The Effects of Change in Instructional Effectiveness on the Relationship of Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement

Abstract

This study was designed to determine if change in the instructional effectiveness of teachers influences the relationship between naturally formed teacher expectations and student achievement outcomes. Data were gathered from 44 intermediate and high school level teachers who participated in an inservice training workshop on mastery learning strategies. Correlations between teachers’ initial expectations for students’ achievement and students’ final examination scores, final grades, and teachers’ follow up expectations for students, were all significantly lower in mastery classes of those teachers who experienced some positive change in their instructional effectiveness. Implications regarding related teacher perceptions and classroom behaviors are discussed.