V Encuentro Binacional Perú-Ecuador (Piura)

Many of the variables which relate to top performance in reading (Table 6) or in mathematics (Table 7) have already been identified in predicting low performance. At this time, they just operate at the opposite ends of the scale. Across the four Nordic countries, the probability of top perfor- mance in the PIRLS reading comprehension test increased if students had solid basic reading skills already when beginning school. Top performers could, more likely than other students, read words and sentences and write words and some sentences when they entered school. They were accurate and fluent readers in the decoding test related to PIRLS as a Nor- dic option (in Finland and Sweden). The same also applied to top per- formers in the TIMSS mathematics test, suggesting that success in mathe- matics is closely related to success in reading. As expected, basic numera- cy skills when beginning school were also strongly related to success in mathematics.

Students’ positive attitudes towards reading significantly predicted top performance in all countries except Sweden. In Norway, the top perform- ers in reading reported enjoying school more than the intermediate ones (although not significantly), while in Sweden, the opposite was found.

The quality and amount of reading activities also predicted top per- formance in reading: In Denmark, Finland, Norway (with reservation) and Sweden, low amounts of non-fiction reading predicted top performance as did avoiding excess computer use at home in Denmark and Finland. Most likely, this is a sign of reading relatively more literature and other materi- als and should not be interpreted as, for instance, an indication of non- fiction books’ low quality or insignificance to reading development. Con- sistently with this finding, in Finland and Sweden, the chances of top per- formance increased if students read plenty of stories instead of or in addi- tion to non-fiction books. In Finland, the reading of comics also showed a

positive effect. In Norway and Sweden, the probability of top performance increased along with time spent reading outside school.

Table 6: Characteristics related to top performance in reading in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden Denmark Grade 4 Finland Grade 4 Norway Grade 5 Sweden Grade 4 Student Basic skills

Command of early literacy tasks 0.39 0.56 0.53 0.60

Reading accuracy and fluency na 0.38 0.08 0.47

Male gender (B) -0.18 -0.34 -0.08 0.08 Attitudes Confidence in reading 0.45 0.39 -0.08 0.16 Liking to read 0.39 0.24 0.41 0.22 School enjoyment 0.04 0.09 0.26 -0.42 Reading activities Reading of stories 0.13 0.31 0.04 0.54 Reading of comics 0.02 0.16 -0.31 -0.17

Reading of non-fiction books -0.38 -0.38 -0.33 -0.22

Time spent reading outside school 0.00 0.07 0.36 0.30

Computer use at home -0.16 -0.20 -0.02 -0.08 Being bullied at school -0.01 -0.02 -0.31 -0.36 Home

Resources

Educational resources at home 0.30 0.28 -0.25 0.04

Number of books at home 0.13 0.25 0.66 0.48

Parent has tertiary education (B) 0.20 0.22 0.52 0.56

Parent has full-time job (B) 0.54 0.02 0.52 0.90

Language at home differs from school’s language (B) -0.42 -0.48 -0.76 -0.74

Parental support for learning -0.64 -0.46 -0.76 -0.40

Early literacy activities with child 0.15 0.14 0.40 0.21 Classroom

Interesting texts and tasks in class -0.14 -0.18 -0.68 0.11 Understanding teacher in class 0.06 0.26 -0.12 0.19

School

Urban school (B) 0.44 0.02 -0.56 -0.16 Average wealth of school neighbourhood 0.26 0.00 0.42 -0.03 Resources to reading instruction 0.17 0.09 0.04 0.05 Instructional language Finnish (B) na 0.34 na na

Statistically significant regression coefficients are in italic. Positive coefficients indicate increased probability of top performance.

na=not administered

As for mathematics, high confidence increased the probability of top per- formance in all countries (Table 7). In Finland, low engagement in learn- ing mathematics was also related to perform high. Top performers’ low engagement probably suggests that the topics discussed in the class are

too easy for them, and there is no need to be actively involved. In Finland, Norway and Sweden, boys were significantly more often top performers than girls even when other variables were controlled. In these three coun- tries, the top performers also reported less free-time computer use than the intermediate performers.

Home-related predictors of top performance in reading and in mathe- matics were largely similar in the Nordic countries. The probability of top performance increased along with home resources. Remarkably, parental support for learning was negatively associated with top performance both in mathematics and reading. This may be because top performers take care of their school work independently. This finding, however, requires further research and discussion. It is also worth noting that across all four countries, the chances of a child being an excellent reader was significant- ly increased by parents’ activities which support child’s literacy develop- ment. These parents reported that they frequently did literacy activities with the child before the child began school (e.g. read books and told sto- ries, talked with the children about books, read and played word games). In the case of poor readers, the respective effect was evident only in Swe- den, which suggests that parents’ early support has been particularly im- portant to children who have reached top-level literacy.

In reading, in all countries (with reservation for Norway), top reading performance was predicted by matching languages at home and at school, suggesting that immigrant students’ probability of top performance is lower than that of native students. In mathematics, the same was ob- served in Denmark only.

In predicting top performance in mathematics, none of the classroom- or school-related factors were found significant. As for reading, a negative association between teacher giving interesting texts and tasks and stu- dents’ top performance was observed in Finland and Norway (a similar association was found with low performers, also). In addition, Denmark differed from other Nordic countries in that some school-related charac- teristics were also found to be significant, such as school’s resources for reading instruction (e.g. instructional materials, computers, computer software, library books, teachers specialized in reading). Urban and wealthy school neighbourhoods increased the probability of top perfor- mance, and the same occurred with good school resources. In Finland, the

Finnish-speaking schools showed more top readers than the Swedish- speaking schools.

Table 7: Characteristics related to top performance in mathematics in Denmark, Finland, Nor- way and Sweden

Denmark Grade 4 Finland Grade 4 Norway Grade 5 Sweden Grade 4 Student Basic skills

Command of early numeracy tasks na 0.44 0.35 0.44

Command of early literacy tasks na 0.48 -0.02 0.73

Reading accuracy and fluency na 0.17 0.17 0.44

Male gender (B) 0.08 0.52 1.00 1.46

Attitudes

Confidence in mathematics 0.86 1.00 1.01 0.79

Engagement in mathematics class 0.01 -0.15 0.00 -0.17

Computer use at home -0.06 -0.15 -0.31 -0.38 Home

Resources

Educational resources at home na 0.27 0.23 0.52

Number of books at home 0.64 0.15 0.36 0.21

Parent has tertiary education (B) na 0.42 0.46 0.82

Language at home differs from school’s language (B) -0.66 -0.10 -0.30 0.10 Parental support for learning -0.32 -0.40 -0.87 -0.31 Classroom

no significant effects

School

no significant effects

Statistically significant regression coefficients are in italic. Positive coefficients indicate increased probability of top performance.

na=not administered