Characteristics of High- and Low-Performing Students

Many governments are interested in improving the overall attainment of their school students and in delivering quality education for all that improves the life opportunities of their populations. In addition to comparing average student achievement with similar economies, looking in depth at the factors that affect variation in student performance and underlie student achievement gaps can provide important information to support educational improvement. Students that find it difficult to perform even basic mathematical computations or understand elementary scientific concepts may be left behind if they do not receive specific help in the early years of education to lay the foundations for later school years. At the same time, it is also important to foster the talents of students that are gifted in mathematics and science, as this group are likely to become an important part of the future work force. IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) can be used to analyze aspects of student achievement and the background factors that influence how students learn about mathematics and science. Such data can be used to evaluate the proportions, competencies, and characteristics of these groups of high- and low-performing students across the Dinaric region. The competencies of the two groups can be established by analyzing student proficiency levels relative to the TIMSS international benchmarks in mathematics and science. Analyzing the characteristics of these high- and low-performing students revealed that there were considerable differences in the proportions of grade four students lying at either end of the TIMSS achievement distribution across the Dinaric region. For mathematics, boys tended form a higher proportion of the group of high-achieving students in three of the Dinaric systems, but conversely, in science, boys were more often found in the low-achieving group in three systems. The availability of home resources for learning varied significantly across the participating Dinaric education systems and was found to be positively related to student attainment. Student attitudes towards learning the subjects and student reports of their physical wellbeing on arrival at school were also found to be related to student achievement across the region.