Title

An Analysis of the Factors that Influence Student Performance: A Fresh Approach to an Old Debate

Author Info

Sanjiv Jaggia, Suffolk UniversityFollow
Alison Kelly-Hawke, Suffolk University

Recommended Citation

Preprint version. Published in Contemporary Economic Policy, Volume 17, Issue 2, April 1, 1999, pages 189-198.

NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Sanjiv Jaggia was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-7287.1999.tb00674.x.

Abstract

There is a general consensus that student performance at all levels has been deteriorating. Despite numerous attempts by researchers to link school expenditures with student performance, a clear relationship does not exist. Since a number of difficulties plague earlier studies, this paper attempts to remedy these problems by offering a better data design and a sounder methodology. This study uses the 1992 Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test scores from 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students to measure student performance. Since each students grade falls into one of five possible categories, the application of an ordered log it model incorporates the natural ordering of the MEAP scores. The results indicate that family background and the stability of a community are the main factors a/feeling student performance. The data suggest that higher levels of spending have no consistent or systematic relation with student performance.

Disciplines

Economics

Copyright

1999 Western Economic Association International Wiley-Blackwell.

Publisher statement

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: An Analysis of the Factors that Influence Student Performance: A Fresh Approach to an Old Debate, Sanjiv Jaggia, Contemporary Economic Policy, 17:2