Determinants of Primary School Achievement: An International Comparison Using TIMSS 2011 DATA

Abstract

Measuring educational performance and understanding its determinants are crucial factors in helping the educational community to better understand student output and to guide policy makers in drafting educational policies. Despite the growing number of studies interested in educational output and its determinants in many countries, there are few comparative surveys assessing both developed and developing countries. This article attempts to assess the impact of home environment, school resources and teacher quality on students’ educational achievement at fourth grade across developed and developing countries. In sum up we suggest for developing countries to invest in school resources and teacher quality for exemple ensure that primary school are well equipped with necessary resources and focus on improving teacher quality through better training and adequate compensation. According to developed countries findings suggest that home environment factors like having a computer, desk, personal room, and books—play a crucial role in student performance also consider the impact of parental outcomes and involvement in their children’s education we suggest to implement programs that support parental engagement and address socioeconomic disparities that impact the home learning environment.