Self-efficacy declines steadily for all students between 5th and 8th grade even while math and reading achievement grow¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2024: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Mean self-efficacy declines consistently for all students across 5th-8th grade while achievement rises; no effect size is printed for the decline. → Soland 2019

Evidence¶

Soland 2019¶

Soland, J. (2019). English Language Learners, Self-efficacy, and the Achievement Gap: Understanding the Relationship between Academic and Social-emotional Growth (The Collaborative for Student Growth at NWEA Working Paper). https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/english-language-learners-self-efficacy-and-the-achievement-gap-understanding-the-relationship-between-academic-and-social-emotional-growth/

q2 · i? · associational · r3

Descriptive plots of mean self-efficacy, math, and reading scores by year and ELL status (Figure 2) from a single-grade middle school cohort in a large urban California district. The article reports "a steady decline in self-efficacy and incline in achievement between 5th and 8th grade"; no effect size for the decline is printed.

"Before turning to subgroup differences, one should note the steady decline in self-efficacy and incline in achievement between 5th and 8th grade. Thus, self-efficacy consistently declines for all students even while achievement grows steadily."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Learners' task-specific self-efficacy beliefs predict whether they initiate, persist through, and recover from difficulty on academic tasks. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• ELLs start middle school roughly .6 SD lower in math and .65 SD lower in reading, with faster reading growth (.13 SD) but no significantly faster math or self-efficacy growth — related
• Fifth-grade self-efficacy is associated with later math and reading growth (.15 and .19 standardized units per SD), mediating ELL status's indirect negative association with growth — related
• Middle school SEL shows normative decline in self-efficacy and self-management but an increase in growth mindset — related
• Teacher emotional support buffers the negative association between low math self-efficacy and low engagement — related
• A companion working paper examines the relationship between academic and social-emotional growth for English Language Learners — a broader claim this one bears on
• An NWEA research brief examines how self-efficacy relates to the persistence of achievement gaps for English Language Learners; its landing page states no finding — related