Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) ACEReSearch LSAY Research Reports Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) 11-1-2001 Tertiary entrance performance : the role of student background and school factors Gary Marks ACER Julie McMillan ACER Kylie Hillman ACER Follow this and additional works at: https://research.acer.edu.au/lsay_research Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons Recommended Citation Marks, G., McMillan, J., & Hillman, K. (2001). Tertiary entrance performance : the role of student background and school factors. https://research.acer.edu.au/lsay_research/24 This Report is brought to you by the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) at ACEReSearch. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSAY Research Reports by an authorized administrator of ACEReSearch. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I=O Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth Research Report Number 22 TERTIARY ENTRANCE PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF STUDENT BACKGROUND AND SCHOOL FACTORS Gary N. Marks Julie McMillan Kylie Hillman This report forms part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth: a research program that is jointly managed by ACER and the Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA). The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and not necessarily of the Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs November 2001 Australian Council for Educational Research Published 2001 by Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd 19 Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell, Victoria, 3124, Australia. Copyright © 2001 Australian Council for Educational Research ISBN 0 86431 448 5 Contents Tables.......................................................................................................................................................iv Tables in Appendices................................................................................................................................ v Figures......................................................................................................................................................vi Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................vii 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 1 The Current Report ................................................................................................................................... 2 Organisation of the Report........................................................................................................................ 3 Demographic, Sociological and Educational Influences........................................................................... 3 The Role of Individual Schools................................................................................................................. 4 2. RESEARCH DESIGN, DATA AND METHODS ................................................................................... 6 Research Design and Analytical Strategy ................................................................................................. 6 Data and Sample ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Defining and Measuring Tertiary Entrance Performance.......................................................................... 7 Other Measures ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Statistical Techniques ............................................................................................................................... 9 3. INDIVIDUAL LEVEL INFLUENCES ON TERTIARY ENTRANCE PERFORMANCE .................. 13 Literacy and Numeracy Achievement..................................................................................................... 13 Socioeconomic Background.................................................................................................................... 15 Gender..................................................................................................................................................... 20 School Sector .......................................................................................................................................... 24 Region..................................................................................................................................................... 31 Ethnicity.................................................................................................................................................. 34 Indigenous Status .................................................................................................................................... 37 Psychological Factors ............................................................................................................................. 39 4. THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS............................................................................................ 44 Key Concepts.......................................................................................................................................... 44 Between and Within School Variance .................................................................................................... 46 Contextual Effects................................................................................................................................... 53 School Effectiveness............................................................................................................................... 54 5. DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................................... 57 APPENDIX 1 SAMPLES AND POPULATIONS .................................................................................. 63 APPENDIX 2 TERTIARY ENTRANCE MEASURES USED IN THIS REPORT ............................... 64 APPENDIX 3 TERTIARY ENTRANCE MEASURES USED BY AUSTRALIAN STATES AND TERRITORIES IN 1998 .................................................................................................. 71 APPENDIX 4 INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL MEASURES USED................................................................... 78 APPENDIX 5 SCHOOL-LEVEL MEASURES USED........................................................................... 84 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................. 87 NOTES ......................................................................................................................................................... 89 Tables TABLE 1TERTIARY ENTRANCE MEASURES IN USE IN AUSTRALIAN STATES AND TERRITORIES IN 1998........8 TABLE 2MEAN ENTER SCORES IN YEAR 12 (1998) BY ACHIEVEMENT IN LITERACY AND NUMERACY IN YEAR 9 (1995) - ALL STUDENTS AND BY SELECTED JURISDICTIONS.........................................14 TABLE 3CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ENTER SCORES IN YEAR 12 (1998) AND ACHIEVEMENT IN LITERACY AND NUMERACY IN YEAR 9 (1995) - ALL STUDENTS AND BY SELECTED JURISDICTIONS...............................................................................................................................15 TABLE 4MEAN ENTER SCORE BY PARENTAL OCCUPATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL GROUP - ALL STUDENTS AND BY SELECTED JURISDICTIONS, 1998 .....................................................................18 TABLE 5CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ENTER SCORES AND ASPECTS OF SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND - ALL STUDENTS AND BY SELECTED JURISDICTIONS, 1998..............................................................19 TABLE 6REGRESSION OF ENTER SCORES ON SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND AND YEAR 9 ACHIEVEMENT...............................................................................................................................19 TABLE 7 ENTER SCORES AND GENDER - ALL STUDENTS AND BY SELECTED JURISDICTIONS, 1998..............21 TABLE 8REGRESSION OF ENTER SCORES ON GENDER AND YEAR 9 ACHIEVEMENT ....................................22 TABLE 9CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ENTER SCORES AND YEAR 9 ACHIEVEMENT – MALES AND FEMALES .......................................................................................................................................22 TABLE 10 ENTER SCORES AND SCHOOL SECTOR - ALL STUDENTS AND BY SELECTED JURISDICTIONS, 1998 ..............................................................................................................................................27 TABLE 11 REGRESSION OF ENTER SCORES ON SCHOOL SECTOR, SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND AND YEAR 9 ACHIEVEMENT, 1998........................................................................................................28 TABLE 12 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ENTRY SCORES AND ACHIEVEMENT IN LITERACY AND NUMERACY IN YEAR 9 –GOVERNMENT, CATHOLIC AND INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS, 1998..................................29 TABLE 13 MEAN ENTER SCORES BY ACHIEVEMENT IN LITERACY AND NUMERACY IN YEAR 9 AND SCHOOL SECTOR............................................................................................................................29 TABLE 14 ENTER SCORES BY MEASURES OF REGION- ALL STUDENTS AND BY SELECTED