Faktorer som får elever att uppnå betyget godkänt i årskurs 9

Abstract

The results of Swedish school students graduating from 9th grade have been declining since the beginning of the 21th century. This have been shown repeatedly in both studies from PISA and TIMSS, which both test the abilities of high school students in the OECD. There are many theories and potential explanations to why this is the case. Some politicians criticize the fact that parents are able to choose a school for their children, while others blame the differences between private and municipal schools. One fact that most politicians agree on is how the migration crisis in 2015 affected schools all over Sweden negatively. This study will test which variables actually affect if students get a passable grade when they graduate from elementary school. The study focuses on 32 schools in Gothenburg, and compares the results from 2014 to 2017, to see if the migration crisis had any significant effect. By using panel data, the results are based on analysing regressions to see which variables that significantly affects the results in mathematics, reading comprehension (Swedish) and natural science. The three subjects are chosen since they tested in both PISA and/or TIMSS. The results show that the variable “the share of parents with post secondary education” has the biggest effect on how children perform in all three subjects. However, other variables such as “the share of students with foreign background” or “share of girls” did not have the same effect as initially thought.