Individual reference norm and social comparisons in mathematics classes:: The impact of different frames of reference on the domain-specific self-concept of ability

The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) describes the phenomenon that equally able students have lower academic self-concepts in classes or schools where the average achievement level is higher than in classes or schools where the average achievement level is lower. In the present study we investigated the effects of ipsative teacher feedback, (individual frame of reference IFR) on the BFLPE. Teachers with an IFR strongly emphasize improvement, effort, and learning, that is, orient their feedback to students' previous achievement, As a consequence, we expected a reduction of social comparisons and a declining BFLPE in classes headed by teachers with an IFR. This assumption was tested on the basis of two longitudinal studies, In Study 1, n = 3992 7th graders were investigated at two time points (beginning and end of grade 7), while in Study 2, n = 2150 students were tested at the end of grades 7 and 8. In addition to the individual and class-average math achievement, both studies used the students' perceptions of the teacher's IFR and the type of secondary school as predictors of students' academic self-concept. Multilevel analyses replicated the BFLPE on self-concept. Including teacher's IFR in analyses did not confirm that the BFLPE was smaller in classes where teachers had a strong IFR, but did show a direct positive effect of teacher's IFR on academic self-concept, Practical implications for ability grouping and its consequences are discussed.