Classroom context, teacher expectations, and cognitive level: Predicting childrenʹs math ability judgments

Classroom practices that make ability differences salient communicate differential teacher expectations for students. This study reports on a new observational tool for measuring Classroom Ability-based Practices (CAP) and explores how young childrenʹs self-perceptions of ability in mathematics are related to their teachersʹ expectations for them and to their cognitive reasoning skills in classrooms that vary in usage of such ability-differentiated practices. The sample consisted of 193 children and their teachers in 15 first grade classrooms. The CAP was a reliable measure of ability-based differential teacher treatment and showed criterion validity as a moderator variable in predicting childrenʹs ability perceptions. In highly ability-differentiating classrooms, childrenʹs self-ratings were more congruent with teachersʹ expectations of studentsʹ mathematics ability. Also in highly ability-differentiating classrooms, higher cognitive levels predicted lower self-ability ratings in math. These findings extend our understanding of the social and cognitive factors that shape young childrenʹs self-judgments of math competence.