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…

The "Academic Mindsets and Behaviors, Prior Achievement, and the Transition to Middle School" 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…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study on why students often experience a decline in academic achievement as they transition to middle school. Academic mindsets, such as a belief in the malleability of ability (growth mindset) or a reluctance to engage academically because of embarrassment or a fear of failure (performance…

Executive function (EF) skills are cognitive processes that include goal setting, organizing, prioritizing, flexibly shifting attention, accessing working memory, and self-monitoring behavior and progress (Meltzer, 2018). These skills are integral in promoting students' ability to self-regulate their learning, solve problems, and work…