Cultural Identity and the Academic, Social, and Psychological Adjustment of Adolescents with Immigration Background.

As Western societies become more ethnically and culturally diverse, understanding the acculturation of immigrant youth is essential for fostering social cohesion. How the cultural identity formation of ethnic minority adolescents relates to their academic, social, and psychological adjustment is an important and as yet unresolved research question. This study examined to what extent identifying with the heritage and/or host culture is an individual resource or risk factor for the adjustment of immigrant youth in Germany. A random sample of 15-17-year-olds (N = 1992; Mage_w1 = 15.3 years, SD = 0.64; 44.5% girls; 44.7% students with immigrant background) was assessed twice: at the end of 9th and 10th grade. Academic performance and three dimensions of social/psychological adjustment (school attachment, self-esteem, and life satisfaction) were examined. Results showed that biculturalism was the modal identification pattern. Contrary to expectations, cultural identification did not differ systematically with perceived distance from the majority culture. Multivariate structural equation modeling revealed that both heritage and host identification can be developmental resources, but that their effects are dependent on the dimension of adjustment; biculturalism only proved to be a cumulative resource for school attachment. The domain specificity of the findings challenges the generalization claims of predominant acculturation theories.

A closer look at the domain-specific associations of openness with language achievement: Evidence on the role of intrinsic value from two large-scale longitudinal studies.

BACKGROUND: Many empirical investigations focus on how personality traits and academic motivation are related to academic achievement. Regarding the personality traits described in the five-factor model, prior research has shown associations between openness to experience and language achievement in particular. Following the principle of trait activation, associations with intrinsic value can explain these domain-specific relationships of openness with achievement. AIMS: This study investigated whether intrinsic value mediates the associations of openness to experience with language achievement to understand these associations more closely. Based on the principle of trait activation, we combined openness to experience with intrinsic value as a motivational construct more proximal to behaviour. SAMPLES: We capitalized on two large-scale longitudinal data sets (N = 1994; M = 16.8 years; 51% female; and N = 2722; M = 17.34 years; 58% female) of German-speaking students in upper secondary education with two points of measurement, respectively. METHODS: We assessed achievement using report card grades and standardized test scores, capturing three language subskills: reading and listening, measured by standardized tests, and writing competencies, measured by essay assignments. We conducted mediation analysis using bootstrapped confidence intervals and robust standard errors to account for dependencies in the data due to students clustered within classrooms. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results show that intrinsic value mediated the relationship between openness and achievement in English as a foreign language. The results remained stable when controlling for prior achievement, predicting achievement gains. Our investigation provides empirical insights into the manifestations of personality in academic contexts. We discuss the limitations of our approach, with a focus on the use of a mediation analysis in this research design.

Externalizing behaviour, task-focused behaviour, and academic achievement: An indirect relation?

BACKGROUND: Although many studies have suggested that students' externalizing (aggressive and rule-breaking) behaviour is detrimental to their academic achievement, the underlying mechanisms have rarely been investigated. AIMS: We conducted a longitudinal investigation of whether the negative relation between externalizing behaviour and academic achievement operationalized as grades and test scores is mediated by students' task-focused behaviour while controlling for the effects of initial achievement and general cognitive abilities. We conducted separate analyses for different rating perspectives (i.e., parents and teachers) on students' externalizing behaviour to investigate the robustness of effects and determined whether gender moderated the mediation. SAMPLE: Participants were N = 1,039 students in 55 classes from different school types who were followed from fifth to ninth grade. METHOD: In fifth grade, parents and teachers rated students' externalizing behaviour, and students were administered standardized tests in mathematics, German, and general cognitive abilities. In seventh grade, teachers rated students' task-focused behaviour. In ninth grade, students were again administered standardized tests in mathematics and German, and their grades were obtained from school registries. RESULTS: Structural equation models consistently revealed indirect effects of externalizing behaviour via task-focused behaviour on grades and test scores beyond effects of initial achievement and general cognitive abilities. Result patterns were similar for parents' and teachers' ratings of externalizing behaviour and male and female students. CONCLUSIONS: This study extends knowledge about the negative relation between externalizing behaviour and academic achievement in adolescents by showing that there is an indirect relation through task-focused behaviour. Implications are discussed.

Is a Long Essay Always a Good Essay? The Effect of Text Length on Writing Assessment.

The assessment of text quality is a transdisciplinary issue concerning the research areas of educational assessment, language technology, and classroom instruction. Text length has been found to strongly influence human judgment of text quality. The question of whether text length is a construct-relevant aspect of writing competence or a source of judgment bias has been discussed controversially. This paper used both a correlational and an experimental approach to investigate this question. Secondary analyses were performed on a large-scale dataset with highly trained raters, showing an effect of text length beyond language proficiency. Furthermore, an experimental study found that pre-service teachers tended to undervalue text length when compared to professional ratings. The findings are discussed with respect to the role of training and context in writing assessment.

Reanalysis of the German PISA Data: A Comparison of Different Approaches for Trend Estimation With a Particular Emphasis on Mode Effects.

International large-scale assessments, such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), are conducted to provide information on the effectiveness of education systems. In PISA, the target population of 15-year-old students is assessed every 3 years. Trends show whether competencies have changed in the countries between PISA cycles. In order to provide valid trend estimates, it is desirable to retain the same test conditions and statistical methods in all PISA cycles. In PISA 2015, however, the test mode changed from paper-based to computer-based tests, and the scaling method was changed. In this paper, we investigate the effects of these changes on trend estimation in PISA using German data from all PISA cycles (2000-2015). Our findings suggest that the change from paper-based to computer-based tests could have a severe impact on trend estimation but that the change of the scaling model did not substantially change the trend estimates.

Assessing the instructional quality of private tutoring and its effects on student outcomes: Analyses from the German National Educational Panel Study.

BACKGROUND: A considerable proportion of secondary school students gets additional support from private tutoring lessons. Empirical findings on the effectiveness of private tutoring are inconclusive. The instructional quality of the tutoring lessons might influence their effectiveness. AIMS: We analysed (1) whether students privately tutored in the subjects German or mathematics outperformed their non-tutored counterparts; (2) whether the instructional quality of the tutoring lessons can be described with the three dimensions, structure, challenge, and support; and (3) the effects of these quality dimensions on the students' academic achievement and their global satisfaction with their school and family situation. SAMPLE: We used data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). From a total sample of N = 11,358 10th-grade secondary school students, subsamples provided information about tutoring quality in mathematics (nM  = 1,714), German (nG  = 148), and English (nE  = 490). METHODS: The model of three correlated dimensions of tutoring quality was evaluated with confirmatory factor analyses, and the effects on student outcomes were tested in a structural equation modelling framework. RESULTS: Analyses revealed neither global effects of private tutoring nor effects of its instructional quality on students' grades in mathematics or German. However, the support dimension was positively related to students' satisfaction with their school situation. CONCLUSIONS: Private tutoring cannot be recommended as a generally effective strategy to improve academic achievement in school, but might be helpful to relieve the stress level induced by insufficient achievement in school.

Childhood intelligence, family background, and gender as drivers of socioeconomic success: The mediating role of education.

What drives socioeconomic success within a society? This study analyzes how late childhood intelligence, parental socioeconomic background, and gender relate to multiple dimensions of adult socioeconomic success (i.e., education, occupational status, and income). A particular focus is placed on education, which is considered as both an indicator of socioeconomic success and a mediator of the relationships with the other dimensions. Randomly sampled participants (N = 5,292) in a German prospective longitudinal study were assessed for the first time at age 12 years in 1991 and for the last time as adults in 2009-10. Comparison of the effects of childhood intelligence and parental socioeconomic background revealed childhood intelligence to be the more powerful predictor of the 3 dimensions of later adult socioeconomic success. Education was the strongest predictor of both later adult occupational status and later adult income, and mediated most of the effects of childhood intelligence and parental socioeconomic background on later adult occupational status and later adult income. A gender income gap was apparent, with men reporting higher income, even when childhood factors and education were controlled. Education barely mediated any gender differences, but family-related structural factors (i.e., working part time and having children) explained much of the gender gap in income. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

A Semiparametric Approach for Modeling Not-Reached Items.

Tests administered in studies of student achievement often have a certain amount of not-reached items (NRIs). The propensity for NRIs may depend on the proficiency measured by the test and on additional covariates. This article proposes a semiparametric model to study such relationships. Our model extends Glas and Pimentel's item response theory model for NRIs by (1) including a semiparametric representation of the distribution of the onset of NRIs, (2) modeling the relationships of NRIs with proficiency via a flexible multinomial logit regression, and (3) including additional covariates to predict NRIs. We show that Glas and Pimentel's and our model have close connections to event history analysis, thereby making it possible to apply tools developed in this context to the analysis of NRIs. Our model was applied to a timed low-stakes test of mathematics achievement. Our model fitted the data better than Glas and Pimentel's model, and allowed for a more fine-grained assessment of the onset of NRIs. The results of a simulation study showed that our model accurately recovered the relationships of proficiency and covariates with the onset of NRIs, and reduced bias in the estimates of item parameters, proficiency distributions, and covariate effects on proficiency.

German National Proficiency Scales in Biology: Internal Structure, Relations to General Cognitive Abilities and Verbal Skills.

National and international large-scale assessments (LSA) have a major impact on educational systems, which raises fundamental questions about the validity of the measures regarding their internal structure and their relations to relevant covariates. Given its importance, research on the validity of instruments specifically developed for LSA is still sparse, especially in science and its subdomains biology, chemistry, and physics. However, policy decisions for the improvement of educational quality based on LSA can only be helpful if valid information on students' achievement levels is provided. In the present study, the nature of the measurement instruments based on the German Educational Standards in Biology is examined. On the basis of data from 3,165 students in Grade 10, we present dimensional analyses and report the relationship between different subdimensions of biology literacy and cognitive covariates such as general cognitive abilities and verbal skills. A theory-driven two-dimensional model fitted the data best. Content knowledge and scientific inquiry, two subdimensions of biology literacy, are highly correlated and show differential correlational patterns to the covariates. We argue that the underlying structure of biology should be incorporated into curricula, teacher training and future assessments.

The reciprocal internal/external frame of reference model using grades and test scores.

BACKGROUND: The reciprocal I/E model (RI/EM) combines the internal/external frame of reference model (I/EM) with the reciprocal effects model (REM). The RI/EM extends the I/EM longitudinally and the REM across domains. The model predicts that, within domains, mathematics and verbal achievement (VACH) and academic self-concept have positive effects on subsequent mathematics and VACH and academic self-concept within domains but have negative effects across domains. AIMS: The main purpose is to validate the RI/EM and extend it using objective achievement indicators and grades. SAMPLE: Two waves of data collection from grade 5 to grade 9 with N = 1,045 secondary school students were used. METHODS: Test scores, grades, and self-concept data were obtained. The main analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modelling. RESULTS: The positive longitudinal effects of grades and test scores on subsequent grades, test scores and academic self-concept within domains and the negative effects of grades and test scores on subsequent academic self-concept across domains supported the RI/EM. The effects of academic self-concept on subsequent grades and test scores across domains were near zero when prior achievement indicators were controlled for. Overall, the results using school grades as achievement measures were replicated using standardized achievement test scores. CONCLUSIONS: The results serve to highlight the importance of the combination of common theories, which are mostly investigated individually, to enhance our understanding of the complexity of within- and across-domain relations between academic self-concepts and achievement using grades as well as test scores.

Vocational interests of intellectually gifted and highly achieving young adults.

BACKGROUND: Vocational interests play a central role in the vocational decision-making process and are decisive for the later job satisfaction and vocational success. Based on Ackerman's (1996) notion of trait complexes, specific interest profiles of gifted high-school graduates can be expected. AIMS: Vocational interests of gifted and highly achieving adolescents were compared to those of their less intelligent/achieving peers according to Holland's (1997) RIASEC model. Further, the impact of intelligence and achievement on interests were analysed while statistically controlling for potentially influencing variables. Changes in interests over time were investigated. SAMPLE: N= 4,694 German students (age: M= 19.5, SD= .80; 54.6% females) participated in the study (TOSCA; Köller, Watermann, Trautwein, & Lüdtke, 2004). METHOD: Interests were assessed in participants' final year at school and again 2 years later (N= 2,318). RESULTS: Gifted participants reported stronger investigative and realistic interests, but lower social interests than less intelligent participants. Highly achieving participants reported higher investigative and (in wave 2) higher artistic interests. Considerable gender differences were found: gifted girls had a flat interest profile, while gifted boys had pronounced realistic and investigative and low social interests. Multilevel multiple regression analyses predicting interests by intelligence and school achievement revealed stable interest profiles. Beyond a strong gender effect, intelligence and school achievement each contributed substantially to the prediction of vocational interests. CONCLUSIONS: At the time around graduation from high school, gifted young adults show stable interest profiles, which strongly differ between gender and intelligence groups. These differences are relevant for programmes for the gifted and for vocational counselling.

Reading development in a tracked school system: a longitudinal study over 3 years using propensity score matching.

BACKGROUND: Assigning students to different school tracks on the basis of their achievement levels is a widely used strategy that aims at giving students the best possible learning opportunity. There is, however, a growing body of literature that questions such positive effects of tracking. AIMS: This study compared the developmental trajectories of reading comprehension and decoding speed between students at academic track schools that typically prepare students for university entrance and students at non-academic track schools that usually prepare students for vocational education. SAMPLE: In a longitudinal design with three occasions of data collection, the authors drew on a sample of N= 1,508 5th graders (age at T1 about 11 years, age at T3 about 14 years) from 60 schools in Germany. The academic track sample comprised n= 568 students; the non-academic track sample comprised n= 940 students. METHOD: Achievement measures were obtained by standardized tests of reading comprehension and decoding speed. Students at the different tracks were closely matched using propensity scores. To compare students' growth trajectories between the different school tracks, we applied multi-group latent growth curve models. RESULTS: Comparable results were recorded for the complete (unmatched) sample and for the matched pairs. In all cases, students at the different tracks displayed a similar growth in reading comprehension, whereas larger growth rates for students at academic track schools were recorded for decoding speed. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings contribute to an increasing body of literature suggesting that tracking might have undesired side effects.

Effort on homework in grades 5-9: development, motivational antecedents, and the association with effort on classwork.

In 2 studies, an expectancy-value framework was applied to investigate effort expended on mathematics homework. In Study 1 (2,712 students in grades 5, 7, and 9; mean age=13.37 years), lower homework effort was found in higher grades. The effects of intrinsic value on homework effort were higher in the older cohorts, whereas the effects of the expectancy component were lower. In Study 2 (571 students in grades 8 and 9; mean age=14.72), an expanded expectancy-value framework was found to explain both homework and classwork variables. The means for effort and value were lower for homework than for classwork; these differences were partly moderated by students' conscientiousness. The implications of homework behavior and motivation for developmental research are highlighted.

Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and achievement: how the learning environment moderates the dynamics of self-concept.

The authors examine the directionality of effects between global self-esteem, domain-specific academic self-concepts, and academic achievement. Special emphasis is placed on learning environments as potential moderators of the direction of these effects. According to the meritocracy principle presented here, so-called bottom-up effects (i.e., self-esteem is influenced by academic self-concept) are more pronounced in meritocratic learning environments than in ego-protective learning environments. This hypothesis was examined using a three-wave cross-lagged panel design with a large sample of 7th graders from East and West Germany, a total of 5,648 students who were tested shortly after German reunification. Reciprocal effects were found between self-esteem, academic self-concept, and academic achievement. In conformance with the meritocracy principle, support for bottom-up effects was stronger in the meritocratic learning environment.

Integration of multidimensional self-concept and core personality constructs: construct validation and relations to well-being and achievement.

Relations between multiple dimensions of self-concept, personality (Big Five), well-being, and academic outcomes (school grades, test scores, coursework selection) for a large (N=4,475) sample of German adolescents support the construct validity of a well-defined, multidimensional set of self-concept factors in relation to personality factors, and vice versa. Confirmatory factor analysis of a German adaptation of the Self Description Questionnaire III demonstrated 17 a priori, reasonably independent self-concept factors (M correlation=.14; SD=.17) that had a highly differentiated pattern of relations with the personality factors and academic outcomes. Consistent with theory and previous research, math and verbal self-concepts were negatively related to each other, and this extreme domain specificity was reflected in the systematic and substantial relations with academic criteria measures. Self-esteem, Big Five, and well-being factors explained only small amounts of variance in academic outcomes and support for their incremental validity after controlling for specific self-concept factors was weak.

Academic self-concept, interest, grades, and standardized test scores: reciprocal effects models of causal ordering.

Reciprocal effects models of longitudinal data show that academic self-concept is both a cause and an effect of achievement. In this study this model was extended to juxtapose self-concept with academic interest. Based on longitudinal data from 2 nationally representative samples of German 7th-grade students (Study 1: N = 5,649, M age = 13.4; Study 2: N = 2,264, M age = 13.7 years), prior self-concept significantly affected subsequent math interest, school grades, and standardized test scores, whereas prior math interest had only a small effect on subsequent math self-concept. Despite stereotypic gender differences in means, linkages relating these constructs were invariant over gender. These results demonstrate the positive effects of academic self-concept on a variety of academic outcomes and integrate self-concept with the developmental motivation literature.

Frame of Reference Effects Following the Announcement of Exam Results.

The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model by Marsh (e.g., 1990a) assumes two central information sources for the constitution of domain-specific academic self-concepts: (1) social comparisons (external frame of reference), in which students compare their own achievements with those of their classmates; and (2) intraindividual comparisons (internal frame of reference), in which students compare their own achievements in one subject with their achievements in other subjects. In path analyses, it has been found that the latter type of comparison leads to negative paths from achievement indicators in subject A to self-concept measures in subject B. To investigate the actual impact of achievement feedback and of the frames of reference on changes in self-concept variables, we analyzed math and German self-concepts immediately following the announcement of exam results in each subject. Participants were 258 7th- to 9th-graders. Path analyses using structural equation modeling supported the validity of the I/E model with respect to the impact of simultaneously given current exam results. In particular, German achievement had a negative impact on subsequent math self-concept. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.