Below-norm students' pass rates improved post-policy because their skills relative to classroom peers improved under sorting¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2013 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Below-norm students were less likely to pass if their skill levels were well below the classroom average (coefficient of –.25); their relative skill levels improved post-policy, so their pass rates improved from .71 to .88 logits. → Takako Nomi and Elaine M. Allensworth 2013

Evidence¶

Takako Nomi and Elaine M. Allensworth 2013¶

Takako Nomi and Elaine M. Allensworth. (2013). Sorting and Supporting: Why Double-Dose Algebra Led to Better Test Scores but More Course Failures. American Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831212469997

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Logistic models predicting pass rates for below-norm students. "below-norm students were less likely to pass if their skill levels were well below the classroom average" — pass rates increased from .71 logits pre-policy (69 percent) to .88 logits (71 percent) post-policy.

"below-norm students were less likely to pass if their skill levels were well below the classroom average (coefficient of –.25). As discussed earlier, relative skill levels of below-norm students improved post-policy (i.e., they were less like to be well below their classmates than pre-policy below-norm students), so their pass rates improved."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Algebraic Thinking — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Fish pond effects: above-norm students became more likely to fail algebra when their skills were low relative to classroom peers after sorting — related
• Double-dose algebra policy increased academic demand for both high- and low-skill students, with below-norm students' gains not attributable to peer ability changes — related
• Algebra failure rates rose post-policy for above-norm students (~3 percentage points) but fell for below-norm students (~4 points); classroom environment and peer ability explained most of the above-norm rise but not the below-norm fall — related
• Below-norm students' algebra test scores improved despite having lower-skill peers post-policy, consistent with additional supports offsetting compositional decline — related
• Double-dose algebra improved test scores but did not reduce algebra failure rates — related
• How students are sorted into classrooms by skill level can affect their achievement as much as the content they are taught — related
• Sorting by ability affects grades and pass rates differently from test scores: high-skilled students' grades and pass rates decline while low-skilled students' grades improve — related
• Below-norm students' test scores improved post-policy (0.88 points total), and the relationship between classroom average ability and their scores was no longer statistically significant post-policy — related