Elementary School Achievement Research Articles

Smart, confident, interested: Contributions of intelligence, self-concept, and interest to elementary school achievement

Cognitive and motivational variables are significant correlates and predictors of scholastic achievement. In upper elementary school grade levels, intelligence seems to be more important compared to motivational variables. Regarding motivational variables, (competence) self-concept revealed higher path coefficients in reported grades than interest. Extending these findings to lower grade levels, the present study with N=858 students that stemmed from grade levels 2, 3, and 4 (n=253/321/284) revealed that, when all three predictors were jointly considered, self-concept and interest contributed substantially to the prediction of reported grades in mathematics and German beyond intelligence in all three examined grade levels, with the exception of interest of fourth graders in German. Self-concept was the numerically stronger motivational predictor. Significant grade level-related differences of the predictors were not evidenced. The importance of cognitive and motivational predictors for scholastic success in elementary school is discussed.

Increasing Readiness to Learn: Benefits of Executive Function Training in Kindergarten Carry over to First Grade

Executive Function skills such as focused attention, inhibition or self-control, and working memory in preschool and kindergarten predict reading and math achievement in elementary school and beyond. A growing body of research indicates that these skills can be improved by repetitive practice of progressively more difficult tasks that require Executive Function. We report that children who participated in an integrated program of computer presented and physical exercises to improve Executive Function when in kindergarten then entered first grade with greater attention and self-control skills than their first grade classmates who had not participated in the program.

Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) and Student Outcomes in Elementary and Middle Schools

This study evaluates the relationship between the Recognized American School Counselor Association Model Program (RAMP) designation and students’ achievement and attendance outcomes in elementary and middle schools. We used data from 2009 through 2015 from Wake County Public Schools, the largest school district in North Carolina. Our analyses use a school fixed effects approach to assess how student outcomes change when a school receives the RAMP designation. Results indicate that RAMP boosts student attendance, particularly in middle schools, but has limited to no effect on student achievement.

Reciprocal relations among motivational frameworks, math anxiety, and math achievement in early elementary school

ABSTRACTSchool-entry math achievement is a strong predictor of math achievement through high school. We asked whether reciprocal relations among math achievement, math anxiety, and entity motivational frameworks (believing that ability is fixed and a focus on performance) can help explain these persistent individual differences. We assessed 1st and 2nd graders’ (N = 634) math achievement, motivational frameworks, and math anxiety 2 times, 6 months apart. Cross-lagged path analyses showed reciprocal relations between math anxiety and math achievement and between motivational frameworks and math achievement. Entity motivational frameworks predicted higher math anxiety. High math achievement was a particularly strong predictor of lower math anxiety and less entity-oriented motivational frameworks. We concluded that reciprocal effects are already present in the first 2 years of formal schooling, with math achievement and attitudes feeding off one another to produce either a vicious or virtuous cycle. Improving both math performance and math attitudes may set children onto a long-lasting, positive trajectory in math.

KESIAPAN BERSEKOLAH ANAK TAMAN KANAK-KANAK KELOMPOK B DITINJAU DARI LEMBAGA PENDIDIKAN DAN TINGKAT PENDIDIKAN ORANG TUA

This research is motivated by the importance of school readiness as the basis for children to learn and achieve achievement in elementary school. Approach and method used in this research is quantitative approach with non-experimental method of comparative with research sample of kindergarten children class B in Sukasari sub-district of Bandung city as many as 100 children. The school readiness measurement tool used in this study is Nijmeegse School bekwaam heids Test (N.S.T.). The analysis of the data is done quantitatively by means of the mean, whitney u test and cruciate test of willis. From the results of N.S.T test shows that 76% of the sample of children declared mature and ready to enter further education (SD) but there are some aspects that need to be developed that is the ability of sharpness of observation and self-knowledge and limbs. Key w ords : School Readiness, Kindergarten, Kindergarten Status, Level of Parent Education .

The Correlation between Teacher Professional Competence and Natural Science Learning Achievement in Elementary School

This present study aims at investigating the correlation between teachers’ professional competence and natural science learning achievement in elementary schools in Buleleng regency. The population in this study are all sixth grade teachers, which it is further narrowed down to 30 teachers as the sample. In order to gather the data, the researcher employs questionnaire regarding teacher professional competence and document study toward students’ achievement on national examination in academic year 2016/2017. Further, ex post facto is chosen as the design of the study. Meanwhile, the data are analysed through correlation analysis with assistance of SPSS 16 software. Based on the analysis, it was obtained that the correlation between teacher professional competence and the learning achievement on natural science subject is in the interval of 0.40-0.59 with correlation coefficient at rho=0.506. This means there is a significant correlation between teacher professional competence and students’ learning achievement on natural science in national examination in academic year 2016/2017 (tcount = 3.103 > ttable =2.048 with significance level at α = 0,05 and coefficient of determination at 0.2560 (25.60%)

Do birth order, family size and gender affect arithmetic achievement in elementary school?

Introducción. Durante décadas el orden de nacimiento y las diferencias de género han atraído la atención de la investigación.Método. El orden de nacimiento, el tamaño de la familia y género, y la relación con el rendimiento aritmético es estudiada en 1152 alumnos de educación elemental (540 niñas, 612 niños) en Flanders. Los niños fueron seleccionados atendiendo al estatus socioeconómico de los padres y se les administró un test de cálculo mental y conocimiento de números.Resultados. Los hallazgos favorecen a los niños y sugieren que sólo los niños y nacidos en último lugar en familias extensas se muestran menos competentes en aritmética que los nacidos primero. En contraste con la predicción de Zajonc que señalaba que en familias con tres, cinco o más niños, eran los nacidos en medio quienes lo hacían mejor.Discusión. El estudio está parcialmente en línea con la hipótesis de confluencia y disolución. Las diferencias en función del orden de nacimiento pueden explicarse por la ventaja de la tutorización que los primogénitos realizan sobre los más pequeños ayudándoles en el procesamiento de la información. Sin embargo, nuestros datos proporcionan evidencias sobre que el orden de nacimiento explica sólo el 2% o 3% de la varianza. Los análisis muestran que los nacidos en último lugar presentan puntuaciones pobres tanto en familias pequeñas (dos elementos) como en familias grades (cinco o más elementos). Sin embargo, las desventajas de los benjamines y las ventajas de los primogénitos no están presentes en familias con tres o cuatro hijos.

The role of parental involvement in academic achievement trajectories of elementary school children with Southeast Asian and Taiwanese mothers

Drawing upon Coleman's concepts of social capital, which emphasized the potential roles of resources inside and outside the family in affecting children's academic performance, this study explores the parental involvement gap between children of Southeast Asian mothers and children of Taiwanese mothers, and analyzes to what extent parental involvement is associated with trajectories of achievement in elementary school. The sample comprised 8810 fourth to sixth graders. Resultsshowed that new immigrant children experienced less parental involvement than did native children. The hierarchical linear model revealed that four of the five parental involvement factors related to initial achievement, the only exception being intergenerational closure. The immigrant-native gap in initial achievement can be partially explained by parental involvement, while discrepancies in the growth rates of academic achievement were not observed between the two groups. Furthermore, a negative and long-lasting effect of parental expectation on achievement was found in Confucian culture, which is characterized by an emphasis on the importance of education and the higher academic standards set by Chinese parents.

The effect of sleep disorders on student achievement in elementary schools in Yogyakarta

Background: Chronic sleep deprivation during developmental period causes maturation disorder various areas of the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex.

How do parent expectations promote child academic achievement in early elementary school? A test of three mediators.

Using a longitudinal mediation framework and a low-income sample, this study had 2 aims: (a) to model bidirectional associations between parent academic expectations and child academic outcomes from first through fifth grade, and (b) to explore 3 mediators of parental influence: parent involvement in child schooling, child learning behaviors, and child perceived academic competence. Participants included 356 children and their caregivers (89% mothers) recruited from Head Start centers (58% European American, 25% African American, 17% Latino). At each time point (grades 1, 2, 3, 5), parents rated their academic expectations, teachers rated parent involvement and child learning behaviors, and children rated their self-perceptions of their academic competence. Bidirectional longitudinal associations emerged between parent academic expectations and child academic outcomes. Child learning behaviors mediated this association from first to third grade, whereas child perceived academic competence mediated from second to fifth grade. Parallel cross-lagged models replicated these findings with child academic outcomes assessed using a test of reading achievement and teacher ratings of academic performance. (PsycINFO Database Record

Counting rotten apples: Student achievement and score manipulation in Italian elementary Schools

We derive bounds on the distribution of math and language scores of elementary school students in Italy correcting for pervasive manipulation. A natural experiment that randomly assigns external monitors to schools is used to deal with endogeneity of manipulation, as well as its mismeasurement in the data. Bounds are obtained from properties of the statistical model used to detect classes with manipulated scores, and from restrictions on the relationship between manipulation and true scores. Our results show that regional rankings by academic performance are reversed once manipulation is taken into account.

Tingkat konsumsi zat besi (Fe), seng (Zn) dan status gizi serta hubungannya dengan prestasi belajar anak sekolah dasar

Background : The main problem faced by Indonesia especially in the education field is the achievement of learning in children is still low in Elementary School. Several factor that influence the learning achievement in children are internal factors, external factors and the learning methods. Nutritional status, sufticient iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) intake is one of the important indicators to improve the growth and development of brain in children.Objective :The purpose of this study to determine the correlation between level of iron and zinc consumption and nutritional status with children’ learning achievement in Elementary School no. 1 Buduk and Elementary School no. 2 Abianbase.Methods : design of this study was used an Observational Analytics with Cross Sectional Design which has been implemented in April-May 2017 with Simple Random Sampling Technique in the 5th grade students (57 samples).Result : The result of this study showed that most of the iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) consumption in medium category that is 64,9% and 42,1%, while the nutritional status in normal category that is 64,9% and the learning achievement includes in good category that is 84,2%. The learning achievement related to iron (Fe) and nutritional status (p=0,000) and not associated with the level of zinc (Zn) consumption (p=0,447).Conclusion : The study showed a correlation between the level of iron (Fe) consumption and nutritional status with learning achievement and there is no correlation between the level of zinc (Zn) consumption.

Achievement goal profiles and developments in effort and achievement in upper elementary school.

BackgroundThe multiple goal perspective posits that certain combinations of achievement goals are more favourable than others in terms of educational outcomes.AimsThis study aimed to examine longitudinally whether students’ achievement goal profiles and transitions between profiles are associated with developments in self‐reported and teacher‐rated effort and academic achievement in upper elementary school.SampleParticipants were 722 fifth‐grade students and their teachers in fifth and sixth grade (N = 68).MethodsStudents reported on their achievement goals and effort in language and mathematics three times in grade 5 to grade 6. Teachers rated students’ general school effort. Achievement scores were obtained from school records. Goal profiles were derived with latent profile and transition analyses. Longitudinal multilevel analyses were conducted.ResultsTheoretically favourable goal profiles (high mastery and performance‐approach goals, low on performance‐avoidance goals), as well as transitions from less to more theoretically favourable goal profiles, were associated with higher levels and more growth in effort for language and mathematics and with stronger language achievement gains.ConclusionsOverall, these results provide support for the multiple goal perspective and show the sustained benefits of favourable goal profiles beyond effects of cognitive ability and background characteristics.

The Effect of Community Traumatic Events on Student Achievement: Evidence from the Beltway Sniper Attacks

Community traumatic events such as mass shootings, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters have the potential to disrupt student learning. For example, these events can reduce instructional time by causing teacher and student absences, school closures, and disturbances to classroom and home routines. This paper uses a quasi-experimental research design to identify the effects of the 2002 “Beltway Sniper” attacks on student achievement in Virginia's public elementary schools. To identify the causal impact of these events, the empirical analysis uses a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits geographic variation in schools’ proximity to the attacks. The main results indicate that the attacks significantly reduced school-level proficiency rates in schools within five miles of an attack. Evidence of a causal effect is most robust for math proficiency rates in the third and fifth grades, and third-grade reading proficiency, suggesting that the shootings caused a decline in school proficiency rates of about 2 to 5 percent. Particularly concerning from an equity standpoint, these effects appear to be entirely driven by achievement declines in schools that serve higher proportions of racial minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Finally, results from supplementary analyses suggest these deleterious effects faded out in subsequent years.

Teacher-student relationship quality and academic achievement in elementary school: A longitudinal examination of gender differences

Multiple group longitudinal cross-lagged panel models were implemented to understand the directional influences between teacher-student closeness and conflict and measured math and reading achievement across elementary grades and gender groups using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development longitudinal sample (N=1133). Specifically, after testing multiple group longitudinal measurement invariance to ensure consistent measurement across genders and time, and tests of equivalence of the latent parameters, we were interested in whether longitudinal changes in teacher-rated closeness and conflict explained longitudinal changes in achievement, and vice versa, and whether those longitudinal influences varied by gender. Latent teacher-student closeness decreased for both genders over time (Cohen's d=−0.15 to −0.32), but latent conflict increased for males (Cohen's d=0.16). There was also increased heterogeneity in teacher-student relationship quality for males relative to females. Math and reading achievement had medium reciprocal effects (β=0.12 to 0.23), and previous math achievement had small to medium effects on subsequent teacher-student closeness (β=0.08 to 0.11) and conflict (β=−0.07 to −0.09). Teacher-student conflict and closeness did not influence subsequent levels of math or reading achievement once previous levels were controlled. Further, these influences were consistent across gender groups despite latent differences in teacher-student closeness and conflict with teachers reporting closer relationships with female students and more conflictual relationships with male students.

The influence of race–ethnicity and physical activity levels on elementary school achievement

ABSTRACTThe authors used structural equation modeling to map the relationships between student race–ethnicity via the mediating variable physical activity on English language arts (ELA) and mathematics achievement among 964 fourth- and fifth-grade students. The students attended a New York City Metropolitan area school district and completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children, which measured weekly average activity levels. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the use of this instrument. Physical activity had a significant, substantive effect on both ELA and mathematics achievement for students, but was most pronounced among White students on ELA and among Black students on mathematics. Hispanic ethnicity had significant direct and indirect negative associations with ELA and mathematics achievement via their decreased physical activity levels relative to White and Black students. These findings help confirm the important link between physical activity and academic achievement and the need to foster more healthy physical activities for students of all races and ethnicities.

What Is the Long-Run Impact of Learning Mathematics During Preschool?

The current study estimated the causal links between preschool mathematics learning and late elementary school mathematics achievement using variation in treatment assignment to an early mathematics intervention as an instrument for preschool mathematics change. Estimates indicate (n=410) that a standard deviation of intervention-produced change at age 4 is associated with a 0.24-SD gain in achievement in late elementary school. This impact is approximately half the size of the association produced by correlational models relating later achievement to preschool math change, and is approximately 35% smaller than the effect reported by highly controlled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models (Claessens etal., 2009; Watts etal., ) using national data sets. Implications for developmental theory and practice are discussed.

Does Class Size Matter for School Tracking Outcomes after Elementary School? Quasi-Experimental Evidence Using Administrative Panel Data from Germany

We use administrative panel data on about a quarter of a million students in the German state of Hesse to estimate the causal effect of class size on school tracking outcomes after elementary school. Our identification strategy relies on the quasi-random assignment of students to different class sizes based on maximum class size rules. In Germany, students are tracked into more or less academic middle school types at about age ten based, to a large extent, on academic achievement in elementary school. We mostly find no or small effects of class size in elementary school on receiving a recommendation or on the actual choice to attend the more academic middle school type. For male students, we find that an increase in class size by 10 students would reduce their chance of attending the higher school track - which more than 40 percent of students attend - by 3 percentage points.

Supplemental Material for How Do Parent Expectations Promote Child Academic Achievement in Early Elementary School? A Test of Three Mediators

Supplemental Material for How Do Parent Expectations Promote Child Academic Achievement in Early Elementary School? A Test of Three Mediators

Perceptions of gender in early years

ABSTRACTThis article presents an exploration of a group of Early Years Practitioners’ (EYPs) perceptions of gender that may provide some insight into the growing divide between boys’ and girls’ educational performance [Burusic, J., T. Babarovic, and M. Seric. 2012. “Differences in Elementary School Achievement between Girls and Boys: Does the Teacher’s Gender Play a Role?” European Journal of Psychology of Education 27 (4): 523–538]. I argue that the current media and educational interest in the gendered brain [Sax, L. 2005. Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences. New York: Broadway Books] and the influences that surround the child [Eckert, P., and G. S. McConnell. 2013. Language and Gender. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press], can result in children acquiring social expectations and attitudes to learning that are different for both sexes. The frequent dimorphic treatment of boys and girls is often based on assumed biological differences [Baron-Cohen, S., S. Lutchmaya, and R. Knickmeyer. 2004. Prenatal Testosterone in Mind: Amniotic Fluids Studies. Massachusetts Institute of Technology] that suggest that the sexes learn differently. This can result in the approaches to the care and education of children being established on their sex categories rather than their individual needs. My focus here is to explore practitioners’ expectations and understanding of children’s behaviour and learning in the nursery environment. The study is premised on the belief that practitioners’ perceptions of gender could, as argued by [Eliot, L. 2009. Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow into Troublesome Gaps – And what we can do About It. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company], result in self-fulfilling prophecies being (re)produced and (re)created. The deployment of stereotypical assumptions and practices could, I suggest, limit children’s opportunities. The data used here are drawn from my doctoral study of the nature of gender as was understood by eight EYPs who took part in five discussion group sessions. An interpretative paradigm was adopted, where the EYPs’ discussed their experiences and understanding of gender from their practice. Following [Holloway, I., and S. Wheeler. 2013. Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare. 3rd ed. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Limited], the study explored experiences and perceptions in order to illuminate meaning and understanding. The findings indicated that there is a belief amongst the group of practitioners with whom I worked that gender is either innate or learned and that EYPs play no role in its development. The tentative conclusions suggest that changes to the education and training of EYPs are required in order to raise awareness of gender issues in nurseries. I suggest that there is a need to place gender back on the education and training agenda for EYP in order to support changes to practice that could, in turn, provide children with more equitable teaching and learning experiences.