Measuring the signaling value of educational degrees: secondary education systems and the internal homogeneity of educational groups

Large-scale Assessments in Education

An IERI – International Educational Research Institute Journal

Table 5 Results of factor analysis

	Factor loadings			Uniqueness
	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3	Uniqueness
SD of literacy, low education	0.539	0.641	0.054	0.241
SD of literacy, interm. education	0.876	− 0.252	0.020	0.112
SD of literacy, high education	0.844	− 0.185	− 0.078	0.124
SD of numeracy, low education	0.617	0.607	0.075	0.202
SD of numeracy, interm. education	0.824	− 0.216	0.048	0.118
SD of numeracy, high education	0.882	− 0.162	− 0.069	0.124
Eigenvalue	3.646	1.016	0.368

Factor analysis method is principal factor analysis. All values are averages across ten plausible values. SD = Standard deviation (as discussed in the text, this is the residual within-group standard deviation of literacy/numeracy skills after accounting for age, sex, and foreign-birth/foreign-language status)
interm. intermediate