Page 60 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 60
Table 2 reveals that mathematics and science achievement in Slovenia are
above the OECD average, whereas reading literacy achievement is below the
average of the OECD countries in 2009 and 2012. The table also shows the per-
centage of low-achieving Slovenian 15-year-old students, i.e. students who do
not achieve basic competence levels in reading, mathematics and science. In
view of the under-average achievement in reading literacy in comparison with
the other two subjects, one might expect the percentage of 15-year-old stu-
dents with low outcomes to be considerably greater for reading literacy than
for mathematical and scientific literacies. Although it is evident that the per-
centage of low-achieving students is the highest for reading literacy, it is, how-
ever, also evident that in 2009 and 2012 the percentage of 15-year-olds with
low achievement in mathematics is relatively high (approximately 20%). This
highlights a possible need for concern about low achievement in mathemat-
ics as well.
Hereafter in this paper, PISA data about low achievement in Slovenia will
be analysed in more detail, with the aim of determining the factors that are
associated with (low) achievement. Factors influencing the achievement are
60 in PISA investigated in more detail in the cycle where most of the tasks are
focused on a certain field; data on reading factors, for instance, were collect-
ed as part of PISA 2009. As data on factors associated with the three domains
are not available in every cycle, the focus of this paper will be limited to one
domain only, i.e. reading. This field seems to be the logical choice as the rela-
tive achievement in reading of Slovenian 15-year-old students in internation-
al comparisons is the lowest. On the other hand, in spite of an exponential
growth of modern technology reading remains a fundamental competency,
which gives access to an ever increasing amount of information. The 2009 da-
ta enables research of a wide selection of reading-related factors, hence this
data will be used. Since the PISA assessment in 2012 revealed that the results
in Slovenia had not changed considerably in the period before that, it may be
concluded that the general findings based on the 2009 data will most likely re-
main relevant at least for the coming few years.
Achievement in reading is impacted by – or in other words is related to
– a number of factors (e.g. Kotte, Lietz and Martinez Lopez, 2005; Row, 1995).
These factors can originate in students’ home or school environments, or in
their opinions and points of view. Some factors covered by PISA 2009 stem
from students’ current school environment. In Slovenia, this is a school envi-
ronment which students have generally only been part of for a few months
– over 90% of 15-year-olds in Slovenia are in Year 1 of upper secondary school
(Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, 2014a, 2014b). As such, the PI-
SA data describe the present situation of these students, but much less so the
conditions that existed when students’ reading was being developed. Accord-
ingly, the focus of this paper will be limited to those factors measured in PISA
student (under)achievement: perspectives, approaches, challenges
above the OECD average, whereas reading literacy achievement is below the
average of the OECD countries in 2009 and 2012. The table also shows the per-
centage of low-achieving Slovenian 15-year-old students, i.e. students who do
not achieve basic competence levels in reading, mathematics and science. In
view of the under-average achievement in reading literacy in comparison with
the other two subjects, one might expect the percentage of 15-year-old stu-
dents with low outcomes to be considerably greater for reading literacy than
for mathematical and scientific literacies. Although it is evident that the per-
centage of low-achieving students is the highest for reading literacy, it is, how-
ever, also evident that in 2009 and 2012 the percentage of 15-year-olds with
low achievement in mathematics is relatively high (approximately 20%). This
highlights a possible need for concern about low achievement in mathemat-
ics as well.
Hereafter in this paper, PISA data about low achievement in Slovenia will
be analysed in more detail, with the aim of determining the factors that are
associated with (low) achievement. Factors influencing the achievement are
60 in PISA investigated in more detail in the cycle where most of the tasks are
focused on a certain field; data on reading factors, for instance, were collect-
ed as part of PISA 2009. As data on factors associated with the three domains
are not available in every cycle, the focus of this paper will be limited to one
domain only, i.e. reading. This field seems to be the logical choice as the rela-
tive achievement in reading of Slovenian 15-year-old students in internation-
al comparisons is the lowest. On the other hand, in spite of an exponential
growth of modern technology reading remains a fundamental competency,
which gives access to an ever increasing amount of information. The 2009 da-
ta enables research of a wide selection of reading-related factors, hence this
data will be used. Since the PISA assessment in 2012 revealed that the results
in Slovenia had not changed considerably in the period before that, it may be
concluded that the general findings based on the 2009 data will most likely re-
main relevant at least for the coming few years.
Achievement in reading is impacted by – or in other words is related to
– a number of factors (e.g. Kotte, Lietz and Martinez Lopez, 2005; Row, 1995).
These factors can originate in students’ home or school environments, or in
their opinions and points of view. Some factors covered by PISA 2009 stem
from students’ current school environment. In Slovenia, this is a school envi-
ronment which students have generally only been part of for a few months
– over 90% of 15-year-olds in Slovenia are in Year 1 of upper secondary school
(Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, 2014a, 2014b). As such, the PI-
SA data describe the present situation of these students, but much less so the
conditions that existed when students’ reading was being developed. Accord-
ingly, the focus of this paper will be limited to those factors measured in PISA
student (under)achievement: perspectives, approaches, challenges
