FACTORS AFFECTING EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: EVIDENCE FROM SPANISH PISA 2006 RESULTS

Recently published results from PISA 2006 Report show the existence of significant divergences in test scores among students from different Spanish regions participating in this evaluation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the potential causes of those divergences. For this purpose, an efficiency approach is adopted in order to determine in what extent the students make the most of the resources they have at their disposal. Subsequently, the effect of multiple variables on results is tested through a two-stage procedure. Results show that students enrolled in private or subsidized schools have lower levels of efficiency. In contrast, neither class nor school size has influence on students´ efficiency levels. Galicia and La Rioja are identified as the most efficient regions, while the Basque Country and Catalonia are considered the most inefficient ones. However, those divergences cannot be only attributable to schools, which only account for an average of 15 percent of inefficiency with no significant divergences among regions.