Effectiveness of a study skills course for students of different academic achievement levels and personality types.

Classified 61 undergraduates voluntarily enrolled in a study skills course as (a) judgers or perceivers according to their scores on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and (b) underachieving or academically apprehensive by comparing their actual with predicted GPA. Precourse differences between judgers and perceivers and underachievers and academically apprehensive students were expected on measures of study skills knowledge, use, and GPA but not on a measure of adjustment problems. Differences between judgers and perceivers and academically apprehensive and underachieving students were expected at the end of the course. Multivariate ANOVAs supported the predictions of precourse differences, but the pattern of the differences was not the same for students of different personality types and academic achievement levels. When precourse differences were eliminated via covariance, no significant multivariate F ratios were found, although significant univariate interactions occurred on the measure of study skills use. The overall effectiveness of the course was supported. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety in academic achievement situations.

Scales of general anxiety (Taylor, Welsh, and Freeman) and of anxiety specific to academic situations (Mandler-Sarason, Achievement Anxiety Test) were administered to college freshmen. Academic achievement included verbal aptitude, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, overall grade-point average, and performance in psychology courses. The 2 tests of specific anxiety were seen to be measuring something different than the more general tests and were differentially related to academic performance. "Facilitating" vs. "debilitating" anxiety was distinguished. Results are related to the general body of knowledge in area. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Content specificity of relations between academic achievement and academic self-concept.

In extension of research on the H. W. Marsh/R. J. Shavelson (1985) model of self-concept, a set of 14 academic self-concept scales was related to school performances in 8 school subjects for a sample of 507 high school boys. Correlations between matching areas of self-concept and achievement (.45 to .70; mean r?=?.57) were much larger than those typically found in previous research. Path models and multitrait-multimethod analyses demonstrated that self-concept/academic achievement relations were very specific to particular school subjects. The findings indicate that components of academic self-concepts are more differentiated (i.e., less correlated) than are achievement scores and that relations between academic self-concepts and academic achievements are more content specific than has been previously assumed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal adjustment and prediction of academic achievement.

The hypothesis tested was that "better" adjusted students would be more predictable than maladjusted students. Predictability was determined by correlation coefficients between aptitude test (CEEB-M and CEEB-V) scores and both 1st-quarter and 1st-yr grades. The sample consisted of 188 freshmen male business students who were classified into positive-, average-, and negative- adjustment groups on the basis of the means of the 10 Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey (GZTS) trait raw scores. Comparisons of the adjustment groups on correlations between the mathematics and verbal scores and grade averages indicated that the adjustment groups did not differ in terms of academic predictability. Analysis of differences between the groups on both high school achievement and college achievement revealed, however, that the positive-adjustment group earned significantly higher grades than the negative group. These results indicated that although the adjustment groups did not appear to be significantly different in terms of academic predictability, a definite relationship did exist between the groups on levels of achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between classroom behavior and academic achievement.

To investigate the relationship between classroom behavior patterns and academic achievement, multiple regression procedures were carried out in which the frequencies of 12 behaviors were used to predict the achievement scores of 90 2nd graders. Ss, with an average IQ of 98.69, were observed for 5-min periods on each of 4 days during language arts in the fall of the school year and again in the spring. The final multiple R between fall behavior patterns and fall achievement was .63, and that between spring behavior patterns and spring achievement was .51. The final multiple R for predicting spring achievement from fall behavior was .60. Of particular interest was the finding that the predictive value of combinations of discrete behaviors compared favorably to that obtained from IQ tests (r = .70), and that the addition of behavioral information to test information provided a more accurate prediction of achievement over the school year than that obtained by either alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of anxiety and academic achievement.

Testing the clinical impression that academic achievement is frequently the result of neurotic striving, it was hypothesized that students achieving academic honors and having lower academic ability would give more evidence of anxiety and other neurotic traits than such students having higher academic ability. The additional hypothesis was made that students achieving academic honors would give more evidence of anxiety and other neurotic traits than the general student population. Definite support was found for the 1st and major hypothesis, and some degree of support was found for the 2nd hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic achievement and self-evaluations of academic performance.

College students often make informal evaluations of their own course performance. Previous research has shown that the accuracy of these self-evaluations is correlated positively with actual course achievement; however, no one has yet explained why such a relationship exists. It was hypothesized that poor students make less accurate performance evaluations because they know less about the criteria by which their work will be judged. To test that hypothesis, 52 students in an introductory psychology course graded their own work and that of others on both a midterm and a final examination and described their instructor's grading criteria on each occasion. As expected, poor students were less accurate than others at evaluating their own course performance. Poor and good students did not differ, however, in their ability to accurately evaluate the performance of others. The relative inaccuracy of the poor students' self-evaluations was not due to a lack of knowledge about the instructor's grading criteria, but instead involved a failure to apply those criteria to their own course work. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of experimentally aroused achievement motivation to academic achievement anxiety.

180 Ss, balanced for sex, were administered the Achievement Anxiety Test (AAT) under experimental conditions producing either minimal or high arousal of achievement motivation. Regression of scholastic aptitude and AAT scores on grade-point average (GPA) showed both AAT scales accounting for the same variance in GPA. Analyses of variance of AAT scores showed no sex differences, but highly significant main effects for experimental condition and level of scholastic aptitude. It was concluded that test anxiety is a unidimensional construct, and that the AAT is a measure of anxiety aroused by stress cues present during test taking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of superior academic achievement.

Administered the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) to 54 male undergraduates who had been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, 67 undergraduates of approximately equal intellectual ability who had not been elected, and 87 unselected undergraduates. Significant differences were found between groups on all comparisons except one. Phi Beta Kappa Ss had higher scores for responsibility, socialization, and self-control compared with the 2 other groups. The non-Phi Beta Kappa high achievers were characterized by conscientiousness, industry, and dependability. Phi Beta Kappa Ss were not particularly interested in ideas or cultural pursuits, not particularly tolerant or empathic, but were stable, pragmatic, and task-oriented; these Ss' scores on a creativity regression equation suggest that the sources of originality, innovation, and change may lie elsewere (i.e., in the unselected sample). (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement.

Using meta-analysis techniques, almost 200 studies that considered the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and academic achievement (AA) were examined. Results indicate that as SES is typically defined and used, it is only weakly correlated with AA. With aggregated units of analysis, typically obtained correlations between SES and AA jump to .73. Family characteristics, sometimes incorrectly referred to as SES, are substantially correlated with AA when individuals are the unit of analysis. Factors such as grade level at which the measurement was taken, type of AA measure, type of SES measure, and the year in which the data were collected were significantly correlated with the magnitude of the correlation between AA and SES. Variables considered in the meta-analysis accounted for 75% of the variance in observed correlation coefficients in the studies examined. (6 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early gender differences in self-regulation and academic achievement.

This study examined gender differences in self-regulation in the fall and spring of kindergarten and their connection to gender differences in 5 areas of early achievement: applied problems (math), general knowledge, letter–word identification, expressive vocabulary, and sound awareness. Behavioral self-regulation was measured using both an objective direct measure (N = 268; Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task) and, for a subsample of children, a teacher report of classroom self-regulatory behavior (n = 156; Child Behavior Rating Scale). Results showed that girls outperformed boys in both assessments. Although gender differences in self-regulation were clear, no significant gender differences were found on the 5 academic achievement outcomes, as measured by the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Self-regulation consistently predicted math and sound awareness, although links were stronger with the direct measure as compared with teacher reports. Implications for understanding the role of gender and self-regulation in early and later academic achievement and the role of self-regulation in particular areas of achievement are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher coverage of academic content and pupil achievement.

Reports on 2 studies relating teacher coverage of academic content to pupil achievement. In Exp I, 40 intermediate-grade teachers taught a 4-day content unit and estimated their coverage of each achievement item. Controlling for pupil ability and socioeconomic status, a partial correlation of .40 was obtained between teacher coverage and pupil achievement. In Exp II, 28 intermediate-grade teachers were randomly assigned to 2 groups. All teachers taught 2 content units with a 2-mo interval between. Order of teaching the 2 units was reversed for the 2 groups. Results differed for the 2 groups. However, several significant correlations were obtained between teacher coverage and pupil achievement, ranging up to .67. Teacher coverage scores for the 2 units were surprisingly stable, correlating .60 for 1 teacher group and .87 for the other. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between five after-school activities and academic achievement.

Four hundred twenty-four students in Grades 6 through 12 and 1 parent of each completed a questionnaire concerning student participation in 5 types of after-school activities: homework, television viewing, extracurricular activities, other types of structured after-school groups, and jobs. Student standardized achievement test scores and class grades were also obtained. After-school activities contributed significantly to the prediction of achievement even after the student's gender, grade level, ethnicity, free-lunch eligibility, and level of adult supervision after school were statistically controlled. Generally, more time in extracurricular activities and other structured groups and less time in jobs and television viewing were associated with higher test scores and class grades. More time on homework was associated with better grades. The joint effects of all 5 after-school activities nearly doubled the predictive ability of any single activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early teacher perceptions and later student academic achievement.

The researchers explore relationships between preschool teachers' appraisals of intelligence, concurrent child characteristics, and future high school performance in a core sample of 110 4-year-olds. Children with higher socioeconomic status (SES) and those perceived as assertive and independent were judged by teachers more positively than IQ score predicted; conversely, low SES and perceived immaturity were associated with more negative teacher judgments than IQ score predicted. After controlling for SES, preschool teachers' over- and underestimates of intelligence relative to IQ score significantly predicted grade point average (GPA) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) test-taking 14 years later. The relationship between teacher ratings and GPA was strongest for children whose ability was underestimated. Teacher predictions were weakest in homes rated by observers as more orderly or with mothers who were more career or community active. Prescient versus influential interpretations of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal education and children's academic achievement during middle childhood.

Despite much evidence that links mothers' educational attainment to children's academic outcomes, studies have not established whether increases in mothers' education will improve their children's academic achievement. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on children between the ages of 6 and 12, this study examined whether increases in mothers' educational attainment are associated with changes in children's academic achievement and the quality of their home environments. Results suggest that children of young mothers with low levels of education perform better on tests of academic skills and have higher quality home environments when their mothers complete additional schooling, whereas increased maternal education does not predict improvements in the achievement or home environments of children with older and more highly educated mothers. The estimated effects of additional maternal schooling for children of these younger mothers appear to be more pronounced for children's reading than math skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School attitudes, cognitive ability, and academic achievement.

Investigated relationships between school-related attitudes and measures of English, mathematics, French, and physical and biological sciences at different levels of verbal and nonverbal reasoning abilities and creativity. Data were collected on 195 female and 201 male 12-yr-olds from 4 high schools in an English provincial town. Regression surfaces were constructed from models that examined possible linear, curvilinear, and interaction relations between the variables. The Jackknife technique was used to adjust the significance levels in the analysis. Results indicate that there are sex differences in relations between school attitudes, ability, and achievement. Two propositions are suggested: (a) At each attitude level, increases in cognitive ability are associated with increments in academic achievement. (b) At different ability levels, increases in attitude scores are related to increments in achievement. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring processes linking shyness and academic achievement in childhood.

The goal of the current study was to explore the relations between shyness, academic engagement, and academic achievement in childhood. Participants were (n = 125) children (aged 9–13 years) attending public school boards in Canada. Children completed self reports of shyness and were administered a test of nonverbal IQ. Academic achievement was assessed through both teacher ratings and standardized tests of reading comprehension and mathematics. As well, a new teacher-rated measure of academic engagement was created to assess student participation and on-task behavior in the classroom. Among the results, shyness was negatively related to teacher-rated achievement but not related to standardized test scores. Academic engagement was significantly and negatively related to shyness, and positively related to all measures of achievement. Finally, academic engagement partially mediated the relation between shyness and teacher ratings of achievement. These findings suggest that poorer teacher-rated academic performance in shy children may be partially accounted for by a lack of academic engagement in the classroom. Future studies are needed to explore why shy children are less likely to be engaged in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Future time perspective, optimism, and academic achievement.

"The results of Eson's technique seems to indicate that high academic achievers are predominantly 'anteverts' in so far as their recent thoughts and conversations are concerned, i.e., they tend to look mostly to the future… . Students high in future extension also appeared to be more optimistic." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)