DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37353.v2
title: The National Study of Learning Mindsets, [United States], 2015-2016
title: Version 2

description: The National Study of Learning Mindsets (NSLM) was designed to understand which kinds of students, in which kinds of classrooms, and in which kinds of schools are most likely to benefit from an online exercise designed to foster a growth mindset during the transition to high school. It is the largest-ever randomized controlled trial of a growth mindset intervention in the United States in K-12 settings, encompassing more than 16,000 9th grade students across 76 U.S. public high schools. It is one of the only studies of adolescent behavior outcomes over time to use the gold standard for testing cause and effect (a randomized experiment) with the gold standard for making claims about a population of schools (a representative sample).
description: The National Study of Learning Mindsets addresses the following primary research questions: Can the growth mindset intervention improve the grades of lower-performing students in U.S. public schools? Can the growth mindset intervention motivate students to enroll in challenging math and science courses? Can the growth mindset intervention reduce group-based inequalities in academic performance in U.S. public schools? Do the effects of the growth mindset intervention depend on schools' formal resources (e.g., the curriculum and instruction)? Are the effects of the growth mindset intervention larger in schools or classrooms that are supportive of growth mindset beliefs?
description: Students were asked to complete two randomly assigned, 25-minute online sessions using their school's computer resources. These sessions included a the growth mindset exercise and a control exercise. In the treatment condition, students read and listened to materials describing scientific evidence about how the brain works and about people's ability to grow intellectual abilities over time. The treatment condition also encouraged students to think about why they might want to grow their brain in order to make a difference on something they personally care about. The students also reflected on how to put these beliefs into practice, for instance, by completing a brief writing assignment providing advice for future ninth graders that might ease their transition to high school based on what the participants had just learned from the intervention. Students in the control group did activities that were closely matched to each of the treatment conditions, but they lacked the growth mindset message.
description: The Grades Long dataset contains information on one record per course grades and participating student's GPA and information. The Grades Wide dataset contains information on one record per student grades and how many courses participating students were taking, as well as their GPAs in each course. The Math Teacher Disposition dataset contains administrative variables on what surveys teachers participated in. The School Disposition dataset contains administrative variables on participating schools. The Student Dispostion dataset containis administrative information on students as well as weight variables. The Student-Math Teacher Crosswalk dataset contains information on participating students' math classes and their grades. The Student Survey dataset contains demographic information such as gender, race, and age, as well as variables on participating students' experiences in school from an online survey. The Teacher Survey dataset contains participating teachers' demographic information such as race, their teaching methods, and their education. The Test Scores dataset contains information on number of tests taken. The Grade 10 Math Course Selection dataset contains information on participating students' course selections. The School dataset contains information on participating schools' demographics, such as location, the courses they offer, and average test scores.
description: A total of 139 schools, selected from a sampling frame of over 12,000 regular U.S. public high schools, were invited to administer the intervention and provide student records. 76 schools agreed to participate in the study. 65 of the 76 schools provided all requested records, including both survey data and administrative records for students. The remaining 11 schools provided only the student and teacher survey data.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Grades Long Data DS2: Grades Wide Data DS3: Math Teacher Disposition Data DS4: School Disposition Data DS5: Student Dispostion Data DS6: Student-Math Teacher Crosswalk Data DS7: Student Survey Data DS8: Teacher Survey Data DS9: Test Scores Data DS10: Grade 10 Math Course Selection Data DS11: School Data
description: Ninth grade students and their math teachers in 2015 in US public schools. Smallest Geographic Unit: Latitude and longitude
description: cognitive assessment testFor additional information on The National Study of Learning Mindsets study, please visit the Mindset Scholars Network website.