Achievement—and what else? The standardisation of semester grades due to the implementation of state-wide exit examinations

Maué, Elisabeth

doi:10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.09.003

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 44 publications

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“…Previous empirical literature has focused on the student's performance in mathematics [6][7][8] and student's performance in university [9]. Of particular interest for our objective are studies analyzing performance on degrees related to Business and Economics [10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Secondary Education Choices on Mathematical Performance in University: The Role of Non-Cognitive Skills

2021

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(1) Background: this study evaluates the most relevant factors affecting the performance in mathematics of university undergraduates. Precisely, the mathematical background of students. Spanish secondary education provides an opportunity to develop this analysis since students can choose between two secondary education tracks with different mathematical content and depth. (2) Methods: a survey was conducted covering personal characteristics, socioeconomic status, academic choices and academic achievement as well as a set of questions aimed to uncover attitudes towards mathematics. Students that show preferences regarding mathematics are prone to choose the track with more mathematical content, creating a potential confusion between training and attitudes towards mathematics. We propose an index of non- cognitive skills related to mathematics to account for this problem. (3) Results: prior background in mathematics plays a role in mathematical performance at university even after correcting for non-cognitive skills related to mathematics. The effects are heterogeneous with respect to gender. (4) Conclusions: choosing a more mathematical-oriented itinerary in secondary education seems to give an edge to students. Our results shed light on the implications associated with the decision of secondary school track choice made by students. Furthermore, they are meant to serve as a guide to improve the design of remedial courses.

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