Students who behave poorly in school don’t always get poor grades, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of North Carolina followed 350 children in seven elementary schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students for five years. They found that teachers tend to think well-behaved students are succeeding academically, even when they are struggling, and that students who act out in class are having academic difficulties, even when they’re not.
The article, published last month in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, concludes that teachers need to focus on both behavior and academics in teaching at-risk students.
