Previous research has established the benefits of utility-value interventions in improving students' motivation and achievement outcomes. However, further investigation is needed to understand the heterogeneity of intervention effects and identify the contexts within which these interventions are more effective. Accordingly, in the present study, we tested the efficacy of a utility-value intervention in contexts with varying degrees of perceived instructor support in the development of values and relevance. Participants were 2,240 community college students enrolled in one of the four math courses taught by 78 instructors. The results of multilevel models with Bayesian estimation suggested that the utility-value intervention increased students' relevance for mathematics, which in turn positively predicted their math achievement. Notably, the intervention predicted these outcomes only in contexts where students perceived less support from instructors for the development of values, highlighting its effectiveness in contexts where it was most needed. Additionally, the results revealed an unintended consequence of the utility-value intervention: a slight decrease in students' expectations for success in their math course compared to the control group. We propose that minor adjustments to the writing activities embedded within the intervention in future research could mitigate any negative effects on students' expectations for success. This study underscores the importance of examining the heterogeneity of intervention effects, highlighting that interventions do not produce uniform outcomes across all contexts. The results have implications for professional development opportunities for instructors seeking to foster value-supportive environments for their students.

As racial inequities continue to pervade school systems around the world, further research is necessary to understand the factors undergirding this pressing issue. Here across three studies conducted in the United States (N = 8,293), we provide evidence that race-based differences in student achievement do not stem from a lack of motivation among Black, Latinx and Indigenous (BLI) students, but a lack of equitable motivational payoff. Even when BLI and non-BLI students have the same levels of motivation, BLI students still receive maths grades that are an average of 9% lower than those of their non-BLI peers (95% confidence interval 7 to 11%). This pattern was not explained by differences in students' aptitude, effort or prior achievement but was instead linked to teachers' diminished expectations for their BLI students' academic futures. We conclude by discussing statistical power limitations and the implications of the current findings for how researchers consider the sources of, and solutions for, educational inequity. Silverman et al. find that Black, Latinx and Indigenous (BLI) students receive lower grades than non-BLI students with similar patterns of motivation. This inequitable motivational payoff is linked to teachers' racially biased beliefs about students.

Although designed to prepare students for future coursework or to fulfill basic degree requirements, introductory math courses often serve as barriers to student success. In two double-blind randomized field experiments, we tested the efficacy of a utility-value intervention on improving community college students' perceived math relevance and achievement in introductory math courses. Building upon prior research, we examined whether the intervention particularly benefited first-generation and racially marginalized students. Study 1 (N = 696) was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and within in-person classrooms, whereas Study 2 (N = 1,318) was conducted during the pandemic and within virtual learning environments. Across Studies 1 and 2, students in the utility-value condition benefited more in terms of their perceived relevance compared to their peers in the control condition. Additionally, in both studies, math relevance mediated the effects of the intervention on math grades. In Study 2, with a larger sample, the positive effect of the intervention on math relevance was more pronounced for first-generation students. Our findings imply that community colleges could significantly improve students' academic experiences by investing in motivation-enhancing activities such as utility-value interventions in introductory math courses. This strategy could especially help first-generation students' academic achievement and retention rates.

The COVID-19 pandemic and shift to remote instruction disrupted students' learning and well-being. This study explored undergraduates' incoming course concerns and later perceived challenges in an introductory statistics course. We explored how the frequency of concerns changed with the onset of COVID-19 (N = 1417) and, during COVID-19, how incoming concerns compared to later perceived challenges (n = 524). Students were most concerned about R coding, understanding concepts, workload, prior knowledge, time management, and performance, with each of these concerns mentioned less frequently during than before COVID-19. Concerns most directly related to the pandemic-virtual learning and inaccessibility of resources-showed an increase in frequency. The frequency of concerns differed by gender and URM status. The most frequently mentioned challenges were course workload, virtual learning, R coding, and understanding concepts, with significant differences by URM status. Concerns about understanding concepts, lack of prior knowledge, performance, and time management declined from the beginning to the end of the term. Workload had the highest rate of both consistency and emergence across the term. Because students' perceptions have an impact on their experiences and expectations, understanding and addressing concerns and challenges could help guide instructional designers and policymakers as they develop interventions.

This study examined utility value trajectories overall and by gender, race, and underrepresented racial minority (URM) status within an introductory statistics course and tested the relationships between utility value, behavioral engagement, and performance. Data from 1108 undergraduates included three surveys integrated into their online textbook (t(1): beginning of the textbook; t(2): middle of the textbook; t(3): end of the textbook). On average, utility value declined from t(1) to t(2). There were no significant differences by gender, however, latent change models revealed significant differences between URM and non-URM students: While Black, Latinx, and racially minoritized students continued to experience a decline in utility value from t(2) to t(3), White and Asian students did not. Utility value was reciprocally related to behavioral engagement during the learning process, and both utility value (t(3)) and behavioral engagement (t(1) and t(2)) predicted final course grades. The findings highlight the need for a deeper understanding of short-term relationships between utility value, behavioral engagement, and performance as well as the ongoing concern for how best to support students who identify with underrepresented groups in STEM.