Abstract
Purpose. This quantitative causal-comparative study served two purposes: (1) to explore the cause of the PISA performance gap between the Shanghai 2012 and the China (B-S-J-G) 2015 cohorts, and (2) to determine the contribution of the selected family and school variables to the PISA test scores in math, reading, and science for the China (B-S-J-G) 2015 cohort.Theoretical Framework. Both James Coleman et al.'s (1966) theory that family SES predicted student performance in school and Eric Hanushek's (1989) educational cost-effective function theories were deployed. While Coleman et al.'s theory delineated that the family's SES fundamentally predicted student achievement, Hanushek's school function theory explained how school input factors were associated with student achievement.Methodology. Both descriptive and quantitative ex post facto multiple regression research designs were employed to investigate the inconsistency in PISA test scores between Shanghai in 2012 and China (B-S-J-G) in 2015 and to analyze the determinants of PISA performance by China (B-S-J-G) in 2015 using 5,178 student samples from Shanghai and 9,841 student samples from China (B-S-J-G).Findings. Higher public funding, as measured by expenditures per student, has correlated with higher PISA scores for students in Shanghai over the past 10 years. The higher the public funding and family socioeconomic index, and the better the school facilities, the higher students scored on PISA tests in math, reading, and science. The family index of social, economic, and cultural background; school facilities; and family wealth were the top three contributors to the PISA scores for students in the China (B-S-J-G) 2015 cohort.Recommendations. Policy initiatives and administrative approaches that fund schools in impoverished areas should be continued to remedy the slower pace of change for the socioeconomic status of families in the region. Public funding should be prioritized to improve quality teaching and administration. Tax preferences should be granted to private education investments that seek to improve the equalization of education.