Phantom and big-fish-little-pond-effects on academic self-concept and academic achievement: Evidence from English early primary schools

The Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect (BFLPE) suggests that school-average achievement has a negative effect on academic self-concept (ASC); some research has also verified a negative effect on students' academic achievement. Our study evaluates the compositional effects of school-average achievement on both outcomes, using a longitudinal sample of English early primary school students in Year 1 and Year 4. We provide evidence for BFLPEs in children as young as six to nine years of age. Further, we show that the BFLPE is a potential mechanism in the negative compositional effect of school average achievement in Year 1 on students' achievement in Year 4. Once adjustments for measurement error are made, the negative effect of school-average achievement on students' self-concept, and on their subsequent achievement, becomes even more negative. Our findings question previous research suggesting that attending a school with higher average achievement necessarily advances students’ outcomes.     

The big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept and interest in first- and third-grade students

BackgroundThe big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) postulates that class-average achievement has a negative effect on students’ academic self-concept. Research examining the BFLPE with elementary school students is scarce, especially with first graders.AimsThis study examined the BFLPE of class-average achievement on academic self-concept and interest in the math domain with first and third graders.SampleParticipants were Luxembourgish first graders (N = 5057) and third graders (N = 4925).MethodsA multilevel, doubly latent approach was used to assess a BFLPE model containing achievement (as the predictor) and ASC and interest (as outcomes) in the math domain.ResultsThe BFLPE on math self-concept was supported in both grades, whereas the BFLPE on math interest was supported only for third graders. In both grades, larger effect sizes were observed for the BFLPE on math self-concept than on math interest.ConclusionOur results suggest that the social comparisons underlying the BFLPE play an important role in the formation of math self-concept in both grades, but they play a less substantial—and probably later—role in the formation of math interest in elementary school.     

Big-fish-little-pond social comparison and local dominance effects: Integrating new statistical models,methodology, design,theory and substantive implications

We offer new theoretical, substantive, statistical, design, and methodological insights into the seemingly paradoxical negative effects of school- and class-average achievement (ACH) on academic self-concept (ASC)—the big-fish-little-pond-effect (BFLPE; 15,356 Dutch 9th grade students from 651 classes in 95 schools). In support of the theoretical, social-comparison basis of the BFLPE, controlling for direct measures of social comparison (subjective ranking of how students compare with other students in their own class) substantially reduces the BFLPE. Based on new (latent three-level) statistical models and theoretical predictions integrating BFLPEs and ‘local dominance’ effects, significantly negative BFLPEs at the school level are largely eliminated, absorbed into even larger BFLPEs at the class level. Students accurately perceive large ACH differences between different classes within their school and across different schools. However, consistent with local dominance, ASCs are largely determined by comparisons with students in their own class, not objective or subjective comparisons with other classes or schools. At the individual student level, ASC is more highly related to class marks (from report cards) than standardized test scores, but the negative BFLPE is largely a function of class-average test scores. Consistent with theoretical predictions, BFLPEs generalize across objective and subjective measures of individual ACH, and BFLPEs are similar for the brightest and weakest students.     

Teacher frame of reference and the big-fish–little-pond effect

Teachers with an individualized teacher frame of reference (TFR) emphasize improvement in relation to prior achievement, effort, and learning. Individualized TFRs were hypothesized to enhance self-concept and reduce the negative effects associated with the big fish little pond effect (BFLPE). Math achievement and math self-concept data (2150 students from 112 classes) were collected at the end of Grade 7 and the end of Grade 8. TFR was independently assessed by student ratings of their teacher and ratings by two trained observers. Multilevel analyses confirmed the BFLPE, the negative effect of class-average achievement on self-concept. An individualized TFR enhanced self-concept, but had no significant effect on the size of the BFLPE (the class-average achievement × TFR interaction was not significant). Results were very similar for both student and observer ratings of TFR. The findings suggest that individualized TFRs enhance academic self-concepts but do not suppress the negative effects of ability grouping.     

Personality traits moderate the Big-Fish–Little-Pond Effect of academic self-concept

Equally able students have lower academic self-concepts in high-achieving classrooms than in low-achieving classrooms. This highly general and robust frame of reference effect is widely known as the Big-Fish–Little-Pond Effect (BFLPE; Marsh, 1987). This study contributes to research aiming to identify moderators of the BFLPE by investigating the effects of students' personality (i.e. Big Five traits and narcissism). Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to test the moderator hypotheses, drawing on data from a large sample of N = 4973 upper secondary track students (M age = 19.57). Consistent with a priori predictions, the negative effect of school-average achievement (the BFLPE) interacted significantly with narcissism. Students high in narcissism experienced smaller BFLPEs than did students with low or average levels of narcissism. The statistically significant effect for neuroticism acted in the opposite direction. The study illustrates how personality moderates frame of reference effects that are central to self-concept formation.     

The negative effect of school-average ability on science self-concept in the UK,the UK countries and the world: the Big-Fish-Little-Pond-Effect for PISA 2006

Research on the relation between students’ achievement (ACH) and their academic self-concept (ASC) has consistently shown a Big-Fish-Little-Pond-Effect (BFLPE); ASC is positively affected by individual ACH, but negatively affected by school-average ACH. Surprisingly, however, there are few good UK studies of the BFLPE and few anywhere in the world based on science self-concept (S-ASC). Addressing this substantive limitation in existing research with data from PISA 2006, we extend new multigroup doubly-latent multilevel structural equation models – a substantive-methodological synergy. BFLPE predictions for S-ASC are supported for: the total international sample; the total UK sample; each of the four UK countries considered separately. The BFLPE was marginally larger in the UK than the international sample. However, consistent with the selective nature of school systems in the UK, the BFLPE was larger in Northern Ireland and, to a lesser extent, England than in Scotland or Wales.     

Examining the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect on Students' Self-Concept of Learning Science in Taiwan Based on the TIMSS Databases

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between student self-concept and achievement in science in Taiwan based on the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) model using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 and 2007 databases. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the effects of the student-level and school-level science achievement on student self-concept of learning science. The results indicated that student science achievement was positively associated with individual self-concept of learning science in both TIMSS 2003 and 2007. On the contrary, while school-average science achievement was negatively related to student self-concept in TIMSS 2003, it had no statistically significant relationship with student self-concept in TIMSS 2007. The findings of this study shed light on possible explanations for the existence of BFLPE and also lead to an international discussion on the generalization of BFLPE.     

The Big-Fish–Little-Pond Effect for Academic Self-Concept, Test Anxiety, and School Grades in Gifted Children

This study reports data extending work by Marsh and colleagues on the “big-fish-little-pond effect” (BFLPE). The BFLPE hypothesizes that it is better for academic self-concept to be a big fish in a little pond (gifted student in regular reference group) than to be a small fish in a big pond (gifted student in gifted reference group). The BFLPE effect was examined with respect to academic self-concept, test anxiety, and school grades in a sample of 1020 gifted Israeli children participating in two different educational programs: (a) special homogeneous classes for the gifted and (b) regular mixed-ability classes. The central hypothesis, deduced from social comparison and reference group theory, was that academically talented students enrolled in special gifted classes will perceive their academic ability and chances for academic success less favorably compared to students in regular mixed-ability classes. These negative self-perceptions, in turn, will serve to deflate students' academic self-concept, elevate their levels of evaluative anxiety, and result in depressed school grades. A path-analytic model linking reference group, academic self-concept, evaluative anxiety, and school performance, was employed to test this conceptualization. Overall, the data lend additional support to reference group theory, with the big-fish-little-pond effect supported for all three variables tested. In addition, academic self-concept and test anxiety were observed to mediate the effects of reference group on school grades.     

Universals and specifics of math self-concept, math self-efficacy, and math anxiety across 41 PISA 2003 participating countries

The overarching goal of the present study is to investigate the factorial structure of three closely related constructs: math self-concept, math self-efficacy, and math anxiety. The factorial structure consisting of three factors, each representing math self-concept, math self-efficacy, and math anxiety, is supported in all 41 countries employed in this study. This same factorial structure is achieved at both between- and within-country levels. This study also reveals some country specific information, including country-level mean differences and within-country importance of these three math self-constructs in predicting math performance. For instance, Asian countries such as Korea, and Japan, demonstrate low math self-concept and math self-efficacy and high math anxiety in spite of their high scores on math performance. On the other hand, some of the Western European countries such as Finland, Netherlands, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland show “balanced” outcomes, with high math performance and low levels of math anxiety.     

Female ‘big fish’ swimming against the tide: The ‘big-fish-little-pond effect’ and gender-ratio in special gifted classes

This study takes a second look at the “big-fish-little-pond effect” (BFLPE) on a national sample of 769 gifted Israeli students (32% female) previously investigated by Zeidner and Schleyer (Zeidner, M., & Schleyer, E. J., (1999a). The big-fish-little-pond effect for academic self-concept, test anxiety, and school grades in gifted children. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 24, 305–329). The reanalysis of the data, using HLM methodology, was designed to partition individual differences from aggregate group variance, as well as to test a number of focused hypotheses regarding the effects of gender and gender-ratio in class on self-concept. With respect to self-concept, the BFLPE hypothesizes that it is better to be a good student in an average-ability reference group than to be a good student in a high-ability reference group. Prior studies explored the BFLPE comparing gifted students in different educational contexts. Here, the BFLPE was exclusively investigated within special gifted classes. Results supported the BFLPE for academic self-concept. Furthermore, whereas girls’ academic self-concept was negatively influenced by gender-ratio (percentage of boys in class), gender-ratio had no significant influence on boys’ academic self-concept.     

The female fish is more responsive: gender moderates the BFLPE in the domain of science

Academic self-concept is positively related to individual achievement but negatively related to class- or school-average achievement: the big-fish–little-pond effect (BFLPE). This contrast effect results from social comparison processes. The BFLPE is known to be long-lasting, universal and robust. However, there is little evidence regarding its generalisability across genders. Females, as opposed to males, feel more attached to their peers and compare themselves more often. Thus, it was hypothesised that the BFLPE is larger for females. This was investigated with a focus on science self-concept in a German sample from an extension of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2006 study (N?=?35,015) using recent advances in multilevel modelling. Replicating previous findings, females reported lower self-concepts while controlling for achievement. Additionally, the BFLPE was replicated. However, its effect size was substantially larger for females (?.41) compared to males (?.30). The implications of the results are discussed in light of women’s persisting underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.     

Endorsing achievement goals exacerbates the big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept

The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) model predicts students’ academic self-concept to be negatively predicted by the achievement level of their reference group, controlling for individual achievement. Despite an abundance of empirical evidence supporting the BFLPE, there have been relatively few studies searching for possible moderators. Integrating the BFLPE model with Achievement Goal Theory, the present study aims to determine whether the negative effect of class-average achievement on academic self-concept is moderated by individual and class-average achievement goals. Our sample comprised of 2987 students (50% boys) from Grade 6 in 112 elementary schools in the Flemish region of Belgium (174 classes). Applying multilevel modelling, we found a stronger BFLPE when students’ individual achievement goals were higher, regardless of the specific nature of these goals. The BFLPE was not moderated by class-average levels of achievement goals. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the BFLPE is moderated by individual goal-related factors.     

Does big-fish–little-pond effect always exist? Investigation of goal orientations as moderators in the Hong Kong context

The big-fish–little-pond effect (BFLPE) posits that students with the same ability will have higher academic self-concepts when they are in low-ability classes than in high-ability classes. Our research puts the BFLPE under scrutiny by examining goal orientations as the moderators that may affect the size of the BFLPE. We collected data on mathematics self-concept, mathematics ability and goal orientation from 7334 Hong Kong junior secondary school students in 201 classes. We hypothesised that the BFLPE would be exacerbated for students who endorsed high extrinsic goals while the BFLPE would be attenuated for students who endorsed high intrinsic goals. However, the results did not fully support the hypothesis. We found that students who were highly motivated in general (both intrinsic and extrinsic) experienced stronger BFLPE. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

The role of academic ability indicators in big-fish-little-pond effect research: A comparison study

The authors examined the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) on academic self-concept (ASC) using different indicators of academic ability (i.e., achievement test, cognitive ability test, grades corrected for grading-on-a-curve effects, uncorrected grades). They investigated under what circumstances grades are suitable indicators of academic ability in BFLPE research. The sample comprised 730 sixth-grade students from 30 classes belonging to the top track of the German secondary high school system. Using multilevel models, all indicators of academic ability exhibited negative contrast effects on ASC at class level (i.e., BFLPE). The authors found the strongest effects for corrected grades, followed by achievement tests, cognitive ability, and, finally, uncorrected grades. Thus, the study provides evidence for the usage of grades within BFLPE research for investigating the BFLPE.     

The aspects and ability groups in which little fish perform worse than big fish: Examining the big-fish-little-pond effect in the context of school tracking

The present study focused on junior high-school graduates who were equally able but attended different-rank high schools, comparing their academic self-concept, school adjustment, and academic achievement upon the completion of senior high school. An overall-school analysis was used to replicate previous findings, and an adjacent-school comparison was conducted to compare the performance of students at the bottom of a higher track and their similar-ability counterparts at the top of a lower track. The results indicated that the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) affects the academic self-concept and school adjustment of certain students, but not their academic achievement. Furthermore, the BFLPE was present between the bottom students of the first-ranked school and the top students of the second-ranked school, but not between the bottom students of the second-ranked school and the top students of the third-ranked school. The obtained results indicate that the BFLPE may not necessarily be associated with cognitive outcomes such as academic achievement and tracking contexts with less contrasting groups.     

Academic self-concept, interest, grades, and standardized test scores: reciprocal effects models of causal ordering

Reciprocal effects models of longitudinal data show that academic self-concept is both a cause and an effect of achievement. In this study this model was extended to juxtapose self-concept with academic interest. Based on longitudinal data from 2 nationally representative samples of German 7th-grade students (Study 1: N = 5,649, M age = 13.4; Study 2: N = 2,264, M age = 13.7 years), prior self-concept significantly affected subsequent math interest, school grades, and standardized test scores, whereas prior math interest had only a small effect on subsequent math self-concept. Despite stereotypic gender differences in means, linkages relating these constructs were invariant over gender. These results demonstrate the positive effects of academic self-concept on a variety of academic outcomes and integrate self-concept with the developmental motivation literature.     

Testing measurement invariance of mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy in PISA using MGCFA and the alignment method

The aim of the study is to investigate the measurement invariance of mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy across 40 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 and 2012 cycles. The sample of the study consists of 271,760 students in PISA 2003 and 333,804 students in PISA 2012. Firstly, the traditional measurement invariance testing was applied in the multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA). Then, the alignment analyses were performed, allowing non-invariance to a minimum to estimate all of the parameters. Results from MGCFA indicate that mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy hold metric invariance across the 80 groups (cycle by country). The alignment method results suggest that a large proportion of non-invariance exists in both mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy factors, and the factor means cannot be compared across all participating countries. Results of the Monte Carlo simulation show that the alignment results are trustworthy. Implications and limitations are discussed, and some recommendations for future research are proposed.

     

The Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go from Here?

The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) refers to the theoretical prediction that equally able students will have lower academic self-concepts in higher-achieving or selective schools or programs than in lower-achieving or less selective schools or programs, largely due to social comparison based on local norms. While negative consequences of being in a more competitive educational setting are highlighted by the BFLPE, the exact nature of the BFLPE has not been closely scrutinized. This article provides a critique of the BFLPE in terms of its conceptualization, methodology, and practical implications. Our main argument is that the BFLPE, while having added to our understanding of the origins of self-concepts, disproportionately emphasizes one aspect of social comparison to the exclusion of many other intervening factors. In light of our critique, we suggest a broader conception of social comparison effects on academic self-concept that emphasizes a more active role of individuals in regulating their social cognition and motivation, as well as a more distinct effect of social-contextual influences. We also suggest alternative research designs that would incorporate contextual, developmental, and individual differences as potential moderators or mediators of the BFLPE.

BUILDING MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT MODELS IN FOUR COUNTRIES USING TIMSS 2003

Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 data, this study built mathematics achievement models of 8th graders in four countries: the USA, Russia, Singapore and South Africa. These 4 countries represent the full spectrum of mathematics achievement. In addition, they represent 4 continents, and they include 2 countries hugely influential in world events (the USA and Russia). In each country, students’ self-concept of ability in mathematics, mathematics values, perception of school, teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of school and other characteristics related to the classroom and school were incorporated to build an achievement model through hierarchical linear modelling. The final achievement models suggested that among student variables, self-concept of ability in mathematics had the highest relation to 8th graders’ mathematics achievement in all 4 countries. The relation between mathematics achievement and other student characteristics, along with the family, teacher and school variables, differed across the 4 countries. This suggests that self-concept of ability is a key variable for understanding achievement in high and low achieving countries and that other contextual variables vary in the magnitude of relations to mathematics achievement across countries.     

A Test for Cluster Bias: Detecting Violations of Measurement Invariance Across Clusters in Multilevel Data

We present a test for cluster bias, which can be used to detect violations of measurement invariance across clusters in 2-level data. We show how measurement invariance assumptions across clusters imply measurement invariance across levels in a 2-level factor model. Cluster bias is investigated by testing whether the within-level factor loadings are equal to the between-level factor loadings, and whether the between-level residual variances are zero. The test is illustrated with an example from school research. In a simulation study, we show that the cluster bias test has sufficient power, and the proportions of false positives are close to the chosen levels of significance.