Trajectories Of Academic Performance Research Articles

Self-concept in first grade and academic performance trajectories: roles of gender and dual-language immersion versus English-medium program enrollment

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study examined the latent structure of self-concept and its association with academic performance for elementary-aged students enrolled in dual-language immersion (DLI) and English-medium instruction (EMI) programs. Participants were 30 students in a Spanish-English DLI program and 40 peers in the same school’s EMI classrooms. The present study used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the structure of self-concept and multilevel growth modeling to investigate the effect of self-concept on academic performance tested in English. Results confirmed a three-factor self-concept construct and differences in several factors by program enrollment. Gender moderated the association between different factors of self-concept and academic performance. These findings suggest important educational implications: more attention to students’ early self-concept may be required as it plays a prominent role in students’ on-going academic achievement.

What goes up must come down? The effect of ‘2020’ on university students' academic performance trajectories

AbstractUsing longitudinal, institutional data, we estimate the effects of pandemic‐related closures on the academic performance trajectories of undergraduate students at a university in South Africa. Leveraging data from both the 2020 and 2021 academic years, and using difference‐in‐difference models, we find that performance gains made in 2020 are reversed in 2021, with performance dropping relative to pre‐pandemic trends. Moreover, we find a widening achievement gap between students from differing socio‐economic backgrounds, suggesting household inequalities played out in student performance differentials to a greater extent in 2021—despite the reopening of campus residences that year. This result persists even when accounting for the fact that dropout rates in 2021 are substantially lower compared with previous years. Together, results suggest that the improvements observed in 2020 did not reflect true learning gains and support hypotheses that a reduction in content taught, increased marker leniency and a reduction in credit loads were likely drivers of improved performance in the 2020 academic year.

Trajectories of academic performance over time: differences by social determinants of health and the COVID-19 pandemic

IntroductionWe examined (1) differences in academic performance by structural and intermediary determinants of health, (2) associations between duration of college enrollment during the first year of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and (3) their two-way interactions on academic performance using data from two cohorts of freshmen undergraduate students.MethodsParticipants reported their demographic information, and their structural and intermediary determinants. The university reported academic performance at each semester. Mixed effects models tested repeated measures outcomes (i.e., grade point average (GPA) and courses where the grade received was D, F, Not passing, or Withdrawn (DFNW courses) and generalized linear models tested likelihood of graduation.ResultsMore unfavorable structural and intermediary determinants were associated with an increased likelihood of receiving a DFNW grade (b = 0.33 and b = 0.40, p’s < 0.05, respectively). Greater unfavorable intermediary determinants were associated with a lower GPA (b = –0.07, p = 0.159). There were significant interactions between intermediary determinants of health and enrollment duration during COVID-19 for the likelihood of DFNW grades (b = –0.89, p = 0.008) and graduation (b = 1.31, p = 0.025), such that Cohort 1 fared worse than Cohort 2.DiscussionThe findings indicate that for those with more unfavorable intermediary determinants, there may have been an initial “shock” of the pandemic that stabilized over time.

Longitudinal associations between popularity, peer acceptance, and academic performance in adolescents

Longitudinal associations between popularity, peer acceptance, and academic performance were examined in Chinese 7th ( n = 880; 400 girls; Mage = 13.33, SD = .64) and 10th grade ( n = 646; 342 girls; Mage = 16.76, SD = .75) adolescents across three academic years. Growth curve analysis revealed parallel changes in popularity and academic performance in both middle- and high-school students whereas a positive association between the trajectories of peer acceptance and academic performance was found only in high school. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that popular students increased their academic performance 1 year later, and that improved academic performance positively predicted subsequent popularity. Changes in peer acceptance were not associated with longitudinal changes in academic performance nor did baseline aggression moderate the effect of initial popularity on the trajectory of academic performance. The positive between-person associations of academic performance with popularity and peer acceptance were greater in middle- than in high-school adolescents. These results have implications for understanding the positive and negative effects of peer status on academic adjustment.

Gentrification, displacement, and academic achievement: A formal mediation analysis

Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood has long been known to adversely affect children's academic achievement. Comparatively less is known about what happens to children's academic achievement when disadvantaged neighborhoods gentrify. This study uses data from a nationally representative sample of children from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (n = 1,163) along with counterfactual methods and a value-added design to examine how gentrification and residential displacement figure into children's academic achievement patterns. This study provides a formal mediation analysis that decomposes the total effect of gentrification on children's academic achievement into that which operates through residential displacement versus alternative pathways. This study finds that the effects of gentrification on children's achievement patterns were concentrated amongst low-income children and were observed most strongly when gentrifiers were White. Low-income children exposed to gentrification saw declines in their academic performance trajectories, especially in math. These adverse effects were not found to be mediated by residential displacement. A comprehensive set of sensitivity analyses indicates that results were robust to unobserved confounding, alternative model specifications, different weighting strategies, and multiple measures of gentrification and displacement.

Academic Trajectories of College Students with and without ADHD: Predictors of Four-Year Outcomes

ABSTRACT Objective: Completing a college degree is associated with success in employment, financial earnings, and life satisfaction. Mental health difficulties, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can compromise degree completion. Method: We examined 4-year academic performance trajectories of 201 college students with ADHD (97 receiving medication [ADHD-Med], 104 not receiving medication [ADHD-NoMed]) relative to 205 non-ADHD Comparison students. Demographic (e.g., sex, race/ethnicity), psychological (e.g., self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms), and service-related (e.g., receipt of academic support) variables were included as predictors of intercept (i.e., Year 1 performance) and slope (yearly change) of semester GPA, progress toward graduation, and self-reported study skill strategies. Results: College students with ADHD obtained significantly lower GPAs (Hedge’s g = −0.46 and −0.63) and reported less frequent use of study skills strategies (Hedge’s g range from −1.00 to −2.28) than Comparison students. Significantly more Comparison students (59.1%) persisted through eight semesters relative to ADHD-NoMed students (49%). Multiple variables predicted outcomes with parent education, fewer depressive symptoms, better executive functioning, and receipt of high school Section 504 accommodations and college academic support services among the strongest predictors. Conclusions: Findings suggest support services for students with ADHD should begin prior to college matriculation and focus on improving executive functioning skills and depressive symptoms to increase chances of academic success.

Effects of Health on Academic Performance Trajectories in Children: a Two-Year Follow-Up Study in Córdoba-Argentina

This study assessed the effects of self-perceived health on the trajectories of academic performance (TAP) in children from Cordoba-Argentina, taking into account socioeconomic characteristics and intellectual capacity. A total of 494 children (mean = 9.5 years old) who attend public schools were followed-up from fourth to six grade to measure their TAP. Self-perceived health was measured at baseline using the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire, which provided information of ten health’s dimensions. Means and standard deviations of health scores at baseline were compared between TAP by calculating the effect size (ES) and logistic regression models were run to evaluate the effect of each dimension of health on children’s school outcomes. Lower average scores in almost all psychosocial dimensions of health corresponded to worse TAP. Children ‘self-perceived health at baseline showed more pronounced differences as more contrastive were TAP to each other. Self-perception, autonomy and school environment showed to have the most pronounced effects on TAP. Students with poorer psychosocial health showed a disadvantage as such students were more likely to get an educational risk TAP. These findings are important to develop nontraditional school achievement strategies potential to enhance both student health and academic achievement.

Associations between demographic factors and the academic trajectories of medical students in Japan.

BackgroundGroup-based trajectory modeling is a useful tool for categorizing students’ academic trajectories and their determinants. Using insights gained from the analyses, we can identify students at risk for poor academic performance and monitor them to provide support. To date, studies investigating the associations between demographic factors and academic performance trajectories among medical students are scarce. The study objective was to examine the associations between demographic factors and academic performance trajectories in medical students using group-based trajectory modeling.MethodsParticipants included all medical students admitted to Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Japan in 2013 and 2014 (n = 202). Academic performance was evaluated by biannual grade point average (GPA) scores in preclinical years. We used group-based trajectory modeling to categorize students into GPA trajectories. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the association between the odds of being in a certain GPA trajectory group and demographic factors such as high school type, high school geographical area, admission test type, high school graduation year, whether the student was a biology major, and sex.ResultsStudents’ GPA trajectories were classified into four trajectory groups as well as another group that consisted of students who withdrew or repeated years. We found that students whose high school geographical area was outside the National Capital Region were 7.2 times more likely to withdraw or repeat years in comparison with students whose school was inside the National Capital Region (OR: 7.21, 95% CI: 1.87, 27.76). In addition, admission test type, high school graduation year, and sex were associated with GPA trajectories.ConclusionsHigh school geographical area, admission test type, high school graduation year, and sex were associated with GPA trajectories. These findings provide important insights into identifying students at risk for poor academic performance and strategies for monitoring them to provide adequate and timely support.

Differential effects of individual and school factors on the academic trajectories of Japanese dental students.

Dental students follow different academic performance trajectories in response to increasing study load, based on individual and school factors. Group-based trajectory modeling is useful for clarifying the underlying trajectory patterns of students' academic performance and its determinants. To our knowledge, no studies have used group-based trajectory modeling to examine the effects of individual and school factors on academic performance trajectories in dental students. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of individual and school factors on academic performance trajectories in Japanese dental students using group-based trajectory modeling. The analytical sample consists of 103 dental students admitted to Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan, in 2013 and 2014. Students' academic performance was assessed by biannual grade point average (GPA) score and GPA in the preclinical phase (second to fourth grade) was used for this study. We used group-based trajectory modeling to categorize students' GPA trajectories into different groups. A multinomial logistic regression model was fit to examine associations between students' individual and school factors, and odds of being assigned to certain GPA groups. GPA trajectories of dental students were classified into 4 different groups. Students' past academic performance in high school was associated with lower GPA trajectories and withdrawal or repeating years. Males were significantly associated with lower GPA trajectories and withdrawal or repeating years, even after adjusting for past academic performance. Past lower academic performance and being male were positively associated with lower academic performance trajectories in Japanese dental students.

Long-term trajectories of academic performance in the context of social disparities: Longitudinal findings from Switzerland.

This study used a stratified random sample of classes in Zurich, Switzerland, comprising approximately 2,000 students whose academic performances in math and language were assessed across primary and lower secondary education. Based on this longitudinal data, the study investigated the association of social inequalities with the baseline of, and gains in, academic performance. The study focused on growing social disparities in academic performance during compulsory education, taking into account disparities in the social backgrounds of students as well as in social deprivation of school attendance areas. The results of a multilevel growth curve analysis implemented to model academic performance development at student and school district levels suggest cumulative disadvantages for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. These students (a) start school with lower initial knowledge and (b) experience lower improvements in academic performance. The findings also suggest that more advantaged school attendance areas achieved higher average performance levels in the early stages of primary education despite controlling for student socioeconomic backgrounds. On average, however, this gap in academic performance between more advantaged and more deprived attendance areas did not appear to widen over the subsequent years of compulsory schooling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Trajectories of Academic Performance Across Compulsory Schooling and Thriving in Young Adulthood.

Thriving is a developmental process that is shaped by previous and current interactions within developmental contexts. We hypothesized that academic performance in the school context will positively predict thriving in young adulthood. Data of N=2,043 students from Zurich were assessed with standardized tests in Grades 1, 3, 6, and 9. Results showed that a stronger increase in academic performance significantly predicted thriving at age 20, even after statistically controlling for various covariates. Further analyses showed that school bonding might represent a mediating link between the academic performance and thriving. We argue that although schools can be considered the most widespread and intensive "youth development program" of sorts, their role for thriving has been largely neglected in developmental science.

Predicting patterns of change and stability in student performance across a medical degree.

Evidence of predictive validity is essential for making robust selection decisions in high-stakes contexts such as medical student selection. Currently available evidence is limited to the prediction of academic performance at single points in time with little understanding of the factors that might undermine the predictive validity of tests of academic and non-academic qualities considered important for success. This study addressed these issues by predicting students' changing performance across a medical degree and assessing whether factors outside an institution's control (such as the uptake of commercial coaching) impact validity. Three cohorts of students (n = 301) enrolled in an undergraduate medical degree from 2007-2013 were used to identify trajectories of student academic performance using growth mixture modelling. Multinomial logistic regression assessed whether past academic performance, a test of cognitive ability and a multiple mini-interview could predict a student's likely trajectory and whether this predictive validity was different for those who undertook commercial coaching compared with those who didn't. Among the medical students who successfully graduated (n = 268), four unique trajectories of academic performance were identified. In three trajectories, performance changed at the time when learning became more self-directed and focused on clinical specialties. Scores on all selection tests, with the exception of a test of abstract reasoning, significantly affected the odds of following a trajectory that was consistently below average. However, selection tests could not distinguish those whose performance improved across time from those whose performance declined after an average start. Commercial coaching increased the odds of being among the below-average performers, but did not alter the predictive validity of the selection tests. Identifying distinct groups of students has important implications for selection, but also for educating medical students. Commercial coaching may result in selecting students who are less suited for coping with the rigours of medical studies.

The Role of Noncognitive Factors in Predicting Academic Trajectories of High School Students in a Selective Private School

Abstract. Compared to the vast literature on the cross-sectional relationships between cognitive and noncognitive factors and academic performance across all stages of schooling, relatively few studies have explored these relationships longitudinally at the high school level, especially in students who exhibit high academic performance. In this study, surveys of self-efficacy, locus of control, and intrinsic motivation were administered to 8,586 applicants to a prestigious private college-preparatory high school during the admissions process; simultaneously, standardized test scores (SSAT) were obtained. Enrolled and nonenrolled students were compared on prior academic performance and noncognitive measures. Further, noncognitive variables and trajectories of GPA (grade point averages) across 4 years (12 time points) were explored among the enrolled students (n = 818). The enrolled students, compared to the nonenrolled, showed advantageous scores on all measures. Also the relationships between noncognitive measures and academic performance were more weak between the enrolled than the nonenrolled students. Finally, a latent class growth analysis showed four trajectories of academic performance among the enrolled students. The only noncognitive measure distinguishing the students in different trajectories was anxiety about their own self-efficacy. The differences in the relationships between noncognitive measures and academic performance in high-achieving students in a high performance environment will be discussed.

A spatio-temporal analysis of academic performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination in Ghana

Over the last decade, Ghana has more than tripled investment in its basic education system. Consequently, the country has made huge educational gains, primarily in providing universal access to basic education. However, many stakeholders are worried that academic performance is lagging because of disproportional attention to accessing basic education. Discussion of these concerns is hampered by ongoing disagreement about the true trajectory of academic performance at the basic education level and the widespread nature of students' lagging academic performance. In part, this disagreement stems from the failure of empirical studies to comprehensively examine trends in academic performance standards at the basic education level by concurrently considering a geographical and longitudinal perspective. Thus, this study examines the spatio-temporal trends of academic performance at the junior high school level since 2009 by using multilevel growth curve modeling, spatial statistics, and district-level longitudinal data. Results reveal 3 statistically distinct trajectories of academic performance: erratic, accelerating, and decelerating changes. Results also show that rural–urban gaps explain 31% of the performance trajectories, a trend which is expected to persist in the long term. In addition, we find extreme variations in academic performance within rural areas. Given the varying trajectories and geographical variability in academic performance, we suggest a localized approach to addressing challenges of low academic achievement at the basic education level in Ghana.

Effects of Family Structure Type and Stability on Children's Academic Performance Trajectories

Using five waves of panel data from 8,008 children in the ECLS-K, the current study compared children's academic performance growth curves from kindergarten through fifth grade among three types of nondisrupted and three types of disrupted families. The analyses found that children in nondisrupted two-biological-parent and nondisrupted stepparent households consistently made greater progress in their math and reading performances over time than their peers in nondisrupted single-parent, disrupted two-biological-parent, and disrupted alternative families with multiple transitions. These trajectory differences were either partially or completely accounted for by family resources in the kindergarten year (Time 1). Overall, our findings provided strong support for the resource-deprivation perspective and partial support for the instability-stress perspective.

Contributions to variations in academic trajectories amongst recent immigrant youth

Immigration presents both challenges and opportunities that affect students’ academic achievement. Over the course of five years, varying academic trajectories were identified for recent immigrant students from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. Latent class growth curve analysis revealed that although some students performed at high or improving levels over time, others showed diminishing performance. Multinomial logistic regressions identified significant group differences in academic trajectories, particularly between the high-achieving youth and the other groups. Consistent with ecological systems theory, school characteristics (a: school segregation rate; b: school poverty rate; and c: student perceptions of school violence), family characteristics (a-separation from mother and father; b-maternal education; and c-paternal employment), and individual characteristics (a-academic English proficiency; b-academic engagement; c-psychological symptoms; d-gender) were associated with different trajectories of academic performance.

Academic trajectories of newcomer immigrant youth.

Immigration to the United States presents both challenges and opportunities that affect students' academic achievement. Using a 5-year longitudinal, mixed-methods approach, we identified varying academic trajectories of newcomer immigrant students from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. Latent class growth curve analysis revealed that although some newcomer students performed at high or improving levels over time, others showed diminishing performance. Multinomial logistic regressions identified significant group differences in academic trajectories, particularly between the high-achieving youth and the other groups. In keeping with ecological-developmental and stage-environment fit theories, School Characteristics (school segregation rate, school poverty rate, and student perceptions of school violence), Family Characteristics (maternal education, parental employment, and household structure), and Individual Characteristics (academic English proficiency, academic engagement, psychological symptoms, gender, and 2 age-related risk factors, number of school transitions and being overaged for grade placement) were associated with different trajectories of academic performance. A series of case studies triangulate many of the quantitative findings as well as illuminate patterns that were not detected in the quantitative data. Thus, the mixed-methods approach sheds light on the cumulative developmental challenges that immigrant students face as they adjust to their new educational settings.

Postdivorce Family Stability and Changes in Adolescents’ Academic Performance

Three waves of panel data from 7,897 adolescents in the National Education Longitudinal Studies have been used to investigate whether a stabilized postdivorce family environment benefits adolescents’ academic performance trajectories. The analyses indicate that compared with peers who grow up in stable postdivorce families, children of divorce who experience additional family transitions during late adolescence make less progress in their math and social studies performance over time. Furthermore, family resource differences before and during late adolescence either partially or completely account for the less positive performance trajectories in two types of divorced families. Finally, daughters in unstable postdivorce families appear to make less academic progress over time than sons. The study illustrates the importance of incorporating both postdivorce family transitions and repeatedly measured child outcomes in the investigation of divorce effects.

Stability and Change in Patterns of Peer Rejection

Poor school adjustment is a known correlate of peer rejection in childhood. However, the impact of change in sociometric status on children's academic performance over time is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether improvement or decline in children's sociometric status would predict corresponding changes in their academic performance trajectories. Two hundred and seventy-two boys and 252 girls in Florence, Italy (mean age at Time 1: 7.42 years) and their teachers participated in this 18-month investigation. Hierarchical linear models indicated that children who were rejected by their peers across the four measurement points of the study demonstrated consistently worse academic performance than did children who were not rejected throughout, whereas children who were regularly accepted by their peers performed better in school than did their peers who were rejected one or more times. A number of children who became rejected exhibited an academic decline, but others who became accepted showed improvement. The implications of these results for children, parents, teachers and school administrators are discussed.

Variations in academic performance trajectories during high school transition: exploring change profiles via multidimensional scaling growth profile analysis

This study examines the baseline change profiles of academic performance (math and English) trajectories during the high school transition for the students who went from middle school to high school. Using multidimensional scaling growth profile analysis, we identified a no-change group plus 4 other groups with different change profile types: 1 with a dramatic change from Grades 8 to 9, one with a change from Grades 9 to 10, and 2 unstable groups. We further found that ethnicity, but not gender, distinguished 2 types of change profiles. These findings help to better understand the baseline change patterns of academic performance during the high school transition and provide a reference pattern for evaluating the effectiveness of any transition programs aimed at helping students with the future transition adjustment.