Evaluating the performance of academic improvement target schools in Korea

This study aims to examine whether the academic improvement target school project was successful in improving the academic achievement of low-performing students and the quality of education. It also explores factors that might affect student academic achievement. The study used three rounds of HLM analysis with the panel data of 2,030 students across 38 middle schools in the Seoul Education Longitudinal Study of 2010. The mean difference between students below and above basic level within continuous project schools and within former project schools were 4.188 and 10.471 points, which was lower than students in schools that had never been targeted for academic improvement. The difference was reduced by 21.674 and 11.602 points for 7th grade math score, respectively. The reduced achievement gap between the two groups of students in the project schools suggested that financial and administrative support for continuous project schools and former project schools might be successful at improving academic achievement. (The rest omitted)