The Relations Between Teasing and Bullying and Middle School Standardized Exam Performance

• NCJ Number: 251875
• Journal: Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: 2017 Pages: 192-221
• Author(s): Anna Lacey; Dewey Cornell; Timothy Konold
• Date Published: 2017
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-JF-FX-0062
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the links between the schoolwide prevalence of teasing and bullying (PTB) and schoolwide academic performance in a sample of 271 Virginia middle schools, and the study also examined the mediating effects of student engagement.

Abstract

A three-step sequence of path models investigated associations between schoolwide PTB and state-mandated Standards of Learning test pass rates, with effects examined both directly and indirectly through student engagement while controlling for important school-level characteristics. Separate models were examined for two 7th-grade and four 8th-grade tests. The findings indicated that higher levels of both teacher and student perceptions of schoolwide teasing and bullying were significantly associated with lower achievement pass rates and student engagement. The relationship between perceptions of schoolwide teasing and bullying and achievement was partially mediated by student engagement. These findings bring new support for the need for schoolwide interventions to reduce teasing and bullying among middle school students. (Publisher abstract modified)