The Impact of Student Success Skills on Standardized Test Scores

Abstract

This meta-analysis investigates the practical significance of the Student Success Skills (SSS) program on student achievement. Each study involved the SSS intervention, math and reading scores, at least one treatment and comparison group, and a certified school counselor. The sample involved students (n ¼ 1,279) in Grades 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9. Overall effect sizes for math (.41), reading (.17), and the SSS program (.29) were determined. New guidelines for interpreting the results are introduced.

The Relationship of a Systemic Student Support Intervention to Academic Achievement in Urban Catholic Schools

“…Mathematics learning may be more sensitive to improvements in noncognitive attitudes and skills-such as attention, self-efficacy, and study habits-and therefore more responsive to support. A meta-analysis of impact evaluations of a widely used counseling intervention to help students develop cognitive, social, and self-management skills supports this hypothesis; the authors found a larger overall treatment effect size for mathematics than for reading (Villares et al, 2012). English proficiency, a factor not included in the present study, might also have some bearing on the smaller, nonsignificant differences found for language and reading.…”

“…Research has demonstrated links between improvements in certain noncognitive factors and positive academic achievement outcomes (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005;Heckman, 2008;Heckman, Pinto, & Savelyev, 2012). Various interventions that address those factors directly have demonstrated academic gains (Dignath & Büttner, 2008;Lassen, Steele, & Sailor, 2006;Villares, Frain, Brigman, Webb, & Peluso, 2012). For example, increased family involvement in the child's education has been linked with reductions in the literacy achievement gap (Dearing, Kreider, Simpkins, & Weiss, 2006).…”

Effects of the Student Success Skills Program on Executive Functioning Skills, Feelings of Connectedness, and Academic Achievement in a Predominantly Hispanic, Low‐Income Middle School District

“…These researchers have consistently found significant increases in mathematics and reading scores on standardized achievement tests (Brigman & Campbell, ; Brigman, Webb, & Campbell, ; Campbell & Brigman, ; León, Villares, Brigman, Webb, & Peluso, ; Webb et al, ). Across these studies, Villares, Frain, Brigman, Webb, and Peluso () calculated an overall effect size to demonstrate the practical value of SSS that resulted in .41 for math and .17 for reading, which are generally considered large effects in the context of K–12 academic achievement (Hill, Bloom, Black, & Lipsey, ).…”

Student Success Skills: An Evidence‐Based School Counseling Program Grounded in Humanistic Theory

“…Improved student math and reading scores on state-mandated standardized tests have been documented in five well-designed SSS research studies (Brigman & Campbell, 2003;León et al, 2010;Webb et al, 2005), three action research studies (Luck & Webb, 2009;Villares, Brigman, Webb, & Ragsdale, 2010;Webb, Brigman, Villares, & Shook, 2010), and one meta-analysis (Villares, Frain, et al, 2010). School counselors teaching students key foundational learning skills, and teachers coaching and cuing students to use these strategies, will result in embedding the SSS skills and attitudes into the general curriculum, which in turn will lead to improved student performance by integrating human potential practices into the school.…”