Is Student Achievement Immutable? Evidence From International Studies on Schooling and Student Achievement

Abstract

International comparative studies of student achievement that have been conducted since 1965 have influenced education policy and research issues in the United States. This article reviews the contribution of recent international studies to an understanding of the role of content in curriculum and thus the way in which schools have an impact on student learning. Studies conducted of U.S. schools during the 1960s by James Coleman and his associates and schools of other countries by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement concluded that student performance was determined more by family background than by school characteristics. However, Coleman himself later recanted that finding in a reanalysis of international studies. Recent international studies of student assessment have demonstrated that between-countries differences in how the science and mathematics curriculum is presented may account for differences in student performance. This finding has had an effect on national policy by supporting efforts to reform the content of subject matter introduced in schools.

Opening the Black Box: Prospects for Using International Large-Scale Assessments to Explore Classroom Effects

“…Fuchs and Woessman (2007) found that approximately a quarter of the variation in performance between countries was due to the institutional characteristics of schools. The effect of these institutional characteristics varies considerably across countries (Chudgar & Luschei, 2009), supporting the argument of Suter (2000) that because countries vary in both educational institutions and educational performance, we have at least indirect evidence that educational policies can have a substantial effect on the overall performance of a nation's students.…”

Ítems contextualizados de PISA Ciencias: La conexión entre las demandas cognitivas y las características de contexto de los ítems

“…A pesar del uso generalizado de los contextos en los ítems, algunos (Ahmed & Pollitt, 2001;Gerofsky, 1996;Wiliam, 1997) han puesto en duda las suposiciones que les subyacen debido a la falta de conocimiento sobre este tipo de ítems (Haladyna, 1994;pero véase Ahmed & Pollitt, 1999, 2000Mevarech & Stern, 1997). Por ejemplo, ¿sabemos qué tipos de contextos se utilizan en ítems de ciencia?, ¿sabemos cómo el grado de contextualización puede facilitar o impedir el desempeño de los estudiantes con capacidades diferentes?, ¿sabemos cómo el grado de contextualización puede afectar el constructo o cómo interactúa con habilidades importantes, tales como el dominio en lectura?…”

Exploring Science Classes and Science Teachers of New York Using Professional Teaching Standards by Korean Teachers

“…(Kim et al, 2008;Zhou and Peverly, 2004;Zhou et al, 2000;Leung, 2006) and suggested reasons why Asian and American students have different achievement gaps (Suter, 2000;Lee, 1998). These studies have investigated a wide range of reasons and noted that teachers' quality is fundamental to ensuring students' success.…”