Poor behavior doesn't always lead to poor grades

Washington: Contrary to popular belief, poor behavior in the classroom does not always lead to poor grades.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, followed 350 students in seven at-risk schools over a five-year period.

They assessed both teacher perceptions of student behavior and academic achievement as well as actual performance.

They found that teachers were more likely to report that well-behaved students did better academically and expected more of them - even when some of these students were struggling with school work, the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions reports.

At the same time, students who acted out in school were seen as having more academic difficulties, even though this was not always the case, according to a North Carolina statement.

"Children are not well served when teachers believe that teaching behavior requires different skills than teaching academics. Or that teaching academics will magically improve behavior," said Bob Algozzine, who led the study at North Carolina.

Researchers concluded that it is important not to focus solely on improving academic or behavior problems in at-risk students, but to emphasize teaching both behavior and academic skills for these children. IANS