Socioeconomic status does not significantly moderate the mind-set–achievement correlation¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2018 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i? The correlation was numerically larger for low-SES students (r = .17) than middle-class-and-higher students (r = .12), but the moderator test was not significant. → Victoria F. Sisk 2018

Evidence¶

Victoria F. Sisk 2018¶

Victoria F. Sisk, Alexander P. Burgoyne, Jingze Sun, Jennifer L. Butler, and Brooke N. Macnamara. (2018). To What Extent and Under Which Circumstances Are Growth Mind-Sets Important to Academic Achievement? Two Meta-Analyses. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617739704

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

SES moderator analysis in Meta-Analysis 1 using 95 effect sizes with reported student-level SES: "Socioeconomic status was not a significant moderator, Q(1) = 1.48, p = .223". The average correlation was r = .17 for low-SES students and r = .12 for middle-class and higher students.

"Socioeconomic status was not a significant moderator, Q(1) = 1.48, p = .223. The 95 effect sizes associated with reported student-level SES were included in this analysis."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Socioeconomic Status — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group
Mindset — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Effects were larger in intervention schools with a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students or a lower percentage of White students — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Growth-mindset interventions have weak average effects on achievement, including a negligible GPA gain (d = 0.11) for lower-achieving US ninth-graders in one preregistered national trial — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
The meta-analytic correlation between growth mind-set and academic achievement is weak (r = .10) — related
Mind-set interventions show weak overall effects on achievement, with some support that low-SES or academically at-risk students might benefit — related
Academic risk status does not significantly moderate the mind-set–achievement correlation — related
SES moderates relationships between other variables and student learning — related
The teacher-student SEC relationship is moderated by student SES, teacher years of experience, SEC measurement method, and grade level — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`ses-not-moderator-mindset-correlation`
`title`	`Socioeconomic status does not significantly moderate the mind-set–achievement correlation`
`description`	`Socioeconomic status does not significantly moderate the mind-set–achievement correlation`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2018`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-20`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-13`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `victoria-f-sisk-2018`

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