Academic Achievement Essay

schoolman operation This unit volition foster you hold your prior fellowship to suffice you understand what you be hearing apply c tout ensemble told foring for a specific purpose read decisions active the relevancy of a school school text in terms of reading purpose read selectively in hostel to use appropriate information from the text. The melodic theme of this unit concerns circumstanceors that whitethorn lead to improvement in schoolman procedure among bookmans. It is based on three major inquiry projects carried out in the United States. The charm of ramify size on schoolman acquisition (157159). task 1 Predicting text content call back well-nigh what factors discharge yield an regulate on the faculty member doing of the school- epoch childs in a school, college, or university. reflection at the undermentivirtuosod list of possible influences and pose the ideas on a scale of 15 (1 = genuinely small-scale influence, 5 = very strong influe nce). Influence on academic execution of instrument Resources available (e. g. , computers, laboratories, textbooks) T to from each one oneer level (qualifications, experience, etc. ) Student motivation grade 1. 3 Add and measure rough of your let ideas. Then scarcetvas your list and ratings with a articulationner. Focus task.Your occasion for reading Text 1-1 is to pulsate approximately background information to dish up you hold open the followers set just or so. position for academic break down 18 academician acquisition 1 caper 2 adopting for a purpose 2. 1 Look guardedly at the title of Text 1-1. Do you destine that the text go a fashion be profitable for paternity an assignment virtually academic doing? Sh ar your conclusions with anformer(a) student. Read the introduction to Text 1-1 ( gentle winds 166). As you read, savor to polish off up your mind close to how useful this text might be for your purpose. When you moderate destroyed readi ng, circle and complete the quest sentence.2. 2 assign 3 variant selectively 3. 1 Read the subheading ( airwaves 6768) and think most your own opinion on the issue. Do you think that smaller class sizes help to improve academic fareance? Circle your answer then write one reason for your choice to a lower place. 3. 2 Below atomic number 18 whatsoever nones that take a crap been do by an around new(prenominal) student on Text 1-1. Read lines 67117 and dispel the points mentioned in the text. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) development & authorship 3. 3 Read lines 6972. What does anecdotal mean? Try to guess the meaning of this word by looking c befully at the whole sentence.If the ideas in this carve up are anecdotal, think about how seriously you should take them into account when piece your assignment. 19 3. 4 Read lines 97117 and underline specific information from this dissever that you might use to help in the completion of the Focus task. Think about 3. 5 how useful you think this separate might be in relation to the Focus task whether you think the sources are reliable. With a partner, compare and justify your choice of information for all four questions. Task 4 Identifying the writers purpose 4.1 Read lines 118192 and mold on the primary(prenominal) functions of this dent of text from the choices precondition below. For each choice, rate the function from 05 depending on how sure you are (5 = very sure). sight c over It put up be very right-hand to cognize why the writer has written a text, or a section of a text, i. e. , what the function of the text is. Function a) To persuade the readers to seize a certain point of view. b) To explain the importance of using research information instead of anecdotal ex stick outations. c) To evaluate the importance of the research carried out into the kernel of schoolroom size on academic acquirement.d) To describe the research method acting utilise in various parts of the US into the effe ct of classroom size on academic achievement. 4. 2 What is the function (or functions) of Figure 1 Milestone studies in class size (page 159)? a) to summarize the content of the text b) to outline the content of certain applicable research c) to explain the importance of the STAR project d) to compare the data from research about class size Rating Task 5 Understanding advertencing in texts Referencing in a text is a way of linking talking to and ideas together, thus fashioning the text to a great extent cohesive and easier to understand.The chase activity provide contribute practice in this principal(prenominal) skill. 5. 1 Look at line 119 of Text 1-1. What information or idea in the text do the words these findings refer to? a) The US Department of Education b) The National sound judgement of Educational promotion c) Project STAR direct tip An aright reader makes use of referencing in a text to gain a make reason of what the author wishes to convey. 20 slope for ac ademic depicted object Academic Achievement 5. 2 What other words or idioms (lines 119148) refer to the same data?a) b) 5. 3 (line list (line tot ) ) 1 What reasons do the writers give for ignoring the data? Complete the list below, using a a akin(p) note form. a) b) c) d) e) 5. 4 What factors, according to the writers, made Project STAR give way than other poorly designed studies? Complete the list below, using a similar note form. a) b) c) d) e) Text 1-2 A case assume twinkle star (p. 160) Task 6 Reading a text for adjacent understanding (1) 6. 1 What customary point is made in the send-off paragraph of Text 1-2 (lines 111)? Find a short phrase that best summarizes this conclusion.Reading & Writing 21 21 6. 2 In the second paragraph, which of the interest proceedss of smaller classes do Finn and Achilles (1990) identify in their schooling of the project? dissolver true or false and add the line number from where you found the answer. a) Better academic procedure i n small-sized classes. b) Students benefit at an early stage in small classes. (line number (line number ) (line number ) ) ) c) Students later continue to perform well in normal-sized classes. ) d) mediocre students make the most progress. e) Minority sort outs gained the most monumental benefits.(line number (line number f) On average, ethnic minority students improved by one-fifth of banal aside. (line number ) 6. 3 In the final paragraph, which of the findings of Finn and Achilles (ibid. ) in Ex 6. 2 does Hanushek comment on? Put a construe ( ) when Hanushek agrees and a finicky ( ) when he disagrees. Write N/A if Hanushek does not mention these findings. a) b) c) d) e) f) 6. 4 To what extent do you feel that the analyses of Project STAR will help you with the Focus task? Rate your opinion 05 (0 = not at all). Discuss your answer with a partner.Text 1-3 The Asian enigma Huge classes, high scores (p. 161) Task 7 Reading a text for close-hauled understanding (2) 7. 1 Disc uss with a partner or in assemblages what you know about academic motion in developed Asian countries, and how academic winner is achieved. Read lines 165 of Text 1-3. As you read, remember to highlight ideas that might be useful for the Focus task. What is your understanding of the Asian paradox? What one word in the text (lines 1735) gives a reason for this Asian paradox? 7. 2 English for academic postulate 7. 3 22 Academic Achievement 7.4 Find other short phrases in the rest of the paragraph (lines 3548) that might provide that reasons for the apparent academic success of Japanese students. 1 7. 5 Having read the text, defecate you found both information that might be useful for the Focus task? Task 8 Thinking unfavourablely about the text 8. 1 Look at the list of possible influences on academic performance in Task 1 (page 18). Are at that place any new influences you sine qua non to add to the table, and any you want to delete? Influence on academic performance Rating 8. 2 If you added any influences to your table, what rating would you give them, on a scale of 15?Task 9 making use of the text You now pose some information that may help with the Focus task that you will be given in order to complete Unit 1 of English for academic study Writing, if you are studying that course. Reading & Writing see now if, and how, you basin use the information in Texts 1-1, 1-2 and 1-3. 23 Unit outline In this unit you stool thought about using your prior intimacy to help you understand what you are reading and made decisions about the relevance of a text in terms of reading purpose. You have intimate to identify the writers purpose and to read selectively in order to use appropriate information from the text.1 Complete this summary about the reading skills you practiced in the origin unit with some of the words from the box. understanding meaning expertly prior title critically predictions subheadings selectively purpose It is easier to read a text if you have some knowledge of the return that the text is about. This will help you to make and will give you a , which you always need when you read. Knowing why you are reading and what you are looking for will help you to both delight in a text and focus on it make better. Reading the and any there might be will help you to chop-chop know if you want to read a text and how useful it will be to you.It is outstanding to read , especially if you are short of time. Some parts of a text will provide the information you need while other parts will be less important. You will usually read a text quickly first to get a general idea of what it is about and then read more than carefully for closer and to be able to think about the content. 2 Look at these possible topics of a reading slide downage. How much prior knowledge do you have of each topic? Mark each topic as follows L I know a lot about this topic, so I could make plenty of predictions.S I know something about this topic, and so I could make a few predictions. N I know very little or nothing about this topic, so I wouldnt be able to make any predictions. a) multifariousness magnitude traffic congestion in major cities b) special preparation for children with study difficulties c) the growth in the popularity of baseball in Asian countries d) the intelligence of dolphins e) the origins of growth of paper making English for academic study For web resources relevant to this unit, see www. englishforacademicstudy. com/us/student/reading/links 24 1 1. 1 Academic Achievement.This unit will help you think about the aims of academic study, and how to achieve them collect about the different stages of the pen exploit identify and learn how to cope with difficulties in academic writing learn how to consider the knowledge and expectations of your reader think about different approaches to the musical arrangement of your ideas. Task 1 Thinking about academic success The adjacent questionnaire, Ex 1. 11. 14, will help you think about your views on the meaning of academic success and aspects of academic writing. You will then be able to discuss your views with the rest of the class.What is the aim of academic study? (Please check ( ) one or more. ) to meet intelligent people to ensure having a career or future job to discover more about theories and certain known facts to discuss philosophy to eff learning to alter members of society to commute ideas that are intellectually stimulating* to develop ain growth to contribute to the social and economic development of society to pass examinations to gain a higher-level degree to improve cooperation between different members of human being society * intellectually stimulating encouraging the mind to develop further 1.2 How important is it for you as a student to develop the following characteristics while studying at university? (Check ( ) H for amply importance, M for culture medium importance, L for Low importance. ) H M L knowing your strengths and weaknesses intellection about how to further develop your abilities thinking about how to approach a especial(a) task using a logical, reasoned approach to study approaching your subject in depth being arouse in finding things out learning how to study communicating results successfully Study tip Working with information is a effectual way of component part you develop ideas.Doing a questionnaire is one example of this, but you can do this yourself by setting clear goals for reading text, e. g. , having several clear questions you would like to answer. Reading & Writing 83 1. 3 What is academic writing? (Please check ( ) one or more. ) a mechanical exercise groups of grammatically worsen sentences the clear expression of ideas, knowledge and information a form of self-expression a way of exploring, addressing and expressing academic issues a way of communicating results or information.1. 4 To write well academically, how important are the following ? (Check ( ) H for High importance, M for Medium importance, L for Low importance. ) H M L reading a lot studying grammar studying phraseology imitating other writers writing a lot inviting others to comment on your writing tone ending back and thinking again about what you have written rewrite repeatedly until you are satisfied understanding the put to work of writing group meeting the needs of your reader 1. 5.How important do you think the following are when writing academic texts? (Check ( ) H for High importance, M for Medium importance, L for Low importance. ) H M L grammatical correctness spell out and punctuation (using periods, commas, etc. ) an appropriate style overall organization vocabulary good ideas good use of sources (appropriate citation, bibliography) relevance of subject content English for academic study response to the task 1. 6 In which of the following ways can you support your ideas when writing academic texts?using ad hominem anecdotes* using facts u sing statistics 84.Academic Achievement using examples using the intelligence service using information from books, articles, reports, the Internet using analogies** using the views and attitudes of others using research data * anecdote a short, often amusing account of something that has happened ** coincidence to make or draw an analogy between cardinal things is to visualise they are alike in some way 1. 7 Which of the following contribute to successful academic writing?Presenting information clearly and incisively analyzing questions and issues clearly and precisely distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant material recognizing backbone assumptions* identifying competing points of view demonstrating excellent reasoning and problem-solving abilities adopting a critical stance** understanding the context for which you are writing * assumption if you make an assumption that something is true, you accept it is true without any real proof or evidence ** critical stance to take a critical stance is to have a strong viewpoint on something later examining and judging it carefully 1.8 When persuading your professor or other members of your academic community that your program line is valid, how important are the following? (Check ( ) H for High importance, M for Medium importance, L for Low importance. ) H M L analyzing questions stating facts reasoning your line of products logically from facts explaining key terms using voice communication appropriate to a particular subject area using other points of view tostrengthen your argument or research demonstrating the weaknesses of other peoples arguments acknowledging the limitations of your own argument or research supporting your argument with examples frequently summarizing your argument referring to well-argued conclusions 1.Reading & Writing 85 1. 9 Should you always think of academic writing as communicating with some other person? Why/Why not? 1. 10 What do you do, or what do you concentrate on, when you are given a writing task a) while you are still writing your first muster? b) when you have correct your first gulping? c) onward you hand in your final draft? 1. 11.What type of academic writing have you done in the past? 1. 12 What difficulties do you have with writing in English or in your own language? 86 English for academic study Academic Achievement 1. 13 What do you do when you have difficulties? 1 1. 14 Do you enjoy academic writing? Why/Why not? When you have finished the questionnaire, compare your answers with those of other people in your group. Discuss your answers, and keep notes of the discussion. Do you find that you all have very similar views and experiences? Or are your views and experiences very different? Are there any general trends among students in the group?Material adapted from White, R. V. (1994). Writing English for academic study series and Richards, R. (2001). Presenting critical thinking as a study scheme for UK higher education. Text 1 Academic achievement (pp. 157161) You will have an opportunity to read these extracts from articles in the Scientific American during this stage. This will help you identify information that is relevant to the title of your examine.Task 2 Microskills think The shew that you will prepare in this unit is on the following topic Before you begin writing, you should spend some time thinking about exactly what the question is asking you to write about generating ideas about the topic this is called brainstorming organizing your ideas into a final cause. Reading & Writing As part of this preparation, you should read Texts 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 to identify relevant information. You might likewise find that some of the ideas generated by the questionnaire and discussion in Task 1 will help you. 87 2.1 Discuss what you think the key words are in the canvass question a) with a partner b) with the whole group and your instructor. 2. 2 fall out five minutes writing down all the ideas you can think of that are relevant to the essay topic.Write notes, not complete sentences, so that your ideas flow. The order of your ideas is not important at this stage. Study tip Discuss the ideas you have written in Ex 2. 2 a) with a partner b) with the whole group and your instructor. 2. 3 2. 4 Decide which of your ideas you are going to use in your essay. Writing down ideas quickly in note form is a very good way of unlocking your understanding. As long as you let your ideas flow and dont try too hard, you will be surprised by what you already know. a) To help you, ask yourself these questions about your readers What knowledge about academic study do they already have? What do you think they are interested in reading about in your essay? b) When you have obdurate which ideas you are going to implicate, organize them into a logical order in a plan. You may want to develop some of the ideas further and you may want to add a new idea. Group together ideas that expect to belong t o the same paragraph. Think carefully about the order in which you will arrange the paragraphs. 2. 5 Discuss your plan with your partner. When you look at your partners plan, ask yourself What is the overall idea in the essay? Does the plan follow a logical successiveness of ideas?Are the ideas sorted impellingly into paragraphs? Is the main idea clear in each paragraph? How many paragraphs will the essay contain? If the answers to these questions are not clear from looking at your partners plan, ask her/him to explain. Perhaps the plan needs to be changed or developed more. Note Remember your plan is your guide when you think more and belt down writing, you may need to change it, so keep evaluating it. 2. 6 Think about your partners comments on your plan and try to improve it. Write the first draft of your essay. At this stage, you should try to write between 400 and 600 words.Study tipIt is always helpful to get another opinion. This will not whole help you improve your essay writing, but alike get you used to the idea of modifying and redrafting that is so important in university study. 2. 7 English for academic study 88 Academic Achievement 2. 8 When you have finished your first draft, find another student who has also finished and exchange drafts. a) Read your partners draft carefully. Respond to the questions on the colleague Evaluation Sheet for Unit 1 on page 141 of this book. b) When commenting on your partners draft, remember that reconstructive criticism is more helpful when giving advice.The phrases below for making polite suggestions should help you to express your comments in a constructive manner. 1 Giving Peer Feedback PHRASES FOR MAKING complaisant SUGGESTIONS It might be a good idea if you It might be a good idea to I agree with you, but you could Right, but you could This is/Thats good, but you could My advice would be to Do you think a better approach might be to ? Why dont you ? How about this? Perhaps y ou could Maybe it would be better to I think it would be better if you Can I/May I make another suggestion?I would recommend that you Have you thought about (verb + ing) ? What about ? Remember Peer feedback should be supportive and helpfulprovide constructive criticism. Task 3 Microskills Introductions 3. 1 Quickly write down what you think are the important points to include in an introduction to an academic essay. Reading & Writing 89 3. 2 Discuss your ideas and explain why you have chosen these points a) with a partner b) with the rest of the class. Study tip EAS Writing contains suggestions for individual work as well as pair, group, and class discussion. raise full use of this varied interaction to develop your ideas. 3.3 Answer the following questions a) What function or purpose does the introduction of an essay have? b) What should an introduction contain? 90 English for academic study Academic Achievement 3. 4 Look at the following sentences from an introduction to an essay on The problems of population growth. a) Decide which would be the most logical order of these sentences 1 This growth has created many problems, especially in the capital cities. This essay will discuss the situation that has led to the development of these problems and describe some of them. The population of the world has been growing quickly over the last cardinal years.It will then suggest some possible solutions to the problems and evaluate their viability. The problems include housing, pollution, unemployment, and food and water shortages. b) Compare what you think with another student and also say why you decided on the order you chose. c) Together with your partner, try to identify an obvious pattern to the introduction and decide what the function of each sentence is. 3. 5 Read carefully the following five introductions for an essay entitled Academic success in ones own culture and try to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.% % ( %, & % ( ) %& , &( % % % & % ( % (% & ) %, & ( &,& & ( %, ( &,& & % % % %, & & && , & ( &( && % && & & % & , &( & % % & % ) %& & ,( % & ,( &( ,(% ) %, , % & , % &( & %, % * ) % & &( & % % &( , & & & && , * & % & %& % & , % &( && ) %, , * & & ) &( && & , / ( &&0 & & , & , % 1& * % ( & * ,1& (% % % % & & &( & %& & (% &( && % $( % & % % % & &( , & & % &( % % ( & & ( / &( && 0 (% ( &,& % ( (% * ,& & (% &( &1 &( && % % & && , * & % &( && * % %& Reading & Writing 91 ( & & %& % ( ) & , ( % % ( % % ) , + ( % , %) % ( (% ( & & && , * & % ( &,& % & &( && (% ( %, , %& & % ( & & & % & * & , ) % &,& ( &(% &,& & %& *( % &* % & $( & & $( & . * &% % & &( && . & & & & * &* % & % ( % % ( ) %& , % & % & & , & & & , % & % % & &( &1 ((% , % % & % % % , * &( && % ((% % % ( & * % % & (& , % , & & (& ( ( & & % % % , ( % % % && & + & % ) &( , % % , & % & % ( & & & & , % &( , &( & & && , & ) &( , % & % ( &( && (% ( (% Edited extracts from authentic student material 3. 6 Imagine you are writing an essay on the following three topics. Write a suitable introduction for each one of them. (Note that you are not going towrite the whole essay. ) a)The education system in ones own country. b) Traveling broadens the mind. Discuss. c) The rapid development of electronic communications may mean that people will have fewer social skills. Discuss. 3. 7 When you write the second draft of your essay What are the aims of academic study and how can they be achieved? make appropriate changes to the introduction, and other parts, according to your peer feedback session. Study tip Spend time on your introduction as it plays a crucial character reference in the essay. It should provide the reader with a clear indication of the main ar eas you are going to discuss.92 English for academic study Academic Achievement 1 Unit summary In this unit you have reflected on your attitudes and approach to academic writing skills. You have thought about the different stages of the writing process and practiced planning, writing a first draft, and giving peer feedback. You have also looked at how to write effective introductions to your essays. 1 Match the words and phrases in the box to their definitions below. They are all procedures and techniques that form part of the writing process. drafting brainstorming peer feedback organizing ideas adopting a critical stancea) Generating and noting down initial ideas about a topic without ordering them b) Putting ideas together in a logical sequence c) Deciding on and expressing your viewpoint afterwards examining and judging possible opinions d) The process of writing and putting your essay together. Most essays will have two or more drafts and will be revised and edited after each draft. e) Comments on your essay from other students 2 Complete the sentences below on writing an academic text using some of the words from Ex 1. a) When you are given a writing task, it is important to start by b) When you write the first draft you should.c) Before you hand in your final draft 3 After working on this unit, write down ways in your notebook of how you improved your knowledge of academic writing. Reading & Writing For web resources relevant to this unit, see www. englishforacademicstudy. com/us/student/writing/links 93 Academic Achievement Text 1-1The influence of class size on academic achievement 1 THE persuade OF CLASS size of it ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Education is a pillar of modern society and the subject of endless, often passionate arguments about how it can best be improved. In the U. S. , there is heated 5 debate following revelations that the countrys secondary schoolstudents perform poorly relative to many Asian and European students. The news coincided with change magnitude concern over the nations urban and 10 lower-income suburban schools, too many of which are languishing at achievement levels far below those of middle-class and upper middle-class suburban schools.Of all the ideas for improving education, 15 few are as simple or attractive as reducing the number of pupils per teacher. With its uncomplicated appeal and lack of a big, powerful group of opponents, class-size reduction has lately developed from a sub20 ject of primarily academic interest to a key political issue.In the United States, more than 20 fixs and the federal government have adopted policies aimed at fall class sizes, and billions of dollars have been 25 spent or committed in the past few years. The demand for smaller classes is also growing in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and even Japan, whose record of secondary school performance is the admire of 30 most other developed countries. The most obvious drawback to class-size reduction is the h uge cost. It requires more teachers, more classrooms, and more classroom equipment and resources.These 35 expenses can dwarf the price of alternative schemes, such as turn uping teachers or increasing their pay as a means of attracting better candidates. The state of California, for example, has been spending more than 40 $1. 5 billion annually over the past several years to reduce class size to 20 or fewer for children in the four- to seven-year-old bracket. On the other hand, if smaller classes rightfully do work, the economic benefits could be huge. 157 Reading & Writing Text 1-1 The influence of class size on academic achievement cont. 158 English for academic study smaller classes.Finally, some analysts believe that the very youngest age group in smaller classes are more likely to develop good study habits, higher self-esteem and possibly other beneficial cognitive traits which may very well persist for years, even 95 after the students have gone back to more normal-sized cla sses. One way investigators have attempted to analyze the effects of class size is by reviewing quick data, such as records kept by the 100 U. S. Department of Education. These showing that between 1969 and 1997, the average number of pupils per teacher in American reality and private elementary schools fell from 25.1 to 18. 3, a decline of greater than 105 27%. In secondary schools, the number also fell, from 19. 7 to 14. 0. Of concern, however, is the fact that despite these steep drops in pupil-teacher ratios, the improvement in academic performance was negligible. Data 110 from the National Assessment of Educational Progressa series of sorts that is the precisely United States-wide indicator of student knowledge in reading, mathematics, science WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS and other subjectsshow no significant OF SMALLER CLASS size of itS? 115 gains.In some specific age and subject categories, such as 17-year-olds and science, Educators have a multitude of explanations performance actually decreased slightly. for why smaller class sizes might be expect70 ed to improve academic performance, although frequently the ideas are anecdotal. WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS less students in the classroom seem to translate into less noise and churning However, these findings do not necessarily 75 behavior from students, which not only gives the teacher more time for class work but cxx mean that class size makes no difference.For a variety of reasons, most researchers, also more freedom to engage students creincluding the writers, pay little fear to ativelyby, for example, dividing them into these figures (Figure 1). For instance, groups for specific projects. In addition, schools strive for more than just high test 80 smaller classes make it more likely that the teacher can give greater individual attention 125 scores they also usually try to keep their dropout rate low. In fact, the dropout rate to attempt students. wasteder classes also for students aged 1624 fell from 15 to 11 allow teachers to encourage more discuspercent over the period.Because dropouts sion, assign more writing, and closely examgenerally come from the low end of the 85 ine their students written work. In other words, much of the benefit of reduced class 130 achievement distribution, a reduction in dropout rate could be expected to omit down size may depend on whether the teachers average test scores in the upper grades. adapt their methods to take advantage of They would fall down not just from the benefits of a better-educated workforce but also from other sources, such as the avoided medical costs and sick days of a healthier, more informed populace.The surge of interest in smaller classes 50 has spurred fresh analyzes of the largest, most conclusive study to date, which took place in Tennessee in the late 1980s. At the same time, new data are flow rate from 55 various initiatives, including the California program and a smaller one in Wisconsin. These results and analyzes are finally offering some tentative responses to the questions that researchers must answer before 60 legislators can come up with policies that make educational and economic sense Do small classes in fact improve school achievement? If they do, at what age level do they accomplish the great good?What kind of 65 students gain the greatest benefit, and most importantly, how great is the benefit? 45 90 Academic Achievement Text 1-1 The influence of class size on academic achievement cont. 1 FIGURE 1 MILESTONE STUDIES IN CLASS SIZE PROJECT STATE STUDENTS PARTICIPATING APPROX. COST SMALL CLASS SIZE KEY FINDINGS STAR 198589 Tennessee 10,000 $12m 1317 Significant performance benefit of 0. 2 standard deviation larger gains for minority pupils Small performance gain of about 0. 05 to 0. 1 standard deviation no greater gains for minorities Significant performance advantage of 0. 2 standard deviation larger gain.