Impact of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) on Middle School Students’ Writing Outcomes

Automated writing evaluation (AWE) has shown promise in enhancing students’ writing outcomes. However, further research is needed to understand how AWE is perceived by middle school students in the United States, as they have received less attention in this field. This study investigated U.S. middle school students’ perceptions of the MI Write AWE system. Students reported their perceptions of MI Write's usefulness using Likert-scale items and an open-ended survey question. We used Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to identify latent topics in students’ comments, followed by qualitative analysis to interpret the themes related to those topics. We then examined whether these themes differed among students who agreed or disagreed that MI Write was a useful learning tool. The LDA analysis revealed four latent topics: (1) students desire more in-depth feedback, (2) students desire an enhanced user experience, (3) students value MI Write as a learning tool but desire greater personalization, and (4) students desire increased fairness in automated scoring. The distribution of these topics varied based on students’ ratings of MI Write's usefulness, with Topic 1 more prevalent among students who generally did not find MI Write useful and Topic 3 more prominent among those who found MI Write useful. Our findings contribute to the enhancement and implementation of AWE systems, guide future AWE technology development, and highlight the efficacy of LDA in uncovering latent topics and patterns within textual data to explore students’ perspectives of AWE.

Middle school has been identified as the prime age group to begin nursing recruitment efforts because students have malleable perceptions about nursing as a future career choice. The purpose of this integrative review is to present a brief overview of research processes related to middle school students' perceptions of nursing as a future career choice and to critically evaluate the current instruments used to measure middle and high school students' perceptions of nursing as a career choice. An integrative review of the years 1989 to 2009 was conducted searching Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), National Library of Medicine PubMed service (PubMed), and Ovid MEDLINE databases using the key words career, choice, future, ideal, nursing, and perception. Reference lists of retrieved studies were hand searched, yielding a total of 22 studies. Inclusion criteria were (a) sample of middle school students, (b) sample of high school students, (c) mixed sample including middle or high school students, and (4) samples other than middle or high school students if the instrument was tested with middle or high school students in a separate study. Ten studies met these criteria. Of the 10 studies, samples were 30% middle school students; 40% high school students; 10% mixed, including school-aged students; and 20% college students with an instrument tested in middle school students. Eighty percent of participants were White females. Overall, participants' socioeconomic status was not identified. A single study included a theoretical framework. Five instruments were identified and each could be completed in 15 to 30 min. The most commonly used instrument is available free of charge. Seventy percent of the studies used Cronbach's alpha to report instrument reliability (0.63 to 0.93), whereas 30% failed to report reliability. Fifty percent of the studies established validity via a "panel of experts," with three of those studies further describing the panel of experts. Samples of white females may hinder generalization. Socioeconomic status was not consistently reported and may be an important factor with regard to perceptions of nursing as a career choice. An overall absence of theoretical framework hinders empirical data from being applied to nursing theories that in turn may support nursing concepts. The reporting of reliability and validity may be improved by further defining panel of experts and expanding the number of experts (more than seven). More in-depth evaluation of the psychometric properties of the instruments with more diverse populations is needed. Rigorously tested instruments may be useful in determining middle school students' perceptions about nursing. Therefore, future researchers should consider testing existing instruments in the middle school population, adhering to theoretical frameworks, diversifying the sample population, and clearly reporting reliability and validity to gain knowledge about middle school students' perceptions about a nursing career.

Teacher implementation of Self-Regulated Strategy Development with an automated writing evaluation system: Effects on the argumentative writing performance of middle school students

Prevalence, frequency, intensity, and location of cigarette use among adolescents in China from 2013–14 to 2019: Findings from two repeated cross-sectional studies

The purpose of this study is to carry out a survey of the oral health and maxillofacial trauma status of middle and high school students in Jeollabuk-do for establishing therapeutic and preventive measures and using as basic data on oral health care in an adolescent period. The results of this study are as follows. First, the prevalence status of oral diseases showed that male middle and female high school students have a little bit more dental caries than female middle and male high school students. And male middle and female high school students had more periodontitis than female middle and male high school students. Second, the maxillofacial trauma status of middle and high school students showed that both male middle and high school students have a little bit more experience of maxillofacial trauma than both female middle and high school students. And male middle and high school students had more experience of maxillofacial trauma than female middle and high school students, driven by unilateral hit in the fighting between male middle school students, and a car accident, fall, exercise, game, or unilateral hit in the fighting between male high school students. Third, the oral health status of middle and high school students showed that high school students have more dental caries, sealed permanent teeth, DMFT(Decay, Missing, Filling Teeth), and periodontitis than middle school students. Consequently, education for regular oral health care should be conducted through the importance of oral health care, and a systematic early diagnosis and remedy. It is urgent for adolescents to change their perception of the prevalence control, poor care prevention, and replacement reduction related to the importance of oral care.

Elementary, Middle, and High School Students Vary in Frequency and Purpose When Using Online Digital References

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States; if current smoking rates continue, 5.6 million Americans aged <18 years who are alive today are projected to die prematurely from smoking-related disease. Tobacco use and addiction mostly begin during youth and young adulthood. CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analyzed data from the 2011-2015 National Youth Tobacco Surveys (NYTS) to determine the prevalence and trends of current (past 30-day) use of seven tobacco product types (cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes [e-cigarettes], hookahs [water pipes used to smoke tobacco], pipe tobacco, and bidis [small imported cigarettes wrapped in a tendu leaf]) among U.S. middle (grades 6-8) and high (grades 9-12) school students. In 2015, e-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among middle (5.3%) and high (16.0%) school students. During 2011-2015, significant increases in current use of e-cigarettes and hookahs occurred among middle and high school students, whereas current use of conventional tobacco products, such as cigarettes and cigars decreased, resulting in no change in overall tobacco product use. During 2014-2015, current use of e-cigarettes increased among middle school students, whereas current use of hookahs decreased among high school students; in contrast, no change was observed in use of hookahs among middle school students, use of e-cigarettes among high school students, or use of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, or bidis among middle and high school students. In 2015, an estimated 4.7 million middle and high school students were current tobacco product users, and, therefore, continue to be exposed to harmful tobacco product constituents, including nicotine. Nicotine exposure during adolescence, a critical period for brain development, can cause addiction, might harm brain development, and could lead to sustained tobacco product use among youths. Comprehensive and sustained strategies are warranted to prevent and reduce the use of all tobacco products among U.S. youths.

3⁄4 Middle school is a critical time for young people to begin thinking about future careers. While many middle school students still long to be football players, actresses or rap singers, they are also beginning to consid er realistic options. In order to effectively explore all realistic options middle school students need to have accurate information about specific careers. The literature on recruitment into engineering careers suggests that students may not know about engineering careers, have few adults or peers discussing engineering with them, and therefore do not explore engineering as a career option or prepare for it academically in these crucial middle school years. Because the demand for engineers is expected t o increase both nationally and in New Jersey the Pre -Engineering Instructional and Outreach Program was established to enlarge the future pool of engineers. The program focuses on implementing pre -engineering curricula in middle and high schools and inform ing students, teachers, parents, and school counselors about the rewards of engineering careers. Along with increased enrollment in college engineering programs, successful outcomes include increased knowledge about engineering careers and more positive a ttitudes to engineering in middle and high school students. A survey to measure middle school students': 1) attitudes to mathematics, science and engineering, 2) knowledge about engineering and engineering careers, 3) recent academic performance and 4) wh o has talked to them about engineering as a career option has been adapted from a similar survey previously developed for high school students. The current paper describes the development of the middle school survey. The validity and reliability of the s urvey will be presented along with a summary of significant findings which include: students’ overall attitudes to engineering, mathematics and science, their knowledge about engineering careers, and who has been talking to them about careers in engineerin g. Index Terms 3⁄4 Attitudes to engineering, knowledge about engineering careers, middle school students’ attitudes

Purpose of this study was to assess the adolescents' drug abuse and the influence factors of the potential drug use. Research method used in this study was descriptive survey research.The total subjects of this study were 1714 Middle and High School Students in Gwangju city. The data were collected from October 22 to November 5, 2004 and analysed by Frequency test, x'test, t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression Using the SPSS Program.The results were as follows. 1) In terms of smoking experience for last 1 year, 7.5% of the middle school students, 11.3% of the high school students, and 34.5% of the vocational high school students had a smoking experience. In terms of drinking experience for last 1 year, 30.7% of the middle school students, 52.8% of the high school students, 67.5% of the vocational high school students had a drinking experience. In term of drug using for last 1 year, 2.4% of the middle school students, 3.0% of the high school students, 2.9% of the vocational high school students had a drug using experience. 2) In term of the smoking level, the middle school students were the mean of 15.06, the high school students were the mean of 15.67, and the vocational high school students were the mean of 19.90. In term of the drinking level, the middle school students were the mean of 14.07, the high school students were the mean of 15.69, and the vocational high school students were the mean of 18.69. In term of the drug using level, the middle school students were the mean of 14.46, the high school students were the mean of 14.34, and the vocational high school students were the mean of 14.46. 3) In the distribution of the potential adolescents* substance problem, there were 3.6% of the middle school students, 10.3% of the high school students, and 25.6% of the vacational high school students. In term of the drug using level of the subjects, the potential group was the mean of 78.97 and the non-potential group was the mean of 51.69 in the middle school students, the potential group was the mean of 79.32 and the non-potential group was the mean of 55.97 in the high school students, and the potential group was the mean of 81.04 and the non-potential group was the mean of 59.62 in the vocational high school students. 4) In tenns of the potential substance problem level based on the general characteristics of the subjects, there was significant difference in gender(t=2.253, p=.O26), economic status(F=3.984, p=.O22), father's graduated school(F=3.344, p^.038) in the potential group, and there was signigicant difference in all characteristics excepted parents' living together in the non-potential group. 5) In terms of the drug experience, there was significant difference between the potential and non-potential group by smoking experience (x 2 =447.082, p=.000), 68.0% of the subjects had a smoking experience and 32.0% of the subjects had not a smoking experience in the potential group, and 8.6% of the subjects had a smoking experience and 91.4% of the subjects had not a smoking experience in the non-potential group. There was significant difference between the potential and non-potential group by drinking experience (x &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; = 161.014, p=.000), 89.3% of the subjects had a drinking experience and 10.7% of the subjects had not a drinking experience in the potential group, and 39.4% of the subjects had a drinking experience and 60.0% of the subjects had not a drinking experience in the non-potential group. There was significant difference between the potential and non-potental group by smoking experience (x&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;=25.855, p=.000), 9.0% of the subjects had a drug using experience and 91.0% of the subjects had not a drug using experience in the potential group, and 2.2% of the subjects had a drug using experience and 97.8% of the subjects had not a drug using experience in the non-potential group. 6. The significant predictor of the risk factors for the adolescents' drug use was adolescents' drinking level(t=14.529, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;=.000) that explained 31.9% of the potential drug use. The following order was smoking level, school type, school performance, economic status, and these 5 factors explained 46.7% of the potential substance problem. Thus this study concluded that the adolescents who had the smoking, drinking, and drug using experience oi were in potential drug using group were significant difference among the middle, high, and vacational high school students. Therefore, it is required that the adolescents are offered substance abuse prevention program based on their grade or substance using level.

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has increased considerably among U.S. youths since 2011. Tobacco use among youths in any form, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe. Tobacco product advertising can persuade youths to start using tobacco. CDC analyzed data from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey to estimate the prevalence of e-cigarette advertisement exposure among U.S. middle school and high school students. The 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey, a school-based survey of middle school and high school students in grades 6-12, included 22,007 participants. Exposure to e-cigarette advertisements (categorized as "sometimes," "most of the time," or "always") was assessed for four sources: retail stores, Internet, TV and movies, and newspapers and magazines. Weighted exposure estimates were assessed overall and by school type, sex, race/ethnicity, and grade. In 2014, 68.9% of middle and high school students (18.3 million) were exposed to e-cigarette advertisements from at least one source. Among middle school students, exposure was highest for retail stores (52.8%), followed by Internet (35.8%), TV and movies (34.1%), and newspapers and magazines (25.0%). Among high school students, exposure was highest for retail stores (56.3%), followed by Internet (42.9%), TV and movies (38.4%), and newspapers and magazines (34.6%). Among middle school students, 23.4% reported exposure to e-cigarette advertising from one source, 17.4% from two sources, 13.7% from three sources, and 11.9% from four sources. Among high school students, 21.1% reported exposure to e-cigarette advertising from one source, 17.0% from two sources, 14.5% from three sources, and 18.2% from four sources. Approximately seven in 10 U.S. middle and high school students were exposed to e-cigarette advertisements in 2014. Exposure to e-cigarette advertisements might contribute to increased use of e-cigarettes among youths. Multiple approaches are warranted to reduce youth e-cigarette use and exposure to e-cigarette advertisements, including efforts to reduce youth access to settings where tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, are sold, and regulation of youth-oriented e-cigarette marketing.

FigureTobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States, and nearly all tobacco use begins during youth and young adulthood.1,2 Among U.S. youths, cigarette smoking has declined in recent years; however, the use of some other tobacco products has increased,3 and nearly half of tobacco users use two or more tobacco products.4 CDC analyzed data from the 2013 National Youth Tobacco Survey to determine the prevalence of ever (at least once) and current (at least one day in the past 30 days) use of one or more of 10 tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes, pipes, snus, bidis, kreteks, and dissolvable tobacco) among U.S. middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) students. In 2013, 22.9 percent of high school students reported current use of any tobacco product, and 12.6 percent reported current use of two or more tobacco products; current use of combustible products (i.e., cigarettes, cigars, pipes, bidis, kreteks, and/or hookahs) was substantially greater (20.7%) than use of other types of tobacco. Also, 46.0 percent of high school students reported having ever tried a tobacco product, and 31.4 percent reported ever trying two or more tobacco products. Among middle school students, 3.1 percent reported current use of cigars, and 2.9 percent reported current use of cigarettes, with non-Hispanic black students more than twice as likely to report current use of cigars than cigarettes. Monitoring the prevalence of the use of all available tobacco products, including new and emerging products, is critical to support effective population-based interventions to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youths as part of comprehensive tobacco prevention and control programs. The National Youth Tobacco Survey is a cross-sectional, school-based, self-administered, pencil-and-paper questionnaire administered to U.S. middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) students. Information is collected on tobacco control outcome indicators to monitor the impact of comprehensive tobacco control policies and programs5 and regulatory authorities of the Food and Drug Administration.6 A three-stage cluster sampling procedure was used to generate a nationally representative sample of students in grades 6-12. Of 250 schools selected for the 2013 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 187 (74.8%) participated, with a sample of 18,406 (90.7%) among 20,301 eligible students; the overall response rate was 67.8 percent. Participants were asked about ever and current use of cigarettes, cigars (defined as cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars), smokeless tobacco (defined as chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip), pipes, bidis, kreteks, hookah, snus, dissolvable tobacco, and e-cigarettes. Ever use was defined as ever trying a product, and current use was defined as using a product on one or more days during the past 30 days. For both ever use and current use, any tobacco use was defined as reporting the use of one or more tobacco products; use of two or more tobacco products was defined as reporting the use of two or more tobacco products in the specified time, current (in the past 30 days) or ever. Combustible tobacco was defined as cigarettes, cigars, pipes, bidis, kreteks, and/or hookahs. Noncombustible tobacco was defined as smokeless tobacco, snus, and/or dissolvable tobacco. A separate category was created for e-cigarette use. Data were adjusted for nonresponse and weighted to provide national prevalence estimates with 95 percent confidence intervals; statistically significant (p<0.05) differences between population subgroups were assessed using a t-test. Estimates for ever and current use are presented for each type of product, for any tobacco use, and for the use of two or more tobacco products by selected demographics for each school level (middle and high). In 2013, 22.9 percent of high school students reported current use of a tobacco product, including 12.6 percent who reported current use of two or more tobacco products. Among all high school students, cigarettes (12.7%) and cigars (11.9%) were the most commonly reported tobacco products currently used, followed by smokeless tobacco (5.7%), hookahs (5.2%), e-cigarettes (4.5%), pipes (4.1%), snus (1.8%), kreteks (0.8%), bidis (0.6%), and dissolvable tobacco (0.4%). Among high school students who identified as non-Hispanic white or Hispanic, cigarettes were the product most commonly used, whereas cigar use was more common for all other race/ethnicities. Cigar use among non-Hispanic black students was nearly 50 percent higher than cigarette use. Younger children are less likely to try tobacco than older children with the proportions of current any tobacco users and current users of two or more tobacco products being lower among middle school students (6.5% and 2.9%, respectively) than high school students (22.9% and 12.6%, respectively). Cigars (3.1%) and cigarettes (2.9%) were the most commonly reported tobacco products currently used by middle school students, followed by pipes (1.9%); smokeless tobacco (1.4%); e-cigarettes and hookahs (1.1%); and bidis, kreteks, and snus (0.4%). The proportions of ever users of any tobacco product and ever users of two or more tobacco products were higher among high school (46.0% and 31.4%, respectively) than middle school (17.7% and 9.4%, respectively) students. Combustible tobacco products were the most commonly used form of tobacco among both current and ever tobacco users. Among high school students, 20.7 percent currently used combustible products (13.5% combustible only; 3.4% combustible and noncombustible only; 2.7% combustible and e-cigarettes only; and 1.1% combustible, noncombustible, and e-cigarettes). Of all middle school students, 5.4 percent currently used combustible products (4.0% combustible only; 0.8% combustible and noncombustible only; 0.4% combustible and e-cigarettes only; and 0.2% combustible, noncombustible, and e-cigarettes). Current use of only e-cigarettes was 0.6 percent among high school students and 0.4 percent among middle school students. Continuing Efforts Needed In 2013, more than one in five high school students (22.9%) and more than one in 20 middle school students (6.5%) reported using a tobacco product on one or more days during the past 30 days. In addition, nearly half of high school students (46.0%) and almost one in five of middle school students (17.7%) had ever used tobacco. These findings indicate that continued efforts are needed to monitor and prevent the use of all forms of tobacco use among youths. Combustible tobacco use remains the most common type of tobacco use and causes most tobacco-related disease and death in the United States.1 Nine out of 10 high school current and ever tobacco users used a combustible tobacco product. There was lower use of only noncombustible tobacco products or only e-cigarettes among both current and ever tobacco users. However, noncombustible products also pose health risks.7 Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to combustible tobacco because it causes cancer and nicotine addiction.7 In addition, although the long-term impact of e-cigarette use on public health overall remains uncertain, the 2014 Surgeon General's report found that nicotine use can have adverse effects on adolescent brain development; therefore, nicotine use by youths in any form (whether combustible, smokeless, or electronic) is unsafe.1 Most youths who currently use tobacco believe that they will be able to stop using tobacco in the near future; unfortunately, however, many continue use well into adulthood.2 Youths who report use of multiple tobacco products are at higher risk for developing nicotine dependence; about two thirds (62.9%) of youths who use more than one tobacco product report tobacco dependence symptoms, compared with 36.0 percent of those who use one tobacco product.8 Thus, youths who use multiple tobacco products might be more likely to continue using tobacco into adulthood. Comprehensive youth tobacco-prevention programs that prevent initiation of all types of tobacco products are critical to protect youths from tobacco use and nicotine dependence. Possible Limitations The findings in this report are subject to at least five limitations: First, data were collected only from youths who attended either public or private schools and might not be generalizable to all middle and high school-aged youths. Second, data were self-reported; thus, the findings are subject to recall and/or response bias. Third, current and ever tobacco use were estimated by including students who responded to using at least one of the 10 tobacco products included in the survey but might have had missing responses to any of the other nine tobacco products; missing responses were considered as nonuse, which might have resulted in conservative estimates. Fourth, nonresponse bias might have affected the results because the survey response rate was only 67.8 percent. Finally, estimates might differ from those derived from other nationally representative youth surveillance systems, in part because of differences in survey methods, survey type and topic, and age and setting of the target population. However, overall prevalence estimates are similar across the various youth surveys.2 Although substantial progress has been made in decreasing cigarette use among youths,2 overall tobacco use is still high, with one in five high school students currently using tobacco and nearly half reporting they have ever used a tobacco product. Ever using a tobacco product is a concern because even one-time use of tobacco is associated with increased long-term risks for becoming a regular user.2 In April 2014, FDA issued a proposed rule to extend its jurisdiction over the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of tobacco products not currently regulated by FDA, which includes cigars, e-cigarettes, pipes, and hookahs.9 FDA is reviewing the comments received on this proposed rule. Full implementation of comprehensive tobacco control programs at CDC-recommended funding levels would be expected to result in further reductions in tobacco use and changes in social norms regarding the acceptability of tobacco use among U.S. youths.1,2,10 Additionally, considering how trends in tobacco product use and tobacco marketing changes, rigorous surveillance of all available forms of tobacco use by youths, particularly emerging products such as e-cigarettes, is essential. Rigorous surveillance of the use of all types of tobacco will inform enhanced prevention efforts that could protect the estimated 5.6 million youths in the United States currently projected to die prematurely from a smoking-related disease.1 Reprinted (slightly adapted) from Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2014;63;1021-1026.

Objectives This study aims to examine the trends in the understanding of English classes among middle and high school students. It explores the longitudinal relationships centered on variables such as family background, pa-rental academic support, after-school programs, and private education. Methods Data from the 2nd to 5th year (2019-2022) of the Jeonnam Educational Longitudinal Study (JELS) were analyzed using a Latent Growth Curve Model. The analysis was conducted from the 1st year of middle school to the 1st year of high school to understand the changes in students' understanding of English classes. Predictive variables included individual characteristics, family background, parental academic support, after-school pro-grams, and private education. Results The average initial level of understanding of English classes among middle school students was statisti-cally significant at 3.735, with a rate of change of -0.107. This suggests that the level of understanding of English classes was relatively high in the 1st year of middle school but has been decreasing over the 5-year span of middle and high school. Among the variables affecting changes in the understanding of English classes, only the ex-penditure for academies, tutoring, and worksheets by parents for their children's studies had a positive effect on the initial level but had a negative impact on the rate of change over four years. Participation in private education also had a positive effect on the initial level but a negative effect on the rate of change over four years. Conclusions This study suggests strategies and implications for improving the understanding of English classes among middle and high school students, reflecting the analysis results of major family background variables af-fecting changes in understanding.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, and nearly all tobacco use begins during youth and young adulthood (1,2). CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analyzed data from the 2011-2017 National Youth Tobacco Surveys (NYTS)* to determine patterns of current (past 30-day) use of seven tobacco product types among U.S. middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) students and estimate use nationwide. Among high school students, current use of any tobacco product decreased from 24.2% (estimated 3.69 million users) in 2011 to 19.6% (2.95 million) in 2017. Among middle school students, current use of any tobacco product decreased from 7.5% (0.87 million) in 2011 to 5.6% (0.67 million) in 2017. In 2017, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were the most commonly used tobacco product among high (11.7%; 1.73 million) and middle (3.3%; 0.39 million) school students. During 2016-2017, decreases in current use of hookah and pipe tobacco occurred among high school students, while decreases in current use of any tobacco product, e-cigarettes, and hookah occurred among middle school students. Current use of any combustible tobacco product, ≥2 tobacco products, cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and bidis did not change among middle or high school students during 2016-2017. Comprehensive and sustained strategies can help prevent and reduce the use of all forms of tobacco products among U.S. youths (1,2).

The purpose of this study was to identify what factors of students, parents, and teachers affect school adjustment and school satisfaction of middle and high school students according to gender, school level, and time duration. The 1 st -year (T) and 2 nd -year (T+1) survey data of GEPS (Gyeonggi Education Panel Study) were analyzed by using linear regression analysis. The results were as follows: First, male middle school students' self-esteem and teacher- centered teaching methods (TCTM), female middle school students' self- concept and TCTM, male high school students' self-concept and test stress, and female high school students' self-concept had significant influence on the degree of school adjustment among friends (DSAF). Second, male middle school students' self-efficacy and learner-centered teaching methods (LCTM), female middle school students' TCTM and subject interest, and female high school students' self-concept only had significant influence on the degree of school adjustment with teachers. Third, only subject interest of male middle school students, self-concept and LCTM of female middle school students, and only self-concept of high school female students were statistically significant on school satisfaction.

This research aimed to validate the Academic Success and Failure Attribution Questionnaire (ASFAQ) and analyze gender and age differences in middle and high school students in Italy. Methods: From the ASFAQ questionnaire validated with Spanish students, an analysis of the psychometric characteristics of the scale was carried out using a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). To compare ASFAQ scores by gender and school year, the independent samples parametric t-test and Pearson’s coincidence test were used. (3) Results: in total, 976 students participated in the research, of which 515 were middle school students and 461 were high school students. The results showed a validity of the ASFAQ for Italian students, in addition to statistically significant differences between males and females, and school year. (4) Conclusions: The ASFAQ is reliable and valid to assess the attributional styles of academic success and failure in an Italian context. There are significant differences in sex and school year, and a consequence with age