孰優、孰弱？臺灣學生學習成就軌跡之異質性分析

Identifying superior and inferior groups of academic achievements is not only the major concern of academic researchers but also the foundation of policy-making and supplementary system design, all relying on the support of empirical evidences. In this study, data of 2,806 students selected from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey (TEPS) in four consecutive time periods are adapted to identify the latent clusters of superiority and inferiority in the students' achievement. The heterogeneity of the achievement trajectories is identified by the growth mixture modeling. The results show that the nonlinear model has the best fit for the observed data. An analysis of the mixture modeling indicates three heterogeneous classes on the trajectories, of which the typical-growth class has a gradually improved achievement curve. On the other hand, the two relatively inferior groups have a lower starting level or a decreased trend at the later waves of achievement measures. Furthermore, the inferior classes are identified by the differential schooling sectors and the location conditions with high level of negative culture capital. In contrast, the typical-growth class is improving relatively smoothly in the different learning stages in both the public and the normal schools. The fan-shaped pattern of trajectories supports the phenomenon of the Matthew effects. In addition to illustrating the heterogeneous trajectory and its influential factors, this study discusses the implications and limitations of several methodological issues.