This week we provide a link to the most recently released TIMSS report. Although still based on data from 1995, the analysis of effective schools, looking at both home background variables, and classroom related variables is fairly new. The following is excerpted from their abstract.
"'Effective Schools in Science and Mathematics' presents analyses of the TIMSS 1995 eighth grade data aimed at helping understand what makes some schools more effective than others. The results show that classroom-related variables are related to average school achievement even after adjusting for the home background of the students in the school. However the strong relationship that persists between the average level of home background and adjusted student achievement also serves as a reminder that, in many countries, home background, schooling, and student achievement are closely intertwined, and that teasing out the influences of the various contributing factors remains a major challenge."
