Academic Achievement, School Quality and Family Background: Study in Seven Latin American Countries.

Educational production can be studied by correlating levels of academic achievement with three independent variables: student's family background, student's mental ability, and school quality. To examine family background and school quality, information was gathered from schools in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru. Regression analyses of individual students by country, grade, and sex using reading comprehension and science scores reveal a strong correlation between family factors, such as parent educational background, and academic achievement, but do not show a strong correlation between academic achievement and school factors. Although the improtance of family factors decreases as a student moves to higher grade levels, school factors do not seem important at any stage in explaining academic achievement as long as minimal physical facilities are available. To better understand what factors most contribute to academic achievement, further research should deemphasize statistical analysis and focus on teacher-student interaction, formulating a taxonomy of teacher attributes and identifying those teachers who seem to produce higher levels of achievement in their students. Statistical findings by country are provided in 22 tables and 7 appendixes. (JBM)