Acadmic Press

What is It?

Academic press is a consistently high expectation on the part of the teachers that students will do their best work. The emphasis is on a press for understanding, rather than a press for performance, which can be detrimental to student achievement. In other words, it is important to maintain a task or mastery goal orientation while pressing for student understanding, which emphasizes deep understanding, rather than lapsing into a performance goal orientation, in which students are pressed simply to obtain a high grade.

Why is it Important in School?

School environments high in academic press have been found to encourage more effective student learning strategies and greater levels of student achievement. If a task or mastery goal orientation also exists, then the impact of a press for understanding can contribute to student achievement over and above goal orientation.