Summary 

Introduction

Results from the large-scale international studies, PIRLS, TIMSS, and PISA1, have all shown New Zealand has a large disparity in achievement between students with high socio-economic status (high SES) and those with low socio-economic status (low SES). Schools in New Zealand have received differential funding, based on the needs of the communities they are situated in, since TIMSS first began (in 1994), yet disparities persist.

Priority learners are groups of students who have been identified as historically not experiencing success in the New Zealand schooling system. These include many Māori and Pacific learners, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, and students with special education needs (ERO, 2012). It is New Zealand's intention that education "supports and empowers all students to learn and achieve personal excellence, regardless of their individual circumstances" (Ministry of Education, 2007). Therefore it is important to identify what works for those students who achieve highly despite having individual circumstances that have some measure of deprivation. This paper reports on an analysis of TIMSS data examining academically resilient students. For the purpose of this analysis, academically resilient students were defined as those students from low SES backgrounds who achieved well.