The effects of acceleration on high-ability learners: A meta-analysis

Saiying Steenbergen-Hu, Purdue University

Abstract

Current empirical research findings about the effects of acceleration on high-ability learners’ academic achievement and social-emotional development were synthesized using meta-analytic techniques. A total of 38 primary studies conducted between 1984 and 2008 were included. The included studies were closely examined to ensure that accelerated high-ability learners were compared with appropriate comparison groups. Hedges’s g was used as the primary effect size index. Analyses were performed using random effects models, which assume that the effects vary across different contexts, intervention conditions, and/or subjects. The overall effects of acceleration were analyzed first. Then, the results were broken down by developmental levels (P-12 and postsecondary) and comparison groups (whether accelerants were compared with same age, older age, or mixed-age peers). In addition, analyses were conducted to identify potential moderators of the effects. Results were interpreted in terms of practical significance and were also compared with those from relevant previous meta-analytic studies. In terms of academic achievement effects, the findings from this meta-analysis are consistent with the conclusions from previous meta-analytic studies, suggesting that acceleration had a positive impact on high-ability learners. When the academic achievement effects were sorted by developmental levels, positive effects were found at both levels. The sub-group of ‘with same age peers’ consistently showed a positive effect on academic achievement that were higher than the other subgroups, suggesting that the effects of acceleration may be more discernable when accelerated high-ability learners are compared with their non-accelerated same age peers. Furthermore, acceleration duration and statistical analysis were identified as moderators of academic achievement effects. The effects of acceleration on high-ability learners’ social-emotional development appeared to be slightly positive, although the positive effect was not as strong as for academic achievement. However, compared to prior meta-analytic studies, a more positive impression of the effects of acceleration on social-emotional development was found.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Moon, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Gifted Education|Educational psychology

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