Does increasing instructional time lead to higher student achievement? Evidence from India

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship of students’ school attendance, gender, and size of their class with their achievement in two subject areas among early grade primary school students in rural India. Second, it examines the extent to which the relationship between students’ attendance and achievement differed by classroom.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted across 1,434 students enrolled in 24 schools in two rural districts. Student attendance on ten days over a five‐month period was examined in relation to their achievement in Math and Hindi. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was employed for analysis.FindingsWhen examined across all students, attendance had either no relationship or a very weak relationship with achievement scores. However, the relationship between attendance and achievement varied significantly by classroom, indicating that students’ achievement differed by which teacher they had for class. Across all grades and subjects, boys out‐scored girls on the achievement test at levels that were statistically significant but too small to have much practical importance.Originality/valueThe paper's findings indicate that the teacher is a key factor in determining the relationship between students’ attendance and their achievement. Results support the argument that the quality of teaching may need to precede an emphasis on promoting student attendance and shrinking class size. It is not that these things are unimportant; rather, they may be ineffective and a waste of money if quality teaching is not already present.