Who benefits from teaching quality: the role of prior achievement in Czech lower secondary schools

Teaching quality is widely recognized as a crucial factor influencing student achievement. The Three Basic Dimensions (TBD) framework—comprising cognitive activation, classroom management, and student support—is commonly used to assess instructional quality, but its validity and effects remain not well understood. This study examined the factorial structure of the TBD model in Czech lower secondary schools and explored how dimensions of teaching quality predict mathematics achievement, with a focus on differences across students’ prior achievement. The sample included 2,609 seventh-grade students from 142 classrooms in Czech lower secondary schools. Student ratings of teaching quality were used to test the factorial structure of the TBD model via confirmatory factor analysis. A four-factor model was tested, distinguishing between cognitive activation through learning tasks (CAT) and through teacher interaction (CAI). Multilevel structural equation modeling was applied to assess the effects of teaching quality on mathematics achievement while controlling for socioeconomic status, gender, and prior achievement. The four-factor model provided a better fit than the original three-factor structure. CAI at the individual level and classroom management at the class level significantly predicted student achievement. However, these effects were not uniform: while high-achieving students benefited from CAI, and moderately achieving students from classroom management, lower-achieving students did not benefit from any of the observed teaching quality dimensions. The study highlights that teaching quality is not universally beneficial for all students. Instructional practices that are generally effective may fail to support lower-achieving students, potentially reinforcing existing achievement gaps.