Achievement goals and academic achievement: A closer look at moderating factors

Two recently published meta-analyses (Huang, 2012, Hulleman et al., 2010) have focused on the association between achievement goals and achievement outcomes. These meta-analyses differed to some extent, e.g., regarding the identified moderators. The present meta-analysis serves to clarify those heterogeneous findings by considering more studies through 2011 and by considering more moderators. Our literature search identified 180 publications (N = 81 947). Analyses (using random effects models) revealed small but significant associations between achievement goals and achievement outcomes (r = −.12 to r = .13; all ps < .01; global performance goals: r = .01, p > .05). The results of the present moderator analyses differed from those of the previous meta-analyses. For example, in contrast to Huang (2012), we were able to find several moderators of the association between performance-approach goals and academic achievement. The results have several important implications, especially regarding the assessment of achievement goals.     

Meta-analysis on the relation between acculturation and academic performance: Testing the immigrant paradox

This meta-analysis is designed to test the immigrant paradox hypothesis, which argues that first-generation immigrant students tend to outperform their more acculturated peers. We aim to unpack the complex relation between acculturation and academic performance among immigrant-origin students with attention to methodological and demographic moderators. The review includes 79 independent samples generated from 54 studies, representing 89,827 students (M = 646.24, SD = 862.93) with a mean age of 13.26 (SD = 5.16). We found an overall main effect of 0.04, (p < .001), suggesting a significant, positive correlation between acculturation and academic performance. However, given the significant variation among studies, focused moderator analyses revealed the importance of critical methodological (e.g., type of acculturation measure used, type of academic indicator used, and type of publication) and demographic (e.g., developmental stage, race/ethnicity, urbanicity) factors that moderate the relation between acculturation and school achievement. These results suggest the opposite of the immigrant paradox, that is second-generation (or more acculturated) students seem to perform better than their first-generation (or less acculturated) peers. Moderation analysis, however, revealed that acculturation seems to have no effect on grades, while having a positive effect on test scores. Finally, we found a positive relation between acculturation and academic performance in studies conducted with children and adolescents, but not for young adults.     

Accuracy of teachers' judgments of students' cognitive abilities: A meta-analysis

This paper presents a meta-analysis of the accuracy of teachers' judgments of students' cognitive abilities. The array of cognitive abilities includes intelligence, giftedness, other cognitive abilities, and creativity. The integration of 106 effect sizes from 33 studies with a meta-analytical multilevel approach led to a mean judgment accuracy of cognitive abilities of r = 0.43. Moderation analyses revealed moderate to large effects for intelligence: r = 0.50, other cognitive abilities: r = 0.42, giftedness: r = 0.36, and creativity: r = 0.34. Lower judgment accuracy was shown for preselected student samples and for judgments without eligible frames of reference. We discuss an academic achievement bias as selected studies revealed higher correlations between judgments of intelligence and academic achievement measures (r = 0.61) than between judgments of intelligence and measures of intelligence.     

Gendered pathways to educational aspirations: The role of academic self-concept,school burnout,achievement and interest in mathematics and reading

The aim of this study was to examine lower secondary school students' (N = 1152) pathways to educational aspirations. The study used multi-group structural equation modelling to investigate the predictions of academic self-concept, school burnout, achievement, and interest in mathematics and reading, in relation to educational aspirations for boys and girls. While certain factors were influential for students' academic aspirations irrespective of gender, some interesting differences also emerged. Academic self-concept and interest in reading predicted educational aspirations for both groups. However, gendered pathways emerged in how achievement and interest in mathematics predicted educational aspirations. Interest in mathematics predicted girls’ educational aspirations, whereas mathematics achievement was a significant predictor for boys. School burnout had negative indirect effects through interest in reading and mathematics in both groups, but for girls, there was also a direct positive effect on educational aspirations.     

Reciprocal effects between intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence? A cross‐lagged panel model for academic track and nonacademic track students

Previous research has demonstrated positive relations between intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence. However, the causal direction of these relations and the moderating role of relevant background variables (e.g., students' achievement level) are not well understood. In the present study, a cross‐lagged panel model was applied to academic track and nonacademic track fifth grade students (N = 396) to test whether intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence are reciprocally related depending on the students' achievement level (indicated by school track affiliation). According to expectations, the cross‐lagged effect of intrinsic reading motivation on reading competence was only significant for academic track students. In the nonacademic track group, neither the effect of intrinsic reading motivation on reading competence nor the reverse effect proved to be significant. Thus, the nature of the relation between intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence seems to depend on students' school track affiliation.     

Achievement goals and self-efficacy: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis examined the relations between achievement goals and self-efficacy. One hundred and twenty-five studies consisting of 148 samples (N = 61,456) reporting the relations between academic achievement goals and academic self-efficacy were included. The correlations of mastery and mastery approach goals with self-efficacy were generally moderate to strong, while those of performance avoidance and mastery avoidance goals with self-efficacy were low. Goal valence was meaningfully related to self-efficacy, whereas the support for the goal definition was inconsistent. Publication status, proportion of males, mean age, and achievement goal measure did not exert significant moderating effects, whereas those for country where the research was conducted, the proportion of Caucasians, the self-efficacy measure, the domains of achievement goals and self-efficacy, and matching between achievement goal and self-efficacy domains varied with the achievement goal factor. The four-factor model was based on a relatively small number of samples, and so future research is needed to determine whether there are differences in correlations of mastery avoidance and performance avoidance goals with antecedents and consequences.     

Reading achievement and reading self-concept – Testing the reciprocal effects model

Although there is a vast amount of research on reading motivation, evidence for bidirectional associations between reading self-concept and reading achievement is still missing, whereas there is compelling empirical evidence that suggests reciprocal effects between academic self-concept and achievement in other domains. This paper aimed to rigorously test reciprocal effects between reading self-concept and reading achievement within a longitudinal design comprising four waves of data collection. Drawing on a sample of N = 1508 secondary school students, results of structural equation modeling yielded support for reciprocal effects between reading self-concept and reading achievement. Strong support was found for the skill-development hypothesis, i.e. achievement predicting self-concept. Moreover, the self-enhancement hypothesis (self-concept predicting achievement) was corroborated in early years of secondary school. Thus, to best support poor readers, reading skills should perhaps be fostered by boosting the reading skill itself and reading self-concept, the latter particularly at the beginning of secondary school.     

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.     

A meta-analysis of the effects of Montessori education on five fields of development and learning in preschool and school-age children

This meta-analysis examines the effects of Montessori Education (ME) on five dimensions of development and learning in preschool and school-age children. It includes data from 33 experimental or quasi-experimental studies comparing ME with other pedagogical approaches (268 effect sizes; n = 21,67). These studies were conducted in North-America, Asia and Europe, and published between 1991 and 2021. Effect size estimated using Hedges’ unbiased g, and a 3-level multilevel meta-analytic approach applied due to the dependency among the effect sizes obtained from the same study. Results showed that ME’s effects on development and learning are positive and vary from moderate to high, depending on the dimension considered: cognitive abilities (g = 0.17), social skills (g = 0.22), creativity (g = 0.25), motor skills (g = 0.27), and academic achievement (g = 1.10). Analyses of different moderators did not reveal differences by school level, type of publication and continent.     

Modeling and Visualizing the Codevelopment of Word and Nonword Reading in Children From First Through Fourth Grade: Informing Developmental Trajectories of Children With Dyslexia

Developmental studies examining relations between word reading (WR) and decoding in typical and dyslexic populations routinely cut the reading distribution to form distinct groups. However, dichotomizing continuous variables to study development is problematic for multiple reasons. Instead, we modeled and visualized the parallel growth of WR and nonword reading (NWR) factor scores longitudinally in a Grade 1–4 developmental sample (N = 588). The results indicate that while WR and NWR growth factors are highly related (r = .71), the relation between WR and NWR trajectories change as a function of initial WR. Results are interpreted within computational models of dyslexia in which children with dyslexia overfit orthography → phonology relations at the level of the word, limiting the development of sublexical representations needed to read nonwords.     

A tale of two tests: The role of topic and general academic knowledge in traditional versus contemporary scenario-based reading

We compared high school students’ performance in a traditional comprehension assessment requiring them to identify key information and draw inferences from single texts, and a scenario-based assessment (SBA) requiring them to integrate, evaluate and apply information across multiple sources. Both assessments focused on a non-academic topic. Performance on the two assessments were moderately correlated (r = 0.57), but the SBA was more difficult (Study 1; n = 342). The two assessments similarly depended on basic reading skills but diverged in the relation to academic knowledge and (non-academic) topic knowledge (Study 2; n = 1107). Academic knowledge was highly predictive of traditional comprehension, but less so for SBA. Topic knowledge was more predictive of SBA than traditional comprehension. Thus, the two assessments tap into similar constructs related to comprehension; however, the level of topic knowledge is more important for performance on scenario-based, multiple-source reading tasks, whereas academic knowledge is more important for traditional reading comprehension tasks.     

Gender-specific trajectories of academic achievement in Chinese elementary school students: Relations with life satisfaction trajectories and suicidal ideation trajectories

This study explored heterogeneous developmental trajectories of academic achievement and their relations to trajectories of life satisfaction and trajectories of suicidal ideation among Chinese elementary school students. A sample of 547 students (55.0% boys; M_age = 9.00 years, SD = 0.76 at Time 1) completed a packet of measures on five occasions across two years, using 6-month intervals. Three distinct trajectories of academic achievement were identified: “high-stable” (86.28%), “low-increasing” (8.94%), and “low-decreasing” (4.78%). Girls demonstrated higher academic achievement than boys. Students displaying adverse developmental trends in academic achievement were more likely to show adverse trends in life satisfaction. Finally, trajectories of academic achievement and trajectories of suicidal ideation were related for girls, but not boys. Programs promoting academic achievement may require adaptations for the differing genders and start as early as elementary school.     

Comparing the roles and correlates of emotions in class and during online video lectures in a flipped anatomy classroom

The present study compares the structure, the longitudinal relation, and the predictive roles of emotions in-class and emotions while watching online video lectures outside of class. Participants (N = 269) reported their emotions, attentional control, and behavioral engagement associated with in-class activities and online lecture viewing at two time points in a large “flipped” undergraduate anatomy course. Overall, the longitudinal and cross-contextual relations among emotions, from emotions to learning behaviors, and from emotions to achievement were similar, whereas distinct patterns of relations were found for learning behaviors, and from learning behaviors to academic achievement. These findings are discussed within the Control-Value Theory and provide implications for supporting adaptive emotions and learning in flipped classrooms.     

Engagement profiles of elementary students in urban schools

This study identified engagement profiles and examined their relations to student characteristics (gender, grade, socioeconomic status) as well as mathematics and reading achievement among elementary students attending urban schools in the southeastern part of the United States (N = 564). Using latent profile analysis, four engagement profiles were identified including a Moderately Engaged, Globally Disengaged, Affectively Disengaged, and Behaviorally Disengaged profile. Subsequent analyses showed that grade level was a statistically significant predictor of profile membership, and the Moderately Engaged profile was associated with higher mathematics achievement compared to the Affectively Disengaged profile. Results contribute to the growing body of person-centered work that indicates that students’ engagement cluster into unique configurations of global, behavioral, affective, cognitive, and social engagement, which have important implications for their academic achievement.     

Warmth and Demand: The Relation Between Students' Perceptions of the Classroom Environment and Achievement Growth

Theory suggests that African American students benefit from warm and demanding teachers. This study examines the relation between students' perceptions of 634 teachers' warm demander characteristics and achievement growth in fourth and fifth grades (M_{student age} = 9–11.5 years). Analyses explored whether relations were moderated by the proportion of African American students in the classroom or the ethnic match or mismatch between African American students and their teachers. Results indicated that students' perceptions of teachers' demand (challenge and control) related to student achievement growth. Findings showed a stronger relation between challenge and academic growth in classrooms with more African American students, but no significant findings were identified for ethnic match or mismatch.     

Parent-child cohesion,self-esteem,and academic achievement: The longitudinal relations among elementary school students

This study addressed the longitudinal reciprocal relations among parent-child cohesion, self-esteem, and academic achievement in elementary school students. A total of 659 students from Grades 4–5 in China (M_age = 10.09 years, 46.3% female) was investigated on five occasions across 12 months. The results indicated that: (a) For the direct reciprocal relations, mother-child cohesion and academic achievement reciprocally enhanced each other; self-esteem and academic achievement transactionally facilitated each other; father-child cohesion and self-esteem reciprocally enhanced each other; self-esteem facilitated mother-child cohesion, but not vice versa. (b) For the indirect relations, father-child cohesion and students’ academic achievement facilitated each other indirectly via self-esteem; students’ academic achievement influenced mother-child cohesion indirectly via self-esteem, but not vice versa. These results delineated the dynamic system among these study variables, and also revealed that father-child cohesion and mother-child cohesion showed both similarities and differences. Implications for educational practices were discussed.     

Is retell a valid measure of reading comprehension?

Retell is used widely as a measure of reading comprehension. In this meta-analysis, we evaluated the relation between retell and other measures of reading comprehension among students in Grades 1–12. Data from 23 studies (82 effect sizes; N = 4705 participants) showed a moderate relation between retell and other measures of reading comprehension, r = 0.46. Moderation analyses revealed that the relation was stronger when reading comprehension was measured by cloze or maze tasks than when measured using a multiple-choice format. In addition, the relation was weaker in higher grades, but this was largely explained by text genre or the number of prompts in retell. The relation between ‘oral’ retell and reading comprehension was stronger with a greater number of prompts provided during retell tests. In contrast, results did not differ by other features of retell such as reading mode (oral or silent), text genres of retell (narrative or informational), or use of different oral retell evaluation methods (e.g., number of words or ideas, overall quality). Overall, the moderate magnitude of the relation between retell and other measures of reading comprehension indicates caution for using retell as the sole measure of reading comprehension. The results also indicate a need for a better understanding about more systematic approaches to retell assessment (e.g., number and kind of prompts in the case of oral retell) as a measure of reading comprehension.     

Adaptive and effortful control and academic self-efficacy beliefs on achievement: A longitudinal study of 1st through 3rd graders

The linkages between self-regulatory processes and achievement were examined across 3 years in 733 children beginning at 1st grade (M = 6.57 years, S.D. = .39 at 1st grade) who were identified as lower achieving in literacy. Accounting for consistencies in measures (from 1 year prior) and for influences of child's age, gender, IQ, ethnicity and economic adversity on achievement, results indicate that adaptive/effortful control at 1st grade contributed to both academic self-efficacy beliefs at 2nd grade, and reading (but not math) achievement at 3rd grade. Although academic self-efficacy did not partially mediate the linkage between adaptive/effortful control and achievement, academic self-efficacy beliefs were positively correlated with reading and math. Results support the notion that early efforts to promote children's self-regulatory skills would enhance future academic self-beliefs and achievement, particularly in literacy.     

Does it pay to be one of the oldest in class? Relative age effects on academic self-concept,peer relations,and teacher judgments in German primary schools

Several studies have revealed that older students in a year group reach higher achievement scores than younger students in that group. But less is known about how students' relative age in class relates to their self-perception of academic achievement, their social acceptance in class and to how teachers judge their abilities. Therefore, we examined relative age effects within class on students' academic self-concept, peer relations, grades, and teachers’ secondary school recommendation. Analyses were based on a sample of N = 18,956 German fourth graders, who had never been retained or accelerated. We applied multilevel regression to control for covariates at the individual and classroom level. There were no substantial relative age effects within class across any of the outcomes, except for a small advantage for the youngest in their reading self-concept. Our findings therefore contradict the common assumption that younger students in class are disadvantaged compared to their older classmates.     

Developmental Transactions Between Self-Regulation and Academic Achievement Among Low-Income African American and Latino Children

This study examined the development of emerging self-regulation (SR) skills across the preschool years and relations to academic achievement in kindergarten and first grade. SR skills of 403 low-income African American and Latino children were measured at 2&1/2, 3&1/2, and 5 years (kindergarten). Reading and math skills were measured at 5 and 6 years (first grade) using the Woodcock–Johnson. Transactional relations between SR skills and achievement outcomes were estimated with latent difference score models. Increases in set shifting predicted prospective increases in reading, but not math scores. Increases in simple response inhibition predicted prospective increases in math, but not reading scores. Application of these findings to early intervention programming and needed supports for school readiness and achievement are discussed.