Students with higher eighth-grade achievement saw larger core GPA declines across the transition to high school¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Students with high eighth-grade grades and test scores were especially likely to see large declines: those with eighth-grade core GPAs above 3.5 fell about half a point, while students below 2.0 saw GPAs increase only 0.12 points. → Seeskin 2018 q2 i? The same inverse pattern held for NWEA reading proficiency: students exceeding standards fell 0.37 points while those in academic warning fell only 0.08 points. → Seeskin 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Seeskin 2018¶

Seeskin, A., Nagaoka, J., & Mahaffie, S. (2018). Hidden risk: Changes in GPA across the transition to high school. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/hidden-risk-changes-gpa-across-transition-high-school

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Descriptive analysis of the 2016-17 CPS freshman cohort by eighth-grade core GPA category (Figure 3). Students above 3.5 declined 0.53 points (3.83 to 3.30); students below 2.0 "saw their core grades fall about one-half a point" contrasted with a 0.12-point increase for the lowest group, who continued to earn mostly Ds and Fs.

"the students who earned eighth-grade core GPAs above 3.5 saw their core grades fall about one-half a point, from an A/A- to a B+"

Seeskin 2018 (2)¶

Seeskin, A., Nagaoka, J., & Mahaffie, S. (2018). Hidden risk: Changes in GPA across the transition to high school. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/hidden-risk-changes-gpa-across-transition-high-school

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Descriptive analysis of 2016-17 cohort members with both NWEA scores and grades (Figure 4). Students exceeding standards (N=3,796) declined 0.37 points; students meeting standards (N=6,380) declined 0.36; academic-warning students (N=663) declined 0.08. The quote states "the core GPAs of students exceeding NWEA eighth-grade reading proficiency standards fell from a A-/B+ in eighth grade to a B in ninth grade."

"the core GPAs of students exceeding NWEA eighth-grade reading proficiency standards fell from a A-/B+ in eighth grade to a B in ninth grade"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• High- and middle-achieving Black students saw core GPA declines at least twice as large as White peers with similar eighth-grade GPAs — related
• CPS students' core GPAs continue to decline between eighth and ninth grade despite steady improvement in both eighth- and ninth-grade grades — related
• Patterns of GPA decline varied widely across high schools, suggesting school environment plays an important role in the transition — related
• GPA declines in arts and PE/health greatly exceeded declines in core subjects between eighth and ninth grade — related
• Ninth-grade GPA predicts beginning-of-tenth-grade PLAN scores even after controlling for eighth-grade test scores, suggesting grades reflect new learning — related
• Academic Support students, who attended regularly but earned below a 3.0 GPA, made up nearly 40 percent of students and saw academic struggles persist beyond the middle grades — related
• Ninth-grade GPAs varied substantially by gender, race/ethnicity, neighborhood SES, incoming test scores, course level, and school — related