Academic Functioning and Peer Influences: A Short‐Term Longitudinal Study of Network–Behavior Dynamics in Middle Adolescence

In this study, the associations between peer effects and academic functioning in middle adolescence (N = 342; 14–15 years old; 48% male) were investigated longitudinally. Similarity in achievement (grade point averages) and unexplained absences (truancy) was explained by both peer selection and peer influence, net of acceptance, and connectedness. Friendships were formed and maintained when adolescents had low levels of achievement or high levels of truancy. Friends influenced one another to increase rather than decrease in achievement and truancy. Moreover, friends’ popularity moderated peer influences in truancy in reciprocal friendships but not in unilateral friendships, whereas friends’ acceptance moderated peer influences in achievement in both unilateral and reciprocal friendships. The findings illustrate the dynamic interplay between peer effects and academic functioning.     

Inequitable Compliance: Implementation Failure of a Statewide Student Discipline Reform

Researchers and others in the education community are concerned about over-reliance on exclusionary discipline such as out-of-school suspension (OSS) and expulsion. Exclusionary discipline is associated with lower student achievement, higher risk of drop-out or grade retention, and involvement in the juvenile justice system. In response, many schools, districts, and states are moving toward less exclusionary consequences. In 2013, the Arkansas state legislature passed a bill prohibiting the use of OSS as a consequence for truancy. Yet, even after 3 school years, there has not been a complete elimination in the use of OSS for truancy. In this article, I use 8 years of student achievement, demographic, and disciplinary data from all Arkansas public schools to assess which school-level factors are associated with the use of OSS as a consequence for truancy in the year the law was passed, and which are associated with policy compliance in the following 3 years. I find schools that served more minority students, had higher rates of truancy, and higher rates of OSS were less likely to comply with the policy, all else equal. Combined, these results suggest that the types of schools likely targeted by this policy are the same ones not fully complying with it. As a result, the impact of policy reforms, which sound beneficial prima facie, may be limited if changes are not communicated well to schools, if there is not accountability to ensure compliance, and if there is not school capacity to handle discipline effectively.     

Chameleon effects in homework research: The homework–achievement association depends on the measures used and the level of analysis chosen

Using a data set specifically tailored to homework research, with a sample of 1275 students from 70 classes in Switzerland, the association between homework and achievement in French as a second language was tested at three levels (class level, between-student level, and within-student level). The strength and direction of the homework–achievement association depended on the homework indicator chosen and differed to some degree across analytical levels. At the class level, achievement was higher in classes set frequent homework assignments and in classes where students reported low overall levels of negative emotions when doing homework. At the between-student level, high individual homework effort and low levels of negative homework emotions predicted favorable developments in French achievement, whereas high homework time predicted lower achievement. At the intraindividual level, high homework effort, high homework time, and low levels of negative homework emotions were statistically significantly associated with positive student evaluations of the learning gains from the specific assignment.     

Grade Placement of High-School Biology

Abstract

Using 35 elementary schools (3,350 fourth and sixth grade students), 10 secondary schools (3,613 eight and eleventh grade students), and 1,145 teachers, this study presents data summarizing the relationships between student' perceptions of "verified" principal competencies and selected school climate indices and outcome variables. The results indicated that there is a general tendency for positive teacher attitudes towards various dimensions of the school and working environment and higher student standardized achievement test performance to be associated with students' reports of a low frequency of interaction with die principal. A student "independence factor" was hypothesized to account for these results, with the implication being that principal/student interaction is minimized in schools where teacher and student attitudes are positive and student achievement is high. In addition, effective principal performance in dealing with student misbehavior was highly and positively associated with school average daily attendance at the secondary level. Supplementary analyses indicated that teacher and student attitudes "mediating" the school environment were relatively independent for both elementary and secondary samples. General support was found for higher correlations between student assessments of principal competencies and school environment measures than with student performance measures.     

Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math: Relations with teacher and student outcomes

Social cognitive theory posits that teacher self-efficacy beliefs should be related to not only their own well-being outcomes but also classroom processes and student outcomes in the general ecology of the classroom environment. However, little research has directly examined the associations of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs with these teacher and student-level outcomes simultaneously. The present study proposes and tests an integrative model of the relations of teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching math with their job satisfaction and student math achievement both directly and indirectly via interaction quality as a critical dimension of the quality of classroom processes. Additionally, student level relational and motivational predictors of math achievement, including individual perceptions of student-teacher interaction quality and math self-concept, are included per the ecology of the classroom environment. Based on data from over 6000 4th grade students and 450 teachers, results of multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math were positively associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and class levles of math achievement and interaction quality. At the individual student level, individual levels of math self-concept were positively associated with math achievement, and individual perceptions of interaction quality were positively associated with math self-concept. However, a negative association between residualized interindividual perceptions of interaction quality and math achievement was observed.     

Student Engagement and School Burnout in Finnish Lower-Secondary Schools: Latent Profile Analysis

Self-ratings of behavioural engagement, cognitive engagement and school burnout were used in person-centred analyses to identify latent profiles among 2,485 Finnish lower-secondary school students. Three profiles were identified: high-engagement/low-burnout (40.6% of the sample), average-engagement/average-burnout (53.9%), and low-engagement/high-burnout (5.5%). Another sample of lower-secondary school students was used to validate the 3 profiles. The factors most strongly associated with the high-engagement/low-burnout profile of lower-secondary school students’ were high levels of support from teachers and family, good academic performance, and lack of truancy. The study indicated that teacher and family support and students’ academic achievement are pivotal in understanding student engagement and school burnout.     

Multilevel Effects of Student and Classroom Factors on Elementary Science Achievement in Five Countries

This study examined the effects of individual student factors and classroom factors on elementary science achievement within and across five countries. The student‐level factors included gender, self‐confidence in science and home resources. The classroom‐level factors included teacher characteristics, instructional variables and classroom composition. Results for the USA and four other countries, Singapore, Japan, Australia and Scotland, were reported. Multilevel effects were examined through Hierarchical Linear Modelling, using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 fourth grade dataset. Overall, the results showed that selected student background characteristics were consistently related to elementary science achievement in countries investigated. At the student level, higher levels of home resources and self‐confidence and at the classroom level, higher levels of class mean home resources yielded higher science scores on the TIMSS 2003. In general, teacher and instructional variables were minimally related to science achievement. There was evidence of positive effects of teacher support in the USA and Singapore. The emphasis on science inquiry was positively related to science achievement in Singapore and negatively related in the USA and Australia. Recommendations for practice and policy were discussed.     

Monitoring Student Achievement for Accountability: The Demonstration of a Model

Abstract

This study demonstrated a procedural model that can be applied by any school to assess, guide, and account for the progress of its students as well as to analyze its own effectiveness. The model uses equivalent achievement tests to monitor student achievement in subject areas at grade levels, between grade levels, and across subgroups of students. Multiple regression analyses of test scores between grades identify factors associated with achievement Using sixth and eighth grade Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills scores in a matched longitudinal sample of 208 students, the study found small differences in average achievement between boys and girls. Differences between corresponding sixth and eighth grade test means were higher in mathematics than in language. From the sixth grade to the eighth, there was a widening gap in average achievement between high and low I.Q. groups. In multiple regressions of eighth grade test scores on sixth grade measures, I.Q., study skills, and reading were prevalent in the regression equations, but clusters of measures associated with achievement differed between high and low’ LQ. groups. The results of the study have implications for developing and evaluating the achievement of students with varying mental abilities.     

Trends in the development of student level of reasoning in pattern generalization tasks across grade level

This paper explored (1) the developmental trend of student level of reasoning across grade level in pattern generalization; (2) the mediatory role of task variables in the developmental trend of student level of reasoning within and across tasks; and (3) developmental trend of student level of reasoning associated with strategy use across grade level. A test designed to measure student level of reasoning was given to a sample of 1232 students from grades 4 to 11 from 5 schools in Lebanon. The Structure of the Learned Outcomes or Responses (SOLO) was used as a theoretical model. Results show that student level of reasoning exhibited an increasing trend across clusters of grade levels and that there were several SOLO levels in each cluster of grade levels. Type of task (immediate, near, far) and function type (linear, non-linear) seem to mediate the development of level of reasoning across grade level but the complexity of the task (simple, more complex) did not. Students used several strategies in each cluster of grade levels and the developmental trends of student level of reasoning associated with strategy use were not uniform and varied across clusters of grade levels, thus supporting a neo-Piagetian interpretation of the results.     

Consistency of Teaching Approach and Student Achievement: An Empirical Test

This article describes the results of a study into the relations between school, teacher, class, and student characteristics in Dutch elementary schools. Central to the study were the socio-ethnic background of the students, socio-ethnic class composition, language and math test results, teaching approach, and consistency of teaching approach within the school. The major question was whether student achievement levels vary according to the consistency of the teaching approach after controlling for socio-ethnic background at both the individual and class levels. The sample consisted of 7,410 grade 8 students and in total 1,714 teachers from 567 schools. The results of multilevel analyses showed consistency of teaching approach to be of no relevance to achievement levels. The most important factor appeared to be the socio-ethnic background of the students. Ethnic minority students perform less well than native Dutch working-class students, who in turn perform less well than the other students studied. In addition, students in classes with a relatively high number of so-called disadvantaged students perform less well independent of their individual socio-ethnic background.     

Using Conjunctive Methods to Explore Factors Associated with On-Time Grade Attainment Among High Risk Youth

This study examines risk and protective factors associated with on-time grade attainment among a cohort of high risk elementary age youth 3?years post truancy intervention. Conjunctive Analysis of Case Configurations was used to identify dominant subpopulation profiles and assess distinctions in the likelihood of on-time grade completion among groups with unique combinations of characteristics. Comparisons of subpopulation profiles revealed substantial contextual variability in the influence of race, gender, service completion, psychosocial risk factors, and truancy. Findings indicate race is not influential across all grades but appears to be dependent on truancy level. Although psychosocial risk factors are not present for K-3^rd profiles, they are critical among 4-5^th graders, specifically lack of motivation. Findings from this study allow practitioners to better understand risk and protective factors influencing grade progression and aids in the development of individualized case management and intervention. Findings indicate better policies are needed to address early truancy.     

Does recreational computer use affect high school achievement?

Historically, the relationship between student academic achievement and use of computers for fun and video gaming has been described from a multitude of perspectives, from positive, to negative, to neutral. However, recent research has indicated that computer use and video gaming may be positively associated with achievement, yet these studies have focused on small intact and qualitative samples. The purpose of the present study is to examine the association between academic achievement in high school and student use of computers for fun and video gaming using the large nationally representative ELS:2002 sample of students in grade 10 in 2002 and an independent effects two-level hierarchical linear model. Our results indicate that both student use of computers for fun and moderate levels of video gaming were positive and significant on cross-sectional reading and mathematics achievement assessments in high school, controlling for multiple covariates of achievement, but were not related to growth in mathematics from grade 10 to grade 12.     

The Impact of Charter Schools on Promoting High Levels of Mathematics Achievement

Abstract

This study compares achievement levels for high ability students attending charter schools and students in traditional public schools in Georgia. Researchers examined student achievement (as assessed by the state's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests) using three comparison groups: students in the closest traditional schools with similar grade levels, schools with similar demographics, and comprehensive school reform schools. Hierarchical loglinear analysis was used to determine the impact of school type and student demographic variables on student achievement mobility (i.e., the degree to which students, from 2004 to 2005, moved into or out of the top 10% of each grade level on the CRT mathematics subtest). Results for the first comparison did not provide evidence of a significant relationship between school type and achievement mobility, but results for the second and third comparisons suggest that Black students generally experienced positive or neutral achievement mobility in traditional schools and negative mobility in charter schools; White students generally saw negative achievement mobility in traditional schools and neutral to positive mobility in charter schools. Implications for the study of gifted education and gifted students within charter schools are discussed.     

Is experience the best teacher? A multilevel analysis of teacher characteristics and student achievement in low performing schools

The study investigated several teacher characteristics, with a focus on two measures of teaching experience, and their association with second grade student achievement gains in low performing, high poverty schools in a Mid-Atlantic state. Value-added models using three-level hierarchical linear modeling were used to analyze the data from 1,544 students, 154 teachers, and 53 schools. Results indicated that traditional teacher qualification characteristics such as licensing status and educational attainment were not statistically significant in producing student achievement gains. Total years of teaching experience was also not a significant predictor but a more specific measure, years of teaching experience at a particular grade level, was significantly associated with increased student reading achievement. We caution researchers and policymakers when interpreting results from studies that have used only a general measure of teacher experience as effects are possibly underestimated. Policy implications are discussed.

EQUITY IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE OUTCOMES: CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH AND LOW ACHIEVEMENT ON PISA 2006 IN IRELAND

Equity in education is a key concern internationally; however, it is rare that this issue is examined separately for low- and high-achieving students and concurrently across different subject domains. This study examines student and school background characteristics associated with low and high achievement in mathematics and science on the Programme for International Student Assessment. Based on the results of a multilevel multinomial model of achievement for each domain, findings indicate that a greater number of the variables examined are associated with low rather than high achievement. At student level, home language, intention to leave school early, socioeconomic status, grade level, cultural capital, and books in the home are significantly associated with achievement in mathematics and science. At school level, only school average socioeconomic status is statistically significant in the models. Significant gender differences are found in the distribution of high and low achievers, which vary across the domains. In mathematics, females are more likely to be low achievers while males are more likely to be high achievers. In science, gender interacts with early school-leaving intent whereas males intending to leave school early are more likely to be in the low-achieving group than females intending to leave early. Conclusions emphasise the need for targeting resources aimed at promoting equity in outcomes at student level as well as at school level. Future work may extend the current analyses by incorporating domain-specific variables or examining cross-country differences.     

A multilevel analysis of Japanese middle school student and school socioeconomic status influence on mathematics achievement

The author examined the simultaneous influence of Japanese middle school student and school socioeconomic status (SES) on student math achievement with two-level multilevel analysis models by utilizing the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Japan data sets. The theoretical framework used in this study was Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory (Bronfenbrenner and Morris 1998). The data sets contained 4,856 students from 146 public and private middle schools. The results indicated that at the student level, different aspects of student SES (i.e., number of books, the possession of computers, paternal, and maternal educational achievements) were positively related to Japanese student math achievement. At the school level, two aspects of school SES (i.e., less populated schools and economically disadvantaged schools) were negatively related to Japanese student math achievement. None of the cross-level interactions were significant, but the random effect for the computer slope was significant. Although this study found both student and school SES effects on student achievement, the proportional reduction of prediction error explained by both student and school SES were was small, meaning the residual variances at student and school levels did not capture the majority of variance explained by math achievement. The implications of theoretical framework and educational policy are discussed.     

Pygmalion effects in the classroom: Teacher expectancy effects on students' math achievement

According to the Pygmalion effect, teachers' expectancies affect students' academic progress. Many empirical studies have supported the predictions of the Pygmalion effect, but the effect sizes have tended to be small to moderate. Furthermore, almost all existing studies have examined teacher expectancy effects on students' achievement at the student level only (does a specific student improve?) rather than at the classroom level (do classes improve when teachers have generally high expectations of their students?). The present study scrutinized the Pygmalion effect in a longitudinal study by using a large sample in regular classrooms and by differentiating between two achievement outcomes (grades and an achievement test) and two levels of analyses (the individual and classroom levels). Furthermore, students' self-concept was studied as a possible mediator of the teacher expectancy effect on achievement. Data come from a study with 73 teachers and their 1289 fifth-grade students. Multilevel regression analyses yielded three main results. First, Pygmalion effects were found at the individual level for both achievement outcomes. Second, multilevel mediation analyses showed that teacher expectancy effects were partly mediated by students' self-concept. Third, teachers' average expectancy effects at the class level were found to be nonsignificant when students' prior achievement was controlled.     

Task-Specific Self-Evaluation as a Measure of Achievement Motivation

The validity of an internalized self-reinforcement paradigm as a model of achievement motivation was investigated with a sample of 230 ninth grade black pupils of an inner-city public school located in a midwestern metropolitan area. If achievement behavior is controlled and sustained by covert internal evaluations of performance, then students who more frequently report positive self-evaluations during some specific school-like task may be predicted to: a.) have higher grade point averages than students who less frequently report self-evaluations of task performance; b.) have lower rates of absence from school than students who less frequently report positive self-evaluations of task performance; c.) have greater levels of expected task performance than students who less frequently report positive self-evaluations of performance; d.) have greater expectations that they will be able to positively evaluate themselves for task performance than students who less frequently report positive self-evaluations; e.) have greater congruence between self-established standards and actual performance. Analyzed by 2-way analysis of variance (self-evaluation x sex), the data supported each of the predictions. The results were interpreted to support the conception of self-evaluations of task performance as a model of achievement motivation. In the absence of external rewards, the student sustains his academic behavior by the quality of the covert self-evaluations of his own performance. The positive or negative value of these evaluations depends on self-established standards. Students who tend to evaluate themselves negatively may do so as a function of arbitrarily high standards. Their performance on academic tasks will be less well sustained and their functioning at consequently lowered levels of achievement. The paper-and-pencil self-reports used in the study yielded results comparable to the elaborate laboratory instrumentation of previous studies.