The heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories of math motivational beliefs (i.e., expectancies for success and subjective task value beliefs) was examined among Asian and Latinx male and female students from Southern California across Grades 8 through 10 (n = 2,710; 50% female; 85% Latinx; 15% Asian; M[subscript age] = 13.77). By conducting…

This study examined relations between student engagement and drug use using data obtained from the statewide biennial California Healthy Kids Survey. Latent variable modeling with confirmatory factor analysis indicated four conceptually distinct and psychometrically sound factors capturing academic motivation, school connectedness, caring…

Value-added (VA) models measure teacher contributions to student learning and are increasingly employed in educational reform efforts. Using data from 35 seventh-grade teachers and 2,026 students across seven schools, we employ VA methods to measure teacher contributions to students' motivational orientations (mastery and performance achievement…

The author examined the effects of teacher caring, teacher content explanations, and teacher interest promotion on Latino students' interest, self-efficacy, and achievement in mathematics. Participants in the year-long study were 326 Latino 9th- and 10th-grade students attending a large urban high school in southern California. Teacher variables…

In this study, relationships were examined between students' perception of their cognition, behavior, environment, and motivation. The purpose of the research study was to explore the extent to which 9th and 10th grade students' perception of environment, cognition, and behavior can predict their motivation in Algebra and Geometry courses. A…

The customary perception is that students who drop out vanish from school enrollment rosters for good. This is an incomplete picture of the complex dropout story; dropping out is not necessarily a permanent high school outcome. Following the enrollment and course history of a district cohort of first-time 9th graders, this article documents the…

Homework is a cornerstone of students' academic lives. using a social cognitive view of achievement beliefs as a theoretical framework, we conducted a qualitative study to examine perceptions of homework among a diverse group of low socioeconomic status (SES) ninth graders who attended low-quality schools. Students participated in individual…

Given the importance of student engagement for healthy outcomes, research needs to investigate whether school-based assets promote student engagement beyond individual and family influences. Unfortunately, such research has been limited by a lack of valid instrumentation. After examining the psychometrics of the California Healthy Kids Survey…

Personalized learning: Everyone knows it needs to happen, but how? It is one thing to believe in the importance of high school reform. It is quite another to embrace a system that helps every student leave high school with a diploma and plans for postsecondary education or training that lead to productive and self-sufficient adulthoods. This…