Showing papers on "Academic achievement published in 1998"

Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement

Abstract: Considerable controversy surrounds the impact of schools and teachers on the achievement of students. This paper disentangles the separate factors influencing achievement with special attention given to the role of teacher differences and other aspects of schools. Unique matched panel data from the Harvard/UTD Texas Schools Project permit distinguishing between total effects and the impact of specific, measured components of teachers and schools. While schools are seen to have powerful effects on achievement differences, these effects appear to derive most importantly from variations in teacher quality. A lower bound suggests that variations in teacher quality account for at least 7« percent of the total variation in student achievement, and there are reasons to believe that the true percentage is considerably larger. The subsequent analysis estimates educational production functions based on models of achievement growth with individual fixed effects. It identifies a few systematic factors a negative impact of initial years of teaching and a positive effect of smaller class sizes for low income children in earlier grades but these effects are very small relative to the effects of overall teacher quality differences.

Exploring the Principal's Contribution to School Effectiveness: 1980‐1995∗

Abstract: This article reviews research from 1980‐1995 exploring the relationship between principal leadership and student achievement. The focuses is on the substantive findings that emerged from the review. Earlier reports focused on conceptual and methodological issues. The general pattern of results drawn from this review supports the belief that principals exercise a measurable, though indirect effect on school effectiveness and student achievement. While this indirect effect is relatively small, it is statistically significant and supports the general belief among educators that principals contribute to school effectiveness and improvement. Moreover, the review suggests that previously described discrepancies in research results may be explained by the conceptual and methodological tools employed by researchers. We also emphasize the limitations of these studies. Even taken as a group they do not resolve the most important theoretical and practical issues concerning the means by which principals achi...

Social Relationships and Motivation in Middle School: The Role of Parents, Teachers, and Peers

Abstract: Adolescents' supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and peers were examined in relation to motivation at school (school- and class-related interest, academic goal orientations, and social goal pursuit). On the basis of 167 sixth-grade students, relations of perceived support from parents, teachers, and peers to student motivation differed depending on the source of support and motivational outcome: Peer support was a positive predictor of prosocial goal pursuit, teacher support was a positive predictor of both types of interest and of social responsibility goal pursuit, and parent support was a positive predictor of school-related interest and goal orientations. Perceived support from parents and peers also was related to interest in school indirectly by way of negative relations with emotional distress. Pursuit of social responsibility goals and school- and class-related interest in 6th grade partly explained positive relations between social support in 6th grade and classroom grades 1 year later. Continued research on the social origins of classroom motivation in early adolescence is needed. For most students, early adolescence is a time of change and transition. With respect to interpersonal relationships and social adjustment, these changes reflect a growing psychological and emotional independence from adults and a corresponding dependence on peer relationships to establish and maintain positive perceptions of the self (Steinberg, 1990; Youniss & Smollar, 1985). Often confounding these general developmental challenges is a transition to a new school environment, which tends to be marked by adolescents' perceptions that teachers no longer care about them, and decreased opportunities to establish meaningful relationships with peers (Eccles & Midgley, 1989). Therefore, young adolescents often must negotiate and establish relationships with adults and peers under less than optimal conditions. A particular concern is that young adolescents who do not enjoy positive, supportive relationships with adults and peers are often at risk for academic problems (e.g., Goodenow, 1993; Midgley, Feldlaufer, & Eccles, 1989; Phelan, Davidson, & Cao, 1991). In the present study, I examined specific ways in which supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and peers are related to young adolescents' motivation at school and to academic performance.

Enhancing Relationships Between Children and Teachers

Abstract: Why Supportive Relationships Are Essential How the Parts Affect the Whole - Systems Theory in Classroom Relationships The Child as a Developing System The Emotional Bond Between Children and Adults Examples from Life Counselling Teachers - the Key to Affecting Child-Teacher Relationships Enhancing the Relationships of the Classroom How School Policy Affects the Child Teacher Relationship Strong Relationships Mean Less Risk - an Agenda for Practice and Research.

Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Children's Motivation and Performance

Abstract: Praise for ability is commonly considered to have beneficial effects on motivation. Contrary to this popular belief, six studies demonstrated that praise for intelligence had more negative consequences for students' achievement motivation than praise for effort. Fifth graders praised for intelligence were found to care more about performance goals relative to learning goals than children praised for effort. After failure, they also displayed less task persistence, less task enjoyment, more lowability attributions, and worse task performance than children praised for effort. Finally, children praised for intelligence described it as a fixed trait more than children praised for hard work, who believed it to be subject to improvement. These findings have important implications for how achievement is best encouraged, as well as for more theoretical issues, such as the potential cost of performance goals and the socialization of contingent self-worth.

How Undergraduates Are Affected by Service Participation.

Abstract: Based on entering freshman and follow-up datacollected from 3,450 students (2,287 women and1,163 men) attending 42 institutions withfederally funded community service programs,the impact of community service participationon undergraduate student development wasexamined. Even after regression analysescontrolled for individual student characteristicsat the time of college entry, including thepropensity to engage in service, results indicatethat participating in service during the under-graduate years substantially enhances thestudent’s academic development, life skilldevelopment, and sense of civic responsibility.

Academic studing and the development of personal skill: A self-regulatory perspective

Abstract: (1998). Academic studing and the development of personal skill: A self-regulatory perspective. Educational Psychologist: Vol. 33, No. 2-3, pp. 73-86.

Sleep-disordered breathing and school performance in children

Abstract: Objective. To assess the impact of sleep-associated gas exchange abnormalities (SAGEA) on school academic performance in children. Design. Prospective study. Setting. Urban public elementary schools. Participants. Two hundred ninety-seven first-grade children whose school performance was in the lowest 10th percentile of their class ranking. Methods. Children were screened for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome at home using a detailed parental questionnaire and a single night recording of pulse oximetry and transcutaneous partial pressure of carbon dioxide. If SAGEA was diagnosed, parents were encouraged to seek medical intervention for SAGEA. School grades of all participating children for the school year preceding and after the overnight study were obtained. Results. SAGEA was identified in 54 children (18.1%). Of these, 24 underwent surgical tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (TR), whereas in the remaining 30 children, parents elected not to seek any therapeutic intervention (NT). Overall mean grades during the second grade increased from 2.43 ± 0.17 (SEM) to 2.87 ± 0.19 in TR, although no significant changes occurred in NT (2.44 ± 0.13 to 2.46 ± 0.15). Similarly, no academic improvements occurred in children without SAGEA. Conclusions. SAGEA is frequently present in poorly performing first-grade students in whom it adversely affects learning performance. The data suggest that a subset of children with behavioral and learning disabilities could have SAGEA and may benefit from prospective medical evaluation and treatment.

Does Professional Community Affect the Classroom? Teachers' Work and Student Experiences in Restructuring Schools

Abstract: School reform efforts have focused on the development of professionally enriching work groups for teachers as a vehicle for improving student achievement. This study examines the impact of school professional community on the intellectual quality of student performance (assessed using authentic measures) and on two dimensions of classroom organization, the technical (measured as authentic pedagogy) and the social (measured as social support for achievement). Employing quantitative (multilevel) and qualitative analytic methods, we show that in 24 nationally selected, restructuring elementary, middle, and high schools professional community is strongly associated with these dimensions of classroom organization. Both professional community and social support for achievement have a positive relationship to student performance, but the strength of their association with authentic pedagogy accounts for that effect.

Civic Education: What Makes Students Learn

Abstract: This study takes a look at what America's high school seniors know about government and politics and how they learn it. The authors develop a theoretical model to explain the cognitive process by which students learn about politics, and suggest changes in the style of civics teaching.

Classroom environment instruments: development, validity and applications

Abstract: Few fields of educational research have such a rich diversity of valid, economical and widely-applicable assessment instruments as does the field of learning environments. This article describes nine major questionnaires for assessing student perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment (the Learning Environment Inventory, Classroom Environment Scale, Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire, My Class Inventory, College and University Classroom Environment Inventory, Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction, Science Laboratory Environment Inventory, Constructivist Learning Environment Survey and What Is Happening In This Class) and reviews the application of these instruments in 12 lines of past research (focusing on associations between outcomes and environment, evaluating educational innovation, differences between student and teacher perceptions, whether students achieve better in their preferred environment, teachers' use of learning environment perceptions in guiding improvements in classrooms, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, links between different educational environments, cross-national studies, the transition from primary to high school, and incorporating educational environment ideas into school psychology, teacher education and teacher assessment).

Research Findings from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) Database: Implications for Educational Evaluation and Research.

Abstract: The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System determines the effectiveness of school systems, schools, and teachers based on student academic growth over time. An integral part of TVAAS is a massive, longitudinally merged database linking students and student outcomes to the schools and systems in which they are enrolled and to the teachers to whom they are assigned as they transition from grade to grade. Research conducted utilizing data from the TVAAS database has shown that race, socioeconomic level, class size, and classroom heterogeneity are poor predictors of student academic growth. Rather, the effectiveness of the teacher is the major determinant of student academic progress. Teacher effects on student achievement have been found to be both additive and cumulative with little evidence that subsequent effective teachers can offset the effects of ineffective ones. For these reasons, a component linking teacher effectiveness to student outcomes is a necessary part of any effective educational evaluation system.

Rethinking achievement goals: When are they adaptive for college students and why?

Abstract: The types of goals that students adopt in educational settings and the consequences of those goals an 2 important educational outcomes-performance and intrinsic motivation-are discussed. In the case of performance, we briefly review and evaluate a large body of theory and research conducted by other investigators. In particular, we consider the possibility that some commonly accepted conclusions about the effects of achievement goals are premature. In the case of intrinsic motivation, we describe a theoretical model that has guided our own work on this topic and provide some recent experimental results. We believe that this model and our experimental results can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of goals and optimal motivation. Finally, we return to the college classroom environment and examine the consequences of goals for both performance and intrinsic motivation, offering a broader analysis of success in college courses.

Self-Regulated Learning and College Students' Regulation of Motivation.

Abstract: This study extends current models of self-regulated learning by addressing 3 research questions, including what strategies do students use to regulate their motivation? is the use of these strategies dependent on contextual factors? how is motivational regulation related to other aspects of self-regulated learning and achievement? Self-report data were collected from 115 college students by using an open-ended questionnaire and Likert-style survey. Findings provide evidence that students regulate their level of effort in academic tasks by using a variety of cognitive, volitional, and motivational strategies; that students' reported use of these strategies varied across the 3 motivational problems with which they were presented; and that different aspects of students' motivational regulation were related positively to their goal orientation, use of some cognitive strategies, and course grade.

Contextual differences in student motivation and self-regulated learning in mathematics, English, and social studies classrooms

Abstract: Recent research on self-regulated learning has stressed the importance of both motivational and cognitive components of classroom learning. Much of this research has examined these components without consideration of potential contextual differences. Using a within-subject correlational design, the present study assessed mean level differences in students' task value, self-efficacy, test anxiety, cognitive strategy use, regulatory strategy use, and classroom academic performance by gender and across the subject areas of mathematics, social studies, and English. In addition, the relations among the motivational, strategy use, and performance measures were assessed using multivariate regressions. The participants were 545 seventh and eighth grade students (51% females) who responded to a self-report questionnaire. Results revealed mean level differences by subject area and gender in the motivation and cognitive strategy use variables, but not in regulatory strategy use or academic performance. In contrast, results indicated that the relations among these constructs was very similar across the three subject areas examined. Findings are discussed in terms of their importance for understanding the contextual nature of students' self-regulated learning.

Why do some students avoid asking for help? An examination of the interplay among students' academic efficacy, teachers' social–emotional role, and the classroom goal structure.

Abstract: With hierarchical linear modeling, student reports of the avoidance of help seeking were related to student and classroom characteristics. Avoidance of help seeking was related negatively to students' academic efficacy. However, avoidance of help seeking was related less strongly to students' academic efficacy in classrooms in which teachers believed they should attend to their students' social and emotional needs. Average levels of avoidance of help seeking were related to students' perceptions of the classroom goal structure: A perceived emphasis on self-improvement was related to lower levels of help avoidance, whereas a perceived emphasis on relative ability was associated with higher levels. Teacher reports of their approaches to instruction (emphasizing self-improvement or emphasizing relative ability) were unrelated to students' avoidance of help seeking.

Relationships among attitudes about homework, amount of homework assigned and completed, and student achievement

Abstract: Students (n = 709), parents, and teachers (n = 82) completed a questionnaire concerning amount of homework assigned by teachers, portion of assignments completed by students, and attitudes about homework. Student achievement measures were also collected. Weak relations were found between the amount of homework assigned and student achievement. Positive relations were found between the amount of homework students completed and achievement, especially at upper grades (6-12). At lower grades (2 and 4), teacher-assigned homework was related to negative student attitudes. At upper grades, teachers with more positive attitudes toward homework and those whose students performed more poorly on stantlardized tests reported assigning more homework. A path analysis for lower grades indicated that class grades were predicted only by standardized test scores and the proportion of homework completed by students. At upper grades, class grade predictors also included parent, teacher, and student attitudes.

Parent-Child Differences in Educational Expectations and the Academic Achievement of Immigrant and Native Students.

Abstract: This article argues that both parents' and children's educational expectations are spurred by between-family social capital and within-family social capital and that agreement between parents and children on educational expectations facilitates children's achievement. The analyses of eighth graders from four immigrant groups (Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Mexican) and three native groups (Mexican, black, and white) indicate that high levels of parent-child interactions increase parents' and children's expectations and that higher shared family expectations enhance achievement and greater differences suppress achievement. Immigrant status increases expectations, for Chinese and Korean families more than for Mexican families, and Chinese background is beneficial for children's achievement, but Mexican background is harmful. However, all else being equal, the higher rate of retention of parental language promotes academic achievement, which gives immigrant Mexican children an advantage over their Asian counterparts.

Science for All, Including Students From Non-English-Language Backgrounds

Abstract: Standards-based reform across subject areas has an overarching goal of achieving high academic standards for all students. Although much is known about what constitutes high academic standards, little attention has been given to the attainment of educational equity for all students. In this article, we propose the notion of instructional congruence as a way of making academic content accessible, meaningful, and relevant for diverse learners. Although our discussion considers students from non-English-language backgrounds (NELB) in science education, comparable approaches can be applied to other diverse student groups and other subject areas. We discuss an agenda for research, practice, and policy in promoting high standards for all students across subject areas.

Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement

Abstract: Considerable controversy surrounds the impact of schools and teachers on the achievement of students. This paper disentangles the separate factors influencing achievement with special attention given to the role of teacher differences and other aspects of schools. Unique matched panel data from the Harvard/UTD Texas Schools Project permit distinguishing between total effects and the impact of specific, measured components of teachers and schools. While schools are seen to have powerful effects on achievement differences, these effects appear to derive most importantly from variations in teacher quality. A lower bound suggests that variations in teacher quality account for at least 7« percent of the total variation in student achievement, and there are reasons to believe that the true percentage is considerably larger. The subsequent analysis estimates educational production functions based on models of achievement growth with individual fixed effects. It identifies a few systematic factors a negative impact of initial years of teaching and a positive effect of smaller class sizes for low income children in earlier grades but these effects are very small relative to the effects of overall teacher quality differences.

Academic and emotional functioning in early adolescence: Longitudinal relations, patterns, and prediction by experience in middle school

Abstract: Adopting a motivational perspective on adolescent development, these two companion studies examined the longitudinal relations between early adolescents’ school motivation (competence beliefs and values), achievement, emotional functioning (depressive symptoms and anger), and middle school perceptions using both variable- and person-centered analytic techniques. Data were collected from 1041 adolescents and their parents at the beginning of seventh and the end of eighth grade in middle school. Controlling for demographic factors, regression analyses in Study 1 showed reciprocal relations between school motivation and positive emotional functioning over time. Furthermore, adolescents’ perceptions of the middle school learning environment (support for competence and autonomy, quality of relationships with teachers) predicted their eighth grade motivation, achievement, and emotional functioning after accounting for demographic and prior adjustment measures. Cluster analyses in Study 2 revealed several different patterns of school functioning and emotional functioning during seventh grade that were stable over 2 years and that were predictably related to adolescents’ reports of their middle school environment. Discussion focuses on the developmental significance of schooling for multiple adjustment outcomes during adolescence.

Longitudinal Structural Equation Models of Academic Self-Concept and Achievement: Gender Differences in the Development of Math and English Constructs:

Abstract: Longitudinal causal models of growth in math and English constructs (school grades, standardized tests, academic self-concept, affect and coursework selection) were based on three waves of data from the large (N = 24,599), nationally representative National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Math and English self-concepts had significant path coefficients leading to subsequent school grades, coursework selection, and standardized test scores. Unlike previous studies that did not consider math and English constructs in the same model, we found these relations to be very domain specific (e.g., there were significant positive paths from math self concept to subsequent math outcomes but not to subsequent English outcomes). Girls had higher scores for all English constructs and math school grades, but they had lower math self-concepts. Whereas similar studies conducted over the past 20 years found diminishing gender differences, these data show relative gains for girls in achievement and coursework selectio...

Achievement loss associated with the transition to middle school and high school

Abstract: To explore the nature of the achievement loss associated with school-to-school transitions from elementary school to middle school and to high school, the author compared 3 groups of 16 school districts in this ex post facto study. A statistically significant achievement loss associated with the transition from elementary school to middle school at 6th grade was found, as compared with K–8 schools that did not have a school-to-school transition at 6th grade. The transition loss in achievement was larger when students from multiple elementary schools were merged into a single middle school during the transition. The students from the middle schools and K–8 elementary schools experienced an achievement loss in the transition to high school at 9th grade. The achievement loss in the transition to high school was larger for middle school students than for K–8 elementary students. High school dropout rates were higher for districts with Grade 6–8 middle schools than for districts with K–8 elementary sc...

Adolescents' Perceptions of Middle School: Relation to Longitudinal Changes in Academic and Psychological Adjustment

Abstract: We present results of a longitudinal study of 1,046 adolescents in 23 middle schools that examined relations between adolescents' perceptions of their middle school learning environment during 8th grade (school goal structures, autonomy provisions, positive teacher regard) and changes in their academic motivation, achievement, and psychological adjustment from 7th to 8th grade. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that adolescents' school perceptions were significant predictors of their academic and psychological adjustment at the end of 8th grade after accounting for their demographic characteristics, prior academic ability, and prior adjustment assessed at the beginning of 7th grade. Perceptions of positive teacher regard and an emphasis on individual effort and improvement in school (school task goal structure) were associated with increases in academic values, feelings of academic competence, and academic achievement; and decreases in depressive symptoms from 7th to 8th grade. Perceived teacher reg...

Does Mentoring Work?: An Impact Study of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program

Abstract: Our random assignment evaluation found that this type of mentonng had a significant positive effect on youths ages 10 to 16. Over the 18-month follow-up pertod, youths participating in Big Brothers Big Sisters Programs were significantly less likely to have started using illegal drugs or alcohol, hit someone, or skipped school. They were also more confident about their school performance and got along better with their families. Mentors were carefully screened, trained, and matched with a youth whom they met, on average, three or four times a month for approximately a year The program also provtdes careful professional supervision of these matches.

A Little Help from My Friend's Parents: Intergenerational Closure and Educational Outcomes.

Abstract: Coleman's theory of social capital predicts that students who have high levels of intergenerational closure -that is, whose parents know more of their children's friends' parents- will have better educational outcomes than will students with low levels of intergenerational closure. This study used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 to test whether intergenerational closure affects children's educational outcomes. The main findings were that closure was positively associated with mathematics achievement, but not significantly associated with achievement in any other subject, closure was not significantly associated with 12th-grade grade point averages, and students with more closure were less likely to drop out of high school by the 12th grade.

Literacy Instruction in Nine First-Grade Classrooms: Teacher Characteristics and Student Achievement

Abstract: Classroom observations and in-depth interviews were used to study 9 first-grade teachers from 4 districts who had been nominated by languagearts coordinators as outstanding (N = 5) or typical (N = 4) in their ability to help students develop literacy skills. Based on observational measures of student reading and writing achievement and student engagement, 3 groups of teachers emerged from the original 9. The following practices and beliefs distinguished the instruction of the 3 teachers (2 nominated as outstanding, 1 as typical) whose students demonstrated the highest levels on these measures: (a) coherent and thorough integration of skills with high-quality reading and writing experiences, (b) a high density of instruction (integration of multiple goals in a single lesson), (c) extensive use of scaffolding, (d) encouragement of student self-regulation, (e) a thorough integration of reading and writing activities, (f) high expectations for all students, (g) masterful classroom management, and (h) an aware...

The rising curve: Long-term gains in IQ and related measures.

Abstract: Introduction - Rising Test Scores and What They mean IQ Gains Over Time - Towards Finding the Causes Environmental Complexity and the Flynn Effect The Cultural Evolution of IQ Are We Raising Smarter Kids Today? School and Home Related Influences on IQ The Role of Nutrition in the Development of Intelligence Nutrition and the Worldwide Rise in IQ Scores In Support of the Nutrition Theory Trends in Black-White Test Score Differentials - Uses and Misuses Exploring the Rapid Rise in Black Achievement Scores in the United States The Shrinking Gap Between High and Low Scoring Groups Current Trends and Possible Causes Trends in Black-White Test Score Differentials - the Wordsum Vocabulary Test The Decline of Genotypic Intelligence Problems in Inferring Dysgenic Trends for Intelligence Differential Fertility by IQ and the IQ Distribution of a Population Whither Dysgenics? Comments on Lynn and Preston.

How students learn : reforming schools through learner-centered education

Abstract: The Research Base for APA's Learner-Centred Psychological Principles Contextual Factors Influencing the Classroom Application of Learner-Centred Principles Promoting Positive Expectations in Schooling Cognitive Principles Applied to the Development of Literacy Cognition and Subject Matter Learning Designing a Community of Young Learners - Theoretical and Practical Lessons Learner-Centred Assessment Using Learner-Centred Assessment on a Large Scale Cognitive, Metacognitive and Conative Considerations in Classroom Assessment Higher Education Assessment and National Educational Goals - Issues, Assumptions and Principles Educational Assessment and Diversity Dilemmas in Assessing Academic Achievement Cognitive Theory for Education - What Teachers Need to Know Integrating Metacognition, Affect and Motivation in Improving Teacher Education Developmental Psychology as a Guide for Teaching and Teacher Preparation Teaching Educational Psychology Learner-Centred and Constructivist Perspectives What Have We Learned and Where Are We Going in School Reform?.