Although many studies have documented developmental change in mathematics motivation, little is known about how these trends predict math performance. A sample of 288 participants from the United States reported their perceived math ability, math utility value and math interest in 5th, 7th and 9th grades. Latent growth curve models estimated…

This study examines the interrelationships among students' motivational beliefs (i.e. achievement goal orientations, perception of classroom goal structure, and self-efficacy), use of self-regulated learning strategies (i.e. elaboration, organization, and metacognitive self-regulation strategies), and achievement in mathematics, by proposing and…

Despite the widespread popularity of growth curve analysis, few studies have investigated robust growth curve models. In this article, the "t" distribution is applied to model heavy-tailed data and contaminated normal data with outliers for growth curve analysis. The derived robust growth curve models are estimated through Bayesian…

Classroom context and climate are inherently classroom-level (L2) constructs, but applied researchers sometimes--inappropriately--represent them by student-level (L1) responses in single-level models rather than more appropriate multilevel models. Here we focus on important conceptual issues (distinctions between climate and contextual variables;…

Student misbehavior is a pervasive problem and may seriously affect academic achievement. Previous research hints at different effects depending on whether achievement tests or achievement judgments are used as academic outcomes. Previous research also indicates that low achievement can conversely contribute to problem behavior and that low…

This study uses a multi-level multivariate propensity score matching approach to examine the synthetic cohort design (SCD) in estimating the schooling effect on mathematics proficiency of the focal cohort 2 (8th graders). Collecting 7th and 8th graders at the same time point, the SCD is sufficient in estimating the schooling effect under the…

Student self-report data from 933 Black middle school students and standardized mathematics test scores (SAT-10) were used to examine the relationship among student perceptions of teacher expectations and reform instructional practices, aspects of student motivation, and three student mathematics performance outcomes--time spent studying, expected…