School Effects Analysis on Science High School

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to see if science high school has effects on improving student's science achievement. The research question was from recent doubt about effectiveness of Korean education on science talented youth. To answer the research question, science achievement scores of general and science high school students were compared under the control of variables both at student and at school level. HLM(Hierarchical Linear Modeling) was employed for analysis. The results showed that students in science high schools showed higher numbers than those in general high schools in both raw scores and scores after consideration of controlling variables. Interests in science positively predicted achievement scores regardless of school type. The number of mother's schooling years and SES scores at student-level, and the school mean SES and school location at school-level were the significant variables that predicted achievement scores.