Understanding Task Value to Predict Academic Performance 

by | Apr 28, 2025 | Classroom Culture & Activities, Curriculum Planning & Resources | 1 comment

Educators can face challenges when trying to predict student achievement, future decisions, continuity, and overall academic success.  (Lee & Song, 2022). Understanding these factors can help language educators offer additional supports or interventions if they suspect students are struggling. According to Eccles & Wigfield (1995), Task value is about how important a student thinks a task is and how confident they feel about doing well on it (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995).

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Task value contributes to educational development and offers insights into key motivating factors that enhance a student’s performance, choice, and persistence which helps explain both how well they accomplish a task, and the importance the assign to the task (Yue & Lu, 2022). As a result, a student’s value of a task can be considered as the driving factor behind their motivation (Kotla et al., 2023).  

Motivation is a driving force that can be used to understand connections between student achievements and other related factors (Nagle et al., 2021). As a result, students who are not motivated tend to struggle with academic performance, participation, and educational satisfaction, which can further hinder their motivation and minimize the value experienced within the tasks they accomplish (Hubley et al., 2024). 

In order to enhance student motivation, predict academic success, and provide necessary interventions, language educators can seek guidance from the following suggested strategies to enhance task value:  

  • Identify individual student needs and strengths  
  • Increase task value through relevance and real-world applications 
  • Foster a growth mindset and self-efficacy  
  • Create a supportive and inclusive learning environment 
  • Encourage goal-setting and self-regulation 
  • Provide opportunities for autonomy and choice 
  • Address motivational barriers 
  • Implement culturally responsive teaching 

By implementing strategies such as these, language educators can enhance task value, boost motivation, and support student success effectively which ultimately improves academic performance and persistence. Using strategies to enhance task value is critical for predicting and fostering student achievement, which positively influences student success. Benefits for enhancing task value include:  

  • Enhancing predictability of student achievement 
  • Increasing motivation  
  • Supporting student self-efficacy and academic resilience 
  • Promoting equitable learning outcomes 
  • Improving long-term educational and career outcomes 

By implementing strategies such as these, language educators can enhance task value, boost motivation, and support student success effectively which ultimately improves academic performance and persistence while creating a sustainable and proactive learning environment to promote student long-term success.  

References 

Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (1995). In the Mind of the Actor: The Structure of Adolescents’ Achievement Task Values and Expectancy-Related Beliefs. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21(3), 215-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167295213003  

Hubley, C., Edwards, J., Miele, D. B., & Scholer, A. A. (2024). Metamotivational beliefs about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology., 126(1), 26–57. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000362  

Kotla, B., Bosman, L., Chelberg, K., Magana, A. J., & Guzey, S. S. (2023). Lessons Learned From Remotely Onboarding Undergraduates Into Applied Energy and Entrepreneurship Research. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251231192865  

Lee, Y., & Song, H. D. (2022). Motivation for MOOC learning persistence: An expectancy-value theory perspective. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 958945. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.958945  

Nagle, C. (2021). Using Expectancy Value Theory to understand motivation, persistence, and achievement in university-level foreign language learning. Foreign Language Annals, 54(4), 1238-1256. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12569  

Yue, Y., & Lu, J. (2022). International Students’ Motivation to Study Abroad: An Empirical Study Based on Expectancy-Value Theory and Self-Determination Theory. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 841122. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.841122  

 

Patricia Patel

Patricia Patel is an experienced educator with over five years of teaching and course development in adult education. She holds a CTESOL designation and is currently pursuing a doctorate in education. Patricia is deeply committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and her interests focus on creating inclusive, learner-centred environments that support and empower adult learners from diverse backgrounds. She brings compassion, dedication, and a genuine passion for helping others grow.

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