EXPECTANCIES, VALUES, AND ACHIEVEMENT IN JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOL

Many theorists have suggested that students' motivation to achieve in school depends on their expectancies for success and the value they attach to success. There are few data, however, on the relation between expectancies and values or their relative contribution to achievement. To examine these issues, we asked 153 seventh graders to complete multiple measures of academic expectancies and values. We used students' report card grades and academic track placements in English and math as indicators of their achievement. Covariance structure analyses showed that students' expectancies were more strongly related to their achievement than were their values. Nevertheless, both expectancies and values made significant, independent contributions to achievement. In addition, the constructs for expectancies and values were positively correlated. Boys and girls had similar expectancies, but boys appeared to value academic success less than did girls.