Expectations-Raising-Achievement

Expectations: Raising Achievement

Written by Robyn Dixon, Deborah Widdowson, Elizabeth Peterson, Christine Rubie-Davies Thursday, 29 October 2009 10:57

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The influence of teacher expectations on students has long been recognised. Expectations have been shown to have a measurable effect on outcomes, and while some research has shown these effects to be small, effects for vulnerable students have been found to be large. Such findings would seem particularly important given that in New Zealand, large numbers of students appear to underachieve, leaving school as soon as they are able and without any formal qualifications.

As recently as 2007, 35 percent of M?ori and 26 percent of Pasifika school leavers left school without completing Level 1 NCEA. It has been shown that if, when students first enter primary school, teacher expectations are either too high or too low in relation to student potential, student achievement will align with teacher expectations. Thus, it would appear that

students internalise teachers’ expectations and begin to behave accordingly. When this occurs, it can have a sustained effect on expectations, with teachers failing to challenge students and students feeling under-challenged or inappropriately challenged, ultimately leading to under-achievement.

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