Selective schools with a higher average achievement level may negatively impact students’ long-term success, a new study shows.
The research was published by the Association for Psychological Science and conducted by Project Talent, a nationally representative, longitudinal study of more than 377,000 US high school students over five decades.
“Above and beyond students’ individual capabilities and their family background, more selective schools provided both benefits and risks to students, which translated into real-world differences in their careers years later,” lead researcher Richard Göllner of the University of Tübingen said.
“Specifically, being in a high school with a higher average socioeconomic background benefited students later on, whereas being in a school with higher average achievement level harmed students later on.”
The researchers examined the two school characteristics – socioeconomic status and achievement – together in one study to determine the unique contribution that each aspect makes to students’ short- and long-term outcomes.
Using data from Project Talent, the participants completed a variety of measures that assessed their academic competencies, family background, and life outcomes.
Göllner said that the “permanent comparison” with high achieving peers seems to harm students’ beliefs in their own abilities – an issue he said is associated with serious consequences for their later careers.
According to the study, advantaged schools tend to also be high-achievement schools, which would result in so-called “lost gains,” whereby the advantages of high socioeconomic status are countered by the disadvantages of high achievement.
In future research, Göllner and colleagues hope to identify teacher-related factors that might buffer against the harmful effects of social comparison.
“We want to figure out what teachers can do to make sure that students’ positive beliefs in their own academic capabilities are not harmed by being surrounded by high-achieving peers,” he said.
This article, which originally appeared in Psychological Science, has been edited for length.