The context of support: The role of school administrative structures in mathematics achievement for gifted adolescents in PISA 2022 and HSLS:09

Persistent excellence gaps document disparities in advanced achievement, particularly in mathematics. The study examined student- and school-level correlates of mathematics achievement among adolescents scoring at or above the dataset-specific 90th percentile in mathematics by employing a comparative analysis of two large-scale datasets: the international Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 and the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). Using multilevel modeling (PISA) and hierarchical regression (HSLS:09), the study estimated the associations of student demographics (sex, language background, socioeconomic status) and context-specific school administrative structures. Results revealed socioeconomic status as a robust and cross-contextual correlate of achievement. However, the salience of other factors was context-dependent: demographic predictors varied between datasets and school-level administrative factors (e.g. ability grouping, extracurricular offerings) showed no significant association in the PISA 2022 model. In stark contrast, within the U.S.-specific HSLS:09 context, the institutional availability of a robust advanced curriculum such as offering multiple Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate mathematics courses was significantly and positively associated with achievement. The findings demonstrate that while socioeconomic inequality universally shapes elite performance, the measurable impact of school structures is contingent on assessment context and granularity. Implications, limitations, and future directions of the present study are discussed.