本文採用台北地區於1996年入學之國一新生的3年長期追蹤調查資料, 仔細檢驗家庭背景或個人特質對其學業成績之影響。 結果顯示家庭背景與個人不可觀察之影響因子, 仍顯著地影響著1980s 出生世代之學業成績,其影響力早在國中時期即已形成。 其中,家庭月收入平均值與不可觀察之影響因子有高度正相關。 在控制了所得隨機效果後, 父、 母親之教育程度之正向影響, 隨著父、 母親教育程度的提高而增大, 其影響程度以父親為大。 父親籍貫為外省籍之正向影響, 主要來自其所得與教育水準之優勢。 父母離異在控制了不可觀察之隨機效果後仍顯著為負。 在個人特質上, 1980s 出生世代, 其學業成績之性別差異已不存在, 宗教參與之頻率與其學業成績有顯著之負相關。

This paper investigates the associations between individual characteriatics,family backgrounds and educational outcomes for Taiwanese youths. The results show that observed and unobserved factors play a significant role on the early development of the youths. We find that the average size of the income of the family is a significant indicator of individual unobserved factors. After controlling for unobserved factors, parental education is pos-itively associated with youths’ educational outcomes; while parental separa-tion reveals a negative association. The father’s education shows a larger impacts on youths’ academic outcomes. We further identify the father’s economic and educational advantage as the main caues for a positive rela-tionship between the youth’s educational outcome and having a mainlander father. Gender differences in educational outcomes vanished for the 1984–1985 birth corhort. Frequent attendance of religious activities when they were between ages 13 and 15 was a negative factor on the educational out-comes of the youths.