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A study of nearly 600 students in Tulsa, Oklahoma, found that students reporting a stronger sense of mattering also tended to report better mental health and, in some cases, stronger academic outcomes. Georgetown researcher Anna Johnson says mattering involves both feeling valued and having opportunities to contribute; the study found associations, not proof that mattering caused those outcomes.
A study involving nearly 600 sixth graders in Tulsa, Oklahoma, found that students who reported a stronger sense of mattering also tended to report better mental health and, in some cases, stronger academic outcomes. Georgetown University professor Anna Johnson, a co-author, describes mattering as both feeling valued and believing one can add value—a distinction that may help schools look beyond whether students simply feel they belong.
The students came from Tulsa’s large public school district, a diverse, low-income community in which a majority of the survey respondents were students of color. The research examined students’ feelings of purpose and whether they considered their lives worthwhile, as well as links with family and cultural factors, mental health, and school performance. The source material does not provide the study’s title, publication date, or full methodology.
Johnson told The 74 that about two-thirds of the sample scored higher on mattering, indicating a stronger sense of worth and purpose. More than half of Black students selected the highest response for mattering, while about 60% of Hispanic or Latino students reported “some” or “a lot.” Those figures describe the surveyed students; they should not be read as estimates for all students in those groups.
Higher mattering was associated with lower loneliness, anxiety and depression, greater school liking, and stronger academic performance. Johnson said students with higher mattering scores had test scores 1.4 points higher in reading and 1.2 points higher in math. She also described attendance as borderline better. The source does not specify the score scale or report that mattering caused the differences.
Why Feeling Valued Can Shape School
The findings add a specific dimension to ongoing efforts to improve school climate and student belonging. A student may say they belong at school but still not feel that adults know them, value their contributions, or make room for what they bring to the classroom. Mattering focuses on both sides of that relationship: receiving recognition and being able to contribute.
That distinction matters for educators because it points toward classroom practices, not only surveys of how students feel. Johnson described a teacher inviting students to share culturally meaningful items—such as a recipe or sports jersey—as part of a lesson. In her account, students can explain why those items matter to them and teach classmates something in return. Such examples illustrate the concept; the supplied material does not establish that this approach was tested as an intervention in the study.
The results may interest schools seeking ways to support students’ mental health and engagement, especially during early adolescence. But the reported correlations do not show that a particular classroom practice will raise test scores or reduce anxiety. The research offers a reason to investigate how students experience value and contribution, rather than a proven program or policy prescription.
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From Belonging Surveys to Mattering
School climate and student belonging have become priorities for state and district leaders, according to The 74’s report. The article notes that Illinois, Connecticut and California have begun requiring school climate surveys, which ask students how they feel at school. Such surveys can capture whether students feel included, but Johnson argues that belonging alone may not reveal whether they feel known or valued by people in the school community.
Johnson said she and journalist Jennifer Wallace wanted empirical evidence about mattering among young people, particularly students of color. Earlier discussion of the concept had drawn substantially on psychological research from the 1980s and on adults in workplace settings, she said. Their work turned to pre-adolescents in Tulsa, asking what predicts a sense of purpose and whether it relates to school and mental health outcomes.
The study also considered family conversations about racial and ethnic identity and preparing for bias. Johnson said those conversations were associated with higher mattering among low-income Black and Hispanic adolescents in the data. The article presents this as an association; it does not establish that the conversations alone produced the reported outcomes.
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What the Tulsa Findings Cannot Show
The supplied report does not identify the study’s publication date, title, journal, survey instruments, or complete statistical methods. It also does not give the test-score scale behind the reported 1.4-point reading and 1.2-point math differences. Those omissions limit how readers can independently assess the size and generalizability of the findings.
The research describes associations between reported mattering and outcomes; it does not establish that a stronger sense of mattering caused better mental health or academic performance. The sample was drawn from one Oklahoma district, so it is unclear whether the patterns would be similar in other communities. The source also does not provide details on the survey response rate or explain how results varied by other student characteristics.
Johnson discussed sixth grade as a period of interest, but the supplied interview excerpt does not include her full answer about school transitions. It is therefore not clear from this material whether the study directly measured changes over the transition into middle school.
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How Schools May Apply the Idea
The immediate next step for educators is not a single tested intervention identified in the report. Johnson’s examples suggest that schools can examine whether students have opportunities to share knowledge, culture, and interests in ways that classmates and teachers recognize. Schools already collecting climate-survey data could also ask whether students feel valued and able to contribute, while keeping those measures distinct from the broader concept of belonging.
Further research would be needed to test whether specific classroom practices increase mattering and whether any change leads to measurable differences in mental health, attendance, or academic performance. The supplied material does not announce a follow-up study or timeline. For now, the Tulsa results offer an early evidence point for a conversation about how students experience purpose and recognition at school, rather than a definitive guide to what schools should adopt.
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Key Questions
What does “mattering” mean in this study?
Georgetown researcher Anna Johnson describes it as both feeling valued and having a chance to add value. It includes belonging but also asks whether students feel known and able to contribute.
How many students were surveyed?
The study included nearly 600 sixth graders in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The supplied report does not give the exact number or survey response rate.
What outcomes were associated with higher mattering?
Johnson reported associations with lower loneliness, anxiety and depression, greater school liking, and stronger academic performance. Attendance was described as borderline better. These are associations, not proof that mattering caused the outcomes.
Did the study prove that mattering improves grades?
No. Johnson reported reading scores 1.4 points higher and math scores 1.2 points higher among students with higher mattering, but the source does not specify the score scale or establish causation.
What can schools do with these findings?
Johnson described classroom opportunities for students to share culturally meaningful knowledge and teach peers. The report presents this as an example of mattering, not as a tested intervention with proven effects.
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