Teachers can help

Today, I present four studies emphasizing the roles teachers play in student success. First, McLean, Janssen, Espinoza, Lindstrom Johnson & Jimenez (2023) published “Associations between Teacher and Student mathematics, Science, and Literacy Anxiety in Fourth Grade” in Journal of Educational Psychology. Here are edited excerpts:

The present study explored associations among teachers’ anxiety for teaching mathematics, science, and English language arts and their students’ own anxiety in each content area, and how these associations varied depending on student sex and socioeconomic status (SES). Participants included 33 fourth-grade teachers and 463 students from 14 schools in the Southwestern United States. We found that teachers’ anxiety in mathematics and science was associated with the mathematics and science anxiety of their low-SES students. Results highlight STEM content areas as contexts in which transmission of negative emotions between teachers and students may take place, as well as highlight the particular impacts these processes might have on students from underserved socioeconomic backgrounds.

While much more still needs to be clarified about how teachers’ and students’ emotions impact classroom processes and student outcomes, the present study underscores the importance of considering these factors along with more traditionally targeted classroom elements such as instruction, classroom quality, and teachers’ pedagogical and content knowledge. By interrupting the negative, and leveraging the positive, transmission of emotions for STEM both in the classroom and outside of it, and by targeting these processes among underserved and underrepresented students, the field could move toward more effective and equitable learning experiences for all students.

I found this study helpful in identifying the subtle ways in which elementary school teachers’ STEM anxiety gets communicated, especially to students from underserved backgrounds. The obvious solution is to build teachers’ confidence before they are asked to teach these subjects. The next study also looks at teacher anxiety. McLean, Foote, Tilley & Youngs (2025) published “Evidence of the Indirect Transmission of Emotions from Teachers to Students in Mathematics: The mediating role of instructional quality” in School Psychology. Here are the edited abstract  and impact statement:

Recent studies have identified processes of classroom emotional transmission whereby the emotions of one classroom participant are induced in others, with potential for teachers’ emotions to transmit to students. However, the field still lacks a comprehensive understanding of exactly how teachers’ emotions might surface in the classroom via key mechanisms to impact students, and in which contexts these processes occur. We investigated the mediating role of fourth-grade teachers’ (N = 33) observed instructional quality in the associations among teachers’ self-reported anxiety for teaching mathematics and their students’ (N = 443) self-reported mathematics emotions and engagement. Participants were recruited from 14 public elementary students in a single state in the Southwestern United States. Schools across this state varied considerably in schoolwide socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic makeup. Path models with cluster robust standard errors revealed an initial association between teachers’ Time 1 (early fall) mathematics anxiety and their students’ Time 3 (mid-winter) mathematics engagement, as well as two indirect effects of teachers’ Time 2 (mid-fall) instructional quality on students’ Time 3 outcomes: Instructional quality fully mediated the initial association between teachers’ mathematics anxiety and students’ mathematics engagement and played an indirect role in the association among teachers’ mathematics anxiety and students’ mathematics enjoyment. Effect sizes were small, ranging from .03 to .04. Results can inform efforts by education researchers and practitioners to incorporate foci on emotions in future research and systems of teacher and student support. 

This study is the first to utilize multiple data sources and time points to illustrate the indirect role of teachers’ instructional quality in processes of classroom emotional transmission. Findings indicated that teachers’ mathematics anxiety was negatively associated with their instructional quality during mathematics lessons, and this then was associated with reduced student mathematics enjoyment and engagement. Results can inform meaningful changes to how elementary teachers are prepared and supported in their mathematics teaching. 

Like the first McLean et al study, this one highlights the importance of teacher anxiety about math teaching. The next study looks at reading in middle school. Cho & Barrett (2024) published “Comparing Options for Screening of Reading Difficulties in Middle School: Do teacher ratings improve accuracy?” in School Psychology. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Reading problems may emerge beyond the primary grades when the linguistic and cognitive demands of reading comprehension increase in middle school. The accurate identification of students requiring supplemental reading instruction is critical to provide remediation and decrease the prevalence and likelihood of reading problems in secondary settings and beyond. Nevertheless, research guidance on middle school reading screening is scarce. This study analyzed data from 193 sixth-grade students across 12 classrooms to examine (a) how well various reading screeners predicted proficiency on the year-end state assessment, (b) what combinations of reading screeners were most accurate, (c) the extent to which a brief teacher rating improved classification accuracy, and (d) the agreement rates between the most accurate combinations of screeners. Screeners included the Sight Word Efficiency, oral reading fluency (ORF), maze, and a multiple-choice reading comprehension (MCRC) assessment. Results from logistic regressions and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses suggested that no single screener was appropriate for use and that combinations of two or three screeners assessing different reading skills improved classification accuracy (i.e., ORF + MCRC, ORF + maze + MCRC). Moreover, teacher ratings further improved classification accuracy but its predictive value depended on the combination of screeners. Finally, there was a high agreement regarding which students were identified as needing intervention between these combinations of screeners. 

This study found that when schools can administer three different reading screeners, oral reading fluency, maze, and teacher ratings were the most efficient combination of measures with the highest accuracy. When schools are only able to administer one or two reading screeners, teacher ratings can substantially improve classification accuracy. Furthermore, the overall agreement rates among these combinations of screeners were high. These findings suggest that when schools have limited resources, integrating teacher ratings into the screening process can efficiently enhance classification accuracy. 

We know that reading skills dropped significantly during COVID-19 and identifying students who need ongoing help is important. We also know that there are far too few school psychologists, especially in rural and urban schools. What this study shows is that, when in doubt, ask the teacher – teacher ratings of reading can be very helpful. The final study looks at ADHD in teens. Ketvel et al. (2024) published ”Dimensional Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Executive Functioning in Adolescence: A multi-informant, population-based twin study” in Neuropsychology.  Again, the edited abstract and impact statements follow:

To investigate associations of executive function (EF) performance in adolescence with dimensional symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity assessed by multiple informants as well as ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) symptoms based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria, and whether familial factors and co-occurring symptoms of depressive disorder and conduct disorder explain these associations in a population-based sample. In 14-year-old twins from the population-based FinnTwin12 study (N = 638–1,227), we assessed EF with commonly used neuropsychological tests. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders symptoms of ADHD and psychiatric disorders were assessed with a semistructured interview, and dimensional symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity with behavioral ratings made by the twins, their co-twins, and teachers at age 14, and by parents and teachers at age 12, the latter being different from those at age 14. Teacher-rated inattention had the strongest association with poorer EF performance across two measurement points with different teachers; these associations were not affected by adding symptoms of depressive disorder and conduct disorder as covariates. Within-pair analyses suggested that the associations of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity with EF were partly explained by familial factors. Even at a subclinical level in a sample of adolescents representing general population, ADHD symptoms are associated with EF performance. Teachers’ evaluations appear especially valuable when assessing adolescents’ ADHD symptoms. Our findings support the notion of dimensional ADHD symptoms in the population.

Teachers’ ratings of dimensional ADHD symptoms were most consistently associated with cognitive test performance, and associations between ADHD symptoms and test performance appeared familial to a relevant degree. These findings give further support to the notion of dimensionality in ADHD symptoms at the population level. Future research should investigate whether the increase in incidence of ADHD symptoms in adolescents during the past 15–20 years has affected the associations between ADHD symptoms and cognitive test performance. 

The dimensional ADHD symptoms include difficulty focusing, easily getting distracted, trouble staying on task, forgetfulness, poor organization, and difficulty following instructions, while hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms manifest as excessive movement, talking too much, fidgeting, acting without thinking, interrupting others, and difficulty waiting their turn. Progress in executive functioning is critical for teens as they move through middle school into high school. Since this was a twin study, they also look for familial patterns. They ask the kids, their parents and their teachers about ADHD symptoms. Here, as in the previous study, it is teachers who can best judge the presence of ADHD symptoms that interfere with executive functioning.

At a time when many professionals who do assessment are attempting to reduce the amount of data they collect, these latter studies illustrate the importance of teachers as allies in the assessment process.