivistic values of Chinese communities, ‘Self and Society’ represents one of the key learning areas in the kindergarten curriculum in Hong Kong (Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide, Curriculum Development Council, 2017). As opposed to personal factors, such as temperaments and personality traits, environmental factors, such as school‐ and classroom‐level characteristics, may play a particularly salient role in early child development in a Chinese community (Schirmbeck et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2023). Therefore, the first aim of the present study was to examine whether school‐ and classroom‐level characteristics were uniquely linked to children's socioemotional, behavioural and academic adjustment among Chinese kindergarten children.…”

“…Concerned whether the school‐ and classroom‐level characteristics were uniquely linked to child socioemotional, behavioural and academic adjustment. Given prior studies (Berger et al., 2017; Long et al., 2021; Maxwell et al., 2017) and considering the cultural background of Chinese society (Schirmbeck et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2023), we hypothesized that positive school‐level characteristics (indicated by school resources, decision‐making, instructional innovation and teacher collaboration) would be positively associated with child adjustment and that negative classroom‐level characteristics (indicated by classroom chaos) would be negatively associated with child adjustment (Hypothesis 1).…”