A Multi-level Model Approach to Investigating Factors Impacting Science Achievement for Secondary School Students – PISA Hong Kong Sample

This study utilized data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 Hong Kong sample to investigate the factors that impact the science achievement of 15-year old students. A twolevel hierarchical linear model was used to examine the factors that influence science achievement from both student and school perspectives. At the student level, the results indicated that male students, students from high SES families, and students whose parents have higher values on the importance of science are more likely to have better achievement in science. At the school level, the results showed that the variation of science achievement between schools can be explained by differences in school enrollment size and school SES composition. This finding leads to an international discussion of school size.