The study “The longitudinal relationship between schools’ academic optimism and academic achievement in elementary schools: evidence from a school panel study” by Laura Becher, Ruben Kleinkorres, and Nele McElvany investigates the longitudinal relationship between academic optimism and fourth-grade students’ reading achievement.

Academic optimism describes the pursuit of a high-achieving learning environment and includes the components academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and faculty trust.

For the study, data from school principals and fourth-grade students from 111 schools in Germany participating in the IFS school panel study in 2016 and 2021 was analysed. Using linear mixed-effect models, the authors examined the longitudinal associations between the different facets of academic optimism and students’ reading achievement while controlling for key variables such as socioeconomic status and migration background.

The results show a statistically significant association between school principals’ perceptions of collective efficacy in 2016 and fourth-grade students’ reading achievement in 2021. In contrast, no significant associations were found between the other facets of academic optimism and students’ reading achievement five years later. In addition, the level of academic optimism was not associated with changes in reading achievement across the five-year period.

The findings underline the importance of school-related factors such as collective efficacy for students’ academic achievement in elementary school. At the same time, they provide important implications for research and educational practice, as schools themselves can directly shape and influence these factors.

To the Article:  Article in Large-Scale Assessments in Education