Page 93 - Demo

91Middle school is a key time for improving academic achievement because poor academic test scores in middle school predict poor performance in further education and less success in life. This study evaluated change in academic achievement in public middle school students practicing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program compared to controls. A total of 189 students who were below profi ciency level at baseline in English and math were evaluated for change in academic achievement using the California Standards Tests (CST). All students were from the same school and continued with the school%u2019s standard curriculum and instruction. Ninety-seven percent were racial and ethnic minority students. TM was practiced at school twice a day as part of the school%u2019s Quiet Time program for three months prior to post-testing. Results indicated improvement for TM students compared to controls on English scale scores (p = .002) and math scale scores (p < .001). A greater percentage of TM students improved at least one performance level in math and English compared to controls (p values < .01).P values, or probability, show the likelihood that the results were due to chance. P < .001 means that there is less than one chance in a thousand that the results were due to chance. That is, the result appears to be a true effect of TM and not some other random factor. Control TMImproved Academic Performance Percentage with at Least One Performance Level Gain02550 Percentage with at Least One Performance Level Gain02550 40.7%15%Control TM36.8%17.2%Increased Math Achievementin Students Below ProficiencyIncreased English Achievementin Students Below Proficiencyp = .001 p = .005tm-007DO BETTER IN MATH & LANGUAGEReference: Nidich, S., Mjasiri, S., Nidich, N., Rainforth, M., Grant, J., Valosek, L., ... & Zigler, R. L. (2011). Academic achievement and Transcendental Meditation: A study with at-risk urban middle school students. Education, 131(3), 556%u2013564.