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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Dumont, Hanna A1 - Neumann, Marko A1 - Nagy, Gabriel A1 - Becker, Michael A1 - Rose, Norman A1 - Trautwein, Ulrich T1 - Class composition Effects in non-academic lower secondary school tracks in the state of Baden-Württemberg JF - Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht : Zeitschrift für Forschung und Praxis N2 - The study investigates the effects of classroom composition (average ability, achievement, and socio-economic background, proportion of immigrant students) on the development in mathematics achievement, and reading literacy from grade 5 to 6. The study draws on a sample of N=1892 students in vocational track schools (Hauptschule) and intermediate track schools (Realschule) in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. After controlling for school type, and between-school differences in student intake characteristics, none of the compositional characteristics showed a statistically significant effect on achievement development. School track was associated with the development of reading literacy even after controlling for individual differences; however, this relationship lost its statistical significance after the composition of the student body was additionally taken into account. KW - Academic achievement KW - tracking KW - reading comprehension KW - mathematics KW - composition effects Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2378/peu2013.art16d SN - 0342-183X VL - 60 IS - 3 SP - 198 EP - 213 PB - Reinhardt CY - München ER -