Some Determinants of Early Secondary School Performance

S ummary . This paper reports further analyses of a study of primary/secondary transfer for which certain findings have already been published (Youngman and Lunzer, 1977; Youngman, 1978; Youngman, 1979). Here the concern is to examine the various pupil characteristics that might determine subsequent academic performance in secondary school. It employs covariance regression models rather than the more customary stepwise or complete models and consequently slightly different hypotheses are investigated. Specifically the analyses seek to determine what measures or sets of measures have independent effects on achievement or progress in reading or mathematics. Two samples (N=290 and 359) are analysed separately to test the possible generality of the results obtained. The results presented comprise the two sample correlation matrices, a covariance regression summary table for reading achievement, and summary charts for all four performance criteria analyses. Most of the discussion and interpretation is based on these summary charts. From them it is seen that in spite of differences in intellectual level (Youngman, 1978) variations between the results for the two samples are small. The predominant pattern indicates that neither biographic nor dispositional (that is, attitude or personality) characteristics show any marked independent effect on performance. On the other hand intellectual characteristics show strong effects, both individually and in association with other intellectual measures

Correlation · Covariance · Developmental psychology · Generality · Linguistics · Personality · Reading (process) · Statistics · Test (biology) · Mathematics · Psychology · School Choice and Performance · Social Psychology

• A Meta-Analysis of Gender Differences in Reading Achievement at the Secondary School Level

  Open Access•Petra Lietz•Studies In Educational Evaluation•2006

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