An educated population has significant advantages relative to an uneducated one, since
education has a high economic and social payoff. However, in the education process, scholars
are not in agreement on which factors better explain student achievement. Some argue that
school resources are key determinants, whereas other scholars maintain that factors outside
the school better predict student achievement. Even within these sentiments, there are
arguments on which school-level, classroom-level or student-level variables better explain
achievement. Knowledge of such factors is critical, as it helps stakeholders to devise strategies
that improve student success. It also helps to maximise budget allocations and at the same
time gets the most out of per dollar expenditure.
This study has used data from the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring
Educational Quality (SACMEQ III) to estimate the determinants of student mathematics
achievement in three developing countries in Southern Africa; namely, Botswana, South
Africa and Zimbabwe.