Influence of Contextual Variables on Educational Performance: A Study Using Hierarchical Segmentation Trees
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is a study, looking at the potential influences of the student scores at the standardized testing in a Spanish province. Many similar studies have been published so far, which makes the contribution of this study potentially interesting from the regional viewpoint. Unfortunately, we do not find any specific regional factors, or comparisons with the global studies of student learning, such as PISA. At the other hand, the study has been performed in a methodologically acceptable manner and could be published, with some minor corrections of English. Authors are advised to include some comparisons to the global and national studies of student learning success in the discussion section.
Author Response
In the main document, the results have been contracted with other national and international studies (175-177):
“The influence of ESCS has been confirmed in studies carried out with large-scale evaluations, such as PISA, both in a national context [10,16], and at the international level [2,7,9,11-15,19].”
The style of the text has been thoroughly revised. Pangeanic has reviewed and approved the final version of the text.
Reviewer 2 Report
We know there is an extensive work behind this paper. But 82 references are too many.
In order to ease understanding for another researchers the list of references should be reduced. Sience is, at the same time, the art of quoting just the essential.
On the other hand, the database is good. Frequently there are studies with a very short sample. This is not the case.
Author Response
References have been reduced to 62. Old and redundant references have been eliminated.
The style of the text has been thoroughly revised. Pangeanic has reviewed and approved the final version of the text.
Reviewer 3 Report
Please see the attached sheet with my specific comments. I believe that the Introduction can be strengthened with a bit more definition of segmentation trees. One other point that could be strengthened is the context of Andalusia. You do mention something briefly but it is a bit buried and may be easily overlooked. Especially because the comment made refers to the immigrant population. I would have liked to have understood the broader context - the location - a bit more so that I could have a greater appreciation of the study. Just a few minor English corrections would be helpful - especially due to word choice.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Reviewer C
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CORRECTIONS REQUIRED |
ADJUSTMENTS MADE |
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I believe that Introduction can be strengthened with a bit more definition of segmentation trees. -- [84]I think it would help to define segmentation trees. You only note what this technique provides but not what it is and how it works. For those readers who have not worked with this, would like to know how it is applied to this data context. |
In the main document, the description of the segmentation trees has been extended (86-88):
“These allow the classification of independent variables to forecast values of a dependent variable, reduce the number of independent variables and facilitate the explanation of a phenomenon [40].” |
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One other point that could be strengthened is the context of Andalusia. |
In the main document, the description of the Andalusian context has been expanded (104-111):
“This region is located in the south of Spain and is the Autonomous Community with the largest population in the country (8,427k). The results in mathematics of the last PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) (2018) placed the region almost 30 points below the OECD average (https://doi.org/10.1787/888934028311). The region’s proximity to Morocco means that there is an immigrant population of around 20% in some provinces such as Málaga and Almería, and the foreign population accounts for 7.77% in Andalusia (see http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/justiciaeinterior/opam/es/node/90).” |
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[43-44]“They are probably all. . .” This sentence does not make sense – or rather, the beginning phrase does not connect well – “they are probably all just spurious. . .” Basically you are saying that the correlations that you noted in the previous sentence were probably all false. And not just false but were knowingly put forth as such. |
In the main document, the sentence has been reworded (44-46):
“It is likely that the cultural level of the families influences the value of the education and the educational opportunities offered [20,29,30]” |
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[52]“Some studies. . .” no study is cited or identified; it is vague |
The above-mentioned studies have been clarified (52):
“Some studies [14,22]” |
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[190]This sentence could be reworded so that it is clearer in English. The main problem with the sentence is around the phrasing: “. . . there are serious difficulties. . . research.” I know what you are trying to say but it took several readings to see it because of the language and wording. |
The sentence has been reworded (196-198):
“As some of the previous studies have shown [6,49], the results derived from educational research are not usually used to promote educational changes at the centre or teaching methodology level, even in countries with a long tradition of educational evaluation [9].” |
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[196]The word “convenient” is too casual for what you are trying to say here. A word such as beneficial, helpful, valuable. . . |
"Convenient" has been replaced by “helpful” (202):
“It would also be helpful for schools” |
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As a side note on 2 points: I take it that the study in the U.S. that looked at how many words babies, toddlers and young children heard before going to school, either just from parents and older siblings talking to them and/or parents reading to them, did have indications for a child’s learning success from elementary school on up. A second area of study has involved the Head Start program in the US in pre-K environments were helpful along with the in-school food program. Has any study similar to these been done in the Spanish context? This would be supportive also of your findings. |
There are no consistent and in-depth studies that have analysed these variables in our context. In addition, it could be that studies of early childhood performance are less represented in the scientific literature. This could be due to the fact that large-scale evaluations are usually conducted in adolescence, such as PISA. Therefore, as we reflected in the discussion, we believe that more studies should be conducted at this age.
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The style of the text has been thoroughly revised. Pangeanic has reviewed and approved the final version of the text. |
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
