Reducing the negative frame-of-reference effects on academic self-concept in academically selective schools

Research in diversified settings and cultures showed that academic selective schools might have negative effects on students academic self-concept. The big-fish-little-pond-effect (BFLPE) posits that the same student will have a lower academic self-concept in an academically selective school than in a nonselective school. Using two large data sets (the international PISA study with 103,558 students and 1950 Chinese students in Hong Kong), we examined a wide range of motivational (e.g., goals, interest, self-regulated learning) and individual background (e.g., socio-economic status, familial support) to see whether they would moderate the BFLPE. Though not very consistent and strong, we found some supports that students self concept would be less negatively affected if they had stronger mastery goal and lower avoidance goals.published_or_final_versio

Regression Towards the Mean Artifacts and Matthew Effects in multilevel analyses of value-added of individual schools

League tables are a problematic approach to inferring school effectiveness, but traditional value-added approaches are fraught with statistical complexities. According to the Regression Towards the Mean Artifacts (RTMA), students with initially high or low scores tend to regress towards the mean in subsequent testing, resulting in biased estimates of school growth (Marsh & Hau, 2002). The Matthews Effect is an apparently counter-balancing artifact in growth in achievement gains is systematically larger for students who are initially more able. (i.e., the rich becomes richer). Mathematical proof shows that although the Matthew and the RTMA artifacts work in opposite direction and tend to cancel each other, they share a similar mechanism and can be rectified. In this study, mathematical derivations and Monte Carlo simulated data are used to compare four models, namely: (i) without any remedy, (ii) with remedy for Matthew effect only, (iii) with remedy for RTMA only, (iv) remedies for both Matthew and RTMA effects. The conditional strategy with individual assignment test scores (used in assigning students to different schools) as covariate remedies artifacts, consistent with Marsh & Hau's (2002) conclusion for RTMA. The associated problems with the two effects in estimating school value-added information are discussed.published_or_final_versio

Early social development of subtypes of autistic children

A total of 45 preschool autistic children matched on cognitive level and classified into one of the three subtypes of autistic children (aloof, passive, active but odd) were rated on 109 items of social-communicative behavior pertaining to joint attention, social intent, imitation, turn-taking, emotional functioning, sense of self, social response, communicative initiation, basic conversational skills, and play skills. Comparisons of patterns of ratings across the three groups provided evidence of autism as a spectrum disorder, with the subtyping roughly representing different degrees of social deficits. Profiles of social ability for each subtype and implications for early intervention were drawn.link_to_subscribed_fulltex