Teacher expectations can influence student achievement according to research. When teachers have high expectations for students and communicate their confidence, students tend to perform better. Conversely, when teachers have low expectations, students may not be given opportunities to succeed. The document discusses several studies on teacher expectations and how expectations can shape a student's self-concept and development. It also notes that while some research has found correlations, the relationship between expectations and achievement is complex with many influences.

1. Teacher
Expectations
and Student
Achievement
Brittany Schaneberg
SOE 115
Psychology of Teaching and Learning
Kendall College

2. Overview of Teacher Expectations
The idea of teacher expectations is, in a sense, a placebo effect.
What a teacher believes her students can accomplish determines
what a student may achieve. For example, a teacher might be told
a 4 year old can read at a 2nd grade level. While it may not be true,
the teacher holds higher expectations for this child. Because the
child is held to a higher standard, and the teacher pushes and
believes in them, the child will still succeed. On the other hand, a
teacher may have lower expectations for a child, and because of
this, the student is not given a chance to succeed.
I chose to look at the correlation between teacher expectations
and student achievement because I believe this is valuable
knowledge that can be used in every classroom, including my
own. Being curious, I also wanted to know if expectations really do
make a difference in a student’s achievement, and if I have ever
experienced teacher expectations, as a student.
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

3. Credible Source #1
 Teacher expectations are defined in two ways: self-fulfilling prophecy
and sustaining expectation effect.
 According to Merton(1949), self-fulfilling prophecy is defined as a
“groundless expectation that leads to behaviors that then make the
original expectation come true.” (Woolfork, 2016, p.559). An example
in the text talks about a teacher who believed her incoming students
had high IQs. Because of this, the teacher “designed a host of
challenging activities, set high expectations for her students, and
communicated her confidence in them to excel. They did.” (Woolfork,
2016, p.559). At a later time, the teacher found out that the numbers
she had seen and thought were high IQs were actually locker
numbers.
Image source: http://news.psu.edu/story/349747/2015/03/24/research/more-school-more-challenging-assignments-add-higher-iq-scores
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

4. Credible Source #1 (Continued)
 On the other hand, a sustaining expectation effect “occurs when
teachers are fairly accurate in their initial reading of students’
abilities and respond to students appropriately. The problems
arise when students show some improvement, but teachers do
not alter their expectations to take account of improvement.”
(Woolfork, 2016, p. 559).
 In 1968, two psychologists, Robert Rosenthal and Lenore
Jacobson conducted a study about teacher expectations. “They
randomly chose several students in a number of elementary
school classrooms, and then told the teachers that these
students probably would make significant intellectual gains
during the year.” (Woolfork, 2016, p.559). These students did
make more gains than other years. It was concluded that “these
expectations have only a small effect on student IQ scores.”
(Woolfork, 2016, p.560).
Image source: https://www.teachercreated.com/blog/2015/09/how-to-create-the-ultimate-student-work-bulletin-board/
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

5. Credible Source #2
 Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement (TESA) is a program that
was created to “reduce the negative effects of low teacher expectations.”
(Gottfredson, D. & Marciniak, E., 1995). In the late 1980’s a study of teacher
expectations was conducted using schools with teachers who participated
in the TESA program, and schools with teachers who had not. The results of
the study showed no positive effect in those who participated in TESA,
however, “a nonsignificant trend favored TESA participants in grades 1
through 3).” (Gottfredson, D. & Marciniak, E., 1995).
 Coladarci, 1986; Hoge & Butcher, 1984; and Patriarca & Kragt, 1986, “found
that teachers overestimate the achievement of high-achievers,
underestimate that of low-achhttps://www.visix.com/using-digital-signage-
templates-to-recognize-student-achievement-2/eivers, and predict least
accurately the responses of low achievers.” (Gottfredson,D. & Marciniak, E.
1995).
Image source: https://www.findlay.edu/health-professions/physician-assistant-ma/student-work-policies
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

6. Credible Source #3
 I interviewed the pre-k teacher, Mrs.H, (who has taught for many years, in
many settings), at the preschool I teach at. When asking her if she believes
that teacher expectations effect student achievement, she stated that “I
have a child who is at a higher level, Mom contemplated on sending him
because she thought he wouldn’t get the higher level he needed. So, to
meet her expectations and make sure he is learning, I have to include the
whole class. He excels, but others are still struggling with writing their
names.”(Mrs. H, 2017). Mrs. H also explained that she does hold higher
expectations for this child, as well as a few others. Other children at a
lower level are not yet capable of what these children do. Mrs. H stated,
“You can easily tell by looking at our seat-work that is hanging on the wall
who is succeeding, and who is behind.” Mrs. H expressed that she does
have high expectations for all of her students, thus why she gives them
work that is slightly above her level, and most succeed.
Image source: https://www.identitydirect.com.au/teachers-personalised-labels.htmlSchaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

7. Analysis
 Through reading and looking at credible sources, it
would seem teacher expectations make a difference in
student achievement, but through these studies, it is
shown that there is little difference between variables.
As a whole, researchers and psychologists believe that
having high or low expectations of a student does
shape the achievement of a child, even though the
studies do not show the correlation. It is shown that
students are more likely to be impacted by
expectations at younger grades. I am curious to learn
if other teachers believe they use student expectations
in their classroom, how these expectations are
developed, and what the results are. I would also like
to learn if parents believe a teacher’s expectations of
their child has impacted that child’s achievement.
Image Source: https://ww2.kqed.org/education/collections/in-the-classroom/
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

8. Connections
 Self-concept relates to teacher expectations because teacher
expectations play into how a child thinks of themselves, and what they
believe they are capable of achieving. Specifically, this form of self-
evaluation starts early in school, during the age that studies showed
the most effects of teacher expectations in students. According to
Harter (1998,2006), children “gauge the verbal and nonverbal
reactions of significant people- parents and other family members in
the early years, and friends, schoolmates, and teachers later- to make
these judgments.” (Woolfork, 2016, p. 101). In early childhood, a child
looks to the reactions of those around them, and when they enter
school they start to look at the reactions of teachers. So, when a
teacher has high expectations and confidence in a child, the child is
likely to feed off of this and succeed. None the less, children who see
that their teacher does not have high expectations for them may feel
like they cannot or do not need to succeed- that the teacher will not
notice, giving them low self-concept.
Image Source: https://www.visix.com/using-digital-signage-templates-to-recognize-student-achievement-2/Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

9. Connections
(Continued)
 As part of the Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological
Model, a child’s school (teacher) in the
mesosystem is part of the child’s achievement.
Thus, the teacher’s expectations influence who
the child is, and what they think of themselves.
Woolfork explains that “teachers, families, and
peers are part of the students’ context.” and
that “context is the total situation that
surrounds and interacts with an individual’s
thoughts, feelings, and actions to shape
development and learning.”(Woolfork, 2016,
p.81). Therefore, a teacher’s expectations are
part of the mold that shapes who a child is/will
become.
Bronfenbrenner’s Biological Model of
Human Development
Image source: https://sites.google.com/site/thewhimsicalorchid/childcare
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

10. Conclusions
 Researchers seem to agree that a teacher’s
expectations plays into a student’s
achievements, even though studies have not
been able to prove a large correlation of this
theory. When you believe your students are
capable of working a higher level and express
your confidence in them, they will work
harder to achieve this goal and be successful.
On the other side, having a low expectations
of student can harm their self-concept and
prevent them from working harder.
Image source: http://study.com/blog/the-fundamentals-of-effective-classroom-management-for-new-teachers.html
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

11. Connections With Families
 If a family were to ask me what kind of expectations I hold
for my students, or what student expectations are, I would
respond with:
 “ I hold all of my children to a high standard. I want them
to work hard and push for a level of difficulty that they are
not comfortable with. I believe they will all succeed, and I
am there to help them. We don’t know what they are
capable of without pushing them. Every child deserves to
feel like they have a teacher who believes in them. As far
as a definition for student expectations, I would describe
them as a set of goals that I set for my students, the level
of work they can complete, and the idea that high
expectations lead to positive outcomes.” Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/blessedw2grls/education-quotes/?lp=true
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning

12. References
 Gottfredson, D. & Marciniak, E. (1995). Increasing Teacher Expectations for Student
Achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 88. Retrieved November 9, 2017
from
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=2fc900d0-
803f-4288-9e54-fa1ba3dd2183%40pdc-v-sessmgr01
 Harper, D. (2017, November) Personal Interview
 Woolfork, A. (2016) Educational Psychology. United States of America: Pearson
Education, Inc.
Schaneberg - SOE 115 Psychology of Teaching and Learning