Class-average achievement and individual achievement development: Testing achievement composition and peer spillover effects using five German longitudinal studies.
Abstract:In recent studies, the existence and relevance of achievement composition effects on students' individual achievement have been called into question because of the methodological challenges arising in multilevel analyses. Our study examined how class-average achievement is related to students' achievement development across one school year. We used data from Germany, which has a secondary school system with large achievement differences between schools and classrooms due to rigid, explicit betweenschool tracki… Show more
“…Thus, students whose classmates had, on average, higher language proficiency concerning general academic vocabulary and comprehension of connectives at the beginning of the school year showed larger learning gains over time. On the one hand, this finding adds to a large body of research that provided evidence for compositional effects for different age groups and domains, including language proficiency (e.g., Becker et al, 2022;Foster et al, 2020;Hanushek et al, 2003;Schmerse, 2021). On the other hand, it extends prior research on inquiry-based science instruction, which typically did not adhere to compositional effects.…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 52%
“…Moreover, student achievement is related to characteristics of the classroom composition. Thus, students typically show larger learning gains when they are grouped with high-achieving students (Becker et al, 2022;Schmerse, 2021) or with students from families with high socioeconomic status (SES; Rjosk et al, 2014;van Ewijk & Sleegers, 2010). Classroom characteristics are, in turn, associated with instructional processes (Fauth et al, 2021;Kuger et al, 2016;Rjosk et al, 2014).…”
Inquiry-based science instruction has been proposed as an optimal learning environment for language-integrated teaching. While its potential for developing both content knowledge and language skills has been shown for students with limited language proficiency, research focusing on mainstream classrooms has mainly considered domain-specific learning. Despite the effectiveness of inquiry-based science instruction for student outcomes, research on the role of specific aspects of instructional quality is limited. Addressing this research gap, the present study investigates the relationship between teachers’ instructional support during inquiry-based science classes and elementary school students’ learning gains in science content knowledge and academic language proficiency. Multilevel regression analyses are based on data from 459 German elementary school students from Grades 3 and 4 who participated in a longitudinal intervention study that took place over one school year. Our findings indicate a strong impact of students’ prior knowledge on learning outcomes and compositional effects for the language-related measures. Relations between teachers’ instructional support, as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta et al., 2008), and students’ learning outcomes did not emerge. In interpreting the results, the overall mediocre quality of teachers’ instructional support needs to be considered.
“…Thus, students whose classmates had, on average, higher language proficiency concerning general academic vocabulary and comprehension of connectives at the beginning of the school year showed larger learning gains over time. On the one hand, this finding adds to a large body of research that provided evidence for compositional effects for different age groups and domains, including language proficiency (e.g., Becker et al, 2022;Foster et al, 2020;Hanushek et al, 2003;Schmerse, 2021). On the other hand, it extends prior research on inquiry-based science instruction, which typically did not adhere to compositional effects.…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 52%
“…Moreover, student achievement is related to characteristics of the classroom composition. Thus, students typically show larger learning gains when they are grouped with high-achieving students (Becker et al, 2022;Schmerse, 2021) or with students from families with high socioeconomic status (SES; Rjosk et al, 2014;van Ewijk & Sleegers, 2010). Classroom characteristics are, in turn, associated with instructional processes (Fauth et al, 2021;Kuger et al, 2016;Rjosk et al, 2014).…”
Inquiry-based science instruction has been proposed as an optimal learning environment for language-integrated teaching. While its potential for developing both content knowledge and language skills has been shown for students with limited language proficiency, research focusing on mainstream classrooms has mainly considered domain-specific learning. Despite the effectiveness of inquiry-based science instruction for student outcomes, research on the role of specific aspects of instructional quality is limited. Addressing this research gap, the present study investigates the relationship between teachers’ instructional support during inquiry-based science classes and elementary school students’ learning gains in science content knowledge and academic language proficiency. Multilevel regression analyses are based on data from 459 German elementary school students from Grades 3 and 4 who participated in a longitudinal intervention study that took place over one school year. Our findings indicate a strong impact of students’ prior knowledge on learning outcomes and compositional effects for the language-related measures. Relations between teachers’ instructional support, as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta et al., 2008), and students’ learning outcomes did not emerge. In interpreting the results, the overall mediocre quality of teachers’ instructional support needs to be considered.
“…The distribution of individual beliefs at the aggregate level is conceptualized as an indicator of the institutional diversity culture. These contextual effects, also termed composition effects, are currently the subject of intense discussion (Becker et al, 2021; Harker & Tymms, 2004). In the following, we outline findings from each of the three approaches to the study of institutional acculturation norms.…”
Section: Acculturation Beliefs As Individual Resources and Developmen...mentioning
This article examines the extent to which normative beliefs on acculturation constitute (a) individual resources and risk factors for adolescents facing developmental tasks and (b) institutional norms that define developmental milieus in secondary schools. To what extent do egalitarianism, multiculturalism, assimilationism, and segregationism help or hinder academic and psychosocial adjustment in mid-adolescence? We examined how both individually endorsed beliefs and socially shared beliefs at the 10th-grade cohort level relate to students' academic performance, educational and occupational aspirations, motivational and emotional attachment to school, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Data came from a random sample of 15- to 17-year-olds in Berlin, Germany, assessed at the end of Grades 9 and 10 (N = 1,992). Multivariate analyses identified egalitarianism and multiculturalism as the most prevalent acculturation beliefs, forming a combined belief pattern that pairs recognition of equality with respect for diversity. At the individual level, this belief pattern was positively related to academic and psychosocial adjustment. Assimilationism beliefs were associated with higher motivational and emotional attachment to school in both minority and majority students. Segregationism beliefs were associated with higher self-esteem in all adolescents regardless of background, but with lower levels of academic performance in immigrant youth. At the grade cohort level, a single bipolar factor (egalitarianism/multiculturalism vs. assimilationism/segregationism) described the institutional diversity culture. An environment characterized by egalitarianism/multiculturalism beliefs was positively associated with motivational and emotional attachment to school but not related to academic adjustment or psychological well-being.
“…As outlined above, the latter finding might constitute a ceiling effect: Students in schools with a higher than average ICT performance in Grade 9 seem to improve less than students in schools with a lower than average prior ICT performance. Findings on effects of the class or school-related achievement composition on the development of students' achievement have been mixed, with some studies suggesting positive effects (Becker et al, 2022;Stäbler et al, 2017) but others suggesting zero or negative effects (Dicke et al, 2018;Televantou et al, 2021). Notably, most of these studies have considered math or language achievement, and we are not aware of any studies that have considered ICT literacy in this context.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 97%
“…In one of these studies, Göllner et al (2018) found that the average level of socioeconomic background at a school was positively associated with educational attainment and expectations as well as income and occupational prestige 11 years later. Furthermore, Becker et al (2022) found support for the positive effects of achievementrelated peer composition, over and above tracking effects, suggesting that students' learning progress might benefit from being surrounded by peers with a higher average level of performance. Other prior studies on this topic have found zero or even negative associations between school composition and student achievement (Dicke et al, 2018).…”
Information and communication technology (ICT) literacy is key to solving future societal challenges and to leading an independent and responsible life in an increasingly globalized and digitalized world. Hence, countries around the world have promoted research on students’ ICT skills and their inclusion in curricula. Despite these efforts, little is known about what predicts future ICT literacy, and prior research has almost exclusively conducted cross-sectional studies. In the present study, we addressed this gap by using data from a large-scale longitudinal study of 6,810 students in 311 schools from Germany. These students participated in the National Educational Panel Study over the course of secondary school (in Grades 6, 9, and 12). We were particularly interested in investigating potential spillover effects from skills and dispositions that are inherently fostered in school on ICT development. Thus, we considered a rich set of different types of predictors related to the students’ social, cultural, demographic, and learning backgrounds; their subject-specific motivation; and the composition of their schools, and we assessed the extent to which these variables explained variation in ICT literacy development at two key stages in the educational system (Grades 9 and 12). Our results indicated that prior ICT literacy was the most important predictor of future ICT literacy but more so for the development between Grades 9 and 12. In addition, variables related to the students’ learning background, followed by variables related to the composition of their schools and students’ subject-specific motivation explained future ICT literacy. Overall, the predictors explained between 49% and 67% of the variation in future ICT literacy. Our longitudinal findings suggest that the learning environment and students’ skills and dispositions are crucial for understanding ICT development and are indicative of the deliberate design of ICT interventions.
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