Comparison of Changes in Students' Noncognitive Constructs Between 2019 and 2022 by Student Subgroups

• In Event: Using NAEP Data to Understand Student Experiences and Achievement During the Pandemic

Abstract

Research supports the relationship between noncognitive constructs and academic achievement and other student outcomes, such as college and career readiness (Farrington et al., 2012; Heckman & Kautz, 2012; Richardson et al., 2012). Previous research demonstrated a connection between constructs such as academic motivation, interest, and self-efficacy, and performance in mathematics and reading (Retelsdorf et al., 2011; Richardson et al., 2012; Bohrnstedt et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2021).

In 2022, student performance on NAEP dropped significantly compared to 2019. What has received less attention is whether there had been a change in indices of noncognitive constructs before and after the pandemic. This study used NAEP data to provide an overview of whether indices of noncognitive constructs changed overall and by student group.

This study uses data from the public-school sample of the NAEP 2019 and 2022 grade 8 mathematics assessments. This analysis includes the six noncognitive constructs available in 2019 and 2022. The current study used descriptive analysis to examine the overall means and standard deviations for the noncognitive construct indices and subgroup comparisons by gender, race/ethnicity, and NSLP status for each year. We computed standardized differences for the subgroup differences, and effect sizes equal to or bigger than 0.2 are highlighted in the results. Overall, for grade 8 mathematics, scores on persistence, enjoyment of complex problems, mathematics confidence, mathematics interest, and mathematics mastery goals were significantly lower in 2022 than in 2019.

Examining subgroup differences in 2022, female students had higher scores on the mastery goals index than male students, consistent with 2019 scores. While female students had higher scores on the self-discipline index than male students in 2019, there was no significant difference in 2022. Both male and female students reported significantly lower scores in 2022 from 2019 for all six indices.

Consistent with 2019 results, White students reported higher scores on mathematics confidence than Hispanic students in 2022. Also consistent with 2019 results, White students reported higher scores on mathematics confidence and lower scores on mathematics mastery goals than Black students in 2022. In 2022, Asian students scored higher on the enjoyment of complex problems, mathematics confidence, mathematics interest, and mathematics mastery goals than White students, consistent with 2019 results. In 2022, students of Two or More Races reported lower scores on mathematics confidence than White students.
Finally, consistent with 2019, non-NSLP students scored higher on self-discipline and mathematics confidence than NSLP students in 2022. NSLP students reported significantly lower scores in 2022 from 2019 for all indices. Non-NSLP students reported significantly lower scores in 2022 from 2019 for all indices except self-discipline and mathematics interest.

The first step in this study provides an overview of the noncognitive constructs and differences by subgroups and if indices for these constructs change before or after the pandemic. The next step is to examine how these constructs relate to students' academic performance and if the relationships change before or after the pandemic. Our final presentation will include these results.

Authors

• Emma King, American Institutes for Research

• Alison Filbey, American Institutes for Research

• Grace Ji Cheng, American Institutes for Research

• B. Jasmine Park, American Institutes for Research