Student performance drivers : An analysis of the declining performance of Swedish middle school students

Abstract: The PISA reports presented between 2000 and 2013 display a sustained decline in the mathematics proficiency of Swedish middle school students. The latest OECD reports suggest that the downward trend is still present, whereby the aim of this thesis is to investigate its underlying causes. Can the decline be deduced from the poor performance of specific Swedish municipalities with significantly worse results than others? By analyzing the current situation in Swedish education from a national standpoint, the intention is to derive the main factors for good overall math performance in middle school within a municipality. Moreover, the thesis aims to identify areas of possible enhancement within the Swedish education system on a municipal as well as a national level, by analyzing how political financial decisions and society as a whole factor into student performance. Finally, the impact of education on aspects of macroeconomics is analyzed. It is arbitrated that several factors controllable by the government have significant impact on the average math performance of students in a Swedish municipality. The results from the analysis indicate that governmental expenditures are better spent on quality of teaching than on the quantity of teachers present.