What Factors Determine Student Performance in East Asia? New Evidence from the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study

Abstract

This study investigates what factors determine students' academic performance in 5 major Eastern Asian economies. It does so using data gathered through the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. In a regression analysis, we explicitly consider initial maturity differences, endogeneity of class size and peer effects. We find that a student's individual and family backgrounds are key determinants of educational performance, while institutional and resource variables have a more limited effect. Peer effects are significant in general, but ability-sorting at the school and/or class levels makes it difficult to interpret these effects in Hong Kong and Singapore. © 2012 East Asian Economic Association and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.