In this study, we examine to what extent psychosocial student outcomes in primary school children vary between classes, and whether elements of teaching can explain some of this variation. Starting with a sample of 379 kindergarten children out of 24 classes, academic achievement and behaviour problems were assessed in 2 consecutive years. Additionally, a set of teaching characteristics was measured in the first grade. Academic as well as behavioural adjustment variables displayed around 20% of class-level variance. The teaching variables seemed to explain more of the variance in psychosocial adjustment than they did in academic achievement. The findings emphasise the importance of psychosocial educational effectiveness for research as well as for teaching. (Contains 3 tables.)