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Sex differences in mathematics achievement have been a controversial topic in educational psychology for a long time. This study sheds light on the developmental aspects of sex differences in math achievement and domain-specific motivational variables such as self-concept and interest. Using a Reciprocal Effects Model (REM), we analyzed 2,342 German fifth to seventh grade students who participated in a large-scale longitudinal study. Math self-concept was validated as a consistent predictor of subsequent achievement and interest for both sexes, supporting the self-enhancement part of the REM using test-scores and teacher-assigned grades. However, math achievement affects subsequent self-concept inconsistently (i.e., the skill development part). Although the bivariate relationships between the constructs were homogeneous across sex and over time, there were large sex differences in the motivational constructs, but not in the achievement measure regardless of achievement measures. The present findings underline the importance of considering both the mean and the covariance structure when describing sex differences in academic achievement. In addition, they also stress the impact of motivational constructs on educational achievement, which also have implications for sex-specific intervention programs in general.

Students' reading preferences develop in social contexts, and parents shape such environments. Assuming a process of transmission across generations, we analyzed the role of mothers' attitudes toward reading and reading behavior. A sample of 380 ninth-grade students completed a questionnaire to assess their attitudes toward reading (with respect to utility and enjoyment) and to collect details about their extracurricular reading behavior. Mothers were interviewed and asked to provide comparable information about their own reading behavior and attitudes. Results showed substantial positive relations between mothers' and students' attitudes toward reading and reading behavior, although the effects were small in magnitude. Taken together, even when children reach adolescence, socialization effects from parents can be found in the domain of reading.

n contrast to highlighting within self-regulated learning, instructed highlighting refers to the selective marking of text passages to answer given questions about texts which emerges in classroom settings or can be used in test administrations. According to literature, it requires reading processes of different complexity and focusing on and selecting of passages of texts, controlling and regulating processes that are operations of learning strategies. Therefore, we expected high correlations of instructed highlighting with reading competence and with using learning strategies. In order to evaluate these hypotheses on the base of precise measures of highlighting behaviour, four parameters were derived from literature, that quantify different quality aspects of instructed highlighting, e.g., the fit with experts’ judgements. Based on a sample of German adults (N = 937) who completed achievement tests in instructed highlighting and reading competence as well as a standardized learning strategies questionnaire, the introduced indices allowed for detailed descriptions of instructed highlighting. Furthermore, instructed highlighting correlated substantially with reading competence. Contrary to our expectations, it showed negligible associations with the self-reported use of learning strategies. The results indicate that instructed highlighting represents aspects of focused reading, and, thus, might provide an innovative approach for technology-based assessments of reading competence.

Research on goals and goal regulation often takes place in specific contexts (career goals, educational goals, or life goals). The purpose of this study was to examine relations between different types of goal regulation in specific contexts and their prediction from education-related parenting. Therefore, we analyzed data from 663 18-year-old high-school graduates, trainees, and their parents participating in the BiKS German longitudinal school study. We specified three latent classes of life-goal regulation (by using four regulation categories: extrinsic, introjected, identified, and intrinsic regulation) with a latent class analysis and examined their correlations with types of goal orientation. Especially for the latent classes with high extrinsic or high introjected regulation, we found relations with more extrinsic types of goal orientation (performance-approach goal orientation). In addition, education-related parenting behavior during secondary school predicted the different latent classes of life-goal regulation. The results are discussed in the context of self-determination theory.

We investigated what impact elaborated feedback has on sixth graders' deep-level comprehension of texts within a computer-based assessment. Experiment 1 (N = 566) focused on the contents of computer-provided elaborated feedback (i.e. inference-prompts, error explanations, or monitoring-prompt) using a control-group design. Results showed that none of the feedback treatments had an effect on performance. This appeared to result from participants' low commitment to processing the feedback. Experiment 2 (N = 251) focused on the feedback presentation type by varying computer-mediated and person-mediated inference-prompts within a control-group design. Results showed that only the person-mediated inference-prompts had significant effects on performance with respect to the correction of initially false answers to comprehension questions and the performance on subsequent test questions. Findings of both experiments indicate the impact of inference-prompts on text comprehension within performance assessments, highlighting the need to explicitly account for motivational issues in feedback interventions on higher-order reading processes.

Recent studies have analyzed social and dimensional comparisons simultaneously in order to consider their impact on students' academic self-concept (e.g., Chiu, 2012 ). Thereby, social comparisons refer to comparisons with the achievement level of students' classmates, whereas dimensional comparisons comprise comparisons between students' individual achievements across different domains. This paper analyzes whether both achievement comparisons influence students' subject-interest in mathematics and English (as a first foreign language). The analyses are based on N = 1390 German fifth and sixth grade students who participated in the BiKS-8-14 longitudinal study. Using multi-level analyses, results indicate that students' competences influence their mathematical and English subject-interests, demonstrating the typical pattern of social and dimensional comparisons. Further, analyses reveal mediation effects by subject-specific grades and self-concepts. These findings also apply for the development of students' subject-interest from grade 5 to grade 6. Results are discussed with respect to their implications concerning theories of achievement comparisons and interest development.

Within the school context substantial correlations between interests and grades are well documented, but the causal ordering still remains unclear. The paper examines how the relation between interests and grades over several measurement waves in elementary school age can be characterized, whether gender differences in the pattern of effects can be shown, and whether the effects are school-subject-specific. The present analysis follows N = 1.199 students in the 3rd Grade over a year and a half. It can be shown that grading determines the level of future interests but not vice versa. Thereby, the pattern of results concerning interests and grades is similar for boys and girls. The effects of grades on subsequent interests are mostly school-subject-specific.

Phonological awareness and letter knowledge have been shown to be precursors of children's word reading and reading comprehension. As a consequence, promoting children's phonological awareness should result in better reading skills. In order to evaluate this assumption, we trained phonological awareness and letter knowledge of 370 German preschool children and compared their word reading and reading comprehension skills with those of a group of 99 untrained children. Our findings indicate strong intervention effects on children's phonological awareness and letter knowledge. However, this advantage did not result in better reading skills in general. Within the group of low-performing children, we found small effects on word reading. This effect was mediated by individual differences in phonological awareness. In summary, only for low-performing children do the findings support our theoretical assumptions. This may be attributable to differences in the orthographic transparency between German and English, which restricts a generalization of findings across languages.

This article describes the approach of dynamic assessment, focusing on general approaches as well as specific constraints for the assessment of reading competence. Starting with an overview of the literature on dynamic assessments within educational research, the framework of dynamic assessment in which the current level of competence and (domain-specific) learning ability are assessed, is discussed with regards to its methodological and diagnostic implications. Reading competence is introduced as a domain in which interventions prove successful, and as a domain principally suitable for the assessment of learning ability. Furthermore, it is discussed whether elaborated feedback given within the procedure of reading competence assessment does uncover a learning ability which is specific to the domain of reading competence or not.

Drawing on knowledge about the development of reading comprehension, and empirical insights into the effects of training on students' learning strategies and reading-related metacognition, we developed a parent–child reading program for implementation in the home environment. The results of this first quasi-experimental evaluation study indicate that it is generally possible to implement a program of this kind within the family setting, but that participation is low and selective based on family background and children's achievement level. Nevertheless, participation in the program was found to have substantial effects on the development of vocabulary and on reading-related metacognition, indicating that family-based reading programs have considerable potential. The issues of selective participation and the lack of a program effect on text comprehension are discussed, and prospects for future research on systematic reading training in the family context are considered.