Showing papers on "Academic achievement published in 2006"

The Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions: Assumptions, Corollaries, and Implications for Educational Research and Practice

Abstract: This article describes the control-value theory of achievement emotions and its implications for educational research and practice. The theory provides an integrative framework for analyzing the antecedents and effects of emotions experienced in achievement and academic settings. It is based on the premise that appraisals of control and values are central to the arousal of achievement emotions, including activity-related emotions such as enjoyment, frustration, and boredom experienced at learning, as well as outcome emotions such as joy, hope, pride, anxiety, hopelessness, shame, and anger relating to success or failure. Corollaries of the theory pertain to the multiplicity and domain specificity of achievement emotions; to their more distal individual and social antecedents, their effects on engagement and achievement, and the reciprocal linkages between emotions, antecedents and effects; to the regulation and development of these emotions; and to their relative universality across genders and cultures. Implications addressed concern the conceptual integration of emotion, motivation, and cognition, and the need to advance mixed-method paradigms. In closing, implications for educational practice are discussed.

From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt: Understanding Achievement in U.S. Schools

Abstract: The achievement gap is one of the most talked-about issues in U.S. education. The term refers to the disparities in standardized test scores between Black and White, Latina/o and White, and recent immigrant and White students. This article argues that a focus on the gap is misplaced. Instead, we need to look at the “education debt” that has accumulated over time. This debt comprises historical, economic, sociopolitical, and moral components. The author draws an analogy with the concept of national debt—which she contrasts with that of a national budget deficit—to argue the significance of the education debt.

Student Engagement and Student Learning: Testing the Linkages.

Abstract: This study examines (1) the extent to which student engagement is associated with experimental and traditional measures of academic performance, (2) whether the relationships between engagement and academic performance are conditional, and (3) whether institutions differ in terms of their ability to convert student engagement into academic performance. The sample consisted of 1058 students at 14 four-year colleges and universities that completed several instruments during 2002. Many measures of student engagement were linked positively with such desirable learning outcomes as critical thinking and grades, although most of the relationships were weak in strength. The results suggest that the lowest-ability students benefit more from engagement than classmates, first-year students and seniors convert different forms of engagement into academic achievement, and certain institutions more effectively convert student engagement into higher performance on critical thinking tests.

Parent Involvement, Cultural Capital, and the Achievement Gap Among Elementary School Children

Abstract: This study examined the level and impact of five types of parent involvement on elementary school children’s academic achievement by race/ethnicity, poverty, and parent educational attainment. The sample comprised 415 third through fifth graders who completed the Elementary School Success Profile. Hypotheses from Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital were assessed with t tests, chi-square statistics, and hierarchical regressions. Consistent with the theory, parents with different demographic characteristics exhibited different types of involvement, and the types of involvement exhibited by parents from dominant groups had the strongest association with achievement. However, contrary to theoretical expectations, members of dominant and nondominant groups benefited similarly from certain types of involvement and differently from others. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Executive functions and achievements in school: Shifting, updating, inhibition, and working memory.

Abstract: Links have recently been established between measures of educational attainment and both verbal and visuo-spatial aspects of working memory. Relationships have also been identified between specific executive functions-shifting, updating, and inhibition-and scholastic achievement. In the present study, scholastic attainment, shifting, updating, inhibition, and verbal and visuo-spatial working memory were assessed in 11- and 12-year-old children. Exploratory factor analysis identified two executive factors: one associated with updating functions and one associated with inhibition. Updating abilities were closely linked with performance on both verbal and visuo-spatial working memory span tasks. Working memory was closely linked with attainment in English and mathematics, and inhibition was associated with achievement in English, mathematics, and science. Domain-specific associations existed between verbal working memory and attainment in English, and between visuo-spatial working memory and attainment in English, mathematics and science. Implications of the findings for the theoretical analysis of executive functioning, working memory and children's learning are discussed.

International students in English-speaking universities Adjustment factors

Abstract: EnglishInternational students in institutions of higher education in English-speaking countries make valuable educational and economic contributions. For these benefits to continue, universities must become more knowledgeable about the adjustment issues these students face and implement appropriate support services. This review identifies factors that influence the adjustment and academic achievement of international students. Adjustment challenges are primarily attributable to English language proficiency and culture. Achievement is affected by English proficiency, academic skills and educational background. Understanding international student adjustment issues has global implications for intercultural education. Successful support interventions are reviewed and implications for practice discussed.FrenchLes eleves internationaux etudiant au sein d'institutions d'enseignement superieur dans des pays anglophones apportent une contribution precieuse tant sur le plan educationnel que sur le plan economique. ...

Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987–2003:

Abstract: In this article, research conducted in the United States since 1987 on the effects of homework is summarized. Studies are grouped into four research designs. The authors found that all studies, regardless of type, had design flaws. However, both within and across design types, there was generally consistent evidence for a positive influence of homework on achievement. Studies that reported simple homework–achievement correlations revealed evidence that a stronger correlation existed (a) in Grades 7–12 than in K–6 and (b) when students rather than parents reported time on homework. No strong evidence was found for an association between the homework–achievement link and the outcome measure (grades as opposed to standardized tests) or the subject matter (reading as opposed to math). On the basis of these results and others, the authors suggest future research.

Classroom Goal Structure, Student Motivation, and Academic Achievement

Abstract: Over the past 25 years, achievement goal theory has emerged as one of the most prominent theories of achievement motivation. This chapter uses an achievement goal framework to examine the influence of classroom and school environments on students' academic motivation and achievement. Considerable evidence suggests that elementary and secondary students show the most positive motivation and learning patterns when their school settings emphasize mastery, understanding, and improving skills and knowledge. Whereas school environments that are focused on demonstrating high ability and competing for grades can increase the academic performance of some students, research suggests that many young people experience diminished motivation under these conditions. The implications of achievement goal theory for examining the impact of school reform are discussed.

Reducing the racial achievement gap: a social-psychological intervention.

Abstract: Two randomized field experiments tested a social-psychological intervention designed to improve minority student performance and increase our understanding of how psychological threat mediates performance in chronically evaluative real-world environments. We expected that the risk of confirming a negative stereotype aimed at one's group could undermine academic performance in minority students by elevating their level of psychological threat. We tested whether such psychological threat could be lessened by having students reaffirm their sense of personal adequacy or "self-integrity." The intervention, a brief in-class writing assignment, significantly improved the grades of African American students and reduced the racial achievement gap by 40%. These results suggest that the racial achievement gap, a major social concern in the United States, could be ameliorated by the use of timely and targeted social-psychological interventions.

Sources of science self‐efficacy beliefs of middle school students

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which A. Bandura's (1997) hypothesized sources of self-efficacy predict the science self-efficacy beliefs of middle school students (N ¼ 319), to replicate previous findings that science self-efficacy predicts science achievement, and to explore how science self-efficacy and its antecedents differ by gender. Significant correlations were found between mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasions, physiological arousal, and self- efficacy. Only mastery experiences significantly predicted science self-efficacy. Girls reported stronger science self-efficacy than did boys. Findings support and extend the theoretical tenets of Bandura's social cognitive theory. 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 485-499, 2006 The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which Bandura's (1997) hypothesized sources of self-efficacy predict the science self-efficacy beliefs of middle school students. Self-efficacy has been found to be a strong predictor of academic achievement, course selection, and career decisions across domains and age levels. Information about the antecedents of self-efficacy may help science educators facilitate student progress in science during the middle school years and into high school. Although virtually all students take at least 1 year of science in high school, the number who take additional science courses is considerably lower. Only 60% of students take 2 years of high school science and the percentage drops to 25% who take 3 years of science (National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), 2002). Even fewer students take advanced science courses: 16% take Advanced Placement (AP) biology, 6% AP chemistry, and 4% AP physics. Seeking to increase science course-taking and achievement, science educators have examined a wide range of factors that influence academic choices and performance. One potentially powerful influence is the confidence with which students approach science (Andre,

The Silent Epidemic Perspectives of High School Dropouts

Abstract: T here is a high school dropout epidemic in America. Each year, almost one third of all public high school students – and nearly one half of all blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans – fail to graduate from public high school with their class. Many of these students abandon school with less than two years to complete their high school education. This tragic cycle has not substantially improved during the past few decades when education reform has been high on the public agenda. During this time, the public has been almost entirely unaware of the severity of the dropout problem due to inaccurate data. The consequences remain tragic. The decision to drop out is a dangerous one for the student. Dropouts are much more likely than their peers who graduate to be unemployed, living in poverty, receiving public assistance, in prison, on death row, unhealthy, divorced, and single parents with children who drop out from high school themselves. Our communities and nation also suffer from the dropout epidemic due to the loss of productive workers and the higher costs associated with increased incarceration, health care and social services. Given the clear detrimental economic and personal costs to them, why do young people drop out of high school in such large numbers? Almost every elementary and middle school student reports ambitions that include high school graduation and at least some college. Why are so many dreams cut short? And what steps should be taken to turn the tide? In an effort to better understand the lives and circumstances of students who drop out of high school and to help ground the research in the stories and reflections of the former students themselves, a series of focus groups and a survey were conducted of young people aged 16-25 who identified themselves as high school dropouts in 25 different locations throughout the United States. These interviews took place in large cities, suburbs and small towns with high dropout rates. A primary purpose of this report is to approach the dropout problem from a perspective that has not been much considered in past studies – that of the students themselves. These efforts were designed to paint a more in-depth picture of who these young people are, why they dropped out of high school, and what might have helped them complete their high school education. We wanted to give their stories and insights a voice, …

Self-discipline gives girls the edge : Gender in self-discipline, grades, and achievement test scores

Abstract: Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, girls earn higher grades than boys in all major subjects. Girls, however, do not outperform boys on achievement or IQ tests. To date, explanations for the underprediction of girls' GPAs by standardized tests have focused on gender differences favoring boys on such tests. The authors' investigation suggests an additional explanation: Girls are more self-disciplined, and this advantage is more relevant to report card grades than to achievement or aptitude tests. Eighth-grade girls at an urban magnet school were more self-disciplined than their male counterparts according to delay of gratification measures and self-report, teacher, and parent ratings. Whereas girls earned higher grades in all courses, they did only marginally better on an achievement test and worse on an IQ test. Mediation analyses suggested girls earned higher GPAs at least in part because they were more self-disciplined.

The Growing Female Advantage in College Completion: The Role of Family Background and Academic Achievement:

Abstract: In a few short decades, the gender gap in college completion has reversed from favoring men to favoring women. This study, which is the first to assess broadly the causes of the growing female adva...

Transformational School Leadership for Large-Scale Reform: Effects on students, teachers, and their classroom practices

Abstract: Using data from a larger 4-year evaluation of England's National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, this study tested the effects of a school-specific model of transformational leadership on teachers (motivation, capacities, and work settings), their classroom practices, and gains in student achievement. Some 2,290 teachers from 655 primary schools responded to 2 forms of a survey (literacy and numeracy) measuring all variables in our framework. Our measure of student achievement was gains in the British government's own Key Stage 2 tests over either 2 (numeracy) or 3 (literacy) years. Path analytic techniques were used to analyze the several different versions of the results. Results indicate significant effects of leadership on teachers' classroom practices but not on student achievement.

Peer exclusion and victimization: Processes that mediate the relation between peer group rejection and children's classroom engagement and achievement?

Abstract: Longitudinal data from a study of kindergarten through 5th graders were used to estimate a structural model in which chronic peer exclusion and chronic peer abuse were hypothesized to mediate the link between children's early peer rejection, later classroom engagement, and achievement. Peer exclusion and abuse were expected to predict changes in 2 forms of school engagement (classroom participation and school avoidance), and changes in both forms of engagement were expected to predict changes in achievement. The model fit the data well and lent support to the premise that distinct forms of peer maltreatment and classroom engagement mediate the link between early peer rejection and changes in children's achievement. Early peer rejection was associated with declining classroom participation and increasing school avoidance, but different forms of chronic peer maltreatment mediated these relations. Whereas chronic peer exclusion principally mediated the link between peer rejection and classroom participation, chronic peer abuse primarily mediated the link between rejection and school avoidance. Children's reduced classroom participation, more than gains in school avoidance, anteceded decrements in children's achievement.

Possible selves and academic outcomes: How and when possible selves impel action.

Abstract: Puzzled by the gap between academic attainment and academic possible selves (APSs) among low-income and minority teens, the authors hypothesized that APSs alone are not enough unless linked with plausible strategies, made to feel like "true" selves and connected with social identity. A brief intervention to link APSs with strategies, create a context in which social and personal identities felt congruent, and change the meaning associated with difficulty in pursuing APSs (n = 141 experimental, n = 123 control low-income 8th graders) increased success in moving toward APS goals: academic initiative, standardized test scores, and grades improved; and depression, absences, and in-school misbehavior declined. Effects were sustained over a 2-year follow-up and were mediated by change in possible selves.

Teacher-Student Matching and the Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness

Abstract: Administrative data on fifth grade students in North Carolina shows that more highly qualified teachers tend to be matched with more advantaged students, both across schools and in many cases within them. This matching biases estimates of the relationship between teacher characteristics and achievement; we isolate this bias in part by focusing on schools where students are distributed relatively evenly across classrooms. Teacher experience is consistently associated with achievement; teacher licensure test scores associate with math achievement. These returns display a form of heterogeneity across students that may help explain why the observed form of teacher-student matching persists in equilibrium.

Academic Optimism of Schools: A Force for Student Achievement

Abstract: Researchers have been challenged to go beyond socioeconomic status in the search for school-level characteristics that make a difference in student achievement. The purpose of the present study was to identify a new construct, academic optimism, and then use it to explain student achievement while controlling for socioeconomic status, previous achievement, and urbanicity. The study focused on a diverse sample of 96 high schools. A random sample of teachers from each school provided data on the school’s academic optimism, and student achievement scores and demographic characteristics were obtained from the state department of education. A confirmatory factor analysis and hypothesis tests were conducted simultaneously via structural equation modeling. As predicted, academic optimism made a significant contribution to student achievement after controlling for demographic variables and previous achievement. The findings support the critical nature of academic optimism.

Effect of physical education and activity levels on academic achievement in children.

Abstract: Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the effect of physical education class enrollment and physical activity on academic achievement in middle school children. Methods: Participants were 214 sixth-grade students randomly assigned to physical education during either first or second semesters. Moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (number of 30-min time blocks) outside of school was assessed using the 3-d physical activity recall (3DPAR). The 3DPAR time blocks were converted to ordinal data with scores of 1 (no activity), 2 (some activity), or 3 (activity meeting Healthy People 2010 guidelines). Academic achievement was assessed using grades from four core academic classes and standardized test scores (Terra Nova percentiles). Results: Grades were similar regardless of whether students were enrolled in physical education during first or second semesters. Physical education classes averaged only 19 min of MVPA. Students who either performed some or met Healthy People 2010 guidelines for vigorous activity had significantly higher grades (P < 0.05) than students who performed no vigorous activity in both semesters. Moderate physical activity did not affect grades. Standardized test scores were not significantly related to physical education class enrollment or physical activity levels. Conclusion: Although academic achievement was not significantly related to physical education enrollment, higher grades were associated with vigorous physical activity, particularly activity meeting recommended Healthy People 2010 levels.

Educating School Teachers.

Abstract: No part of this report may be reproduced in any form—except for brief quotation (not to exceed 1,000 words) in a review or professional work—without permission in writing from the author. 3 TABLE of CONTENTS 4 T his report, the second in a series of policy reports on the results of a four-year study of America's education schools, focuses on the education of classroom teachers, the people who have the greatest impact on our children's learning in school. Teacher education has taken on a special urgency because the United States needs to raise both the quantity and quality of our teacher force. The country is experiencing an acute shortage of teachers. At the same time, we are asking teachers to increase student achievement to the highest levels in history in a new standards-based, accountability-driven system of education. To address both demands simultaneously is an enormous challenge, made even more difficult because the nation is deeply divided about how to prepare large numbers of high-quality teachers. We don't agree about what skills and knowledge teachers need or how and when teachers should learn them. This is the context for the second report. The first report focused on the education of school administrators. The third report will examine the quality of education research and the preparation of the scholars and researchers who conduct it. The final report will be an overview of America's schools of education , where the overwhelming majority of our school leaders, teachers, and scholars are educated. The nation's 1,206 schools, colleges, and departments of education constitute a sprawling enterprise that is located at 78 percent of all four-year colleges and universities. 1 They award one out of every 12 bachelor's diplomas; a quarter of all master's degrees; and 15 percent of all doctorates, more than any other branch of the academy. 2 They have been the subject of mounting criticism over the past decade from 5 PREFACE The nation is deeply divided about how to prepare large numbers of high-quality teachers. academics, foundations, think tanks, professional and scholarly associations , and government. This four-part study is intended to go beyond the usual, untested assertions of education school critics and the too-often defensive posture of the schools themselves. The simple fact is that education schools have strengths that go unrecognized by their detractors and they have weaknesses that they are unwilling to acknowledge. This study began with the belief …

Class and Schools - Using Social, Economic, and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap

Abstract: CLASS AND SCHOOLS - USING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND EDUCATIONAL REFORM TO CLOSE THE BLACK-WHITE ACHIEVEMENT GAP RICHARD ROTHSTEIN ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON, DC 2004 PAPERBACK: $18.98 * 1-932066-09-8 The theme of Class and Schools centers on closing the achievement gap between Black and White students. The author discusses various governmental reforms such as economic, social and medical changes, that must be implemented before the achievement gap will ever truly be bridged. The organization of the book is set up to initially explain the achievement gap between Black and White students and how social class has a great impact on the difference in scores. The order of the chapters is logical. Defining the achievement gap, social class differences in raising children, and cultural differences between Black and White students are discussed. By the fifth chapter, the author begins illustrating what reforms need to take place to close the achievement gap. The clear organization of the chapters helped to give background information and facts. Each chapter is broken down into topics that are all linked by a single heading; this connected ideas seamlessly. The preface is written by a renowned economist, which gives credibility to statements the author made in the book. The introduction gives useful background facts on the desegregation of public schools. The author uses bar graphs effectively to visually represent information. Especially practical is the endnotes section because everything is referenced and numbered. The amount of facts and history contained in the endnotes alone helps to clearly state the author's point of view. There is an Appendix titled "What employers say about graduates" that is insightful and magnifies the current problem of what is not being tested on standardized tests. The book consists of five chapters. Chapter One highlights historical background of the achievement gap, misunderstandings about the concept, genetic factors, social class, health care, cultural and even housing differences that affect student performance. Rhetorical questions help to analyze whether cultural background or society explain discrepancies in academic achievement. The most startling facts from this chapter are statistics about the size of the vocabulary of the middle-class kindergartener being raised in a home with college educated parents, compared to the vocabulary of the Black kindergartener from the home of non-degreed parents. The middle-class child begins school with a vocabulary equivalent to that of the lower-class Black adult. Chapter Two explains how some schools "beat the demographic odds" when it comes to student achievement gaps, and within the chapter examples of the schools are given. There is a particularly interesting discussion by Dr. William Sanders about what he refers to as the "Tennessee value-added assessment system." This system separates the influence of teachers on the achievement gap from the child's family background, health and academic potential. This is a new twist for public school educators because only some of the blame could be placed on teachers for low achievement, according to the method of Dr. Sanders. Even more interesting is that the results of Dr. Sander's study only work for teachers who teach math and not reading. It is important to note that literacy is a much more difficult concept to measure on any test. There is also mention that "no excuses" schools are not really what they seem to be. For example, in one school in New York City, children who were labeled "low income" actually lived with parents who were on graduate stipends from Harvard. The income level was low, but the familial education and literacy did not accurately reflect at-risk students. Incorrectly holding schools accountable for closing the achievement gap is the main crux of Chapter Three. …

The Impacts of Charter Schools on Student Achievement: Evidence from North Carolina

Abstract: Using an individual panel data set to control for student fixed effects, we estimate the impact of charter schools on students in charter schools and in nearby traditional public schools. We find that students make considerably smaller achievement gains in charter schools than they would have in public schools. The large negative estimates of the effects of attending a charter school are neither substantially biased, nor substantially offset, by positive impacts of charter schools on traditional public schools. Finally, we find suggestive evidence that about 30 percent of the negative effect of charter schools is attributable to high rates of student turnover.

Community Forces, Social Capital, and Educational Achievement: The Case of Supplementary Education in the Chinese and Korean Immigrant Communities

Abstract: Extraordinary Asian American educational achievement has often been credited to a common cultural influence of Confucianism that emphasizes education, family honor, discipline, and respect for authority. In this article, Min Zhou and Susan Kim argue that immigration selectivity, higher than average levels of premigration and postmigration socioeconomic status, and ethnic social structures interact to create unique patterns of adaptation and social environments conducive to educational achievement. This article seeks to unpack the ethnic effect through a comparative analysis of the ethnic system of supplementary education that has developed in two immigrant communities — Chinese and Korean — in the United States. The study suggests that the cultural attributes of a group interact substantially with structural factors, particularly tangible ethnic social structures on which community forces are sustained and social capital is formed. The authors conclude that "culture" is not static and requires structural ...