Researchers at the Norwegian Business School in Oslo examined what shapes how well schoolchildren do in class. Their findings come from a wide, cross‑country effort and were reported in a study associated with the Personality and Individual Differences journal. The work reflects on a large, international data set and the ways in which young learners’ success can be understood beyond test results alone.
The conclusions draw on data from about 600 thousand students across 79 countries who participated in a major global assessment coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2018. The aim of that assessment was to compare how education systems perform by looking at the mathematics, science, and reading achievement of 15‑year‑olds around the world, including Canada and the United States. In the original analysis, raw test scores were later interpreted on an intelligence‑related metric to facilitate comparison across diverse populations and contexts.
Beyond academic measurement, the study explored a range of psychological and contextual factors that can accompany learning. These included the education level of parents, students’ attitudes toward teachers, self‑perceived academic ability, perceived parental support, school motivation, overall self‑esteem, and a sense of self‑determination. Responses were gathered using multi‑item scales where students indicated levels of agreement from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The goal was to map how these dimensions relate to performance in a real‑world, cross‑national educational setting.
Among the findings, students who feel confident in their own cognitive abilities tended to achieve higher PISA scores. This self‑perception of academic competence emerged as the strongest predictor of performance, accounting for a substantial portion of the variation in results. In practical terms, confidence about one’s own reasoning and problem‑solving capacity often aligns with better outcomes on standardized measures used in the PISA framework.
Parental education also stood out as a significant influence, with the educational level of mothers showing a particularly strong predictive relationship with students’ PISA scores. This pattern may reflect the broader intellectual climate of a household and the value placed on education, which can shape motivation, study habits, and access to educational resources. The authors note the possibility of genetic components contributing to intelligence, alongside environmental factors that come from a family environment that prioritizes learning.
Some commonly held beliefs about what drives school success received a more nuanced view in this analysis. Perceived teaching quality and general self‑esteem did not demonstrate as strong a link to PISA performance as the factors previously described. The results suggest that while good teaching and healthy self‑esteem matter, they may not be the strongest drivers of cross‑national test outcomes in the same way parental education and a student’s own confidence do.
As one of the lead researchers explained, school success is influenced by multiple factors, with parental education playing a meaningful role. Yet the day‑to‑day experience within the school itself can be less decisive than the broader educational environment a child comes from. The study emphasizes a layered view of achievement, where family background and personal attitudes interact with schooling in shaping results.
These insights align with a larger body of research that underscores the importance of early intellectual development, parental engagement, and continued encouragement of learners’ self‑efficacy. They also raise important questions for educators and policymakers about where to invest support to help students reach their potential while recognizing the diverse contexts in which learning occurs. The overall message is that achievement is shaped by a constellation of influences, not by any single factor alone, and that strategies to boost outcomes should consider both home and school environments.
Finally, the study contributes to an ongoing dialogue about how to interpret international assessment data responsibly. It invites educators, families, and researchers to think critically about the ways in which family background, self‑perception, and early opportunities intersect to influence academic trajectories. The emphasis remains on understanding the full landscape of factors that support student learning, rather than attributing success to a single cause.