Fig. 1.

The student and teacher data-collection procedure in the National Study of Learning Mindsets. The sample was drawn from a nationally representative selection of public schools in the United States during the 2015–2016 academic year. Each student was randomly assigned to a growth-mindset intervention or a control group at the beginning of ninth grade. The non-seeing-eye icon represents masking of condition assignments from teachers, students, and researchers, and the coin-flip icon represents the moment of random assignment. About 85% of students took the first intervention session during the fall semester before the Thanksgiving break, as planned; the rest took it in January or early February to accommodate school schedules. Immediately after the second intervention session (generally 1 to 4 weeks after the first), students completed self-reports of mindsets (which served as a manipulation check). During the intervention, student’s teachers were surveyed to determine their mindsets, their practices, and any potential confounds. After the intervention was complete, data were processed according to a preregistered analysis plan (see https://osf.io/afmb6/) by MDRC, an independent research firm unaware of condition assignment or results. GPA = grade point average.