Monica Gordon Pershey, Ed.D., CCC-SLP Associate Professor, Dept. of Speech and Hearing

1. Correlating African American Students’ Self-Perceptions of School Competence with Their Performance on State-Mandated Achievement Tests and Normed Tests of Oral and Written Language and Reading Monica Gordon Pershey, Ed.D., CCC-SLP Associate Professor, Dept. of Speech and Hearing Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH Presented at the Educating All of One Nation Conference Phoenix, AZ October 7, 2005

2. Abstract This study measured 263 fourth and sixth grade African American students’ self-perceptions of school competence and determined that their perceptions correlated with their performance on state-mandated achievement tests and normed tests of oral and written language and reading. Largely the students expressed school satisfaction, but many did not perceive themselves as confident or successful in school. Self-perceptions of greater ability correlated with better achievement scores and self-perceptions of lesser ability correlated with lower scores. Better test performers had more confidence and more satisfaction with school. Overall, students seemed to be at risk for school disengagement, lack of confidence, and low self-expectations. Educating All of One Nation 2005

3. Background and Context for the Study While educational achievement testing purports to measure how well a pupil has acquired concepts and skills taught at school, achievement and competence may be difficult to fully describe on the basis of scores obtained on summative educational testing. Student test performance is not simply the aftermath of exposure to curriculum. Tests of academic achievement may demonstrate how students have responded to exposure to curriculum, but achievement is also a reflection of multiple contexts that engender student performance and sometimes may mitigate test performance. Educating All of One Nation 2005

4. Background and Context for the Study These contexts include insufficiencies in school resources, inadequacy of school programming, family and community socioeconomic circumstances, and learner characteristics such as language competence and test preparedness. It has been suggested that decreased performance on academic achievement testing may be due, in some cases, to a lack of language-based information learned in and out of school. Developmental language competence may compromise the preparedness of test-takers. It has also been documented that tests reveal a widening gap between high and low income schools, especially on test questions that require an extended verbal response. Educating All of One Nation 2005

5. Background and Context for the Study Given the objective reality of these issues among some students in more challenged schools, research needs to be directed at whether affected students subjectively perceive themselves as academically capable, able to read, and satisfied with school. To substantiate the premise that school, community, and learner characteristics affect performance on achievement testing, it is important to investigate the viewpoints of children who are in circumstances that may place them at risk for unsatisfactory test performance. Potentially, children in challenged schools or those whose language competence and/or preparedness as test takers leaves them at risk for diminished test performance may affirm self-perceptions of school achievement and satisfaction, or they may not. Educating All of One Nation 2005

6. Students’ Self-Perceptions of School Competence The literature on academic self-concept suggests that children experience school phenomenologically and adequate instrumentation can allow children to expose their concerns about their school performance. Measures of academic self-concept have emerged from the body of literature on self-efficacy, that is, the exploration of factors that influence children’s self-perceptions of competence, as well as the literature on causal attributions, which explores how individuals define the factors and behaviors that can contribute to personal successes and failures. Educating All of One Nation 2005

7. Students’ Self-Perceptions of School Competence School competence is a construct that includes self-perceptions of personal control, self-perceptions of academic competence, achievement-related behaviors, and feelings of effectiveness and worth. Each individual develops a set of self-perceptions based on an accumulation of success and/or failure experiences. Persons who experience more successes than failures tend to develop positive self-perceptions of ability, while those who experience many failures tend to develop more negative self-perceptions of ability. Experiences of failures at school may arise from lack of preparedness due to insufficiencies in school resources, and/or socioeconomic resources, and/or from learner characteristics such as language competence or achievement motivation. Educating All of One Nation 2005

8. Purpose of the Present Study The purpose of the current research was to determine to what degree a measure of students’ self-perceptions of school competence correlated with their performance on various forms of achievement testing. These data on self-perceptions of school competence are a subset of data collected for a larger study on how language capabilities impact performance on mandated achievement tests. The larger study arose during a school-university partnership where this author provided professional development seminars to teachers from a school district where scores on state mandated achievement tests were considerably below state averages, sometimes as low as 14% passing. The state stipulates that 75% of students need to pass the test. Educating All of One Nation 2005

9. Gordon Pershey, M. (2003). Relating African American Students’ Scores On State- mandated Reading And Writing Tests To Standardized Measures Of Reading And Oral And Written Language. The larger study was published in the College Reading Association Yearbook in 2003 as Relating African American Students’ Scores On State-mandated Reading And Writing Tests To Standardized Measures Of Reading And Oral And Written Language. The findings on school self-competence were not included in that publication. Educating All of One Nation 2005

10. Gordon Pershey, M. (2003). Relating….. The entire study was conducted in response to concerns voiced by teachers in an academically challenged school district where enrollment is virtually 100% African American. Teachers suspected that students’ performance on state-mandated, criterion-referenced achievement testing may be hindered by a lack of developmental language skill and lack of language-based information learned in and out of school. The study compared student performance on the state summative tests of reading and writing curriculum mastery, with subtests of well-known standardized tests of developmental oral and written language and reading capabilities. Educating All of One Nation 2005

11. Gordon Pershey, M. (2003). Relating….. Methodology of the entire study: Measurement of the oral and written language and reading abilities of 263 grade four and six African American students. 35 normed subtests were administered, which yielded 26 individual or combined subtest standard scores. Results: Of the 26 standard scores obtained, the median standard score for group performance on 24 subtests was below the normative mean score, indicating that half the research sample scored below the normative mean on each of these subtests. Markedly low median scores were obtained on vocabulary-dependent tasks. Tests showed that many students had difficulty applying the conventions of written language. Reading to ascertain meaning was also a concern. Educating All of One Nation 2005

12. Gordon Pershey, M. (2003). Relating….. Mean scores on subtests of standardized tests of oral and written language and reading were compared to mean performance on criterion-referenced state-mandated testing. 27 positive and significant (p < .01) correlations showed consistencies in performance that suggested the interrelatedness of oral and written language and reading competencies with state-mandated test scores. Linear regressions using the normed test scores as independent variables indicated that vocabulary knowledge was the strongest predictor of performance on state mandated achievement tests. Of 21 significant (p < .01) linear regressions, 13 indicated that vocabulary knowledge was the strongest predictor of performance on state-mandated reading and writing testing. Vocabulary accounted for about 46% of the variance in performance on state testing. Educating All of One Nation 2005

13. Gordon Pershey, M. (2003). Relating….. Multiple regressions determined whether several factors taken together accounted for a percent of the variance in state test scores. Sentence and paragraph reading accounted for about 27% of the variance. Reading ability itself was not more important than vocabulary. Achievement on reading testing can be predicted by word knowledge and word usage skills more so than by reading ability. Knowledge of written language conventions and mechanics accounted for about 36% of the variance. This refers to the ability to manipulate compositional elements (choosing and ordering words to form sentences; using sentences to express multi-sentence ideas; choosing how to best convey a purpose; writing mechanics). Principal components analyses: Four principal components were derived as the isolated language factors that were predictive of performance on achievement testing. These were vocabulary, knowledge and use of the conventions of written language, syntactic skills, and reading comprehension. Educating All of One Nation 2005

14. Gordon Pershey, M. (2003). Relating….. Language factors that contributed to performance on academic achievement testing were determined. Performance on tests of academic achievement can be linked to the language factors that contribute to test performance. The research hypothesis that developmental language capabilities impact performance on educational achievement testing was confirmed. A share of the outcomes on achievement tests is predicated on language skills. Findings suggest implications for curricular and instructional decisions for students whose language-based learning needs place them at risk for diminished performance on mandated achievement tests. Educating All of One Nation 2005

15. Purpose of the Present Study To further explore characteristics of the participants in relation to their performance on mandated testing. The purpose was to measure participants’ self-perceptions of school competence. Determine to what degree a norm-referenced measure of participants’ self-perceptions of school competence correlated with their performance on criterion-referenced state-mandated tests and norm-referenced tests of oral and written language and reading capabilities. As part of the overall study, subtests of a standardized measure of children’s self-perceptions of school competence were administered. Educating All of One Nation 2005

16. Purpose of the Present Study Given that the achievement tests used were only tests of reading and writing, an instrument that included self perceptions of reading competence was employed. It is also relevant background that some research has focused specifically on students’ self-perceptions of reading competence as an important variable within overall or greater self-perceptions of school competence. Self-perceptions of reading competence are characterized by a variety of “good reader” self-perceptions that relate to accomplishments, skills, and enjoyment of reading. Educating All of One Nation 2005

17. Methodology – Participants and Setting 263 students 140 fourth graders (64 males and 76 females) Mean age 10.1 years (range 9.3 to11.5 years) Attended three elementary schools in one community (school one, 52 participants, school two, 34 participants, school three, 54 participants 123 sixth graders (56 males and 67 females) Mean age 12.1 years (range 11.2 to 13.7 years Attended one middle school Participants lived in an urban suburb about ten miles from the center of a moderately large city. Educating All of One Nation 2005

18. Methodology – Participants and Setting 90.4% of the population of the community was African American. Between one-third and one-half of the African American residents were part of families that own homes. Home values averaged about $70,000 and rental properties were about $500 per month. 25.1% of the children in this community werelisted as economically disadvantaged, compared to a state average of 13.4% Transience was noted in the schools, with nearly 13% of students not in the district for half of the year; another 13% switched buildings in the district during the year (the state averages are about 11% per variable) Educating All of One Nation 2005

19. Methodology – Participants and Setting Although class size averaged about 24 students and annual spending per pupil was about 12% greater than the state average, the district was ranked as the 5th lowest of the county’s 31 districts. The district met only 7 of 27 state academic standards. This placed the district in academic emergency, the lowest of four performance categories. About 11% of the state’s districts fared this poorly. In the year prior to this study, of all academic subjects tested by the state achievement test, the district achieved a passing designation (at least 75% of pupils who took the test passed) only for writing in grades 6, 9, 10 and 12 and reading in grades 9 and 10. For grade 4, 9.5% of students passed all achievement subtests; the state average was 31.9%. For grade 6, 16.1% passed all subtests; the state average was 32.5%. These were the best 4th and 6th grade scores that the district achieved over the 3 years prior to the study. Educating All of One Nation 2005

20. Methodology – Instrumentation 4th and 6th graders completed a written inventory of self-perception of school competence and interests, the Perception of Abilities Scale in Students (PASS) (Boersma & Chapman, 1992). Students were asked to read and respond with “yes” or “no” to I-statements pertaining to school self-perceptions in the following strands: General Ability, Reading/Spelling Ability, Confidence, and School Satisfaction. The PASS was designed to be used with students in grades 3 to 6 and its readability level is at grade 3. Approximately 1% of the normative sample was African American. The test yields percentile and T-scores (standard scores with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation [SD] of 10) and validity and misrepresentation indicators. A T-score of 40 or below is considered a critical indicator of diminished academic self-confidence. PASS items are phrased in both the positive and the negative. A sample item for General Ability is, “In school I find new things difficult to learn.” For Reading/Spelling Ability, one item reads, “I am a good reader.” A sample Confidence item is, “Tests are easy for me to take.” One School Satisfaction item reads, “I like telling my friends about schoolwork.” Educating All of One Nation 2005

21. Methodology – Procedures Individual and small group normative testing of participants began in February and continued through early June. Each participant left class for a total of approximately 3 to 4 hours to complete the testing required by this study. Children attended from 2 to 4 testing sessions conducted in empty rooms in their school buildings. The researcher and 30 graduate students served as testers. Students had completed courses on diagnostic procedures, child language disorders, and speech and language development in African American children. All had clinical experience administering standardized tests. Testers participated for 15 to 65 hours, visiting the schools weekly for up to 3 days per week. Groups of about ten children were assigned to testing stations. Subtests were administered in randomized order to prevent order effects. As children completed each test they rotated among the testing stations. Short breaks were given. The PASS was self-administered once children demonstrated that they could read a few of the items aloud. The test was read aloud to a very few children who had trouble reading it. Educating All of One Nation 2005

22. Methodology – Procedures – Data Analysis Participants’ scores on the PASS were determined. No participant was identified by the validity indicators as producing a significant finding for inconsistency, response bias, or misrepresentation. No student’s validity indexes were outside of the normative range. Descriptive statistics were utilized. Percent correct scores were used for the state criterion-referenced tests. Standard scores were used for the tests of oral and written language and reading. T-scores were reported for the PASS. Standard score means were reported as well as each score’s difference from the applicable normative mean. Standard score medians were also used because it was significant to note instances where half of the children tested scored below the normative median standard scores. The purpose of this statistic was to indicate whether students sampled did not obtain typically average scores. Educating All of One Nation 2005

23. Results In the normative distribution of T-scores the mean score is 50 and the SD is 10. As reported in Table 1, the grade 4 mean T-score for General Ability was 46.2 (SD 8.8, median 46.0). Reading/Spelling Ability T-score mean was 55.1 (SD 13.3, median 54.0); Confidence T-score mean was 50.9 (SD 7.9, median 50.0); School Satisfaction T-score mean was 57.8 (SD 10.3, median 58.0). With the exception of General Ability, where the mean score was less than one-half SD below the normative mean, group mean scores equaled the normative mean or were one-half SD above the normative mean. Educating All of One Nation 2005

24. Table 1 PASS Scores Educating All of One Nation 2005

25. Results Mean scores were essentially unremarkable. The research sample’s mean results were often commensurate with the performance of the standardization sample. Notably, however, 4th grade medians showed that half of all students reported self-perceptions of General Ability that were markedly lower than the normative mean. The median score was 46.0, a score in the first one-half SD below the normative mean score, with half of the participants scoring below this point. Decreased self-perceptions were also true for Confidence, where the median score was 50.0, with half of the participants scoring at or below the normative mean. Reading/Spelling Ability median was 54.0 and the School Satisfaction median was 58.0, which are both scores within the first one-half SD above the normative mean. Medians suggest that a figure approaching half of all participants did not report Reading/Spelling Ability or School Satisfaction levels that were consistent with the normative group’s mean score. Educating All of One Nation 2005

26. Results Largely, the grade 4 group expressed satisfaction with school, but many children in this sample did not tend to perceive themselves as successful in school tasks, as evidenced by the General Ability scores. Respondents were more likely to be satisfied than confident, and more likely to be satisfied than perceiving of themselves as able. The grade 6 mean T-score for General Ability was 54.5 (SD 9.9, median 53.0). The Reading/Spelling Ability T-score mean was 57.5 (SD 12.9, median 54.0); Confidence T-score mean was 54.4 (SD 7.9, median 54.0); School Satisfaction T-score mean was 49.1 (SD 9.38, median 49.0). Only the School Satisfaction group mean score was lower than the normative mean (less than one-half SD below); other subtest group mean scores were less than one-half to one-half SD above the normative mean. Educating All of One Nation 2005

27. Results For grade 6, similar concerns regarding group median scores were evident. While the General Ability median score was 53.0, approaching one-half SD above the normative mean, half of all students scored below this point. A similar finding was true for Reading/Spelling Ability and Confidence, where the median scores were both 54.0. Most notable was the score for School Satisfaction, where the median score was 49.0. Half of all students reported school satisfaction that was lower than the normative mean. The 6th grade students sampled seemed to be at risk for school disengagement Comparing grades 4 and 6, 4th graders did not perceive themselves as having strong school competencies but their satisfaction with school was notable. For 6th graders, self-perceptions of abilities were greater but confidence and school satisfaction were lesser. Educating All of One Nation 2005

28. Results Low School Satisfaction scores suggest a negative response to school tasks, especially those involving verbal skills and interactions. Confidence has to do with how individuals appraise the limits of their abilities in order to arrive at a sense of the level of success that can reasonably be accomplished. Confident learners will have positive expectations within reasonable limits and will sustain the academic task motivation that is necessary for success. Learners who lack confidence may have negative perceptions of their own abilities that translate into low expectations and little investment of time and effort in academic tasks. Diminished school satisfaction and school self-confidence are both cause for concern. Educating All of One Nation 2005

29. Results Considering that overall findings showed that sixth graders’ skills on standardized measures were, in many cases, farther from expectations than fourth graders’ were, it is troubling that the sixth graders believed themselves to be in possession of stronger school abilities. Conceivably, a sixth grade child who thinks she is doing well even though she is not achieving up to standards might not put forth her best effort -- she may be of the belief that her efforts are sufficiently successful. Conversely, a fourth grader who thinks he is not able, although he may well be, might also stop putting forth effort and enter into a condition of inertia and learned helplessness, under the mistaken notion that his efforts will not result in gains. Educating All of One Nation 2005

30. Results It is also important to establish the degree to which PASS subtest mean T-scores correlated with one another, with state testing, and with standard scores on 26 subtests of standardized measures of oral and written language and reading. Table 2 presents significant (p< .05) Pearson Product Moment correlations between PASS T-scores and other measures. For grade 4, PASS General Ability correlated with Reading/Spelling Ability (r = .528, p< .0001), with Confidence (r = .508, p< .0001), and with School Satisfaction (r = .236, p= .006). Reading/Spelling Ability correlated with Confidence (r = .518, p< .0001) and with School Satisfaction (r = .383, p< .0001). Confidence correlated with School Satisfaction (r = .350, p< .0001). Only one significant correlation with the state test was obtained. PASS Reading/Spelling Ability T-score correlated with the writing mean percent correct score at (r = .173, p= .048). Educating All of One Nation 2005

31. Table 2 PASS Correlations Educating All of One Nation 2005

32. Results PASS T-scores correlated with several standard scores. General Ability correlated with WORD-R Synonyms (r = .196, p= .024), WORD-R Semantic Absurdities (r = .245, p= .005), TOLD-I:3 Picture Vocabulary (r = .215, p= .014), TOLD-I:3 Malaprops (r = .331, p< .0001), SCALE-L Level 2 (r = .193, p= .026), TOWL-3 Vocabulary (r = .263, p= .002), TOWL-3 Story Construction (r = .184, p= .033), TORC-3 Vocabulary (r = .276, p= .001), TORC-3 Syntactic Similarities (r = .247, p= .004), and TORC-3 Paragraph Reading (r = .227, p= .008). PASS Reading/Spelling Ability correlated with TOLD-I:3 Picture Vocabulary (r = .183, p= .036), TOLD-I:3 Generals (r = .184, p= .035), SCALE-L Level 2 (r = .243, p= .005), TOWL-3 Vocabulary (r = .312, p< .0001), TORC-3 Vocabulary (r = .298, p< .0001), and TORC-3 Paragraph Reading (r = .172, p= .047). Educating All of One Nation 2005

33. Results PASS Confidence correlated with TOWL-3 Vocabulary (r = .171, p= .048), TORC-3 Vocabulary (r = .207, p= .017), and TORC-3 Paragraph Reading (r = .192, p= .026). No correlations were obtained for PASS School Satisfaction. For grade six, within the PASS, General Ability correlated with Reading/Spelling Ability (r = .332, p< .0001) and with Confidence (r = .354, p< .0001). Reading/Spelling Ability correlated with Confidence (r = .299, p< .0001). Confidence correlated with School Satisfaction (r = .340, p< .0001). General Ability correlated with OPT reading percent correct score (r = .179, p= .050) and with OPT writing percent correct score (r = .196, p= .038). Confidence correlated with OPT writing (r = .206, p= .029). Educating All of One Nation 2005

34. Results PASS T-scores correlated with several standard scores. General Ability correlated with WORD-A Brand Names (r = .244, p= .010), WORD-A Signs of the Times (r = .289, p= .002), TOAL-3 Listening Vocabulary (r = .232, p= .014), TOAL-3 Writing Grammar (r = .242, p= .010), and TOWL-3 Story Construction (r = .196, p= .039). Reading/Spelling Ability correlated with WORD-A Definitions (r = .221, p= .019), TOAL-3 Listening Vocabulary (r = .195, p= .040), TOAL-3 Writing Vocabulary (r = .271, p= .004), and TOWL- Story Construction (r = .289, p= .002). Confidence correlated with WORD-A Brand Names (r = .210, p= .027), WORD-A Synonyms (r = .182, p= .050), WORD-A Definitions (r = .182, p= .050), and SCALE-L Level 4 (r = .183, p= .050). School Satisfaction correlated with TOWL-3 Story Construction (r = .212, p= .025). Educating All of One Nation 2005

35. Results For both grades, correlations within the PASS met high levels of significance. Each subtest was noted to correlate with all of the other subtests at least once. Of 6 possible within-test correlations, there were 6 within-test correlations for grade 4 and 4 within-test correlations for grade 6. For both grades, scores for General Abilities and Reading/Spelling Abilities correlated. Confidence correlated with both abilities measures and with School Satisfaction for students in both grades. School Satisfaction correlated with both abilities measures for 4th graders but did not correlate with either abilities measure for 6th graders. For 6th graders, the median level of School Satisfaction was a bit below the normative mean and did not correlate with self-perceptions of ability. Educating All of One Nation 2005

36. Results The state mandated reading achievement test correlated significantly only with the grade 6 measure of General Ability. Apparently, as a group trend, 6th grade students could be thought of as being fairly accurate in their self-perceptions of ability if their ability scores correlated with their overt reading test performance. These correlational data would indicate that self-perceptions of greater ability coincided with better reading scores, and self-perceptions of lesser reading ability correlated with lower test scores. The state mandated writing achievement test correlated with the grade 4 measure of Reading/Spelling Ability and the grade 6 measures of General Ability and Confidence. Educating All of One Nation 2005

37. Results The tendency again appeared to be that both 4th and 6th graders who produced better writing samples accurately conveyed stronger self-perceptions of ability; students whose work was less strong accurately reported lesser self-perceptions of ability. 6th graders who prepared better writing samples also reported greater school confidence; apparently students whose writing samples earned lower scores reported less academic confidence. It would seem that better performers had more confidence and weaker performers were less confident. The state testing did not correlate with the School Satisfaction measure. Educating All of One Nation 2005

38. Results General Ability T-scores correlated significantly with 15 of 26 possible standard scores. 10 of these correlations were with grade 4 subtest scores for measures of oral and written language and reading. Notably, the SCALE-L Level 2 measure, which collapsed subtest scores for five curricular strands, correlated significantly with the General Ability measure. Scores for several measures that assessed vocabulary correlated with self-perceptions of General Ability, therefore, it might be said that students who perceived their abilities as stronger evidenced better vocabularies, while students who perceived their abilities as less strong scored lower on tests that measured vocabulary skill. Educating All of One Nation 2005

39. Results For 6th graders, 5 subtest that measured oral and written language correlated with General Ability. Two of these scores were on the WORD-A, where mean and median scores were near the normative mean, and two of these scores were on TOAL-3 subtest where the mean and median standard scores were greater than one and one-half SD below the normative mean score. This is an indicator that students who obtained moderate as well as extreme scores had an accurate self-perception of their abilities. TOWL-3 Story Construction was correlated with General Ability in both grades. Educating All of One Nation 2005

40. Results 10 of 26 subtest standard scores correlated significantly with Reading/Spelling Ability. Again, 4th grade correlations were related to oral and written language and reading capabilities but the 6th graders’ self-perceptions of Reading/Spelling Ability correlated only with scores for oral and written language. 4th graders again evidenced a correlation with the multidimensional SCALE-L but the 6th graders did not. Again, scores for measures of vocabulary correlated with self-perceptions of Reading/Spelling Ability, reinforcing that students who perceived their reading abilities as stronger evidenced better vocabularies, while students who perceived their reading abilities as less strong scored lower on tests that measured vocabulary skill. Educating All of One Nation 2005

41. Results Self-perceptions of Confidence correlated significantly with three 4th grade and four 6th grade subtest scores. Measures of written language and reading capabilities were correlated with Confidence in the 4th grade. Measures of oral and written language and reading capabilities were correlated with Confidence in the 6th grade. 6th graders evidenced a significant correlation with the multidimensional SCALE-L but the 4th graders did not. No grade 4 subtest scores correlated significantly with School Satisfaction. School Satisfaction correlated significantly with grade 6 TOWL-3 Story Construction. Stronger writers expressed more satisfaction with school, while less strong writers were less satisfied with school. Educating All of One Nation 2005

42. Results There were 4 subtests that correlated with PASS scores more consistently. For fourth graders, there were 3 standardized subtests that correlated significantly with General Ability, Reading/Spelling Ability, and Confidence: TOWL-3 Vocabulary, TORC-3 Vocabulary, and TORC-3 Paragraph Reading. TOWL-3 Story Construction was the only 6th grade subtest score that correlated significantly with three PASS measures (General Ability, Reading/Spelling Ability, and School Satisfaction). It can be concluded that school self-perceptions bore a consistent relationship to capabilities assessed by these written language and reading subtests. Educating All of One Nation 2005

43. Interpretations Regarding PASS correlations with other measures, self-perceptions of ability, confidence, and school satisfaction correlated with measures of oral and written language and reading. Students who obtained better scores conveyed stronger self-perceptions of ability and/or greater satisfaction with school; students who were less strong reported lesser self-perceptions of ability, confidence, and satisfaction. Students who perceive themselves as having inadequate abilities may not invest patience and perseverence when difficulties are encountered. Achievement is unlikely to ensue when effort is not expended. Therefore, achievement is related to not only the cognitive and linguistic abilities that promote it but also to students’ perceptions of their abilities. Feelings of lack of confidence and disengagement might coincide with unfavorable achievement test results. Educating All of One Nation 2005

44. Conclusions Children who believe that they are not able to perform certain school tasks and who expect to fail are less likely to apply themselves to task-related strategies. School self-concept is related to expectations and beliefs about what causes success or failure (causal attributions). Students who are at risk for test failure may need to experience a variety of academic and extra-curricular successes to provide a basis for self-perceptions of school competence. However, high-stakes, summative tests do not identify the academic supports that students at risk would need to receive in order to perform better on curriculum demands and on subsequent testing. By and large, test outcomes do not point to useful guidelines for how to design ensuing instructional practices relative to future test expectations. Educating All of One Nation 2005

45. Conclusions Children in challenged school, whose language competence and/or preparedness as test takers left them at risk for diminished test performance, affirmed some self-perceptions of school competence, but issues of school engagement are evident. The question remains: Can diminished self-perceptions of school competence and school satisfaction be related to attending a challenged school? Would these children’s self-perceptions have been different if they had attended higher performing schools? Educating All of One Nation 2005