Academic Mindsets and Behaviors and the Transition to Middle School

Middle school is an important crossroad in the academic journey, and poor performance in middle school is a strong signal of future negative academic outcomes. This is true particularly for Black and Latinx students. Previous research suggests that academic mindsets and behaviors are associated with—and may even drive—academic outcomes around the transition to middle school. To better understand this issue, a new REL West report examines the relationship between student self-reported academic mindsets and behaviors in Grade 5 and the probability of low academic performance at the end of the first semester of Grade 6. The study looked at 19,336 students transitioning to middle school from school years 2016/17 to 2017/18 in Nevada’s Clark County School District. Grade 5 students with a higher level of self-reported positive academic mindsets and behaviors were less likely to have a low grade point average in the first semester of middle school. This finding was particularly significant for low-achieving students in even after differences in individual test scores were accounted for. These patterns were consistent for all racial/ethnic minority groups examined as well as for both English learner students and non–English learner students. The findings suggest that education stakeholders might want to consider incorporating supports for positive academic mindsets and behaviors into strategies to improve preparation and support for the transition to middle school, particularly for low-achieving students. Details: Middle school is an important crossroad in a student’s academic journey. As students enter middle school, their academic achievement and engagement frequently declines. This is true particularly for Black and Latinx students. Poor middle school grades are often a harbinger of poor performance in high school and beyond. In particular, having a grade point average (GPA) below 2.0 is a strong signal of continuing negative academic outcomes. Previous research has found that academic outcomes around the transition to middle school are related to, and might even be driven by, academic mindsets, including growth mindsets (such as beliefs about the malleability of academic ability and the payoff to effort) and performance avoidance (fears of failure and the desire to avoid academic effort), and resulting academic behaviors (such as completing homework). This study examined the relationship between 2016/17 grade 5 student responses to a Clark County School District (Nevada) survey on levels of academic mindsets and behaviors and the predicted probability of earning a low GPA (below 2.0) at the end of the first semester of grade 6 (the first year of middle school) in 2017/18. Grade 5 students who reported high levels of growth mindset and academic behavior and low levels of performance avoidance had a lower predicted probability of having a GPA below 2.0 in the first semester of grade 6. Once student scores on grade 5 state standardized math and English language arts achievement exams were accounted for, levels of academic mindsets and behaviors among grade 5 students with scores at or above the district median did not predict meaningful differences in the probability of having a GPA below 2.0 in the first semester of grade 6. However, among grade 5 students with prior academic achievement below the district median, students who reported high levels of growth mindset and academic behaviors and low levels of performance avoidance had a lower predicted probability of having a GPA below 2.0 in the first semester of grade 6, even after differences in individual grade 5 prior academic achievement were accounted for. These patterns were essentially the same for all racial/ethnic groups as well as for both English learner students and non–English learner students.