Showing papers on "Academic achievement published in 1997"

Assessing the Effects of School Resources on Student Performance: An Update

Abstract: The relationship between school resources and student achievement has been controversial, in large part because it calls into question a variety of traditional policy approaches. This article reviews the available educational production literature, updating previous summaries. The close to 400 studies of student achievement demonstrate that there is not a strong or consistent relationship between student performance and school resources, at least after variations in family inputs are taken into account. These results are also reconciled with meta-analytic approaches and with other investigations on how school resources affect labor market outcomes. Simple resource policies hold little hope for improving student outcomes.

Teacher and classroom context effects on student achievement: Implications for teacher evaluation.

Abstract: The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) has been designed to use statistical mixed-model methodologies to conduct multivariate, longitudinal analyses of student achievement to make estimates of school, class size, teacher, and other effects. This study examined the relative magnitude of teacher effects on student achievement while simultaneously considering the influences of intraclassroom heterogeneity, student achievement level, and class size on academic growth. The results show that teacher effects are dominant factors affecting student academic gain and that the classroom context variables of heterogeneity among students and class sizes have relatively little influence on academic gain. Thus, a major conclusion is that teachers make a difference. Implications of the findings for teacher evaluation and future research are discussed.

Academic success among students at risk for school failure

Abstract: A sample of 1,803 minority students from low-income homes was classified into 3 groups on the basis of grades, test scores, and persistence from grade 8 through Grade 12; the classifications were academically successfully school completers ("resilient" students), school completers with poorer academic performance (nonresilient completers), and noncompleters (dropouts). Groups were compared in terms of psychological characteristics and measures of "school engagement." Large, significant differences were found among groups on engagement behaviors, even after background and psychological characteristics were controlled statistically. The findings support the hypothesis that student engagement is an important component of academic resilience. Furthermore, they provide information for designing interventions to improve the educational prognoses of students at risk.

Avoiding the demonstration of lack of ability: An underexplored aspect of goal theory.

Abstract: Traditionally, theorists have described motivation in terms of approach and avoidance tendencies. In contrast, goal orientation research has focused primarily on 2 approach goals: demonstrating ability (performance-approach) and developing ability (task). A scale to assess the goal of avoiding the demonstration of lack of ability (performance-avoid) was included with scales assessing approach goals in a survey given to 703 6th graders. Factor analysis supported the differentiation among the 3 scales. The performance scales were moderately positively correlated and exhibited low correlations with the task scale. With all 3 goals in regression equations, task goals predicted academic efficacy, self-regulated learning, and lower levels of avoiding seeking academic help in the classroom. Performance-avoid goals negatively predicted academic efficacy and positively predicted avoiding seeking help and test anxiety. Performance-approach goals did not emerge as the most significant predictor of any of these educationally relevant outcomes.

Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical caring.

Abstract: This study examined adolescents' perceptions of pedagogical caring in relation to their motivation to achieve positive social and academic outcomes in middle school. A longitudinal sample of 248 students was followed from 6th to 8th grade. Perceived caring from teachers predicted motivational outcom

Key Characteristics of Effective Schools: a Review of School Effectiveness Research

Abstract: MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. *Academic Achievement; Cognitive Processes; *Educational Environment; Effective Schools Research; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; *Institutional Characteristics; Instructional Leadership; Outcomes of Education; *Partnerships in Education; *School Effectiveness; Teaching Methods This review provides an analysis of the key determinants of school effectiveness in elementary and secondary schools. A literature review identified the following key correlates of effectiveness: (1) professional leadership; (2) shared vision and goals; (3) a learning environment; (4) concentration on teaching and learning; (5) purposeful teaching; (6) high expectations; (7) positive reinforcement; (8) monitoring progress; (9) pupil rights and responsibilities; (10) home-school partnership; and (11) a learning organization. The majority of effectiveness studies have focused exclusively on students' cognitive outcomes, but there is less evidence about school and classroom processes that are important in determining schools' success in promoting social or affective outcomes. Because of this focus, the review tells more about the correlates of academic effectiveness. Results of the review did not support the view that any one particular teaching style is more effective than others, but did indicate that flexibility and the ability to adapt teaching approaches are more important than notions of any single style. (Contains 186 references.) (ELD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. * *********************************************************************** OFFICE FOR LTANDARDS IN EDUCATION KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS A review of school effectiveness research U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION O 710e of Eduesnonal Rasura. and IMMOVefflarII EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) "IrEme dOcurnenl hae Oxen lepreduce as 'Moved from Me person or posnasoon Onpmehrs .1 C Minor cheers& nave peen roads to improve reproduChol quality Pe.nte of 0,se or olannAs shoed rn MX.mem do no! neeesserny rapremor °Mow OEM popoon a ookcv

The Academic Achievement of Adolescents from Immigrant Families: The Roles of Family Background, Attitudes, and Behavior

Abstract: The goal of this study was to determine the relative impact of family background, parental attitudes, peer support, and adolescents' own attitudes and behaviors on the academic achievement of students from immigrant families. Approximately 1,100 adolescents with Latino, East Asian, Filipino, and European backgrounds reported on their own academic attitudes and behaviors as well as those of their parents and peers. In addition, students' course grades were obtained from their official school records. Results indicated that first and second generation students received higher grades in mathematics and English than their peers from native families. Only a small portion of their success could be attributed to their socioeconomic background; a more significant correlate of their achievement was a strong emphasis on education that was shared by the students, their parents, and their peers. These demographic and psychosocial factors were also important in understanding the variation in academic performance among the immigrant students themselves.

Predictors and Consequences of Achievement Goals in the College Classroom: Maintaining Interest and Making the Grade

Abstract: The authors investigated personality predictors of achievement goals in an introductory psychology class, as well as the consequences of these goals for the motivation and performance of 311 undergraduates. Two dimensions of achievement motivation (workmastery and competitive orientations; J. T. Spence & R. L. Helmreich, 1983) predicted the goals endorsed. Individuals high in workmastery were more likely to adopt mastery goals and less likely to adopt work avoidance goals, whereas competitive individuals were more likely to endorse performance and work avoidance goals. Students adopting mastery goals were more interested in the class, but students adopting performance goals achieved higher levels of performance. These results suggest that both mastery and performance goals can lead to important positive outcomes in college classes. Each semester as students decide whether to enroll in a particular class, those of us lurking in the halls hear students asking each other the following questions: "How much will I learn in this class?," "How did you do in this course?," and "How much work is required for this course?" These questions illustrate the issues that are important to college students in academic achievement situations and provide insight into the types of goals they might adopt for a particular course. Achievement goals are situationally specific orientations that represent the desire to develop, attain, or demonstrate competence in a particular context (Ames, 1992; Dweck, 1986; Nicholls, 1984, 1989), and they can affect the way that students approach and perform their coursework (Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Maehr & Braskamp, 1986). Although theoretical perspectives and labels differ, there is an emerging consensus that two primary types of achievement goals are important determinants of motivation and performance

Friendships, Peer Acceptance, and Group Membership: Relations to Academic Achievement in Middle School

Abstract: Two samples of sixth-grade students were followed over time to examine relations of number of reciprocated friendships, peer acceptance, and group membership to academic achievement. In both samples, group membership was the most consistent predictor of grades over time. In Study 2, prosocial behavior, antisocial behavior, and emotional distress were examined as processes that might explain these significant links between peer relationships and academic achievement. Results of longitudinal analyses support a conclusion that aspects of peer relationships are related to classroom achievement indirectly, by way of significant relations with prosocial behavior. Future research might benefit from more in-depth analyses of the functions of adolescent peer relationships and the processes by which they influence orientations toward social and academic competence at school.

Causal effects of academic self-concept on academic achievement: Structural equation models of longitudinal data.

Abstract: Academic self-concept, school marks, and teacher ratings of achievement were collected in 3 high-school subjects in each of 3 years (N = 603). In the structural equation models (SEMs) considered, both school-based performance and academic self-concept were measured with multiple indicators for each school subject. SEMs were used to evaluate the effects of prior academic self-concept on subsequent achievement after controlling for the effects of prior achievement, and the effects of prior achievement on subsequent academic self-concept after controlling for the effects of prior academic self-concept. Although the effects of achievement tended to be larger and more systematic, there was clear support for both academic self-concept and achievement effects. Although there was support for this reciprocal effects model for all 3 school subjects, self-concept effects tended to be larger and more systematic for mathematics than for science and, particularly, English.

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies: Making Classrooms More Responsive to Diversity:

Abstract: The primary focus of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a classwide peer tutoring program in reading for three learner types: low achievers with and without disabilities and average achievers. Twelve schools, stratified on student achievement and family income, were assigned randomly to experimental and control groups. Twenty teachers implemented the peer tutoring program for 15 weeks; 20 did not implement it. In each of the 40 classrooms, data were collected systematically on three students representing the three learner types. Pre- and posttreatment reading achievement data were collected on three measures of the Comprehensive Reading Assessment Battery. Findings indicated that, irrespective of type of measure and type of learner, students in peer tutoring classrooms demonstrated greater reading progress. Implications for policymaking are discussed.

The Learner-Centered Classroom and School: Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation and Achievement. The Jossey-Bass Education Series.

Abstract: What is "Learner-Centered"? Why Learner-Centered? The Learner-Centered Classroom. The Learner-Centered School System. Making the Transition to Learner-Centered Classrooms and Schools. An Action Plan for Ongoing Learning and Change.

Towards a Full Model of Second Language Learning: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract: Much research in second language acquisition (SLA) centres on the relationships among individual difference measures such as language attitudes, motivation, anxiety, self-confidence, language aptitude, learning strategies, field independence, and measures of achievement in the language. Numerous studies have supported the proposed influences of these individual difference variables on achievement, and a number of models have been developed to explain the relationships among subsets of these variables. However, there is a lack of research examining the relationships among all these variables simultaneously. In the present study, we investigate a large number of individual difference measures to determine their underlying dimensions, to contrast their predictive validities, and to evaluate their contributions in a causal model of SLA. Our study was based on a sample of 102 university students enrolled in introductory French. The results indicated substantial links among the affective measures and achievement. Support was found for these connections in the proposed causal model.

Effect of School Population Socioeconomic Status on Individual Academic Achievement

Abstract: The relationship between the socioeconomic status (SES) of peers and individual academic achievement was examined in this study. This question was investigated while a variety of sociodemographic factors were being controlled, including a student's own SES. Student SES was measured by using participation in the federal free/reduced–price lunch program as an indicator of poverty status, and parental educational and occupational background as a measure of family social status. These measures were aggregated to the school level to define the SES of the peer population. Student achievement is a factor score of the three 10th–grade components of the Louisiana Graduation Exit Examination. Peer family social status in particular does have a significant and substantive independent effect on individual academic achievement, only slightly less than an individual's own family social status.

Identification with School.

Abstract: The emotional and physical withdrawal of many students from school may be associated with students' failure to identify with school Identification was defined as having a sense of belonging in school and valuing school and school-related outcomes This study investigated the antecedents of students' identification with school, namely, longitudinal patterns of academic achievement and classroom participation among 1,335 white and African-American students Since many researchers have asserted that disidentification from school is particularly prevalent among African-American students, racial group differences were also examined African-American and female students had higher levels of identification with school than did white and male students, respectively Classroom participation and academic achievement were significant predictors of identification While African-American students had higher levels of identification than did white students, their positive feelings were not attributable to prior academ

The development, validation and application of the Course Experience Questionnaire

Abstract: The Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) is a development of work originally carried out at Lancaster University in the 1980s. It is used as a measure of perceived teaching quality in degree programmes in national annual surveys of all graduates in the Australian higher education system and is increasingly being employed as a measure of the quality of teaching in universities in the UK. This article discusses the development and use of the CEQ and the construction of a new generic skills scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of large multidisciplinary samples of students and graduates from several universities established the reliability and validity of both the full and short forms of the instrument, and identified a two-factor higher order structure. The criterion validity of the instrument was also established, with scores on the CEQ demonstrating positive correlations with students' approaches to learning, perceived course satisfaction, academic achievement and reported generic...

Faculty/Student Mentor Program: Effects on Academic Performance and Retention.

Abstract: A university faculty/student mentor program was evaluated for its effects on academic performance and retention. A matched pairs design was used in which 339 undergraduates assigned to mentors were paired with nonmentored students based on gender, ethnicity, GPA, and entering enrollment status. The results showed a higher GPA for mentored students (2.45 vs. 2.29), more units completed per semester (9.33 vs. 8.49), and lower dropout rate (14.5% vs. 26.3%). Amount of mentor-protege contact was positively correlated with GPA. Academic achievement and retention were unrelated to gender and ethnicity of the mentor, the protege, or the gender and ethnic match between the two.

Middle School Climate: An Empirical Assessment of Organizational Health and Student Achievement

Abstract: Researchers and reformers have suggested that school climate is an important aspect of effective schools; however, the notion of climate is defined in a myriad of ways, is frequently nebulous, and ...

Parenting Styles, Adolescents' Attributions, and Educational Outcomes in Nine Heterogeneous High Schools

Abstract: This article examined the contemporaneous and predictive relations between parenting styles, adolescents' attributions, and 4 educational outcomes. Data were collected from adolescents attending 6 high schools in California and 3 high schools in Wisconsin during the 1987-1988 and 1988-1989 school years. The results of path analyses partially confirmed the central hypotheses. Adolescents who perceived their parents as being nonauthoritative were more likely than their peers to attribute achievement outcomes to external causes or to low ability. Furthermore, the higher the proportion of dysfunctional attributions made for academic successes and failures, the lower the levels of classroom engagement and homework 1 year later. Although adolescents' attributional style provided a bridge between parenting style and 2 educational outcomes, it did not fully explain the impact of parenting on those outcomes. Additional analyses within gender and ethnic subgroups reinforced the overall pattern of findings observed within the entire sample.

Relationship among Laboratory Instruction, Attitude toward Science, and Achievement in Science Knowledge.

Abstract: This study investigated the use of a hands-on laboratory program as a means of improving student attitude toward science and increasing student achievement levels in science knowledge. Using a posttest-only control group design, curriculum referenced objective examinations were used to measure student achievement in science knowledge, and a posttest Q-sort survey was used to measure student attitude toward science. A one-way analysis of variance compared the groups' differences in achievement and attitude toward science. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the effect of the laboratory treatment on the dependent achievement variable with attitude toward science as the covariable. The findings showed that students who had regular laboratory instruction (a) scored significantly higher (p < .01) on the objective examination of achievement in science knowledge than those who had no laboratory experiences; (b) exhibited a moderate, positive correlation (r = .406) between their attitude toward science and their achievement; and (c) scored significantly higher (p < .01) on achievement in science knowledge after these scores were adjusted on the attitude toward science covariable. There were no significant differences in achievement or attitude toward science for the limited English proficiency groups. It was concluded that laboratory instruction influenced, in a positive direction, the students' attitude toward science, and influenced their achievement in science knowledge. It was recommended that science instruction include a regular laboratory experience as a demonstrated viable and effective instructional method for science teachers. This model of science instruction has been shown to be effective with students of diverse backgrounds who live within large urban centers. J Res Sci Teach 34: 343–357, 1997.

Using research on employees' performance to study the effects of teachers on students' achievement?

Abstract: The study reported here used general ideas about employees' performance to develop and test a model of teachers' effects on students' achievement in mathematics using data from the longitudinal files of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). A general model of employees' performance suggests that the effects of teachers on students' achievement can be explained by three general classes of variables : teachers' ability, motivation and work situation. This article discusses how these general classes of variables can be operationalized in the NELS:88 data set and presents estimates of models of the combined effects of these classes of variables on students' achievement. The analyses revealed that teachers' knowledge of subject matter and expectancy motivation have direct effects on students' achievement in mathematics and that the size of these effects depends on the average levels of ability of students in a school

"Completely Different Worlds": EAP and the Writing Experiences of ESL Students in University Courses

Abstract: One source of information that should inform decisions about English for academic purposes (EAP) writing courses is students' experiences in those courses and beyond. A survey of ESL students in the U.S. (Leki & Carson, 1994) has indicated that they experience writing differently depending on the source of information drawn on in writing a text: general world knowledge or personal experience; a source text or texts used as a springboard for ideas; or a source text (or other external reality), the content of which the student must display knowledge. This article, based on interview data, reports on how ESL students experience writing under each of these conditions in their EAP writing classes and their academic content classes across the curriculum. The findings suggest that writing classes require students to demonstrate knowledge of a source text much less frequently than other academic courses do. We argue that EAP classes that limit students to writing without source texts or to writing without responsibility for the content of source texts miss the opportunity to engage L2 writing students in the kinds of interactions with text that promote linguistic and intellectual growth. To explain and understand any human social behavior … we need to know the meaning attached to it by the participants themselves. (Nielsen, 1990)

Family Influences on School Achievement in Low-Income, African American Children.

Abstract: The authors examined the achievement-related beliefs and behaviors of parents of economically disadvantaged African American youth, and the relations among parental factors and children's academic self-concept and achievement Forty-one children and their primary caregivers were interviewed Parents reported on their academic-related beliefs and behaviors Children completed measures of academic self-concept and 2 standardized achievement tests: 1 during the summer and 1 at the end of the following school year Significant and positive relations were found between parental belief and behavior measures within the domains of reading and math; however, parental beliefs were more strongly linked with child outcomes than were parents' achievement-oriented behaviors The relation between parental beliefs and child outcomes was not mediated by children's academic self-concept Results are discussed in light of models of family influences on achievement

School Climate as a Factor in Student Adjustment and Achievement

Abstract: (1997). School Climate as a Factor in Student Adjustment and Achievement. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 321-329.

Neuropsychological and academic functioning in preschool boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Abstract: We compared 34 preschool boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to 30 community comparison boys without behavioral problems on a battery of neuropsychological and academic achievement tests along with behavioral observations. The battery of 25 measures was reduced to 4 dimensions through dimensional (factor) analysis. Comparison of the 2 groups revealed that boys with ADHD performed more poorly than comparison boys on 2 of the 4 dimensions, these being motor control and working memory‐persistence. No differences were found on the dimensions of verbal learning‐memory or picture identification‐factual knowledge. The results suggest that achievement problems are evident early in development in clinic‐referred children with ADHD and may be related to deficiencies in more fundamental neuropsychological functions. These early deficits in motor control and working memory seem to be an inherent part of ADHD, supporting both the neuromaturational nature of the disorder and current efforts to mor...

Does Teacher Empowerment Affect the Classroom? The Implications of Teacher Empowerment for Instructional Practice and Student Academic Performance

Abstract: Findings from recent research about the relationship of teacher empowerment to other school reform objectives of interest, such as classroom practices or student academic performance, are mixed. Th...

The development of process indicators to estimate student gains associated with good practices in undergraduate education

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is twofold First, the development of psychometrically sound process indicators of student performance is described Second, the results are reported of a test of the utility of these indicators with six samples of men and women students (n = 911 in each group) from 19 baccalaureate, 27 master's, and 29 doctoral-granting institutions Process indicators represent behaviors associated with desired outcomes of college and estimate the extent to which students are engaged in these activities Selected items from the College Student Experiences Questionnaire were used to create measures of three good educational practices: faculty-student contact, cooperation among students, and active learning Active learning and cooperation among students in that order were the best predictors of gains for both women and men at all three types of institutions Student background characteristics had only trivial influences on educational gains Implications are discussed for institutional policy and further research