# 4.2 Overall findings from multilevel models

In this section, the main findings on boys’ underperformance in Saudi Arabia and factors associated with student achievement, in general, are first presented. Then, results from the multilevel models are shown in detail for grades 4 and 8 separately. Table 5 summarizes the main findings from the analysis. As discussed in the methods section, a series of hierarchical two-level linear regression models were run, starting with a simple model that includes student gender but no other predictor variables. Then, with each step, the changes in the achievement gap between girls and boys are explored when adding additional information on student demographics and home background, student engagement and attitudes, school climate, teacher qualifications, and school leadership and resources. Table 5 shows the coefficient on the gender gap. Regression estimates for the other predictor variables are presented in appendix A3.

As shown in table 5, boys underperform compared to girls in Saudi Arabia across both grades and subjects (step 1). The achievement gap between boys and girls is greater in science than in mathematics across both grades. For example, boys in grade 4 underperform girls by 53 points in science compared to 20 points in mathematics. The results also show that, in grade 4, controlling for student, teacher, and school characteristics accounts for the entire gender gap in mathematics and more than half of the gap in science. Specifically, when student-level predictor variables such as student demographics, home resources for learning, and literacy and numeracy readiness<sup>8</sup> are taken into account, the gap in mathematics between girls and boys drops from 20 points to 8 points and it is no longer statistically significant (step 2).

However, in grade 8, controlling for a wide range of observable characteristics from the student, parent, teacher, and principal questionnaires explains a relatively small portion of the achievement gap between boys and girls in both mathematics and science. As shown in table 5, the gender gap between grade 8 boys and girls declines by 4 points in mathematics and 11 points in science once all the predictor variables are included (step 6). However, a significant unexplained gender gap favoring girls still exists in both subjects in grade 8. Estimates from table 5 show that boys underperform girls by 16 points in mathematics and 40 points in science, even after controlling for all observable characteristics. Some potential explanations for this remaining gender gap are discussed in section 5.

|**Table 5. Summary of main**|**findings of t**|**he hierarchi**|**cal two-level**|**linear regres**|**sion models**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Step 1**|**Step 2**|**Step 3**|**Step 4**|**Step 5**|**Step 6**|
|**Student gender (female = 1)**|||||||
|Grade 4 mathematics|19.73*|7.68|-7.42|-17.55|-18.68|-6.71|
||(8.67)|(7.95)|(7.98)|(8.99)|(12.51)|(11.92)|
|Grade 4 science|53.14|39.36|21.61|17.44|15.04|21.52|
||(8.29)***|(7.04)***|(6.57)**|(7.38)*|(8.57)|(8.79)*|
|Gd 8 thti|20.78|15.79|18.14|15.47|9.88|16.29|
|rae maemacs|(5.29)***|(4.78)**|(4.52)***|(4.92)**|(6.06)|(6.98)*|
|Gd 8 i|50.40|45.83|42.28|35.42|34.88|39.89|
|rae scence|(5.80)***|(5.26)***|(5.00)***|(5.03)***|(7.10)***|(7.52)***|
|Demographics and home background||✓|✓|✓|✓|✓|
|Student engagement and attitudes|||✓|✓|✓|✓|
|School climate||||✓|✓|✓|
|Teacher qualifications and practices|||||✓|✓|
|School leadershipand resources<br>_Note:_✓indicates variables included in each|step.|||||✓|

8 ‘Literacy and numeracy readiness’ is a TIMSS composite scale based on parental reports of the extent to which their child could demonstrate specified literacy and numeracy skills when they started school (e.g., read some words, write their own name, count by themselves, recognize written numbers). The scale is available only for grade 4 students, as the parents of grade 8 students were not asked to complete a questionnaire.

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