Monograph Matters

This monograph used the Mindset × Context perspective to examine how students’ expectations for success in math (mindset) and school- and classroom-based opportunities (context) interact to explain inequalities in the critical first year of high school. Data come from the National Study of Learning Mindsets (NSLM), a nationally representative study of ~10,000 U.S. public-school ninth graders in 2015-2016. Expectations powerfully predicted math progress, more so for boys from more socioeconomically disadvantaged families, who showed the lowest math progress rate overall. Schools’ peer norms and students’ perceptions of classroom gendered math stereotyping interacted with expectations and group identities (gender and SES) as well. Thus, integrating psychological and sociological perspectives provided complementary insights into young people’s trajectories through an unequal educational environment, while highlighting possible policy levers.