Student Performance Evaluation Project

by: Olusola Timothy Ogundepo

PISA Data Description

PISA is a survey of students' skills and knowledge as they approach the end of compulsory education. It is not a conventional school test. Rather than examining how well students have learned the school curriculum, it looks at how well prepared they are for life beyond school. Around 510,000 students in 65 economies took part in the PISA 2012 assessment of reading, mathematics and science representing about 28 million 15-year-olds globally. Of those economies, 44 took part in an assessment of creative problem solving and 18 in an assessment of financial literacy.

Pisa dataset can be found here

For the purpose of the data visualization and analysis, I will be working on the following columns in the dataset:

• Student information and score in academic session

  • Student ID (STIDSTD)
  • Country (NC)
  • Attended Primary Education (ST05Q01)
  • Age at ISCED 1 (ST06Q01)
  • Gender (ST04Q01)
  • International Grade (ST01Q01)
  • Truancy - Late for School (ST08Q01)
  • Truancy - Skip whole school day (ST09Q01)
  • Truancy - Skip classes within school day (ST115Q01)
  • Possessions - own room (ST26Q02)
  • Possessions - study place (ST26Q03)
  • Possessions - computer (ST26Q04)
  • Possessions - Internet (ST26Q06)
  • Possessions - textbooks (ST26Q10)
  • Math Interest - Interested (ST29Q06)
  • Math Anxiety - Worry That It Will Be Difficult (ST42Q01)
  • Mathematics Behaviour (MATBEH)
  • Mathematics Exam score (PV1MATH)
  • Reading Exam score (PV1READ)
  • Science Exam score (PV1SCIE)
  • Attributions to Failure - Teacher Did Not Explain Well (ST44Q03)

• Parent schooling information and career status

  • Mother<Highest Schooling> (ST13Q01)
  • Father<Highest Schooling> (ST17Q01)
  • Mother Current Job Status (ST15Q01)
  • Father Current Job Status (ST19Q01)
  • Father Occupation Status (BFMJ2)
  • Mother Occupation Status (BMMJ1)

• Teacher contribution and support

  • Teacher Behaviour (TCHBEHFA)
  • Teacher Support (TEACHSUP)

Summary of Findings

Univariate Findings

• The majority of students in this study are female, and the majority are from Spain, Canada, and Brazil. 
• The vast majority of pupils attend elementary school for more than a year. 
• Most elementary school children range in age from 4 to 8 years old. 
• A greater proportion of students have access to all of the learning necessities, such as the internet, a computer, a study space, and so on. 
• More students report that they are interested in mathematics, yet many of them express exam anxiety (mostly females). 
• The range of student exam scores often falls between 200 and 800.

Bivariate Findings

• Most students from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland that have higher scores in mathematics possess a study room, a computer, and also have access to the internet.
• The primary education of students contributes to their performance in their examinations, i.e., there is a correlation between whether students attend primary education and their performance in academics.
• The age at which students start their primary education has a great influence on their academic performance, i.e., there is a correlation between the age of students in primary education and their academic performance in secondary education. -The parent's degree has a great influence on the performance of students in their education, as well as the parent's earning. -Male students seem to perform higher in mathematics and science examinations, but the case is not the same for reading examinations. -Female students have higher anxiety towards mathematics compared to males.

Multivariate Findings

• Most students that perform well in mathematics have a place of study regardless of the years spent in primary education, i.e., there is a relationship between a student's possession of a study place and their performance in academics.
• Students with parents having a higher education degree who start primary education early perform best in academics compared to others.
• For both male and female students, their interests are highly correlated with their performance in academics.
• Various students' performances in math, science, and reading seem to be correlated with a 90% confidence interval.

Key Insights for Presentation

• Early Education Influence on Student performance in Academics
• Influence of Primary Education of Student Academic Performance
• Impact of students Possessions on their Academic Performance
• Possession of study place effect on Student Performance
• Student Interest effect on their Performance in Examination
• Effect of Parent Academic Degree on Students Performance
• Effect of Parent Employment Status on Student Performance
• Parent Earning effect on Student Education Performance