Chapter 14: Class-Average Achievement, Marks, and Academic Self-Concept in German Primary Schools

The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE; e.g., Marsh, 1987) describes the phenomenon that students in classes or schools with a high average level of achievement have lower academic self-concepts than their equally able peers in lower achieving classes or schools. In the typical demonstration of the BFLPE, class- or school-average ability is shown to be negatively related to academic self-concept after controlling for the effects of individual student achievement and, in some cases, other characteristics such as socioeconomic status. Social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954; Wood, 1989) provides a theoretical framework explaining the BFLPE: students in high-ability classes are inherently more likely than their peers in low-ability classes to make social comparisons with higher-achieving students—and thus to develop lower academic self-concepts. Authors like McFarland and Buehler (1995) have argued that the awarding of marks and grades intensifies the BFLPE. Relative to their counterparts in high-achieving classes, students in low-achieving classes tend to receive better marks for the same outcomes, leading them to develop higher academic self-concepts. Furthermore, it has been argued that marks provide an external frame of reference and thus increase competition among students, who strive to outperform their classmates. Based on these theoretical considerations, this article addresses the extent to which the BFLPE is moderated by the absence or presence of marks. Because the provision of marks is obligatory in German secondary schools, we investigated second graders in German primary schools in one federal state in which some schools awarded marks and others did not. Before presenting our study, we briefly discuss the BFLPE and how it is affected by different types of feedback, and we outline the history and current practice of assessment in German classrooms. These two theoretical perspectives lead on to our research questions and empirical investigation. We close by discussing the findings and their implications for educational practice.