Lasting effects of quality of schooling

Periodical
Intelligence
Volume
57
Year
2016
Page range
66-72
Relates to study/studies
PIAAC Cycle 1
PISA 2012

Lasting effects of quality of schooling

Evidence from PISA and PIAAC

Abstract

The aim was to investigate to what extent quality of compulsory schooling is reflected in adult literacy and numeracy performance levels. Data from five administrations of the PISA survey between 2000 and 2012 for 20 countries were analyzed, along with data from corresponding age cohorts for the same set of countries participating in the cross-sectional PIAAC survey. For each country the PISA data was used to estimate linear achievement trends for literacy, numeracy and science to indicate change in quality of schooling and for the PIAAC data mean differences were computed between a younger and an older age group. The PIAAC performance differences were strongly related to the PISA achievement trends (r = 0.70), and relations held up when controls were introduced for level of education attained (β = 0.55) and for general social and cultural development of the country (β = 0.48). It is concluded that quality of schooling has lasting impact on adult literacy and numeracy performance levels.