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The use of texts is an indispensable resource for students' learning, especially in science domains. While developing understanding of a specific topic usually is the main goal of reading expository texts, an important consideration is how to best measure whether this understanding has been reached. In this study, we aimed to analyze gains in students' reading comprehension based on reading three expository texts on chemistry and physics topics. By means of a pre-post design, we assessed the reading comprehension of 261 eighth grade students with regard to three levels of reading comprehension. Latent change scores were estimated to analyze changes in students' total test scores, while also calculating difference scores based on the single items. Results indicate that students' topic-related comprehension increases from pre- to posttest, while gains seem to be limited to word and sentence level questions. In line with other studies, these findings stress that students would benefit from explicit strategy instruction, at least when learning from reading is the goal of using science texts in classrooms.

Halo effects in teacher judgments, can occur when the assessment of one aspect of a person's achievement is generalised to another aspect of achievement for that same person. We conducted an experimental study in which participants (N = 107) had to grade vignettes of the same student in two different subjects. The first vignette described either a weak, average, or strong performance, whereas the second vignette always described an average performance. Thereby, rich descriptions of achievement-relevant information were used, and the impact of influencing factors was reduced. The treatment condition emerged as a significant predictor of the grade given for the second vignette even after controlling for gender, status of the participants, and the gender of the student. The results suggest that participants' ratings can be manipulated to show halo bias. The results support the view that teacher education should raise awareness of possible sources of the halo effect.

Background: Research shows that gender differences tend to exist in student motivational-affective factors in core subjects such as math, science or reading, where one gender is stereotypically disadvantaged. Aims: This study aimed to investigate strategies that could reduce these gender differences by conducting a meta-analysis on school-based intervention studies that targeted student motivational-affective factors. We therefore evaluated whether interventions had differential effects for male and female students' motivational-affective factors in a given academic subject. We also evaluated potential moderator variables. Method: After conducting a systematic database search and screening abstracts for inclusion, we synthesized 71 effect sizes from 20 primary studies. All included studies were conducted in science or mathematics-related subjects, which are stereotypically female-disadvantaged. Results: While the interventions had significant positive effects for both genders, there was no statistically significant difference between the two genders with regard to the intervention effects on motivational-affective factors. However, the descriptive effect size for female students (g = 0.49) was far greater than for male students (g = 0.28). Moderator analyses showed no significant effects for grade level, intervention duration, or school subject, but there was a significant influence of intervention method used. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that school-based interventions have positive effects on motivational-affective factors for both genders. It also provides evidence that interventions in subjects where female students are stereotypically disadvantaged may have greater effects for females than for males. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Reading comprehension is an essential skill for learning in general and in science classes. Problems with reading comprehension might hinder students' participation in learning science. Text in science includes specific language features that distinguishes it from narrative text, so should reading instruction be part of teaching science? The direct and inferential mediation (DIME) model of reading comprehension subsumes factors that influence reading comprehension. It was tested separately regarding narrative text as well as expository text in English; however, both have not been tested by directly comparing them to each other. In this study, we investigated to what degree general reading comprehension of narrative text is directly comparable to topic-specific reading comprehension of science text. Hence, first the applicability of the DIME model of reading comprehension in another language (i.e. German) was tested. Second, a general reading comprehension model was directly compared to a topic-specific model for reading comprehension of science text. Participants across the two studies were 704 German Grade 8 students who completed measures of comprehension and the DIME predictor variables. Results of two path analyses indicate the general applicability of the model for another language and additionally for both genres. However, some differences are highlighted that may be of importance in future science-specific studies as well as for teaching science.

Previous research illustrated that reading comprehension and science performance correlate highly. Because students with specific learning disorders with impairments in reading (SLD-IR) show deficits in reading comprehension, they may struggle to perform in science. As language in science is characterized by linguistic complexity, the question arises whether students with SLD-IR can be supported by reducing linguistic complexity. The aim of this preregistered study was to investigate whether students with SLD-IR benefit more from linguistic simplification in science than their peers without SLD-IR. The sample consisted of 70 students (age, M = 12.67; 50% female) with n = 35 having SLD-IR. Applying a multilevel logistic regression model, we found neither a main effect of linguistic simplification nor an interaction effect (differential boost) on science performance. However, students with SLD-IR performed significantly lower in science. Implications include further investigation on how to support students with SLD-IR in their science performance.

Science performance is highly affected by students' reading comprehension. Recently, there has been a growing attention to the role of linguistic features for science performance, but findings are ambivalent, especially when looking into item word count. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction of students' reading comprehension and item word count of given science measures on performance, controlling for students' cognitive abilities, gender, family language, and school track. The sample consisted of N = 2051 German students in grades 10 and 11. Students completed (scientific) literacy measures. We then applied a multilevel logistic regression to investigate the hypothesized interaction effect of reading comprehension and word count on students' science performance. The results showed a significant interaction of students' reading comprehension and word count on science performance, controlling for several covariates. Particularly students with high reading comprehension benefit from science items with increasing word count. Our findings empirically support previous research, showing that reading comprehension is crucial for science performance and enhances the interaction between reading comprehension and linguistic features of written text in science subjects. Finally, theoretical and practical implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

Although it is widely known that reading plays a significant role in mathematics performance, it remains unclear how specific reading component skills and item characteristics are associated with adults' mathematics performance. The aim of this study was to investigate reading component skills (printed vocabulary, sentence processing, passage comprehension), characteristics of mathematics items (picture/table, complex verb forms, number of prepositions, lexical density), and the possible interaction effects thereof on mathematics performance. The sample consisted of 368 German adults (age: M = 50.45; 59% female). Our results showed main effects on performance from adults' reading component skills and item characteristics. Furthermore, interaction effects between passage comprehension and two item characteristics on mathematics performance emerge. Implications include enhancing adults' reading component skills.

This study examined the associations between classmates' reading-related gender stereotypes and students' reading self-efficacy, self-concept, motivation, and achievement. Our sample consisted of 1,508 fifth-grade students (49% girls; age: 10.89 years); data were collected at two time points. Multilevel analyses yielded two main results: First, there was a relation between students' individual reading-related gender stereotypes and their reading self-concept, self-efficacy, and motivation with boys experiencing negative and girls experiencing positive effects. Second, a contextual effect was found: after controlling for students' individual reading-related gender stereotypes, classmates' gender stereotypes were negatively related to all of the boys' reading outcomes. The results provide evidence for the assumption that classmates are important communicators of gender stereotypes and that they reinforce conforming behaviors.

In the present study we investigated which role manipulated (i.e., experimentally induced) and perceived (i.e., self-reported) self-control depletion plays in students' (N = 176 seventh graders) achievement-related experiences and behaviour during a test of English as a foreign language, while controlling for trait self-control. Our successful experimental manipulation of self-control depletion revealed that there were no effects on any of the students' outcome variables. However, students who reported high self-control depletion immediately after the experimental manipulation were less motivated to work on the subsequent test, reported more distracting thoughts, showed lower performance, and felt more depleted at the end of the test session. Trait self-control turned out to be a protective and supportive factor for most of our outcome variables. Our results provide evidence that the perceived and not the manipulated level of self-control depletion is a predictor of achievement-related behaviour in tests on English as a foreign language.

The 2I/E model is an extension of Marsh's (1986) classical internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model. Whereas the classical I/E model describes the formation of academic self-concept by the joint operation of social (external) and dimensional (internal) comparisons, the 2I/E model integrates temporal comparisons as an additional internal comparison process. In the 2I/E model, paths from achievement levels to self-concepts in the same subject are assumed to represent social comparisons, paths from achievement levels to self-concepts in another subject are assumed to represent dimensional comparisons, and paths from achievement changes to self-concepts in the same subject are assumed to represent temporal comparisons. The present research validated the 2I/E model in six empirical studies with a total of more than 20,000 students. Generally, there were strong positive social comparison paths, moderate negative dimensional comparison paths, and small positive temporal comparison paths. Furthermore, the relations of the 2I/E model were replicated with both grades and standardized test scores as achievement indicators (Study 1 and Study 2). Dimensional comparison effects were stronger between dissimilar subjects, like math and German, than between similar subjects, like German and English (Study 2 and Study 3). Also, the relations of the 2I/E model were shown when prior self-concepts were controlled for (Study 4). Overall, the 2I/E model seems to have the potential to enrich future theory and research on self-concept formation and comparison processes.

Background: Connectives, such as "because" or "although," explicitly indicate how to semantically link individual segments of a text. Knowledge of connectives has been shown to significantly contribute to variance explanation in comprehension of English and Dutch texts, particularly amongst monolingual students and students with high metacognitive knowledge. The present study assessed the applicability of these findings to German narrative texts. Methods: Structural equation modelling was performed on a study of 456 ninth graders. Tasks mainly consisted of standardised tests. Results: Controlling for general vocabulary knowledge, reading fluency and knowledge of reading strategies, knowledge of connectives significantly and positively related to text comprehension for monolingual students, whereas there was no significant effect for bilinguals. Knowledge of connectives did not interact with knowledge of reading strategies. Conclusions: It may be beneficial to teach deep knowledge of connectives, in combination with further language knowledge essential to understand individual elements of a text, for example, vocabulary.

In the present research, we investigated the relation between changes in students' state self-control capacity and their motivational test-taking effort over the course of an achievement test. Thereby, we considered trait self-control as a major predictor of achievement-related behavior as a covariate. N = 1840 apprentices repeatedly rated their state self-control capacity and the test-taking effort they invested while working on a 140-min achievement test in mathematics and science. Using growth curve analyses, our results revealed correlated decreases in state self-control capacity and the test-taking effort invested over the course of the test. Furthermore, we found that trait self-control helped to keep state self-control capacity and test-taking effort at a higher level over the course of the test. Our results support the assumption of the process model of self-control that waning self-control capacity is reflected in reduced motivational effort. Furthermore, our findings provide evidence that self-control might play a crucial role in students' test-taking behavior in large-scale assessment studies. By modeling changes in state self-control capacity and effort investment while considering trait self-control, we provide an alternative approach for investigating self-control-dependent processes and the underlying mechanisms of self-control in achievement situations.

Educational research emphasizes the advantages of multimethod designs. However, if the design comprises different perspectives, the question of construct validity emerges. We related this question to student and teacher ratings of student-student relations, which are of high interest in research on physical education. In our study, 2,160 students and their 114 physical education teachers answered parallel items. Data was analyzed by applying the multi-level correlated trait-correlated method minus one approach, which makes it possible to consider multiple indicators per trait and to distinguish between trait, method, and error components. The student-student relations subscales "student conflicts," "class cohesion," and "pleasure in demonstrating" were reliable and valid regarding the two perspectives. Moreover, teacher and student ratings of student-student relations were consistent to a certain extent. The administered questionnaire was suitable for both perspectives. The applied model provides a good basis for similar research questions regarding construct validity.

According to expectancy-value theory, the gender stereotypes of significant others such as parents, peers, or teachers affect students' competence beliefs, values, and achievement-related behavior. Stereotypically, gender beliefs about reading favor girls. The aim of this study was to investigate whether teachers' gender stereotypes in relation to reading--their belief that girls outperform boys--have a negative effect on the reading self-concept of boys, but not girls. We drew on a longitudinal study comprising two occasions of data collection: toward the beginning of Grade 5 (T1) and in the second half of Grade 6 (T2). Our sample consisted of 54 teachers and 1,358 students. Using multilevel modeling, controlling for T1 reading self-concept, reading achievement, and school track, we found a negative association between teachers' gender stereotype at T1 and boys' reading self-concept at T2, as expected. For girls, this association did not yield a significant result. Thus, our results provide empirical support for the idea that gender differences in self-concept may be due to the stereotypical beliefs of teachers as significant others. In concluding, we discuss what teachers can do to counteract the effects of their own gender stereotypes.

Background: Assigning students to different school tracks on the basis of their achievement levels is a widely used strategy that aims at giving students the best possible learning opportunity. There is, however, a growing body of literature that questions such positive effects of tracking. Aims: This study compared the developmental trajectories of reading comprehension and decoding speed between students at academic track schools that typically prepare students for university entrance and students at non-academic track schools that usually prepare students for vocational education. Sample: In a longitudinal design with three occasions of data collection, the authors drew on a sample of N= 1,508 5th graders (age at T1 about 11 years, age at T3 about 14 years) from 60 schools in Germany. The academic track sample comprised n= 568 students; the non-academic track sample comprised n= 940 students. Method: Achievement measures were obtained by standardized tests of reading comprehension and decoding speed. Students at the different tracks were closely matched using propensity scores. To compare students' growth trajectories between the different school tracks, we applied multi-group latent growth curve models. Results: Comparable results were recorded for the complete (unmatched) sample and for the matched pairs. In all cases, students at the different tracks displayed a similar growth in reading comprehension, whereas larger growth rates for students at academic track schools were recorded for decoding speed. Conclusions: Our findings contribute to an increasing body of literature suggesting that tracking might have undesired side effects. (Contains 3 footnotes, 5 tables, and 2 figures.)

The reciprocal internal/external frame of reference model (RI/EM) combines the internal/external frame of reference model and the reciprocal effects model. The RI/EM predicts positive effects of mathematics and verbal achievement and academic self-concepts (ASC) on subsequent mathematics and verbal achievements and ASCs within domains and negative effects of mathematics and verbal achievements and ASCs on subsequent achievements and ASCs across domains. Although ample support was provided for the I/E model by cross-sectional data and for the REM within a single domain, there has been almost no research on the longitudinal generalizability of the reciprocal cross-domain effects. Using three waves of data collection from Grade 5 to Grade 8 with N = 1,508 students, analyses supported the validity of the RI/EM, revealing positive longitudinal effects of grades and ASCs on subsequent grades and ASCs within domains and negative effects of grades on subsequent ASCs across domains. There were also small negative effects of ASCs on subsequent grades across domains. (Contains 2 notes, 4 tables, and 3 figures.)

This study is connected to recent research that introduced achievement goal theory as a framework for research on teacher motivation. We aimed at investigating teachers' goals' indirect effects on their instructional practices through their reference norms. Drawing on a sample of 206 teachers, structural equation modeling revealed that mastery orientation was connected to more adaptive forms of reference norms and instruction, whereas less adaptive patterns were recorded for ability-approach orientation, ability-avoidance orientation, and work avoidance. Thus, school should not only focus on the enhancement of students' mastery goals but also on fostering teachers' mastery goals. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)

This research aimed at identifying unique effects of reading motivation on reading performance when controlling for cognitive skills, familial, and demographic background. We drew upon a longitudinal sample of N = 1508 secondary school students from 5th to 8th grade. Two types of intrinsic reading motivation (reading enjoyment, reading for interest), one type of extrinsic reading motivation (competition), and reading self-concept were measured by self-report questionnaires. Cognitive skills (reasoning, decoding speed) and reading performance were assessed using standardized tests and background variables were collected using student and parent questionnaires. Applying latent growth curve modeling, positive unique effects of reading enjoyment and reading self-concept and a negative unique effect of competition on the initial level of reading performance were recorded. Moreover, a positive unique effect of reading for interest on reading performance growth was recorded. One may conclude that enhancing students' interest might be fruitful in terms of nurturing reading performance.