Category: Secondary School Education

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Achievement Higher Education Primary School Education Secondary School Education

The impact of test preparation on performance in large-scale educational tests: A meta-analysis of experimental studies

A recent meta-analysis examines whether test preparation improves performance in large-scale educational tests. Although schools, commercial institutions, and students invest heavily in preparation courses and materials, existing studies have reported inconsistent effects. Earlier reviews were also concentrated on US college admission and cognitive ability tests and often relied on evidence published before 2000. This study therefore estimates the overall effect of test preparation and examines how it varies across intervention, test, student, and research-design characteristics.

The authors synthesized 28 experimental and quasi-experimental studies, including 92 effect sizes and 16,741 participants across primary, secondary, and tertiary education. The studies covered college admission tests, English proficiency tests, and other large-scale assessments. A hierarchical random-effects model with robust variance estimation was used, while moderator analyses examined intervention breadth, strategy and material use, test characteristics, previous test experience, and study design.

Test preparation produced a significant positive overall effect on test performance (g=.26, 95% CI [.10,.42], p<.001), but heterogeneity was high (I^2=82.44%). Test-specific and narrowly focused interventions were more effective (g=.33) and (g=.32) than broad programs aimed at general knowledge or transferable skills (g=-.04). Interventions teaching test-taking strategies also showed stronger effects (g=.35) than those without such instruction (g=.05). Students with previous testing experience benefited substantially more (g=.69) than those without it (g=.06). However, preparation effects did not transfer significantly to other tests in the same domain (g=.06, p=.502).

Taken together, the findings suggest that test preparation can improve large-scale test scores, but its effectiveness mainly reflects alignment with the target test rather than broader learning gains. The limited transfer effect raises concerns about whether score improvement represents genuine development in the abilities being assessed. Future research should use stronger experimental designs, report intervention processes more clearly, and distinguish test-score gains from transferable learning.

Source (Open Access): Hao, Z., Baird, J. A., Masri, Y. E., & Double, K. (2025). The impact of test preparation on performance of large-scale educational tests: A meta-analysis of experimental studies. Review of Educational Research, 00346543251360775.

https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543251360775… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Programme Evaluation Secondary School Education

Linking Classrooms and Museums for Self-Regulated STEM Learning

Lewalter et al. (2025) examine how school-based factors shape students’ self-regulated STEM learning during and after a museum visit. The study addresses an important challenge in STEM education: how to connect classroom learning with meaningful real-world contexts beyond school. Focusing on a museum exhibition about mobility and traffic, the authors investigate whether students’ learning strategy knowledge, prior knowledge, prior interest, and classroom preparation or follow-up activities predict their learning processes during the visit and their learning outcomes three months later.

The study used a pretest–posttest–follow-up design with 409 Grade 10 students from 21 classes in 12 German high schools. Students visited the Deutsches Museum München and explored a tablet-supported exhibition programme titled Mobility Transition—What Moves Us in the Future? Traffic and Mobility Challenges of the 21st Century. During the 90-minute visit, students worked in small groups and engaged in self-guided exploration of selected exhibits. Questionnaire data were collected one week before the visit, immediately after the visit, and approximately three months later to measure learning strategy knowledge, preparation and follow-up activities, situational interest, basic psychological needs, perceived content relevance, engagement, knowledge, and individual interest.

Results show that most students did not experience systematic classroom integration of the museum visit: 75% reported no classroom preparation, and 60.4% reported no follow-up activities after the visit. Students’ metacognitive and motivational learning strategy knowledge positively predicted several aspects of the learning process, including perceived content relevance, basic need satisfaction, situational interest, and engagement. However, when prior individual interest was included in the model, it became the strongest predictor of learning process variables, suggesting that students’ existing interest plays a central role in shaping museum-based STEM learning.

For medium-term learning outcomes, follow-up activities in the classroom were especially important. Three months after the museum visit, students who experienced classroom follow-up showed higher self-perceived and objective knowledge. Knowledge of learning strategies also contributed to self-perceived knowledge, whereas students’ later individual interest was mainly predicted by their prior individual interest. Overall, the findings highlight that museum visits should not be treated as isolated field trips. Instead, their educational value depends on stronger links between classroom teaching and out-of-school learning, particularly through helping students develop self-regulated learning strategies and providing meaningful follow-up activities after the visit.

Source (Open Access): Lewalter, D., Neubauer, K., & Moser, S. (2025). Self-regulated STEM learning in museums—the role of learner characteristics and visit-related activities in school. International Journal of STEM Education, 12(1), 56.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-025-00577-9… Read the rest

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Language Development Primary School Education Secondary School Education

The Effects of Interventions for Students With Reading Difficulties in Grades 4–12

Killingly and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based interventions for students with reading difficulties in Grades 4–12 published between 2011 and 2023. The study examined the overall effectiveness of these interventions and further tested whether study characteristics, sample characteristics, and intervention characteristics moderated their effects. A total of 104 publications and 586 effect sizes were included, representing 97,114 participants. Methodologically, the authors used a Correlated and Hierarchical Effects model combined with robust variance estimation to address dependency among multiple outcomes and effect sizes within the same study, while also estimating effects across overall reading performance and specific reading domains.

The results showed that, overall, reading interventions had a small but significant positive effect for students with reading difficulties in Grades 4–12, with an overall effect size of g = 0.212 (95% CI [0.163, 0.261], p < .001). This suggests that although the gains were not large, these interventions did produce reliable improvements in students’ reading performance. Across specific reading domains, the strongest effects were found for vocabulary (g = 0.422), followed by decoding/word recognition (g = 0.199) and reading comprehension (g = 0.187). Fluency showed only a very small but significant effect (g = 0.080), spelling was not significant (g = 0.015), and phonological processing, although showing a larger effect size on the surface (g = 0.531), did not reach significance and was therefore considered unstable. Overall heterogeneity was very high (I² = 89.71%), indicating that differences in study design and sample characteristics had a substantial influence on intervention effectiveness. GRADE assessment further suggested that the overall quality of evidence ranged from moderate to high, with the strongest evidence for fluency, moderate evidence for vocabulary, and moderate-to-low evidence for phonological processing.

Moderator analyses showed that intervention effects varied according to both study and sample conditions. Overall, more recently published studies showed stronger effects (β = 0.015), and journal articles produced significantly larger effects (g = 0.268) than research reports (g = 0.062). In terms of sample characteristics, low socioeconomic status was not significantly related to overall effects, but a higher proportion of students with learning disabilities was associated with slightly stronger effects (β = 0.006). For students from a language background other than English, overall differences were not significant, but in the vocabulary domain, a greater proportion of such students was associated with stronger effects (β = 0.016), suggesting that vocabulary instruction may be particularly important for this group. Regarding intervention design, intervention focus, duration, and measurement type were all significant moderators. Comprehension-focused interventions showed relatively strong overall effects (g = 0.313), multicomponent interventions showed stable effects (g = 0.178), and word study interventions had smaller effects (g = 0.096), whereas vocabulary-focused interventions, though fewer in number, showed the largest effect (g = 0.716). Shorter interventions were actually associated with stronger effects, with effect sizes of g = 0.405 for 0–5 hours and g = 0.409 for 6–15 hours. In addition, researcher-developed measures yielded significantly larger effects (g = 0.542) than standardized measures (g = 0.127). Although there was no significant overall difference between interventions delivered by teachers and those delivered by researchers, in vocabulary interventions teacher-led delivery produced stronger effects (g = 0.733) than researcher-led delivery (g = 0.249), suggesting that classroom teachers may hold particular advantages in providing vocabulary support.

Overall, this study shows that reading interventions for older students with reading difficulties are indeed effective, although the magnitude of their effects depends on the reading domain being targeted and on the design of the intervention. Vocabulary and reading comprehension appear to be the most promising focuses, while multicomponent interventions also demonstrate stable benefits. By … Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Secondary School Education

Creative Visual Programming for Secondary Students: Enjoyment, Self-Efficacy, and Gender Differences

Smit et al. (2025) examine how students’ enjoyment during visual programming tasks relates to their self-efficacy beliefs and gender differences in programming confidence. Grounded in Pekrun’s control-value theory of achievement emotions, the study focuses on whether positive emotional experiences in programming can strengthen students’ beliefs in their ability to program. The research was conducted in a daylong visual programming workshop titled “Creativity in Science and Technology-Smart Textiles”, where secondary school students programmed LED matrices connected to micro:bit devices (small programmable computers commonly used in STEM and coding education) and applied them to creative, real-world tasks such as smart shirts and bicycle shirts.

The study involved 269 lower-secondary students from 16 Swiss classes in Grades 7 to 9. Students completed pre- and post-questionnaires measuring self-efficacy for visual programming, while their momentary enjoyment was measured four times during the workshop through experience sampling. The course was structured to move from more guided tasks in the morning, including Morse code and debugging activities, to more open and creative tasks in the afternoon, such as designing smart textile applications. Structural equation modelling, including latent state-trait theory and latent growth curve models, was used to examine changes in enjoyment and self-efficacy over the day.

Results show that students’ enjoyment remained relatively stable across individual tasks and was largely shaped by their general enjoyment of programming rather than by specific task situations. However, students with lower initial enjoyment showed stronger increases during later, more creative tasks. Girls reported lower enjoyment than boys at the beginning of the workshop, but their enjoyment increased more strongly over time, narrowing the gender gap. Both girls and boys showed increased self-efficacy for visual programming by the end of the course. Although girls initially reported substantially lower self-efficacy than boys, the gender difference was no longer significant in the final model after the workshop.

Overall, the findings suggest that application-oriented and creative visual programming activities can foster students’ confidence in programming, especially among girls. The combination of smart textiles, visual coding, debugging practice, and open-ended design tasks appeared to create a motivating learning environment that supported positive emotions and self-efficacy development. The study highlights the importance of designing programming instruction around authentic, creative, and personally meaningful tasks, rather than treating programming as an abstract or purely technical activity.

Source (Open Access): Smit, R., Schmid, R., & Robin, N. (2025). Experiencing enjoyment in visual programming tasks promotes self‐efficacy and reduces the gender gap. British Journal of Educational Technology, 56(3), 1231-1247.

https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13523… Read the rest

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Programme Evaluation Secondary School Education

Teaching Quality in STEM Enrichment Programs: Gifted Students’ Perceptions of In-School and Out-of-School Learning Environments

Jaggy et al. (2025) investigate how gifted students perceive teaching quality in specialized STEM enrichment programs compared with their regular school classrooms. Previous research has shown that high-ability students often experience learning environments differently from their peers, yet little is known about how participation in extracurricular enrichment programs influences students’ evaluation of teaching quality in both in-school and out-of-school settings. To address this gap, the study examines students attending the Hector Seminar, a specialized STEM enrichment program for gifted secondary school students in Germany and compares their perceptions of teaching quality across learning contexts.

The study uses cross-sectional data from a large-scale talent development project including academically advanced sixth- and seventh-grade students in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Teaching quality was assessed using student reports on six indicators derived from the three-basic-dimensions model of instructional quality: effective classroom management, cognitive activation, student support, adaptivity, interestingness, and motivational climate. Two research questions guided the analysis: whether gifted students evaluate teaching quality in the enrichment program higher than in regular school classes, and whether students attending the program perceive regular classroom teaching differently from comparable students who do not participate in the program.

Results show that students attending the specialized STEM enrichment program rated teaching quality significantly higher in the program than in their regular school classes across most indicators, particularly in interestingness, motivational climate, and adaptivity. These findings suggest that enrichment programs provide highly stimulating and supportive learning environments for gifted students. Importantly, however, participation in the enrichment program did not lead students to evaluate their regular school teaching more negatively compared with non-participants, indicating that potential reference effects between learning contexts were limited.

Overall, the study highlights the importance of specialized enrichment programs as high-quality learning environments for gifted students while showing that such programs do not necessarily undermine students’ perceptions of regular classroom instruction. The findings contribute to research on gifted education and teaching quality by demonstrating that macro-level adaptations, such as structured STEM enrichment programs, can enhance learning experiences without producing negative comparison effects. The results also underscore the need for teacher professional development and more individualized instruction to better support diverse student needs across learning settings.

 

Source (Open Access): Jaggy, A. K., Wagner, W., Fütterer, T., Göllner, R., & Trautwein, U. (2025). Teaching quality in STEM education: Differences between in-and out-of-school contexts from the perspective of gifted students. International Journal of STEM Education, 12(1), 53.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-025-00576-w… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Secondary School Education

LLM-Based Collaborative Programming: Effects on Computational Thinking and Self-Efficacy

Yan et al. (2025) examine whether integrating large language models (LLMs) into collaborative programming can enhance students’ computational thinking, self-efficacy, and learning processes. Recognizing that traditional collaborative programming is often constrained by uneven skill levels among students, the study proposes an LLM-supported collaborative framework in which AI acts as a learning partner, transforming the conventional human–human interaction into a human–human–AI collaboration model. A quasi-experimental design was conducted with 82 sixth- and seventh-grade students in China, who were randomly assigned to either an LLM-supported collaborative programming group (experiment group) or a traditional collaborative programming group (control group).

The intervention lasted five weeks and included 12 programming sessions (90 min each) using C++ as the instructional language. Students in both groups worked in teams, but the experimental group used an LLM-based platform that provided structured, problem-based, and knowledge-based scaffolding throughout the programming process, including problem analysis, coding, debugging, and evaluation. Pre- and post-tests measured students’ computational thinking and self-efficacy, while cognitive load was assessed through questionnaires, complemented by semi-structured interviews.

Results indicate that students in the LLM-supported collaborative programming group achieved significantly higher gains in computational thinking compared to those in the traditional group, though the effect size was relatively small. In addition, students in the experimental group reported significantly lower cognitive load, particularly in mental load, suggesting that LLMs can reduce the cognitive burden associated with complex programming tasks. However, no statistically significant differences were found in self-efficacy between the two groups. Both groups showed a decline in self-efficacy over time, likely due to the transition from graphical programming to more abstract text-based coding, though the decline was less pronounced in the LLM-supported group.

Qualitative findings further reveal that LLM integration enhanced students’ learning experiences by increasing interest, improving problem-solving efficiency, and supporting collaboration. Students reported that LLMs provided immediate feedback, multiple solution strategies, and personalized guidance, enabling more effective engagement in programming tasks. Overall, the study demonstrates that LLMs can function as effective scaffolding tools in collaborative learning, reducing cognitive load and enhancing higher-order thinking. While their impact on self-efficacy remains inconclusive, the findings highlight the potential of AI-supported collaborative learning environments as a promising approach for programming education in K–12 contexts.

Source (Open Access): Yan, Y. M., Chen, C. Q., Hu, Y. B., & Ye, X. D. (2025). LLM-based collaborative programming: Impact on students’ computational thinking and self-efficacy. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 149.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04471-1… Read the rest