Academic selfconcept, interest, grades, and standardized test scores: Reciprocal effects models of causal ordering

Reciprocal effects models of longitudinal data show that academic self-concept is both a cause and an effect of achievement. In this study this model was extended to juxtapose self-concept with academic interest. Based on longitudinal data from 2 nationally representative samples of German 7th-grade students (Study 1: N5 5,649,M age5 13.4; Study 2: N5 2,264, M age5 13.7 years), prior self-concept significantly affected subsequent math interest, school grades, and standardized test scores, whereas prior math interest had only a small effect on subsequent math self-concept. Despite stereotypic gender differences in means, linkages relating these con-structs were invariant over gender. These results demonstrate the positive effects of academic self-concept on a variety of academic outcomes and integrate self-concept with the developmental motivation literature. Academic self-concept, interest, and achievement are interrelated, and stereotypic gender differences are found in specific domains such as English and mathematics. In the present investigation we went beyond merely observing correlations at a single point in time to attempt to disentangle the causal mechanisms relating these constructs across multipl