Mentoring on growing intelligence raised reading and girls' math scores
HelpedThe short version
Girls taught that intelligence grows, or that early troubles pass, scored higher in state math than the drug group.
- 138
- seventh graders in a Texas junior high
- Randomised
- groups picked at random
- Recorded
- behaviour was recorded
- 1 tool
- tested
The study
Who took part
138 seventh graders in a computer class took part, from a mostly low-income district. Most were Hispanic or Black, and about 45 in 100 were girls.
What they did
Every student had a college mentor for the school year, who met them in person twice and emailed them each week. Three groups learned that intelligence grows with effort, that early troubles pass, or both. They made web pages to spread the message. The other group heard about the dangers of drugs and made anti-drug web pages.
What happened
Girls in all three message groups scored higher on the state math test than girls in the drug group. The boys' lead disappeared. In reading, the two groups with one message scored higher than the drug group. The group with both messages did no better than the others. The overall reading test only showed a difference after the study removed some unusual scores.
What the study found
- Helped
Girls taught that intelligence grows, or that early troubles pass, scored higher in state math than the drug group.
Randomised trial of 138 seventh graders in a Texas junior high · vs the group mentored about drugs · behaviour was recorded
- Helped
Students taught either message scored higher in state reading than the drug group; combining both added nothing.
Randomised trial of 138 seventh graders in a Texas junior high · vs the group mentored about drugs · behaviour was recorded
How solid is this?
- Groups picked at random
- Behaviour was recorded
Source
Improving adolescents' standardized test performance: An intervention to reduce the effects of stereotype threat (2003)
DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2003.09.002 (opens in a new tab)
