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.