Research shows that Growth Mindset students make better progress on transfer to High School
Carol Dweck's research shows that students with a Growth Mindset will tend to do better on transfer from Primary School to Secondary School. In Year 7 the work may become harder in some subjects (although in others it may be easier!). Grading may become more stringent and instruction less personalised, as students are taught by ten or more different teachers instead of one or two in Primary school. Students may initially be less clear about what their teachers expect of them and the classroom environment may seem less safe. It is in this transition period that students with a Fixed Mindset tend to struggle.
Carol Dweck's research showed that with Fixed Mindset students:
Many showed a marked decline in their class standing
Those who had done poorly in Y6 tended to continue to do poorly
Many who had been high achievers in Y6 were now among the lower achievers
Many who showed this decline had held high confidence in their intelligence
Were significantly more apprehensive about their school work and tended to be more anxious about school in general
Did show some recovery in their standing in Y8 but were still clearly below where they had been in Primary School
Henderson & Dweck 1990
But with Growth Mindset students:
Many showed a clear improvement in their class standing
Those who had done well in Y6 continued to do well
Many of those who had been among the lower achievers in Y6 were now doing much better, often entering the ranks of higher achievers
Many of those making the most impressive gains were those with low confidence in their intelligence
Henderson & Dweck 1990
In 2008-9 we carried out our own research with Y7 students at one of our High Schools. The school expected Y7 students to make at least two sub levels progress by the end of the year. By testing their mindset at the beginning of the year and tracking their progress in the core subjects, we found that Growth Mindset students were more than twice as likely to make the expected progress than those with a Fixed Mindset.