Development of Math and Literacy Achievement Within Lower Secondary School Classrooms: A Multilevel Pattern-Centered Analysis

• In Event: 28.092 - Sheraton Roundtable Two - Osgoode Ballroom
  In Roundtable Session: 28.092-7 - International Perspectives on Math and Literacy Achievement

Abstract

The development of students’ learning, test-taking behavior and academic achievement may derive from the group of peers they are daily associated with for years. By using multilevel latent profile analysis (MLPA) for longitudinal large-scale educational assessment data, the present study provides evidence on how Finnish students (N=5118) from different classrooms (N=443) develop distinct patterns regarding their math and literacy achievement from 7th to 9th grade. Students’ probability of having a certain achievement profile during lower secondary school was found to depend strongly on the school class and the classmates they had at the time. The ‘hidden tracking system’ created by classroom membership may therefore create class level quality differences in the pre-conditions for learning.

Authors

• Elina E. Ketonen, University of Helsinki

• Risto Hotulainen, University of Helsinki