111
VARIABLES Reading Math Science
STR -1.110 -0.844 -1.113
(1.063) (0.884) (0.947)
School size 0.00299 0.00734 0.00266
(0.00598) (0.00528) (0.00569)
Average disciplinary climate in school 55.31** 54.52** 47.63**
(10.32) (9.908) (8.886)
st19q01 20.82** -11.54** 8.377*
(4.347) (4.200) (4.080)
Parent’s education: upper secondary 9.204* 9.922** 13.24**
(4.052) (3.513) (3.793)
Parent’s education: Tertiary 12.37* 12.16* 18.53**
(5.953) (4.892) (5.316)
Constant 182.9** 358.2** 389.1**
(68.31) (60.91) (63.24)
Note: *Significant at 10%; **significant at 5%; ***significant at 1%. Cluster-robust standard
errors are reported in parentheses.
Table 3.2.5 re-estimates the OLS regression models separately for sample children from poor
(bottom two wealth quartiles) and non-poor (top two wealth quartiles) families. Family wealth
matters significantly for both groups once again confirming significant inequality in learning
outcomes owing to differences in economic conditions at home. However, achievement gaps are
much larger between wealth groups than within. This is also reflected in the differential effect
of parental education. In poor households, parental education is low and the contribution of
parental education to their children’s educational performance is also insignificant. The other
noticeable result from Table 3.2.1 is the striking difference in the role of pre-primary school
attendance on student achievement at the secondary level. The coefficients on pre-school
variable are much larger in the sample children from non-poor families (top 2 wealth quartiles)
compared to those from poor families. Gender gap in achievement is also more pronounced in
the latter group, highlighting a serious issue i.e. under-performance of boys from poorer
families.
Table 3.2.5: Determinants of Student Achievement in Math, Reading and Science by Family
Wealth, PISA 2012
VARIABLES
Poor Non-Poor
Reading Math Science Reading Math Science
Wealth 11.60** 11.22** 8.074** 8.753** 11.62** 9.988**
(2.913) (2.558) (2.451) (3.225) (2.880) (2.980)
Girl 40.04** 4.009 9.914** 31.19** 1.374 3.663
(3.638) (3.239) (3.280) (3.511) (3.481) (3.549)
Age 9.800+ 0.214 -0.277 15.34** 6.857 6.980
(5.011) (4.602) (4.969) (5.820) (4.631) (5.160)
Attended pre-school 6.461+ 9.011** 6.128+ 20.77** 16.05** 14.12**
(3.571) (2.826) (3.258) (5.654) (5.068) (5.230)
Learning minutes (in language
lessons) 0.182** 0.165** 0.124** 0.103**
0.0852*
* 0.0448