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For decades, psychologists have debated whether intelligence is largely fixed or can continue developing over time. A landmark national study published in found that a brief online growth mindset intervention improved academic performance among lower-achieving high school students , particularly in schools where the surrounding environment supported challenge and improvement. The study showed that teaching adolescents to view ability as something that can develop produced measurable academic benefits under the right conditions.

The greatest improvements appeared among students who needed them most

The National Study of Learning Mindsets involved thousands of students across U.S. high schools who completed two short online sessions encouraging the belief that intelligence develops through learning and effort. The intervention did not raise grades across the entire sample. Instead, the most meaningful improvements appeared among students who had entered high school with lower academic achievement, suggesting that the message was particularly valuable for those with greater room for improvement.

The researchers also found that school climate influenced the results. Students benefited more when they attended schools where challenge, persistence, and improvement were supported by peers and the broader learning environment. The findings suggest that changing beliefs about intelligence is more effective when the surrounding environment reinforces those beliefs instead of contradicting them.

Mindset works best when it is supported by the environment

The study has remained influential because it presented a growth mindset as one part of a larger educational system rather than a standalone solution. Believing that ability can improve may encourage students to embrace difficult work, but that belief is easier to maintain when teachers, classmates, and school culture reward persistence instead of treating struggle as failure.

Later evidence reviews have reached similarly cautious conclusions. A large meta-analysis published in found that growth mindset interventions produce modest academic benefits overall, with effects varying depending on context and implementation. Rather than weakening the original findings, these reviews reinforce the study’s central message: a growth mindset is most effective when it operates within supportive educational environments.

The national study changed the conversation about intelligence because it replaced a simple debate about talent with a more practical question about learning. The researchers showed that a brief growth mindset lesson improved grades among lower-achieving students under supportive conditions, while later reviews confirmed that context plays an important role in determining how much students benefit. Together, the evidence suggests that intelligence does not have to feel fixed. Students are more likely to grow when both their beliefs and their environment encourage them to keep learning through challenge rather than avoid it.