Replicating an Intervention Designed to Mitigate Academic and Social Adversity for Transitioning Middle School Students

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Evaluating Middle School Programs

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that helping students reappraise common social and academic worries during the difficult transition to middle school can improve their academic achievement. To further test this outcome, we conducted a pre-registered randomized controlled trial in a new district context with two independent yearly cohorts of transitioning 6th graders. The intervention had no impacts on treatment students’ academic, behavioral, or social-emotional outcomes. Results from manipulation checks, which assessed whether students internalized the messages delivered by the treatment, revealed that the students did not reappraise social worries regarding the transition to middle school as intended. Despite two prior successful districtwide studies, these results suggest that more research is needed to understand the contexts under which the intervention can be effective.

Authors

• Geoffrey D. Borman, Arizona State University

• Trisha Borman, American Institutes for Research

• Bo Zhu, American Institutes for Research

• So Jung Park, American Insitutes for Research

• Scott Houghton, American Institutes for Research

• Alejandra Martin, American Institutes for Research

• Chad Henry, American Institutes for Research