Factors Associated with Students` Achievement: A Synthesis of NELS Results

Abstract

This study synthesizes the effect size of variables having association with students’ academic achievement. Correlation coefficients and data derived from comparison categories based on the National Educational Longitudinal Study were converted to effect sizes. It was found that after students’ prior achievement and demographic factors were separated from those of student, school, and family factors, prior achievement became the most significant factor and its mean effect size grew steadily from Grade 8 through 12. The practical implication for educational policy is that when we want to improve the academic achievement of a low-achiever, such as in the implementation of the “No Child Left Behind” policy, the most efficient way would be to diagnose his or her achievement level and find out the deficiency in the basic knowledge that he or she has, and then this achievement level can be used to estimate the starting point for supplementary instruction.

本研究統合分析與學生學業成就有關變項之效應量。作者將從美國國家教育長期追蹤研究所獲得之相關係數與類別比較分數轉換為效應量。研究結果發現，將學生先前成就及人口學變項因素從學校與家庭因素分離後，先前之學業成就成為最顯著之因素，且其平均效應量從第八年級到第十二年級逐年穩定遞增。此對教育政策之實用涵義為當吾人欲改善低成就學生之學業成就時，例如在「把每個孩子帶上來」的教育政策，有效的方法將是先診斷其學業水準，發揭其在基本知識之不足處，並以此成就水準做為輔導教學之起點。