correlation between pre-primary education and achievements in pisa 2009 joel rapp, phd amihai rigbi...

ה" ראמ The National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education

Correlation between Pre-primary Education and Achievements in PISA

2009

Joel Rapp, PhDAmihai Rigbi, PhD

Accession Seminar for IsraelOECD/Ministry of Education

22-23 November 2011Caesarea, Israel


PISA in Israel

• Israel has participated in PISA studies since 2002 (PISA+), including in 2006 and in 2009, and it will also participate in 2012.

• 5761 students participated in the 2009 study.

• These students constituted a representative sample of 15-year-old students in Israel (with the exception of ultra-orthodox boys).


The Pre-primary Education (PPE) System in Israel

• Israel’s Ministry of Education and local authorities finance PPE starting at the age of five (in some cases, at the age of three).

• PPE is divided into the following two stages:– Pre-kindergarten (ages 3-5).– Kindergarten/pre-elementary school (ages 5-6).

According to Israeli law, parents must ensure that their children go through the latter PPE stage. Pre-kindergarten, on the other hand, is not compulsory.


Information about PPE from PISA 2009• The Student Questionnaire of the 2009 survey included a question

regarding PPE:

• In the context of the Israeli educational system, those who checked the RED encircled statement were assumed to have attended pre-elementary school only (age 5), while those who checked the BROWN encircled statement were assumed to have attended pre-kindergarten as well (ages 3-4).

Response rate96%


Analysis of PPE Status and PISA Achievements

• A substantial part of the PISA 2009 report is dedicated to explaining the relationship found between the PISA achievements and background data.

• In the context of PPE, it was found that:

OECD (2010), PISA 2009 results: overcoming social background-equity in learning opportunities and outcomes (Volume II). http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264091504-en (pp. 95-99).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264091504-en


Correlation between PPE and Reading Achievement

Israel manifested the largest difference in reading achievements between students who had attended PPE and those who had not.


Correlation between PPE and Math and Science Achievements

Reading Math Science0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

122

111 115

91

79 82

Differences in PISA 2009 reading, math and science scores as a function of PPE

Difference not controlled for ESCSDifference cotrolled for ESCS

PISA

scor

e di

ffere

nce

• Differences of a similar magnitude, as a function of PPE attendance, were also found in math and science achievements.


Present Study: Aims and Methods• The present study sought to understand and

explain the pronounced differences in PISA 2009 achievements found in Israel between students who had attended PPE and those who had not.

• This aim was achieved by re-analyzing Israel’s data, taking into consideration the students’ ethnic background (Hebrew- vs. Arabic-speaking students).

• In Israel, there is a pronounced difference in educational outcomes between Hebrew-speaking and Arabic-speaking students.


PISA Achievements and Ethnic Background in Israel

• On average, the Arabic-speaking students scored about 100 points less than the Hebrew-speaking students. These results are consistent throughout the PISA studies and apply to the three fields of literacy measured in PISA.


Distribution of PPE Attendance in Israel (1)

No PPE PPE ≤ 1 yr PPE > 1 yr0

102030405060708090

5

21

74

All Israel

%


102030405060708090

16

49

35

Students in Arabic-speaking schools

%


102030405060708090

212

86

Students in Hebrew-speaking schools

%



• In Israel, the attendance rate of PPE for more than one year is very similar to the equivalent rate in OECD countries (74% and 72%, respectively).

• However, PPE attendance for more than one year is much more prevalent among Hebrew-speaking students than among Arabic-speaking students (86% and 35%, respectively).

• Not attending PPE is rare in the Hebrew-speaking sector (2%), while in the Arabic-speaking sector it is more common and reaches 16%.



Total number of students who attended PPE for more

than one year (4072)

Total number of students who did not attend PPE at

all (296)

Total number of responses (5506)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

89%

32%

77%

11%

68%

23%

Chart Title

Hebrew speaking studentsArabic speaking students

• Once again, it can be seen that most of the students who did not attend PPE at all belong to the Arabic-speaking sector, while most of the students who attended PPE for more than one year belong to the Hebrew-speaking sector.


Characteristics of Students Who Did Not Attend PPE

• In both sectors: lower ESCS, greater proportion of ninth-graders.

• In the Hebrew-speaking sector: about half are immigrants (mainly from Ethiopia), greater proportion of boys and greater proportion of students from religious schools.

• In the Arabic-speaking sector : greater proportion of Bedouin students.


PISA Reading Achievements as a Function of ESCS


• The results show a consistent difference of about 40 points (for Arabic-speaking students), and 45 points (for Hebrew-speaking students), in reading achievements between students who attended PPE and those who did not.

• These differences are stable along the entire ESCS range.

• Similar results were found in science literacy.• Somewhat smaller differences were found in math

literacy: 25 points (Arabic); 30 points (Hebrew).

PISA Reading Achievements as a Function of ESCS (2)


• In the Hebrew-speaking sector there was also a slight difference (of about 5 score points), between the two levels of PPE attendance, while in the Arabic-speaking sector the difference was between the levels of none and some PPE attendance.

• Thus, it appears that attending the PPE stage of pre-elementary school (5 years old) is the critical variable in the context of PISA achievements.

PISA Reading Achievements as a Function of ESCS (3)


• PISA 2009 reported that significant differences in educational achievements exist between students who had attended PPE ten years earlier and those who had not (even after accounting for ESCS background).

• Although a casual conclusion cannot be drawn from these results, they are still of high importance to educators, policy makers and researchers.

• PPE plays an important role in the educational continuum. Several studies have indicated a link between the quality of such education and educational and financial success at a later age (e.g. Chetty et al., 2010).

Summary and Conclusions (1)


• Of all participating countries, this difference was the most prominent in Israel.

• However, a cautious analysis revealed that this difference is mainly explained by the sector variable since there are large differences in PISA scores between Hebrew-speaking and Arabic-speaking students.

• Within each language sector, the difference in PISA achievements between students who had and had not attended PPE is about 45 points, and it is stable along the entire ESCS range.

• This difference ranks at about the tenth place among the PISA 2009 participating countries.



• In the wake of the results presented, Israel's Ministry of Education decided to take steps to reduce the number of children who do not attend PPE at all, mainly in the Arab sector.

• The results presented also shed light upon a possible vulnerable population, i.e. students who did not attend PPE. Teachers and educators should be aware of such students when they enter school.



The End

Thank You!

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correlation between pre-primary education and achievements in pisa 2009 joel rapp, phd amihai rigbi...

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