Girls tend to outperform boys in reading tests, while they usually lag behind boys in mathematics. However, the size of the gender gap varies to a great extent between countries. While the existing literature explains these differences as being mainly due to cultural factors, this paper explores whether this cross-country variation is related to…

Background: Research has shown that achievement goals and reading instruction play important roles in students' reading performance. However, little is known about the specific effects of different types of achievement goals and reading instructional practices on reading performance in mainland China. Methods: This study used Programme of…

Background: The current study investigates school contextual effects on students' academic self-concept and achievement, that is, peer socioeconomic effect and big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), in four Nordic education systems (i.e., Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) and selected Chinese education systems (Hong Kong and…

The purpose of the scientific article is aimed at studying the features of students' competence formation at tertiary educational institutions by practical training aids. To reveal the purpose of a scientific article, methods of theoretical analysis and synthesis have been used (to study the theoretical framework of students' competence formation…

This investigation set out to analyse the relation between parents' academic qualifications, profession and role in educating their children and their children's level of efficacy in reading at the end of the adolescent stage, in three states with different socio-cultural contexts, namely Canada, Finland and Singapore. The study is carried out in…

Standardized tests provide information about student achievement that are vital to understanding how well students are learning the state standards. The problem addressed in this study was the underachievement of 52% of third-grade students in the target district in English Language Arts on a state standardized test. Poor reading skills can cause…

The paper uses data from the combined TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) assessment in 2011 to explore the subject-specific strengths and weaknesses among fourth grade students worldwide. Previous research came to the conclusion that students only differed in…

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, causing one of the largest disruptions to schooling in history. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced unprecedented challenges for education research and large-scale assessments of student populations. Both schools and researchers were forced to modify…

Students living in poverty tend to perform worse in school than their peers from better-off families. This paper examines whether computer availability helps narrow down educational inequalities in Slovakia, using TIMSS and PIRLS data. The results show that computer availability in reading lessons improves reading scores and that the effect is…

The language used as a medium of instruction (MOI) has implications for learning outcomes. In most African classrooms, an international language is solely or dominantly used as an MOI. There is a debate about how this practice is associated with students' learning outcomes. This study uses Zambian PISA for Development 2018 data and school fixed…

This report outlines the results of the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in England. PIRLS is an international comparative study directed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. The aim of PIRLS is to assess and compare the reading performance of pupils in their fourth year of…

Background: Students vary in their initial achievement when they enter school and their rate of academic growth as they move through school. These differences have implications for classroom instruction and educational policy. Although previous research has examined initial achievement and growth differences, a gap remains in understanding how…

Rising inequality in the United States has raised concerns about potentially widening gaps in educational achievement by socioeconomic status (SES). Using assessments from LTT-NAEP, Main-NAEP, TIMSS, and PISA that are psychometrically linked over time, we trace trends in SES gaps in achievement for U.S. student cohorts born between 1961 and 2001.…

The dual-language bilingual program in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) is intended to facilitate emergent bilinguals (EBs) integration into the regular school curriculum and ensure access to equal educational opportunities, while promoting biliteracy and bilingualism for both EBs and native English speakers. The dual-language (DL)…

As an independent school district, Houston Independent School District (HISD) contracted with four operators of seven External Performance Contract Campuses, or contract campuses. Houston ISD contract campuses receive funding through the district. HISD has implemented a comprehensive performance accountability and compliance monitoring system that…