TY - JOUR A1 - Kretschmann, Julia A1 - Vock, Miriam A1 - Luedtke, Oliver T1 - Acceleration in elementary school: using propensity score matching to estimate the effects on academic achievement JF - The journal of educational psychology N2 - Using German data, we examined the effects of one specific type of acceleration-grade skipping-on academic performance. Prior research on the effects of acceleration has suffered from methodological restrictions, especially due to a lack of appropriate comparison groups and a priori measurements. For this reason, propensity score matching was applied in this analysis to minimize selection bias due to observed confounding variables. Various types of matching were attempted, and, in consideration of balancing the covariates, full matching was the final choice. We used data from the Berlin ELEMENT Study, analyzing, after matching, the information of 81 students who had skipped a grade over the course of elementary school and up to 1,668 nonaccelerated students who attended the same grade level as the accelerated students. Measurements took place 3 times between the 4th and 6th grades, including the assessment of reading, spelling, and mathematics performance. After matching, the results of between-group comparisons regarding performance indices showed no significant effects of skipping a grade, other than a small positive effect found on spelling performance. Theoretical implications and methodological limitations are discussed. KW - grade skipping KW - academic performance KW - propensity score matching KW - acceleration KW - elementary school Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036631 SN - 0022-0663 SN - 1939-2176 VL - 106 IS - 4 SP - 1080 EP - 1095 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kulawiak, Pawel R. T1 - Academic benefits of wearing noise-cancelling headphones during class for typically developing students and students with special needs BT - a scoping review JF - Cogent education N2 - Classroom noise impairs students' cognition and learning. At a first glance, it seems useful to prevent the negative effects of noise on academic learning by wearing noise-cancelling (NC) headphones during class. The literature and guidelines emphasize the academic benefits of wearing NC headphones (decreased auditory distraction, increased concentration, learning improvement, and decreased distress). These benefits are particularly expected for students with special needs. None of the recommendations to wear NC headphones during class refer to any empirical studies, indicating a potential research gap and lack of evidence. Therefore, the question arises: Is there any empirical evidence supporting academic benefits of wearing NC headphones during class for typically developing students or students with special needs? A total of 13 empirical studies (quantitative and qualitative) were identified through a systematic scoping review of the existing literature. A wide range of outcomes (cognition, learning, academic performance, behaviour, and emotions) were reported related to the use of NC headphones. Most of the studies refer to specific groups of students with special needs (learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, etc.). In view of the limited number of studies, small sample sizes, and lack of replication studies, all studies give the impression of being pilot studies on the academic benefits of wearing NC headphones. The practice of wearing NC headphones during class is an understudied topic. The current body of evidence does not meet the standards for evidence-based practices in both general and special education. Implications for educational practice and future research are discussed. KW - classroom noise KW - academic performance KW - noise-cancelling headphones KW - special needs KW - scoping review Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2021.1957530 SN - 2331-186X VL - 8 IS - 1 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - Abingdon ER -