69´«Ã½

Assessment Report Roundup

Researchers Want to Know: Are Good Grades Contagious?

By Sarah D. Sparks — February 19, 2013 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

A study published last week in the online journal PLOS One—and conducted by a team of high school students partnering with researchers through a National Science Foundation outreach program—suggests the grades of friends can rise or fall toward the average of their social circle over time.

The study is described as the first to attempt to use social-contagion theory—the idea that concepts and behaviors can spread through a social network much like the way a cold spreads through a school—to analyze changes in students’ grades.

The authors asked 160 juniors at Maine-Endwell High School in Endwell, N.Y., to identify, on a list of the rest of the class, the students considered close friends, friends, acquaintances, relatives, or unknown. The authors then linked the social circles with administrative data, including grade point average (as translated into class ranking), attendance, and disciplinary actions, for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years.

They found that students whose friends’ average GPA was higher than their own at the start of the study were more likely to improve their grades, and that students with a higher GPA than their friends’ were more likely to drop in grades. The study also offers some evidence that this isn’t just a matter of birds of a feather flocking together: Close friendships—the ones most likely to be formed on the basis of personality similarities—were less strongly related to changes in a student’s GPA than were the relationships of students considered friends, but not as close.

The study was part of NetSci High, a pilot NSF project intended to teach students and educators about emerging science methods. When the study was conducted, four of its authors were themselves high school students.

A version of this article appeared in the February 20, 2013 edition of Education Week as Researchers Want to Know: Are Good Grades Contagious?

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Assessment Opinion Why Are Advanced Placement Scores Suddenly So High?
In 2024, nearly three-quarters of students passed the AP U.S. History exam, compared with less than half in 2022.
10 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Assessment Grades and Standardized Test Scores Aren't Matching Up. Here's Why
Researchers have found discrepancies between student grades and their scores on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT.
5 min read
Student writing at a desk balancing on a scale. Weighing test scores against grades.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty Images
Assessment Why Are States So Slow to Release Test Scores?
Nearly a dozen states still haven't put out scores from spring tests. What's taking so long?
7 min read
Illustration of a man near a sheet of paper with test scores on which lies a magnifying glass and next to it is a question mark.
iStock/Getty
Assessment A District’s Experiment: What Happens When 69´«Ã½ Do Less Testing?
Los Angeles Unified will excuse some schools from periodic assessments. Supporters hope it will inspire new ways to measure learning.
6 min read
An illustration on a red background of a silhouette of an individual carrying a ladder and walking away from a white arrow shaped sign post, with an arrow facing the opposite direction that has been cut out within the arrow shaped sign with cut pieces of paper on the ground below it.
DigitalVision Vectors