WISE INTERVENTIONS

7th grade students in a rural, low-income, and predominantly Hispanic and Black population were matched with a college student mentor with whom they had two in-person 90-minute meetings plus email exchanges. In a treatment condition, the mentor shared that many students experience difficulties in the transition to junior high school but bounce back as they get used to their new environment (e.g., changing classes, more difficult subjects, many teachers not one). Together with students in a growth-mindset condition and as compared to a randomized control condition, girls (but not boys) earned higher math scores on a state test while both girls and boys earned higher reading scores.