Pub Date : 2026-02-13DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101581
Isa Steinmann , Rolf Strietholt
Gender gaps in reading achievement have been consistently documented across countries and over time, with girls typically outperforming boys. However, explanations for cross-national and temporal variation in these gaps remain limited. This study addresses this research gap using international large-scale assessment data from 56 countries over a 46-year time span, representing the most comprehensive analysis of its kind to date. We examine whether country-level trends in gender differences in reading behavior predict corresponding trends in gender gaps in reading achievement. Using fixed-effects regression models, we find that shifts in gender gaps in free time reading frequency are significantly associated with shifts in reading achievement gaps, even after accounting for potential confounders. Our findings provide empirical support for the Gender Similarity Hypothesis, emphasizing the role of social and behavioral factors. The study offers valuable implications for educational policy aiming to reduce gender disparities in literacy outcomes.
{"title":"Reading more, achieving more? Long-term gender gaps in reading behavior and reading achievement","authors":"Isa Steinmann , Rolf Strietholt","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101581","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101581","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gender gaps in reading achievement have been consistently documented across countries and over time, with girls typically outperforming boys. However, explanations for cross-national and temporal variation in these gaps remain limited. This study addresses this research gap using international large-scale assessment data from 56 countries over a 46-year time span, representing the most comprehensive analysis of its kind to date. We examine whether country-level trends in gender differences in reading behavior predict corresponding trends in gender gaps in reading achievement. Using fixed-effects regression models, we find that shifts in gender gaps in free time reading frequency are significantly associated with shifts in reading achievement gaps, even after accounting for potential confounders. Our findings provide empirical support for the Gender Similarity Hypothesis, emphasizing the role of social and behavioral factors. The study offers valuable implications for educational policy aiming to reduce gender disparities in literacy outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101581"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-13DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101580
Sejin Park , Youngeun An
This study investigates how the proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged middle school students demonstrating academic resilience changes over three years in Korea. Using panel data from the Korean Education Longitudinal Study 2013 (KELS 2013), growth mixture models identify three trajectory groups—general (91.4 %), growth (5.4 %), and sustained resilience (3.2 %). Findings reveal a decline in resilience over time, with academic self-concept, study-related stress, and reading frequency as significant predictors. At the school level, private schools in urban areas show higher resilience rates. These results highlight the need for targeted academic coaching and equitable support programs in public education.
{"title":"What are the factors that acquire or maintain academic resilience? The case of South Korean middle schools","authors":"Sejin Park , Youngeun An","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101580","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101580","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how the proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged middle school students demonstrating academic resilience changes over three years in Korea. Using panel data from the Korean Education Longitudinal Study 2013 (KELS 2013), growth mixture models identify three trajectory groups—general (91.4 %), growth (5.4 %), and sustained resilience (3.2 %). Findings reveal a decline in resilience over time, with academic self-concept, study-related stress, and reading frequency as significant predictors. At the school level, private schools in urban areas show higher resilience rates. These results highlight the need for targeted academic coaching and equitable support programs in public education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101580"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gender gaps in mathematics achievement vary significantly across countries and over time, with particularly large gaps disadvantaging girls in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This study examines changes in gender disparities in mathematics achievement among 15-year-olds across 10 LAC countries between 2006 and 2022, using PISA-OECD data. Employing a repeated cross-sectional design and fixed-effects models, we analyze trends and contextual moderators of gender gaps, including socioeconomic status (SES) and rurality. Results show that while boys continue to outperform girls in most LAC countries, the average gender gap narrowed over time in the region, mainly through improvements in girls’ performance led by Brazil and Colombia. Also, gender disparities are generally stable across socioeconomic quintiles and larger in urban areas, while mid-SES and rural settings exhibit smaller but still significant gaps. These findings highlight the complex intersection of gender, SES, and geography in shaping educational inequalities in the region.
{"title":"Pathways to gender equity in Latin America and the Caribbean: A comparative analysis of trends in mathematics gender gaps using PISA data","authors":"Lorena Ortega , Matías Montero , Álvaro Romero , Catalina Canals , Alejandra Mizala","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101579","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101579","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gender gaps in mathematics achievement vary significantly across countries and over time, with particularly large gaps disadvantaging girls in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This study examines changes in gender disparities in mathematics achievement among 15-year-olds across 10 LAC countries between 2006 and 2022, using PISA-OECD data. Employing a repeated cross-sectional design and fixed-effects models, we analyze trends and contextual moderators of gender gaps, including socioeconomic status (SES) and rurality. Results show that while boys continue to outperform girls in most LAC countries, the average gender gap narrowed over time in the region, mainly through improvements in girls’ performance led by Brazil and Colombia. Also, gender disparities are generally stable across socioeconomic quintiles and larger in urban areas, while mid-SES and rural settings exhibit smaller but still significant gaps. These findings highlight the complex intersection of gender, SES, and geography in shaping educational inequalities in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101579"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101583
Funda Örnek , Ernest Afari
PISA-based research has often concluded that students’ ICT use is weakly, inconsistently, or negatively related to academic achievement, reinforcing the assumption that technology investments deliver limited learning benefits. This study challenges that conclusion by arguing that such findings stem from treating ICT engagement as a homogeneous and linear exposure rather than as a differentiated, psychologically mediated learning condition. Grounded in social cognitive, cognitive load, and engagement theories, we conceptualize ICT effects as conditional on both the mode and intensity of use and students’ digital self-efficacy. Analyzing PISA 2022 data from Türkiye, an emerging-economy context with large-scale ICT reforms, it is shown that ICT engagement exhibits systematically different relationships with mathematics and science achievement. Academically oriented ICT use outside the classroom is positively associated with achievement, whereas leisure-oriented ICT use is negatively associated, demonstrating that increased ICT exposure alone does not improve learning. Moreover, these relationships are non-linear. Moderate, purposeful ICT use is beneficial, but higher levels yield diminishing or adverse returns, offering a theoretical explanation for the mixed results reported in prior PISA studies. Crucially, digital self-efficacy mediates key ICT–achievement pathways, indicating that ICT contributes to learning primarily by strengthening students’ confidence and capacity to use digital tools strategically. By integrating differentiated ICT use, non-linear effects, and psychological mediation within a single explanatory framework, this study advances PISA-based ICT research beyond access- and usage-frequency models. The findings reframe ICT not as a general educational input but as a pedagogically contingent resource whose effectiveness depends on learner readiness and instructional purpose, with direct implications for digital education policy in expanding systems.
{"title":"Evaluating the effects of ICT engagement on science and mathematics achievement: Evidence from PISA 2022 using structural equation modeling","authors":"Funda Örnek , Ernest Afari","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101583","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101583","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>PISA-based research has often concluded that students’ ICT use is weakly, inconsistently, or negatively related to academic achievement, reinforcing the assumption that technology investments deliver limited learning benefits. This study challenges that conclusion by arguing that such findings stem from treating ICT engagement as a homogeneous and linear exposure rather than as a differentiated, psychologically mediated learning condition. Grounded in social cognitive, cognitive load, and engagement theories, we conceptualize ICT effects as conditional on both the mode and intensity of use and students’ digital self-efficacy. Analyzing PISA 2022 data from Türkiye, an emerging-economy context with large-scale ICT reforms, it is shown that ICT engagement exhibits systematically different relationships with mathematics and science achievement. Academically oriented ICT use outside the classroom is positively associated with achievement, whereas leisure-oriented ICT use is negatively associated, demonstrating that increased ICT exposure alone does not improve learning. Moreover, these relationships are non-linear. Moderate, purposeful ICT use is beneficial, but higher levels yield diminishing or adverse returns, offering a theoretical explanation for the mixed results reported in prior PISA studies. Crucially, digital self-efficacy mediates key ICT–achievement pathways, indicating that ICT contributes to learning primarily by strengthening students’ confidence and capacity to use digital tools strategically. By integrating differentiated ICT use, non-linear effects, and psychological mediation within a single explanatory framework, this study advances PISA-based ICT research beyond access- and usage-frequency models. The findings reframe ICT not as a general educational input but as a pedagogically contingent resource whose effectiveness depends on learner readiness and instructional purpose, with direct implications for digital education policy in expanding systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101583"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101572
Turgay Han , Ying Zheng
This study examines the reliability and consistency of AutoMarkGPT, a customized version of ChatGPT-4.0, in scoring postgraduate writing assignments across multiple time intervals. While Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) tools and AI models are increasingly utilized in educational contexts, prior research has largely relied on standard models and one-time scoring sessions. Addressing this gap, the study compares AutoMarkGPT’s performance with that of four human raters who assessed the same 97 assignments. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research integrates quantitative analysis, including t-tests, correlations, and Many-Facet Rasch Measurement via Facets, with qualitative data from post-rating interviews. Results reveal that AutoMarkGPT provided more consistent and generally higher scores than human raters, who demonstrated stricter grading and greater variability due to subjective factors, such as rubric interpretation and professional background. However, AI showed mild fluctuations in scores over time. Findings suggest that blending AI and human input could enhance assessment reliability, provided continuous rater training is ensured.
{"title":"AI and human scoring for postgraduate writing: Evaluating score reliability, variability, and rater behaviours","authors":"Turgay Han , Ying Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101572","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101572","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the reliability and consistency of AutoMarkGPT, a customized version of ChatGPT-4.0, in scoring postgraduate writing assignments across multiple time intervals. While Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) tools and AI models are increasingly utilized in educational contexts, prior research has largely relied on standard models and one-time scoring sessions. Addressing this gap, the study compares AutoMarkGPT’s performance with that of four human raters who assessed the same 97 assignments. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research integrates quantitative analysis, including t-tests, correlations, and Many-Facet Rasch Measurement via Facets, with qualitative data from post-rating interviews. Results reveal that AutoMarkGPT provided more consistent and generally higher scores than human raters, who demonstrated stricter grading and greater variability due to subjective factors, such as rubric interpretation and professional background. However, AI showed mild fluctuations in scores over time. Findings suggest that blending AI and human input could enhance assessment reliability, provided continuous rater training is ensured.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101572"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101578
Ying Zhan , Zi Yan , Ye Zeng , Wenyun Luo , Zhi Hong Wan
The effectiveness of feedback practices in educational settings depends critically on the feedback literacy of both students and teachers. Accurately assessing feedback literacy levels is essential for facilitating teachers and students to plan for a better feedback experience. This systematic review synthesised 17 scales measuring feedback literacy through analysing their structure and psychometric properties. Our analysis revealed a predominant focus on student feedback literacy scales in a general higher education context. Furthermore, existing scales primarily assessed capacities and dispositions, often overlooking the knowledge component. Current teacher feedback literacy scales do not fully include the key elements that teachers need to help students improve their feedback literacy. While evaluations of these scales generally indicated acceptable to good psychometric reliability and validity, opportunities for methodological improvement exist, such as using multiple reliability assessment methods and conducting Rasch analysis. To improve measurement accuracy, direct tests or more behavioural indicators should be considered in scale design.
{"title":"A systematic review of feedback literacy scales: Development and validation","authors":"Ying Zhan , Zi Yan , Ye Zeng , Wenyun Luo , Zhi Hong Wan","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101578","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101578","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The effectiveness of feedback practices in educational settings depends critically on the feedback literacy of both students and teachers. Accurately assessing feedback literacy levels is essential for facilitating teachers and students to plan for a better feedback experience. This systematic review synthesised 17 scales measuring feedback literacy through analysing their structure and psychometric properties. Our analysis revealed a predominant focus on student feedback literacy scales in a general higher education context. Furthermore, existing scales primarily assessed capacities and dispositions, often overlooking the knowledge component. Current teacher feedback literacy scales do not fully include the key elements that teachers need to help students improve their feedback literacy. While evaluations of these scales generally indicated acceptable to good psychometric reliability and validity, opportunities for methodological improvement exist, such as using multiple reliability assessment methods and conducting Rasch analysis. To improve measurement accuracy, direct tests or more behavioural indicators should be considered in scale design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101578"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-07DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101570
Nathalie Vigna, Giuliana Parente, Moris Triventi
This study examines whether standardization increases academic performance and reduces achievement inequalities in primary education. We analyze standardization from a multidimensional perspective, considering educational inputs, such as the national curriculum, and outputs, such as central exams.
We use data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) for 2006, 2011, and 2016, covering 43 countries and nearly 700,000 fourth-grade students. For each country and year, we construct a novel index of curriculum standardization and examine the presence of central exams. Using an innovative two-step multilevel meta-regression strategy, we assess the role of standardization in shaping average reading performance and multiple measures of test score inequality.
Results reveal substantial cross-national differences in standardization practices but no consistent relationship between curricular or assessment standardization and reading proficiency or inequality. Although within-country temporal variation is limited, findings remain robust across specifications, challenging the assumption that standardization alone promotes educational equity or effectiveness in primary education.
{"title":"Curriculum standardization, central exams and achievement inequalities in primary education: A cross-national longitudinal study","authors":"Nathalie Vigna, Giuliana Parente, Moris Triventi","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101570","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101570","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines whether standardization increases academic performance and reduces achievement inequalities in primary education. We analyze standardization from a multidimensional perspective, considering educational inputs, such as the national curriculum, and outputs, such as central exams.</div><div>We use data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) for 2006, 2011, and 2016, covering 43 countries and nearly 700,000 fourth-grade students. For each country and year, we construct a novel index of curriculum standardization and examine the presence of central exams. Using an innovative two-step multilevel meta-regression strategy, we assess the role of standardization in shaping average reading performance and multiple measures of test score inequality.</div><div>Results reveal substantial cross-national differences in standardization practices but no consistent relationship between curricular or assessment standardization and reading proficiency or inequality. Although within-country temporal variation is limited, findings remain robust across specifications, challenging the assumption that standardization alone promotes educational equity or effectiveness in primary education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101570"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-03DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101565
Jing Ning , JIAWEI LIU
The quality of kindergarten curricula is fundamental to promoting the holistic development of young children. However, existing physical education (PE) curriculum evaluation systems often face challenges due to the strong subjectivity of evaluation criteria and insufficient methodological systematization. To address these limitations, this study introduces an innovative integrated model combining Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and the Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) for assessing the quality of kindergarten PE curricula. This framework first employs QFD to systematically identify and translate the curriculum needs of diverse stakeholders—including parents, teachers, and administrators—into precise, quantifiable evaluation indicators. Subsequently, the Fuzzy TOPSIS method is applied to process the evaluation data, aiming to enhance the comprehensiveness and objectivity of the assessment framework. Comprehensiveness is achieved through QFD's systematic translation of multi-stakeholder requirements, while objectivity is ensured by Fuzzy TOPSIS quantifying uncertainties inherent in the evaluation, supported by a hybrid weighting method combining subjective and objective elements. Empirical validation involving five representative kindergartens demonstrates that this model not only provides relatively scientific and accurate assessments of PE curriculum quality but also precisely identifies specific strengths and weaknesses of the curricula, thereby generating actionable recommendations for improvement. Through this pioneering approach, this study contributes to advancing early childhood PE curriculum evaluation practices and provides support for enhancing the quality standards of kindergarten PE curricula.
{"title":"Breaking new ground in PE evaluation: A novel QFD-fuzzy TOPSIS fusion model for kindergarten curriculum quality assessment","authors":"Jing Ning , JIAWEI LIU","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101565","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101565","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The quality of kindergarten curricula is fundamental to promoting the holistic development of young children. However, existing physical education (PE) curriculum evaluation systems often face challenges due to the strong subjectivity of evaluation criteria and insufficient methodological systematization. To address these limitations, this study introduces an innovative integrated model combining Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and the Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) for assessing the quality of kindergarten PE curricula. This framework first employs QFD to systematically identify and translate the curriculum needs of diverse stakeholders—including parents, teachers, and administrators—into precise, quantifiable evaluation indicators. Subsequently, the Fuzzy TOPSIS method is applied to process the evaluation data, aiming to enhance the comprehensiveness and objectivity of the assessment framework. Comprehensiveness is achieved through QFD's systematic translation of multi-stakeholder requirements, while objectivity is ensured by Fuzzy TOPSIS quantifying uncertainties inherent in the evaluation, supported by a hybrid weighting method combining subjective and objective elements. Empirical validation involving five representative kindergartens demonstrates that this model not only provides relatively scientific and accurate assessments of PE curriculum quality but also precisely identifies specific strengths and weaknesses of the curricula, thereby generating actionable recommendations for improvement. Through this pioneering approach, this study contributes to advancing early childhood PE curriculum evaluation practices and provides support for enhancing the quality standards of kindergarten PE curricula.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101565"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-30DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101574
Glen Molenberghs , Roos Van Gasse , Sven De Maeyer , Evelyn Goffin , Jan Vanhoof
School performance data can inform school improvement. However, data-informed decision-making is a complex and fundamentally interpretative process. This study examines school leaders’ and teacher’ attributions when making sense of their norm-referenced school’s performance on the Flemish central reading comprehension test. Our focus within these attributions lies on the dimensions of locus of causality and controllability. Framework analysis was applied to data from 24 semi-structured interviews. Findings reveal a dominance of external attributions, although internal factors were recognised as well, particularly at the teaching and school practice levels. Controllability emerged as a key factor for follow-up actions decisions. Furthermore, examination of attributional differences between population-referenced and group-referenced comparisons reveals that the latter tend to foster internal and external controllable attributions. By shedding light on the role of attribution processes, this study advances the broader discourse on data-informed decision-making for school improvement both theoretically and practically. Directions for further research are addressed.
{"title":"School leaders’ and teachers’ attributions in making sense of norm-referenced school performance data. Do benchmarks matter?","authors":"Glen Molenberghs , Roos Van Gasse , Sven De Maeyer , Evelyn Goffin , Jan Vanhoof","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>School performance data can inform school improvement. However, data-informed decision-making is a complex and fundamentally interpretative process. This study examines school leaders’ and teacher’ attributions when making sense of their norm-referenced school’s performance on the Flemish central reading comprehension test. Our focus within these attributions lies on the dimensions of locus of causality and controllability. Framework analysis was applied to data from 24 semi-structured interviews. Findings reveal a dominance of external attributions, although internal factors were recognised as well, particularly at the teaching and school practice levels. Controllability emerged as a key factor for follow-up actions decisions. Furthermore, examination of attributional differences between population-referenced and group-referenced comparisons reveals that the latter tend to foster internal and external controllable attributions. By shedding light on the role of attribution processes, this study advances the broader discourse on data-informed decision-making for school improvement both theoretically and practically. Directions for further research are addressed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101574"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146077759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-30DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101568
Erika Majoros
A growing body of recent research suggests that in wealthier and more gender-egalitarian countries, gender differences in attitudes to, graduation rates in, and occupational preferences for disciplines related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are larger. These findings contradict the gender stratification hypothesis, i.e., that enhancing gender equality reduces the gender gaps disadvantaging girls. This study examines the educational-gender-equality paradox concerning motivation for learning mathematics using country-level panel data analysis. The analysis expands the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study’s twenty-year cognitive trend scale by including the Second International Mathematics Study. We apply a market-basket approach with item response theory modeling to construct comparable motivation scales of the student questionnaires that account for both cultural and longitudinal differences. Our results suggest that the economic development of a country is associated with the country-level gender gap in intrinsic motivation, potentially influencing pupils with a lower parental education background more.
{"title":"Trends in mathematics motivation between 1980 and 2015: Exploring the educational-gender-equality paradox over time","authors":"Erika Majoros","doi":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101568","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101568","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A growing body of recent research suggests that in wealthier and more gender-egalitarian countries, gender differences in attitudes to, graduation rates in, and occupational preferences for disciplines related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are larger. These findings contradict the gender stratification hypothesis, i.e., that enhancing gender equality reduces the gender gaps disadvantaging girls. This study examines the educational-gender-equality paradox concerning motivation for learning mathematics using country-level panel data analysis. The analysis expands the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study’s twenty-year cognitive trend scale by including the Second International Mathematics Study. We apply a market-basket approach with item response theory modeling to construct comparable motivation scales of the student questionnaires that account for both cultural and longitudinal differences. Our results suggest that the economic development of a country is associated with the country-level gender gap in intrinsic motivation, potentially influencing pupils with a lower parental education background more.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47539,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Educational Evaluation","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 101568"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146077754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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