Effects Of School-average Achievement Research Articles

Ability Stratification Predicts the Size of the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect

Understanding how children’s broader context influences their development is critical if we are to develop policies that help them flourish. Combining sociological, economic, and psychological literature, we argue that ability stratification—the degree to which children of similar levels of ability are schooled together—influences a child’s academic self-concept. This is because countries with more ability stratification should have larger Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effects (the negative effect of school average achievement on academic self-concept). We used four cycles of the Trends in International Math and Science Study to test the hypothesis that more country-level ability stratification is associated with larger country-level Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effects for math self-concept. Findings strongly support this hypothesis. Our findings have implications for school system design and policy.

Effects of school-average achievement on individual self-concept and achievement: Unmasking phantom effects masquerading as true compositional effects.

School-average achievement is often reported to have positive effects on individual achievement (peer spillover effect). However, it is well established that school-average achievement has negative effects on academic self-concept (big-fish-little-pond effect [BFLPE]) and that academic self-concept and achievement are positively correlated and mutually reinforcing (reciprocal effects model). We resolve this theoretical paradox based on a large, longitudinal sample (N = 14,985 U.S. children) and improved methodology. More appropriate multilevel modeling that controls for phantom effects (due to measurement error and preexisting differences) makes the BFLPE even more negative, but turns the peer spillover effect from positive to slightly below zero. Thus, attending a high-achieving school has negative effects on academic self-concept and a nonpositive effect on achievement. The results question previous studies and meta-analyses showing a positive peer spillover effect that do not control for phantom effects, along with previous policy and school selection decisions based on this research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Supplemental Material for Effects of School-Average Achievement on Individual Self-Concept and Achievement: Unmasking Phantom Effects Masquerading as True Compositional Effects

Supplemental Material for Effects of School-Average Achievement on Individual Self-Concept and Achievement: Unmasking Phantom Effects Masquerading as True Compositional Effects

Negative Effects of School-Average Achievement on Academic Self-Concept: A Comparison of the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect across Australian States and Territories

Attending academically selective schools is intended to have positive effects, but a growing body of theoretical and empirical research demonstrates that the effects are negative for academic self-concept The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), based on social comparison theory, posits that equally able students will have lower academic self-concepts in academically selective schools than in nonselective schools. Here we test the validity of these predictions for representative samples of 15-year-olds from eight Australian states and territories by using multilevel modelling. Consistent with the BFLPE, the effects of individual student achievement were positive but the effects of school-average achievement were negative. Although there were small differences between states/territories in academic achievement, there were no significant differences between states/territories in the negative effects of school-average ability.

Big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept. A cross-cultural (26-country) test of the negative effects of academically selective schools.

Academically selective schools are intended to affect academic self-concept positively, but theoretical and empirical research demonstrates that the effects are negative. The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), an application of social comparison theory to educational settings, posits that a student will have a lower academic self-concept in an academically selective school than in a nonselective school. This study, the largest cross-cultural study of the BFLPE ever undertaken, tested theoretical predictions for nationally representative samples of approximately 4,000 15-year-olds from each of 26 countries (N = 103,558) who completed the same self-concept instrument and achievement tests. Consistent with the BFLPE, the effects of school-average achievement were negative in all 26 countries (M beta = -.20, SD = .08), demonstrating the BFLPE's cross-cultural generalizability.