ERIC Number: ED547661
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Oct
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
WWC Review of the Report "Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: A Difference-Education Intervention Improves First-Generation Students' Academic Performance and All Students' College Transition." What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review
What Works Clearinghouse
For the 2014 study, "Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: A Difference-Education Intervention Improves First-Generation Students' Academic Performance and All Students' College Transition," researchers investigated the impact of attending a moderated panel on incoming freshmen's adjustment to college. The panel featured demographically diverse college seniors who responded to questions about their experience of and adjustment to college. The study sample consisted of 168 incoming college freshmen in a highly selective, midsized private university in the United States. Researchers assessed the impact of the panelists' stories by comparing grade point averages at the end of students' freshman year. This study is a well-executed randomized controlled trial with low levels of sample attrition and meets WWC group design standards without reservations. The study authors found, and the WWC confirmed, that there was a statistically significant effect on mean grade point average. The following are appended: (1) Study details; (2) Outcome measures for the academic achievement domain; (3) Study findings for the academic achievement domain; and (4) Supplemental findings for the academic achievement domain. A Glossary of Terms is also included. [The following study is the focus of this "Single Study Review:" Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., & Destin, M. (2014). "Closing the social-class achievement gap: A difference-education intervention improves first-generation students' academic performance and all students' college transition." "Psychological Science," 25(4), 943-953. doi: 10.1177/0956797613518349. For the What Works Clearing House Quick Review of this report, see ED544776.]
Descriptors: Achievement Gap, Social Class, First Generation College Students, Academic Achievement, College Freshmen, Student Adjustment, Student Diversity, College Seniors, Student Experience, Grade Point Average, Comparative Analysis, Group Discussion, Intervention, Social Influences, Student Surveys, Program Effectiveness, Statistical Significance, Low Income Groups, At Risk Students, Transcripts (Written Records)
What Works Clearinghouse. 550 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024; e-mail: contact.WWC@ed.gov; Web site: https://whatworks.ed.gov/
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
What Works Clearinghouse Reviewed: Meets Evidence Standards without Reservations
IES Publication: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/SingleStudyReview.aspx?sid=20012