Mind-set interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Intervention Science

Background:

• Small-scale, in-person academic-mind-set interventions show promise.
• Scalability and practical application in diverse school settings remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the large-scale efficacy of online growth-mind-set and sense-of-purpose interventions.
• To determine if these interventions improve academic persistence and achievement in high school students.

Main Methods:

• Delivery of brief online modules for growth-mind-set and sense-of-purpose interventions.
• Implementation across 1,594 students in 13 geographically diverse high schools.
• Focus on students at risk of dropping out.

Main Results:

• Both interventions significantly improved semester grade point averages in core academic courses for at-risk students.
• Each intervention increased the rate of satisfactory performance in core courses by 6.4 percentage points among at-risk students.
• Interventions were most beneficial for poorly performing students, as predicted.

Conclusions:

• Online delivery of academic-mind-set interventions is a practical approach for large-scale implementation.
• These findings have significant implications for educational reform and bridging the gap from theory to practice.
• Scalable interventions can effectively support student persistence and academic success, particularly for vulnerable populations.