Understanding the low mathematics achievement of Chilean students: A cross -national analysis using TIMSS data

The low performance of Chile in the TIMSS 1999 international study of mathematics and science achievement was a great disappointment. To investigate the likely causes for low performance in mathematics, this study (1) compared Chile to four countries and one large school system that had comparable economic conditions but superior mathematics performance, and (2) examined how important characteristics of the Chilean educational system could account for poor student achievement in mathematics. The results show that, compared to South Korea, Malaysia, the Slovak Republic, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Chilean 8th graders had parents with fewer years of schooling and with fewer educational resources at home. At school, Chilean students were taught by teachers who felt less prepared to teach, and who covered fewer advanced mathematics content in class than teachers in other countries. Analyses using a series of hierarchical linear models show that, in Chile, school assets were unequally distributed across social classes. Schools in socially advantaged areas had more instructional resources and better prepared teachers; these teachers, in turn, emphasized more advanced mathematics content. Schools with their own mathematics curriculum and whose teachers covered more advanced content had significantly higher student achievement in mathematics. This relationship held true even after controlling statistically for the socio-economic level and type of administration (public/private). Regardless of school characteristics, students who (a) expected to graduate from university, (b) thought that doing mathematics was not so difficult, and (c) thought that their academic performance did not depend on good luck or innate talent, attained significantly higher mathematics achievement.