Class composition, student achievement, and the role of the learning environment.

Abstract

This study considers how class composition, in terms of between-student variability and the average level of achievement, is related to the academic development of students, and how these relationships can be explained by features of the class learning environment. At the start of secondary education, Flemish schools can decide autonomously how to group their students, leading to variation in class mean and class heterogeneity between classes. In a sample of 2,895 Flemish students from 158 classes, math achievement at the end of grade 8 was found to be unrelated to class heterogeneity, after accounting for previous achievement, intelligence, gender, and social background. Path analyses showed that class heterogeneity was positively associated with teachers' use of differentiated instruction to accommodate for differences between students, and that differentiated instruction was related to higher student achievement. Second, students were found to achieve better in classes with high average achievement. While this held true for all students, high achieving students seemed to benefit the most from being in a class with a high average level. Although class-average achievement was positively related to the academic orientation of the class, this did not explain the association between class mean level and achievement. These results suggest that, although it might be beneficial for the students in the high ability groups, grouping students in distinct classes according to ability might have little overall benefit, and emphasize that teachers' responses to student diversity might be more decisive for improving student achievement than homogenizing classes in terms of ability. Educational Impact and Implications StatementIn a sample of 2,895 Grade 8 students from 158 classes, students were found to achieve better when they were in a class with a high mean achievement level, after accounting for previous achievement, intelligence, gender, and social background. By contrast, class heterogeneity (i.e., the extent of betweenstudent differences) was largely unrelated to subsequent student achievement. Hence, while sorting students according to ability could benefit those sorted into high ability classes (given the benefits associated with being in a class with a high mean level), this would come at the expense of those sorted into low ability classes. Moreover, teachers in heterogeneous classes appeared to differentiate their instruction more to student capacities, which was subsequently related to higher student achievement.

Most Mathematics Classrooms Contain Wide-Ranging Achievement Levels

“…Providing teachers and schools the resources to deliver an appropriately challenging education depends on the range of academic readiness present within the typical classroom. The most common support for advanced learners (who often make the smallest gains in heterogeneous classrooms) (Lavrijsen et al, 2022; Sanders et al, 1997) is differentiation in the general education classroom (Rinn et al, 2020). If the range of academic readiness within classrooms is large, differentiation may not be sufficient to meet the needs of all students because heterogeneous classrooms challenge teachers’ capacities to properly differentiate (Farkas & Duffett, 2008; Puzio et al, 2020).…”

Peran Manajemen Penjaminan Mutu Internal Akademik Untuk Mewujudkan Motivasi Prestasi Mahasiswa

“…Selain itu, ditemukan bahwa penerapan manajemen penjaminan mutu internal akademik akan memberi pengaruh positif terhadap iklim kelas (Howes, 2000), yaitu kondisi psikologis dan sosial yang tercipta dalam konteks kegiatan pendidikan di kelas (Lavrijsen, Dockx, Struyf, & Verschueren, 2022b). Iklim kelas yang positif tercipta atas interaksi antara pendidik (pengajar, dosen) dengan peserta didik selama kegiatan pembelajaran di kelas (Howes, 2000;Lavrijsen, et al, 2022b).…”

“…Selain itu, ditemukan bahwa penerapan manajemen penjaminan mutu internal akademik akan memberi pengaruh positif terhadap iklim kelas (Howes, 2000), yaitu kondisi psikologis dan sosial yang tercipta dalam konteks kegiatan pendidikan di kelas (Lavrijsen, Dockx, Struyf, & Verschueren, 2022b). Iklim kelas yang positif tercipta atas interaksi antara pendidik (pengajar, dosen) dengan peserta didik selama kegiatan pembelajaran di kelas (Howes, 2000;Lavrijsen, et al, 2022b). Seorang pendidik, bukan hanya mengajar dan menyampaikan materi perkuliahan, namun ia juga menumbuhkan motivasi bagi peserta didik untuk mencapai prestasi akademik sebaikbaiknya (Putwain, Wood, & Pekrun, 2022;Breitwieser & Brod, 2022).…”

“…Bagi civitas akademik seperti dosen yang menjalankan manajemen penjaminan mutu internal akademik, maka ia berkewajiban untuk mempersiapkan dan merencanakan pembelajaran melalui pembuatan RPS (Rencana Pembelajaran Semester) atau silabus. RPS dijalankan setiap minggunya yaitu melalui kegiatan perkuliahan yang diikuti oleh mahasiswa (Lavrijsen, et al, 2022b).…”

Intelligence, emotional intelligence, and emo-sensory intelligence: Which one is a better predictor of university students’ academic success?

“…Achievement, in general, can be defined as how well individuals can perform quantitatively and qualitatively based on pre-set of facts and knowledge ( Maramag-Manalastas and Batang, 2018 ; Lavrijsen et al, 2022 ). In the academic domain, this ability to perform is operationalized in terms of the outcomes that students achieve at the end of educational programs, which is called Academic Achievement (AA) and is associated with the active performance of academic skills ( Ennser-Kananen et al, 2017 ; Peng and Kievit, 2020 ).…”