Differences in cognitive, motivational and contextual variables between under-achieving, normally-achieving, and over-achieving students: A mixed-effects analysis.

Background: There are few studies in Spain which analyze the influence of individual, motivational and contextual variables, which might be different between underachieving, normally achieving and overachieving students.

Method: A total of 1,398 Spanish high school students participated. Mixed-effects models were used to analyze data.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish Adaptation of the School Attitude Assessment Survey-Revised.

Background: The assessment of attitudes toward school with the objective of identifying adolescents who may be at risk of underachievement has become an important area of research in educational psychology, although few specific tools for their evaluation have been designed to date. One of the instruments available is the School Attitude Assessment Survey-Revised (SAAS-R).

Method: The objective of the current research is to test the construct validity and to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the SAAS-R.

An explanatory model of academic achievement based on aptitudes, goal orientations, self-concept and learning strategies.

As a result of studies examining factors involved in the learning process, various structural models have been developed to explain the direct and indirect effects that occur between the variables in these models. The objective was to evaluate a structural model of cognitive and motivational variables predicting academic achievement, including general intelligence, academic self-concept, goal orientations, effort and learning strategies. The sample comprised of 341 Spanish students in the first year of compulsory secondary education.