Challenges and Future of the Research
We faced several challenges when doing this research project, especially when looking for data.
First, it was difficult to find household data for the PISA-taking countries and for the students who participated in the exam. Also, variables concerning parents will be needed, especially for the highest education grade they completed and for their level of involvement in the education of their children.
There were gaps in the data on countries' level of public expenditure on education as well. It would be interesting to include this as another control variable in the future.
Variables specific to student perceptions and interaction in the school environment were also troublesome because of missing data.
The OECD PISA website had several documents on these statistics but they were missing a lot of data to the point that we could not use those data in our research.
Given more time, we wish to include a more comprehensive list of variables for a few categories. These are: regional differences, student performance and outcomes, and data for demographics and socioeconomic status of students. That way, we can create a greater depth in the range of issues to be addressed when considering the relationship between grade retention and PISA test scores.
First, it was difficult to find household data for the PISA-taking countries and for the students who participated in the exam. Also, variables concerning parents will be needed, especially for the highest education grade they completed and for their level of involvement in the education of their children.
There were gaps in the data on countries' level of public expenditure on education as well. It would be interesting to include this as another control variable in the future.
Variables specific to student perceptions and interaction in the school environment were also troublesome because of missing data.
The OECD PISA website had several documents on these statistics but they were missing a lot of data to the point that we could not use those data in our research.
Given more time, we wish to include a more comprehensive list of variables for a few categories. These are: regional differences, student performance and outcomes, and data for demographics and socioeconomic status of students. That way, we can create a greater depth in the range of issues to be addressed when considering the relationship between grade retention and PISA test scores.