Does Children's Academic Achievement Improve when Single Mothers Marry?

Promoting marriage, especially among low-income single mothers with children, is increasingly viewed as a promising public policy strategy for improving developmental outcomes for disadvantaged children. Previous research suggests, however, that children's academic achievement either does not improve or declines when single mothers marry. In this paper, we argue that previous research may understate the benefits of mothers' marriages to children from single-parent families because (1) the short-term and long-term developmental consequences of marriage are not adequately distinguished and (2) child and family contexts in which marriage is likely to confer developmental advantages are not differentiated from those that do not. Using multiple waves of data from the ECLS-K, we find that single mothers' marriages are associated with modest but statistically significant improvements in their children's academic achievement trajectories. However, only children from more advantaged single-parent families benefit from their mothers' marriage.     

A Social Support Intervention and Academic Achievement in College: Does Perceived Loneliness Mediate the Relationship?

The authors examined whether a social support intervention reduced loneliness and increased academic achievement among college freshmen. Eighty‐eight 1st‐year students randomly assigned to a social support group program reported less loneliness in the spring of their freshman year and obtained higher grade point averages in the fall of their sophomore year, compared with control participants, after controlling for demographic variables. Loneliness barely mediated the relationship between the social support intervention and academic achievement, suggesting other mechanisms by which the intervention enhanced academic performance.     

Does Burnout Affect Academic Achievement? A Meta-Analysis of over 100,000 Students

Educational Psychology Review - Burnout is understood to have many adverse consequences for students. However, several equivocal findings in the literature mean that it is currently unclear to what...     

Externalizing Behavior Problems and Low Academic Achievement: Does a Causal Relation Exist?

Educational Psychology Review - Children’s low academic skills are associated with a variety of behavior problems and maladaptive outcomes throughout childhood and adulthood. Given the...     

Does Investing in School Capital Infrastructure Improve Student Achievement?

Within the research community, there is a vigorous debate over whether additional educational expenditures will lead to improved performance of schools. Some of the debate is an outgrowth of the lack of causal knowledge of the impacts of expenditures on student outcomes. To help fill this void, we examine the causal impact of capital expenditures on school district proficiency rates in Michigan. For the analysis, we employ a regression discontinuity design where we use the outcomes of bond elections as the forcing variable. Our results provide some evidence that capital expenditures can have positive effects on student proficiency levels.     

Why Do Achievement Measures Underpredict Female Academic Performance?

In the context of college admissions, the current study examined whether differential prediction of first‐year grade point average (FYGPA) by gender could be explained by an omitted variable problem—namely, academic discipline, or the amount of effort a student puts into schoolwork and the degree to which a student sees him/herself as hardworking and conscientious. Based on nearly 10,000 college students, the current study found that differences in intercepts by gender were reduced by 45% with the inclusion of academic discipline in a model that already included high school grade point average (HSGPA) and ACT Composite score. Moreover, academic discipline resulted in an additional 4% of variance accounted for in FYGPA. Gender differences in slopes were not statistically significant (p > .001) regardless if academic discipline was included in the model. The findings highlight the utility of taking a more holistic approach when making college admission decisions. Namely, the inclusion of noncognitive measures has benefits that are twofold: increased predictive validity and reduced differential prediction.     

Correction to: Externalizing Behavior Problems and Low Academic Achievement: Does a Causal Relation Exist?

Educational Psychology Review -     

Socioeconomic Gaps in Academic Achievement Within Schools: Are They Consistent Across Subject Areas?

Few studies have examined the correlates of within-school socioeconomic gaps in academic achievement corresponding to subject areas across schools. This study addressed this limitation with data from the New Brunswick School Climate Study (N = 6,883 students from 148 schools) which contained measures on academic achievement in four subject areas (mathematics, science, reading, and writing) as well as student and school background characteristics. Results of multivariate, multilevel analyses showed that within-school socioeconomic gaps were similar between reading and writing as well as between mathematics and science. Furthermore, the interrelationships of within-school socioeconomic gaps in academic achievement corresponding to the four subject areas across schools were not much influenced by student background characteristics (gender, Native status, number of parents, and number of siblings) and characteristics of school context and climate (school size, school mean SES, disciplinary climate, academic expectation, and parental involvement).     

Where Are the Liberal Arts?

Research in Higher Education - Responses to the College Student Experiences Questionnaire at each of five types of institutions (Selective Liberal Arts, General Liberal Arts, Comprehensive Colleges...     

Does Child Likeability Mediate the Link Between Academic Competence and Depressive Symptoms in Early Elementary School?

The present study investigated the role of teacher-rated likeability as a mediator of the relation between low academic competence and depressive symptoms in elementary-aged children. Analyses focused on a sample of children at risk for child maltreatment living in Hawaii (n = 380). Structural equation modeling supported the hypothesized negative relations between academic competence in first grade and depressive symptoms in third grade controlling for correlated constructs (e.g., baseline social avoidance, parenting stress, externalizing problems, and internalizing symptoms). Teacher-rated likeability in second grade negatively mediated the effect of academic competence on depressive symptoms. Implications for understanding the role of early academic skill deficits and social judgments on risk for depressive symptoms as well as recommendations for interventions and prevention strategies are discussed.     

Does Developmental Education Help? Findings from the Academic Performance of Adult Undergraduate Students in Community Colleges

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the association between participating in developmental education and degree attainment within 6 years for adults (age 24 and older) who entered one of 10 Ohio public community or technical colleges for the first time in 2002–2013. Degree attainment is modeled using annual data on course enrollment and completion measures. Results from both a logistic regression (with fixed effects) and propensity score matching provide different estimates of the impact of developmental education on degree attainment. The study identifies a range of intermediate educational characteristics such as credit completion and persistence that are associated with final degree completion. Based on the results of this study, educational institutions that provide adult developmental education need to design specific educational interventions that will address the barriers adult undergraduates face.     

With Respect to Academic Achievement, How Important is Class Size?

This essay will discuss how important the influence of class size is on academic achievement.     

Does NCLB Improve the Achievement of Students With Disabilities? A Regression Discontinuity Design

Abstract

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) holds public schools accountable for the academic achievement of student subgroups that are larger than the state minimum-subgroup-size threshold. In 2004, California added students with disabilities to the NCLB subgroup categories. Using a regression discontinuity design, this study compared the academic achievement of students-with-disabilities subgroups that were just above the minimum-subgroup-size threshold to those just below the threshold. The results showed no effects of holding schools and teachers accountable for the achievement of students with disabilities after controlling for student performance and school characteristics of the previous academic year. Policy implications are discussed.     

Does Parental Involvement Matter for Student Achievement and Mental Health in High School?

Parental involvement in education remains important for facilitating positive youth development. This study conceptualized parental involvement as a multidimensional construct—including school‐based involvement, home‐based involvement, and academic socialization—and examined the effects of different types of parental involvement in 10th grade on student achievement and depression in 11th grade (approximately ages 15–17 years). In addition, this study tested whether parental involvement influenced adolescent outcomes by increasing their academic engagement in school. A total of 1,056 adolescents participated in the study (51% males; 53% European American, 40% African American, and 7% other). Parental involvement was found to improve academic and emotional functioning among adolescents. In addition, parental involvement predicted adolescent academic success and mental health both directly and indirectly through behavioral and emotional engagement.     

Testing Stereotype Threat: Does Anxiety Explain Race and Sex Differences in Achievement?

Steele's (1992, 1997) stereotype-threat theory attempts to explain underperformance of minority students in academic domains and of women in mathematics. Steele argues that situational self-relevance of negative group stereotypes in testing situations increases the anxiety these students experience and that these differential anxiety levels explain performance differences. Research shows that manipulation of stereotype threat can affect academic performance. However, there has been little research testing whether anxiety does at least partially explain the relationship between race and achievement. The goal of this study was to examine whether anxiety will explain racial differences in academic performance and gender differences in math performance in the context of a nationally representative sample of high school seniors. Partial mediation was observed, with anxiety explaining significant portions of the racial differences in academic performance. Anxiety also partially explained sex differences in math achievement, although the effect sizes were very small. These results provide general support for Steele's stereotype-threat hypothesis.     

Can the Arts Get Under the Skin? Arts and Cortisol for Economically Disadvantaged Children

This within‐subjects experimental study investigated the influence of the arts on cortisol for economically disadvantaged children. Participants were 310 children, ages 3–5 years, who attended a Head Start preschool and were randomly assigned to participate in different schedules of arts and homeroom classes on different days of the week. Cortisol was sampled at morning baseline and after arts and homeroom classes on two different days at start, middle, and end of the year. For music, dance, and visual arts, grouped and separately, results of piecewise hierarchical linear modeling with time‐varying predictors suggested cortisol was lower after an arts versus homeroom class at middle and end of the year but not start of the year. Implications concern the impact of arts on cortisol for children facing poverty risks.     

Does the MBA Experience Support Diversity? Demographic Effects on Program Satisfaction*

Using data provided by graduates from 128 MBA programs, we examined the extent to which age, gender, and ethnicity predicted student perceptions of the MBA experience. We found that women and minorities were more likely to see program costs and the availability of financial support as significant factors in their program enrollment decisions than were Caucasian males. The most consistent predictor of students’ perceptions of their educational experience was whether the MBA program was full time or part time, with full‐time programs generally perceived more favorably. Our findings suggest that because diversity measures of age, gender, and ethnicity were not consistent predictors across the different perception areas, at minimum, MBA programs presently do not consistently inhibit diversity. However, given the increasing percentage of women and minorities that comprise the undergraduate population, maintaining the present path in program accessibility may create enrollment problems for MBA programs perhaps in the very near future. Therefore, we conclude with a discussion of the changing demographics in higher education and their potential implications for MBA programs and suggestions for how MBA programs might respond.     

My Experience in the Entrance Examination

To me, school life is normally gray. I have just been a normal student. Compared with my interesting and happy life in my childhood, school life is hard and a bit cruel. I gained a lot of useful experiments during the twelve years of studying, though. The…     

Effects of Aggression on Achievement: Does Conflict With the Teacher Make It Worse?

This longitudinal study examined different explanations for negative associations between aggression and academic achievement using data collected from 403 children from low‐income families followed from kindergarten or first grade (ages 6 and 7 years) through fifth grade (ages 10–11 years). Most results of growth curve analyses examining change over time and path analyses examining associations among the variables within grades were consistent with the hypothesis that the effect of aggression on achievement was partially mediated by the conflictual relationships relatively more aggressive children tended to develop with their teachers and concomitant reductions in engagement in academic tasks. The evidence suggested, however, that the relationship between aggression and achievement is complex and reciprocal. Gender differences were also observed.