Academic Resilience Despite Early Academic Adversity: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study on Regulation-Related Resiliency, Interpersonal Relationships, and Achievement in First to Third Grade.

Using a bio-social-ecological systems framework, we examined whether interpersonal relationships at school (specifically teacher-student and peer relationships) mediated the link between child resiliency (temperament-based adaptability) and reading or math achievement in a sample of children assessed as experiencing early academic adversity. Participants were 784 ethnically diverse students (mean age at Year 1 = 6.57 years, SD=0.39) who began school as struggling readers or as weak in reading skills relative to their peers (scoring below the median on a school-wide standardized literacy exam). Data on children's resiliency, teacher-student warmth and conflict, peer social preference and peer liking, and reading and math achievement scores were collected across 3 years and three-wave longitudinal models of mediation were tested. Accounting for students nested within classrooms and for baseline covariates (i.e., ethnicity, social economic status, gender), results showed that peer relationships mediated the effect of resiliency on reading, but not math, achievement. Teacher-student relationships were not found to be a mediator between resiliency and achievement. Findings suggest that for children with early academic adversity, resiliency is a protective factor against future academic problems with peer competence facilitating children's academic engagement and achievement.

Trajectories of teacher-student warmth and conflict at the transition to middle school: Effects on academic engagement and achievement.

Using piece-wise longitudinal trajectory analysis, this study investigated trajectories of teacher-reported warmth and conflict in their relationships with students 4years prior to and 3years following the transition to middle school in a sample of 550 academically at-risk and ethnically diverse adolescents. At the transition to middle school, teacher reports of warmth showed a significant drop (shift in intercept), above age-related declines. Both warmth and conflict declined across the middle school years. Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested effects of the shifts in intercept and the post-transition slopes on reading and math achievement, teacher-rated engagement, and student-reported school belonging 3years post-transition, above pre-transition levels of the outcome. For warmth, a drop in intercept predicted lower math scores and engagement, and a more positive slope predicted higher engagement. For conflict, an increase in intercept and a negative slope predicted lower engagement. Implications of findings for reducing normative declines in academic engagement in middle school are discussed.

Mentor Support Provisions Scale: Measure dimensionality, measurement invariance, and associations with adolescent school functioning.

Mentoring relationships can have important effects on adolescents' psychosocial and academic outcomes; however, the transactions within mentoring relationships that may account for impact on psychosocial and academic outcomes are not well understood. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Mentor Support Provisions Scale (MSPS), a tool for assessing the types of support that mentors provide. Exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine measure dimensionality. Findings indicated acceptable fit with a three-factor structure: Academic Support, Intimacy, and Warmth. The MSPS was found to have scalar invariance; thus, factor loadings and intercepts are the same across student sex and ethnic groups (e.g., White, Hispanic, and Black). In structural equation modeling analyses, the three latent factors predicted academic engagement and reading and math achievement, above baseline scores. Research and practical uses of the MSPS are discussed.

Effect of Early Grade Retention on School Completion: A Prospective Study.

This 14 year prospective study investigated the effect of retention in grades 1-5 on high school completion (diploma, GED, or drop out). Participants were 734 (52.7% males) ethnically diverse, academically at-risk students recruited from Texas schools into the study when they were in first grade (mean age = 6.57). Propensity score weighting successfully equated the 256 retained students and the 478 students continuously promoted students on 65 covariates assessed in grade 1. At the end of 14 years, 477 had earned a diploma, 21 had obtained a GED, 110 had dropped out, and 126 were missing school completion status. Using multinomial logistic regression with high school graduation as the reference outcome, retention led to a significant increase in the likelihood of dropping out of high school (odds ratio = 2.61), above students' propensity to be retained and additional covariates. The contrast between graduation and GED outcomes was not significant. A significant Retention X Ethnicity X Gender interaction was obtained: The negative effect of retention was strongest for African American and Hispanic girls. Even though grade retention in the elementary grades does not harm students in terms of their academic achievement or educational motivation at the transition to high school, retention increases the odds that a student will drop out of school before obtaining a high school diploma.

Effect of retention in elementary grades on dropping out of school early.

This study investigated the effect of grade retention in elementary school on dropping out of school by age 16. Participants were 538 (54% males) ethnically diverse, academically at-risk students recruited from Texas schools into a longitudinal study when they were in first grade (mean age=6.58). Propensity score weighting successfully equated the 171 retained students and the 367 continuously promoted students on 65 covariates assessed in grade 1. Fifty-one students dropped out of school by age 16 and 487 persisted. Retention (vs. promotion) led to an increased early dropout rate (odds ratio=1.68), even after controlling for 65 covariates associated with school achievement, retention, or both. Implications of findings for dropout prevention and grade retention policies are discussed.

Using Marginal Structural Modeling for Grade Retention Effects.

Vandecandelaere, Vansteelandt, De Fraine, and Van Damme (this issue) described marginal structural modeling (MSM) and used it to estimate the effects of a time-varying intervention, retention (holding back) in school grades, on students' math achievement. This commentary supplements Vandecandelaere et al. (this issue) and discusses several topics in retention studies and MSM. First, we discuss the importance of equating time-varying confounders in retention studies. Second, we discuss same-grade and same-age comparisons in retention studies. Third, we discuss one important section in the authors' overview of MSM: why standard methods (e.g., ANCOVA, propensity score analysis) cannot properly adjust for time-varying confounders. Finally, using the grade retention analyses in Vandecandelaere et al. (this issue) as an example, we provide our insights on four aspects of MSM: (a) covariate selection, (b) estimation of weights,

Indirect Effects of Extracurricular Participation on Academic Adjustment Via Perceived Friends' Prosocial Norms.

Students who participate in extracurricular activities in middle school exhibit higher levels of academic motivation and achievement, including graduation from high school. However, the mechanisms responsible for these beneficial effects are poorly understood. Guided by the bioecological models of development, this study tested the indirect effects of participation in grade 8 in school sports or performance arts and clubs on grade 9 academic achievement, academic competence beliefs, and school belonging, via adolescents' perceptions of their friends' prosocial norms. Participants were 495 (45 % female) ethnically diverse students (mean age at grade 8 = 13.9 years; SD = .58) who were recruited into a longitudinal study on the basis of below average literacy in grade 1. Using weighted propensity score analyses to control for potential confounders, results of longitudinal SEM found indirect effect of participation in sports, but not of participation in performance arts and clubs, on grade 9 outcomes noted above. Implications of findings for improving educational attainment of at-risk youth are discussed.

Teacher-Student Relationship and Peer Disliking and Liking Across Grades 1-4.

Between-child and within-child effects of teacher-student warmth and conflict on children's peer-nominated disliking and liking across Grades 1-4 (ages 6-10) were investigated in a sample of 746 ethnically diverse and academically at-risk children in Texas. Multilevel modeling controlled for time-invariant between-child differences while modeling the effect of time-varying teacher-student relationship (TSR) warmth and conflict on children's peer relatedness. Teachers reported on warmth and conflict. Peers reported on liking and disliking. Above between-child effects of average levels of teacher warmth and conflict on initial level and rate of change in liking and disliking and classroom teacher support, year-to-year changes in TSR conflict and warmth predicted intraindividual change in children's peer disliking but not peer liking.

Effects of Extracurricular Participation During Middle School on Academic Motivation and Achievement at Grade 9.

We investigated the effect of participating in two domains of extracurricular activities (sports and performance arts/clubs) in Grades 7 and 8 on Grade 9 academic motivation and letter grades, above baseline performance. Participants were 483 students (55% male; 33% Euro-American, 25% African American, and 39% Latino). Propensity score weighting controlled for potential confounders in all analyses. Delayed (Grade 8 only) and continuous participation (Grades 7 and 8) in sports predicted competence beliefs and valuing education; delayed and continuous participation in performance arts/clubs predicted teacher-rated engagement and letter grades. Benefits of participation were similar across gender and ethnicity; however, Latino youth were least likely to participate in extracurricular activities. Implications for reducing ethnic and income disparities in educational attainment are discussed.

Effect of Trajectories of Friends' and Parents' School Involvement on Adolescents' Engagement and Achievement.

In a sample of 527 academically at-risk youth, we investigated trajectories of friends' and parents' school involvement across ages 12-14 and the joint contributions of these trajectories to adolescents' age 15 school engagement and academic achievement. Girls reported higher levels of friends' and parents' school involvement than boys. Both parents' and friends' school involvement declined across ages 12-14. Combined latent growth models and structural equation models showed effects of the trajectories of friends' and parents' school involvement on adolescents' age 15 school engagement and academic achievement, over and above adolescents' prior performance. These effects were additive rather than interactive. Strategies for enhancing parent involvement in school and students' affiliation with peers who are positively engaged in school are discussed.

Effect of school belonging trajectories in grades 6-8 on achievement: Gender and ethnic differences.

This study investigated the association between trajectories of school belonging across grades 6-8 and academic achievement in grade 8 in an ethnically diverse sample of 527 academically at-risk adolescents. Students reported annually on school belonging. Reading and math achievement were assessed at grade 5 (baseline) and grade 8. Interactive effects of gender and ethnicity were found in the conditional growth models for school belonging. Girls of all ethnicities had identical growth trajectories and reported higher initial school belonging than Euro-American or Latino boys. Latino and Euro-American males had lower initial level of school belonging than African American males, and Latino males had lower growth in school belonging than Euro-American males. In structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses, initial level of school belonging predicted grade 8 reading for girls and grade 8 math for boys and girls, above prior achievement and school and child covariates, but growth in school belonging predicted grade 8 achievement only for African American students. Implications for strategies to improve school belonging among academically at-risk youth are discussed.

Latino Students' Transition to Middle School: Role of Bilingual Education and School Ethnic Context.

Participants were 204 academically at-risk Latino students recruited into a study when in first grade and followed for 9 years. Using piecewise latent growth curve analyses, we investigated trajectories of teacher-rated behavioral engagement and student-reported school belonging during elementary school and middle school and the association between trajectories and enrollment in bilingual education classes in elementary school and a change in school ethnic congruence across the transition to middle school. Overall, students experienced a drop in school belonging and behavioral engagement across the transition. A moderating effect of ethnic congruence on bilingual enrollment was found. A decline in ethnic congruence was associated with more positive trajectories for students previously enrolled in bilingual classes but more negative trajectories for non-bilingual students.

Effect of retention in elementary grades on grade 9 motivation for educational attainment.

This study investigated the effect of grade retention in elementary school on students' motivation for educational attainment in grade 9. We equated retained and promoted students on 67 covariates assessed in grade 1 through propensity score weighting. Retained students (31.55%, nretained=177) and continuously promoted students (68.45%, npromoted=384) were compared on the bifactor model of motivation for educational attainment (Cham, Hughes, West & Im, 2014). This model consists of a General factor (student's overall motivation for educational attainment), and three specific factors: student perceived Teacher Educational Expectations, Peer Educational Aspirations, and Value of Education. Measurement invariance between retained and promoted groups was established. Retained students scored significantly higher than promoted students on each specific factor but not on the General factor. Results showed that the retained and promoted students did not significantly differ on the General factor. The retained students had significantly higher scores on each specific factor than those of the promoted students. The results suggested that grade retention may not have the negative effects so widely assumed in the published literature; it is an expensive intervention with minimal evidence of benefits to the retained student.

African American Children At-Risk of Increasingly Conflicted Teacher-Student Relationships in Elementary School.

Previous studies found different trajectories of conflicted relationships with teachers predictive of academic underachievement. However, little is known about what places children at risk for atypical conflict trajectories. This follow-up study examines whether African American ethnicity, IQ, and SES are unique predictors of teacher-student conflict trajectories taking into account sociobehavioral predictors, including aggression and prosocial behavior. The study included the same ethnically diverse sample of 657 academically at-risk children in which previously four latent growth classes of conflict trajectories (grades 1-5) predictive of underachievement were identified. In this follow-up study, 6 predictors were examined: African American ethnicity, SES, IQ (independent assessment), Inhibitory control (performance measure), and Aggression and Prosocial behavior (peer assessment). The results demonstrated that African American ethnicity, but not IQ and SES, uniquely predicted atypical conflict trajectories, while controlling for sociobehavioral predictors. African American children were at risk of increasingly conflicted relationships with elementary school teachers, which has been found to increase the risk of academic underachievement in middle school.

Teacher Network of Relationships Inventory: measurement invariance of academically at-risk students across ages 6 to 15.

We tested the longitudinal measurement invariance of the Teacher Network of Relationships Inventory (TNRI), a teacher-report measure of teacher-student relationship quality (TSRQ), on a sample of 784 academically at-risk students across ages 6 to 15 years by comparing the model for each subsequent year with that of the previous year(s). The TNRI was constructed with 22 items to form 3 correlated factors: Warmth, Conflict, and Intimacy. Cronbach's alphas ranged from .87 to .96 across 9 years. Both metric and scalar measurement invariance held for 9 years, indicating that scores on the TNRI have similar meaning across these ages. The TNRI also demonstrated measurement invariance across gender and race/ethnicity. Findings support that the TNRI is an appropriate measure for investigating substantive issues related to developmental changes in TSRQ from early childhood through adolescence, including gender and ethnic/racial differences in TSRQ across these ages. Based on repeated-measures ANOVAs, each scale decreased across the 9 years, although the growth patterns for scales differed somewhat: Conflict had a linearly decreasing pattern, Warmth declined most notably as students make the transition to adolescence, whereas Intimacy scores dropped off noticeably at the transition from early to late childhood. Research limitations and implications for practice are discussed.

Effect of peer nominations of teacher-student support at individual and classroom levels on social and academic outcomes.

This longitudinal study examined the prospective relations between 713 elementary students' individual peer teacher support reputation (PTSR) and a measure of the classroom-wide dispersion of peer nominations of teacher support (Centralization of Teacher Support) on students' peer relatedness (i.e., peer acceptance and peer academic reputation) and academic motivation (i.e., academic self-efficacy and teacher-rated behavioral engagement). PTSR was measured as the proportion of classmates who nominated a given student on a descriptor of teacher-student support. Centralization of Teacher Support was assessed using social network analysis to identify the degree to which peer nominations of teacher support in a classroom centered on a few students. PTSR predicted changes in all student outcomes, above academic achievement and relevant covariates. Centralization of Teacher Support predicted changes in students' peer academic reputation, net the effect of PTSR and covariates. Students' academic achievement moderated effects of PTSR and Centralization of Teacher Support on some outcomes. Findings highlight the importance of peers' perceptions of teacher support and of the structure of those perceptions for children's social and academic outcomes. Implications for practice are discussed.

Differential Growth Trajectories for Achievement Among Children Retained in First Grade: A Growth Mixture Model.

The authors investigated the differential effect of retention on the development of academic achievement from grade one to five on children retained in first grade over six years. Growth Mixture Model (GMM) analyses supported the existence of two distinct trajectory groups of retained children for both reading and math among 125 ethnically and linguistically diverse retained children. For each achievement domain, a low intercept/higher growth group (Class 1) and a high intercept/slower growth group (Class 2) were identified. Furthermore, Class 1 children were found to score lower on several measures of learning related skills (LRS) variables and were characterized by having poorer self-regulation and less prosocial behaviors, compared to the other group. Findings suggest that some children appear to benefit more from retention, in terms of higher reading and math growth, than others. Study findings have implications for selecting children into retention intervention and early intervention.

Assessment of adolescents' motivation for educational attainment.

The Adolescent Motivation for Educational Attainment Questionnaire is a 32-item questionnaire (we drew 20 items from 3 subscales of the Educational Motivation Questionnaire; Murdock, 1999) that was developed to measure multiple potential dimensions of adolescents' motivation to complete high school and enroll in post-secondary education, including competence and effort beliefs; perceived value of education; and peer, teacher, and parent support for educational attainment. We assessed a multiethnic sample (N = 569) of low-achieving students who started 1st grade together in 1 urban and 2 small city school districts. Participants were assessed over 2 consecutive years (Grades 8 and 9 given prior grade retention, or Grades 9 and 10 if not retained). Exploratory factor analyses identified 4 correlated dimensions underlying the questionnaire responses. Subsequent confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a bifactor model, which includes a general factor of students' basic educational motivation, and specific factors of (a) teacher educational expectations, (b) peer aspirations, and (c) value of education. Measurement invariance of the bifactor model was established across students' gender and ethnicity (Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic) and year of testing. Criterion-related validity of the general and specific factors with students' school belonging, student-teacher warmth and conflict, disciplinary practices, letter grade, conduct problems, and behavioral engagement was examined. Practical implications of the measure are discussed.

Learning-related skills and academic achievement in academically at-risk first graders.

Using an academically at-risk, ethnically diverse sample of 744 first-grade children, this study tested a multi-method (i.e., child performance measures, teacher ratings, and peer ratings) measurement model of learning-related skills (i.e., effortful control [EC], behavioral self-regulation [BSR], and social competence [SC]), and their shared and unique contributions to children's reading and math achievement, above the effect of demographic variables. The hypothesized correlated factor measurement model demonstrated relatively good fit, with BSR and SC correlated highly with one another and moderately with EC. When entered in separate regression equations, EC and BSR each predicted children's reading and math achievement; SC only predicted reading achievement. When considered simultaneously, neither EC, BSR, nor SC contributed independently to reading achievement; however, EC had a direct effect on math achievement and an indirect effect on reading achievement via both BSR and SC. Implications for research and early intervention efforts are discussed.