| Doug Willms
University of New Brunswick
Domain-specific mathematics achievement and socioeconomic gradients: An international perspective
FINAL REPORT:
A major concern among educators in the United States is the relatively poor performance of students in international assessments, especially in mathematics. Miuch of the discussion regarding this poor performance concerns domain-specific achievement and the school and classroom practices associated with mathematics achievement. Also, there is growing evidence indicating that variation among schooling systems in achievement levels is determined mainly by their success with disadvantaged students. If this is the case, then we need to understand how students of differing status perform across different domains of mathematics achievement, and whether their performance is related to particular schooling processes. Moreover, understanding the processes through which schooling systems affect the achievement levels of students of different status is fundamental to explaining school effects. This study will use data from TIMSS to compare levels of domain-specific achievement and the relationship between achievement and socioeconomic status across twelve OECD countries, and among jurisdictions (states and provinces) in the US and Canada. It will also attempt to explain observed variation with various measures of schooling proceses pertaining to teacher instructional practices, curriculum coverage, amount of homework, school climate, and tracking. It is expected that this research will contribute to the dialogue about why gradients in education differ among countries, and among states and provinces in the US and Canada. It will also have implications for educators regarding the teaching of mathematics, as it will indicate what curriculum areas are most difficult for disadvantaged students, and for males and females.
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