TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gronostaj, Anna
A1  - Vock, Miriam
A1  - Pant, Hans Anand
T1  - Skip a grade, learn more? Estimating the effects of grade skipping on
JF  - Learning and individual differences
N2  - Acceleration, defined as progressing through educational programs faster or at a younger age than peers (Pressey, 1949), is an educational practice that is used to support gifted and high-ability students whose cognitive and affective needs might not be met in age-based classrooms. The empirical results of grade skipping, one specific form of acceleration, have been supportive with respect to academic outcomes but have primarily been derived from U.S. samples. Less is known about German grade skippers. We reanalyzed the test and survey data of more than 40,000 students from five studies originally conducted to assess their skills in native and foreign languages in the context of the national educational standards in Germany. We identified 471 grade skippers and used propensity score matching on potential confounding variables (e.g., intelligence, gender, parental background) to construct comparable control groups. Two different comparison groups were realized (same-grade and same age groups). The findings showed that grade skippers performed (at least) as well on standardized tests as their older classmates who were matched on all covariates (same-grade comparison) and outperformed their same-aged peers who were matched on all covariates in most of the language skills that were assessed. Practical and methodological implications are also discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
KW  - Grade skipping
KW  - Acceleration
KW  - Academic achievement
KW  - Propensity score matching
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.05.022
SN  - 1041-6080
SN  - 1873-3425
VL  - 49
SP  - 278
EP  - 286
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Vock, Miriam
A1  - Preckel, Franzis
A1  - Rolling, Heinz
T1  - Mental abilities and school achievement a test of a mediation hypothesis
JF  - Intelligence
N2  - This study analyzes the interplay of four cognitive abilities - reasoning, divergent thinking, mental speed, and short-term memory - and their impact on academic achievement in school in a sample of adolescents in grades seven to 10 (N = 1135). Based on information processing approaches to intelligence, we tested a mediation hypothesis, which states that the complex cognitive abilities of reasoning and divergent thinking mediate the influence of the basic cognitive abilities of mental speed and short-term memory on achievement. We administered a comprehensive test battery and analyzed the data through structural equation modeling while controlling for the cluster structure of the data. Our findings support the notion that mental speed and short-term memory, as ability factors reflecting basic cognitive processes, exert an indirect influence on academic achievement by affecting reasoning and divergent thinking (total indirect effects: beta=.22 and .24. respectively). Short-term memory also directly affects achievement (beta=.22).
KW  - Academic achievement
KW  - Mental speed
KW  - Short-term memory
KW  - Reasoning
KW  - Divergent thinking
KW  - Grades
KW  - Prediction
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2011.06.006
SN  - 0160-2896
VL  - 39
IS  - 5
SP  - 357
EP  - 369
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - New York
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Tetzner, Julia
A1  - Kliegl, Reinhold
A1  - Krahé, Barbara
A1  - Busching, Robert
A1  - Esser, Günter
T1  - Developmental problems in adolescence
BT  - a person-centered analysis across time and domains
JF  - Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
N2  - This longitudinal study investigated patterns of developmental problems across depression, aggression, and academic achievement during adolescence, using two measurement points two years apart (N = 1665; age T1: M = 13.14; female = 49.6%). Latent Profile Analyses and Latent Transition Analyses yielded four main findings: A three-type solution provided the best fit to the data: an asymptomatic type (i.e., low problem scores in all three domains), a depressed type (i.e., high scores in depression), an aggressive type (i.e., high scores in aggression). Profile types were invariant over the two data waves but differed between girls and boys, revealing gender specific patterns of comorbidity. Stabilities over time were high for the asymptomatic type and for types that represented problems in one domain, but moderate for comorbid types. Differences in demographic variables (i.e., age, socio-economic status) and individual characteristics (i.e., self-esteem, dysfunctional cognitions, cognitive capabilities) predicted profile type memberships and longitudinal transitions between types.
KW  - Adolescence
KW  - Person-centered approach
KW  - Depression
KW  - Aggression
KW  - Academic achievement
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.08.003
SN  - 0193-3973
SN  - 1873-7900
VL  - 53
SP  - 40
EP  - 53
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - New York
ER  -