Math anxiety is commonly known as negatively associated with math performance among students. Per the Cognitive-Attentional theory, a high anxiety level impedes recall and the working memory capacity, subsequently leading to lower performance. Using a large sample, Yu and colleagues conducted a study to examine whether the math anxiety-achievement link depends on gender. They hypothesized that the difference may be explained by emotional susceptibility which is the ability to experience and be influenced by emotions. Females are more sensitive to negative emotions, while males are more composed and less vulnerable. Moreover, neuroimaging indicates different emotional processing modes between genders. The study involved 28,129 grade 4 and grade 8 students from 489 primary schools and 238 secondary schools in Qingdao, China. The researchers measured the students' math anxiety using an abbreviated Math Anxiety Rating Scale and math performance using a researcher compiled multiple set of tests in May 2018. The results...

Chan and colleagues examined the impact of two game-based technologies on conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and procedural flexibility in algebraic equation solving. Two different game-based technologies are DragonBox Algebra 12+ (DragonBox) and From Here to There! (FH2T). DragonBox is a commercial app in which students move and combine pictures on the screen to isolate a box containing a dragon, similar to solving for x in algebraic equations. FH2T is a researcher-developed game in which students transform mathematical expressions from a start state (e.g., 16x29) to a specified goal state (e.g., 16x30 - 16x1) using gesture actions (e.g., tapping, dragging) on screen. Both games are based on the idea that an individual perceives mathematical symbols as objects in space and both provide immediate feedback during the game. While the designer of DragonBox disguises the algebraic symbols under images, the designer of FH2T presents algebraic notations in the game. The sample was...

Instructors of an undergraduate course teaching instructional methods to future secondary science teachers conducted a qualitative study analyzing the experience of suddenly switching teaching rehearsals to an online format. Half of the fifteen preservice teachers in the course were able to practice being teachers in in-person rehearsals with peers before the course switched to a virtual format in March 2020. The other half were only able to practice in rehearsals online. Little consensus exists on how best to teach pedagogical methods for rigorous and equitable teaching. Macroteaching is a format that entails 11-12 hours of practice teaching to peers as if teaching a full unit to a class of secondary students. These extended opportunities for rehearsal, feedback, and collaborative reflection are intended to build preservice teachers’ pedagogical skills and instructional vision, making it more likely that new teachers will attempt techniques for rigorous and responsive teaching in the first few...

In a recent study published in School Psychology International, Lei and colleagues conducted a three-level meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between teacher-student relationships (TSR) and student academic achievement (SAA) in China. The authors believed the positive link between TSR and student academic achievement is higher in hierarchical, collective China than egalitarian, individualistic western society as teachers have greater authority in China than in Western societies, and teachers are often the centre of TSR. With the greater respect of authority among Chinese students, the link between TSR-SAA could be higher compared to Western countries. The study included 74 studies (90 effect sizes) that examined the TSR-SAA correlation in the Chinese context published between 2002 and 2020 which involved both primary school and secondary school students. The results found Overall, significant positive correlation between teacher-student relation and student academic achievement (r = 0.26) was found among Chinese studies, which is larger than...

Researchers from Scotland have added to the body of existing research on the negative effects of student absenteeism by exploring whether the reasons for absences have differing impacts on achievement. The study used linear regression to analyze longitudinal data from a representative sample of 4,419 students. Schools in Scotland are required to note the reason for student absences. Researchers compared this data with results from two high-stakes tests that students take in secondary school. Their study found: Overall absences, as well as absences due to vacations, were associated with a 0.03 standard deviation decrease in achievement (SE= 0.00, p< .01). Truancy- or sickness-related absences were associated with a 0.04 standard deviation decrease in achievement (SE= 0.00, p< .001). Family emergency-related absences were associated with a 0.02 standard deviation decrease in achievement (SE= 0.00, p< .01). Although this may not sound like a big effect, this actually represents more than a...

Literacy is foundational to academic success and social participation of students. However, many studies have indicated that teenage boys have poorer literacy grades than teenage girls. A recent study by Borgonovi compared two low-stakes international large-scale assessments to identify if similar gender gaps existed between them and what factors were related to these gaps. The study compared a widely-used low-stakes school-based assessment, Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), with another low-stakes household-based assessment, Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). In the two assessments, individual-level data from 15- to 17-year-old teens in the countries that administered both assessments were examined to investigate and compare the literacy gender gap. The study found that the two assessments showed different estimates of literacy gender gaps. In PISA, boys significantly underperformed compared with girls, but in PIAAC, no gender gap was identified. The differences in the gaps were associated with differences in...

A study posted on preprint archive by Kramer and colleagues examined whether 9th grade students’ academic performance and motivation in mathematics improved by using a formative grading system called PARLO (Proficiency-based Assessment and Re-assessment of Learning Outcomes), and compared it to the traditional summative-grading system. The PARLO system aims to increase academic engagement and achievement by centering instruction, formative feedback, and grading around 10-15 Learning Outcomes per semester and employing a grading system that encourages reassessment and full credit for mastery of content at each learning outcome. A student’s final grade is calculated from the number of “proficient” or “high performance” scores taken from their best assessment at each learning outcome. This differs from traditional grading, which is often based on one-time assessments and summary judgments of student performance. The mixed-methods, cluster randomized study assigned a diverse set of schools to implement PARLO for two years in their 9th grade...

Almost three years since the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing number of studies examining the learning loss of school-aged children during the pandemic. The first meta-analysis of global learning loss has been published in Nature Human Behavior, and reviews the existing evidence on the extent to which learning progress has slowed down since the onset of the pandemic, and how it varies across different groups of students, subject domains and country contexts. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to: (1) measure learning progress using test scores that could be standardized across studies using Cohen’s d, (2) base their estimates on empirical data collected since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than making projections based on pre-COVID-19 data, and (3) be written in English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish or Swedish. A total of 42 studies (including 291 estimates) across 15 countries met these inclusion criteria, conducted...

Studies have indicated that high levels of anxiety could undermine adolescents’ peer interactions and academic performance and could increase the risk of other mental health issues. Positive psychology intervention (PPI) was found to prevent mental illness and enhance positive mental health. A randomized controlled trial by Kwok and colleagues examined whether a multicomponent positive psychology intervention (MPPI) would enhance gratitude and emotional intelligence, which in turn would reduce anxiety and increase happiness in adolescents. First, four secondary schools were selected randomly in Hong Kong and grade 8 and grade 9 students of those four schools undertook the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Second, of those identified as probable anxiety cases according to HADS scores, half were randomly assigned to the experiment group (n=46) and the other half to the control group (n=46). The experimental group attended a 7-session intervention which lasted for 7 weeks with...