Exploring the complex relationship between students’ reading skills and their performance in mathematics: a population-based study

Clelia Cascella

doi:10.1080/13803611.2021.1924790

Exploring the complex relationship between students’ reading skills and their performance in mathematics: a population-based study

Clelia Cascella

Social Statistics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Students’ attainment in mathematics is associated with several personal and contextual factors, but little research has been carried out to explore the intersectionality between them. The current paper aims to fill this gap. Census assessment data collected in Italy at Grade 10 (on average, 15-year-old students) by the Italian national institute for the evaluation of the educational system were analysed via a multilevel regression model to account for data hierarchy (422,865 students in 24,279 classrooms, in 3,950 schools). Census data in educational research allowed exploration of the intersectionality between independent variables at different levels of the model’s hierarchy. Results showed that reading skills mediate the relationship between students’ attainment in mathematics and their gender, citizenship status, and socioeconomic status (SES). Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	126-149
Number of pages	24
Journal	Educational Research and Evaluation
Volume	26
Issue number	3-4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2021.1924790
Publication status	Published - 18 May 2020

Keywords

Mathematics
gender
multilevel modelling
reading
socioeconomic

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/13803611.2021.1924790

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title = "Exploring the complex relationship between students{\textquoteright} reading skills and their performance in mathematics: a population-based study",

abstract = "Students{\textquoteright} attainment in mathematics is associated with several personal and contextual factors, but little research has been carried out to explore the intersectionality between them. The current paper aims to fill this gap. Census assessment data collected in Italy at Grade 10 (on average, 15-year-old students) by the Italian national institute for the evaluation of the educational system were analysed via a multilevel regression model to account for data hierarchy (422,865 students in 24,279 classrooms, in 3,950 schools). Census data in educational research allowed exploration of the intersectionality between independent variables at different levels of the model{\textquoteright}s hierarchy. Results showed that reading skills mediate the relationship between students{\textquoteright} attainment in mathematics and their gender, citizenship status, and socioeconomic status (SES). Implications for policy and practice are discussed.",

keywords = "Mathematics, gender, multilevel modelling, reading, socioeconomic",

author = "Clelia Cascella",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the European Commission under grant number H2020-MSCA-IF-2016/782479 I would like to thank the European Commission for supporting this work and INVALSI for the data. Nevertheless, the views expressed in this work are attributable exclusively to the author and, thereby, in citing the work, it is not appropriate to attribute the arguments expressed herein to the European Commission or to INVALSI. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",

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AU - Cascella, Clelia

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the European Commission under grant number H2020-MSCA-IF-2016/782479 I would like to thank the European Commission for supporting this work and INVALSI for the data. Nevertheless, the views expressed in this work are attributable exclusively to the author and, thereby, in citing the work, it is not appropriate to attribute the arguments expressed herein to the European Commission or to INVALSI. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2020/5/18

Y1 - 2020/5/18

N2 - Students’ attainment in mathematics is associated with several personal and contextual factors, but little research has been carried out to explore the intersectionality between them. The current paper aims to fill this gap. Census assessment data collected in Italy at Grade 10 (on average, 15-year-old students) by the Italian national institute for the evaluation of the educational system were analysed via a multilevel regression model to account for data hierarchy (422,865 students in 24,279 classrooms, in 3,950 schools). Census data in educational research allowed exploration of the intersectionality between independent variables at different levels of the model’s hierarchy. Results showed that reading skills mediate the relationship between students’ attainment in mathematics and their gender, citizenship status, and socioeconomic status (SES). Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

AB - Students’ attainment in mathematics is associated with several personal and contextual factors, but little research has been carried out to explore the intersectionality between them. The current paper aims to fill this gap. Census assessment data collected in Italy at Grade 10 (on average, 15-year-old students) by the Italian national institute for the evaluation of the educational system were analysed via a multilevel regression model to account for data hierarchy (422,865 students in 24,279 classrooms, in 3,950 schools). Census data in educational research allowed exploration of the intersectionality between independent variables at different levels of the model’s hierarchy. Results showed that reading skills mediate the relationship between students’ attainment in mathematics and their gender, citizenship status, and socioeconomic status (SES). Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

KW - Mathematics

KW - gender

KW - multilevel modelling

KW - reading

KW - socioeconomic

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EP - 149

JO - Educational Research and Evaluation

JF - Educational Research and Evaluation

IS - 3-4

ER -

Exploring the complex relationship between students’ reading skills and their performance in mathematics: a population-based study

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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