2011 - Changing Diversity in U.S. Schools: The Impact on Elementary Student Performance and Achievement

Attribution: Clayton, Jennifer K.
Researchers: Jennifer K. Clayton
University Affiliation: The George Washington University
Email: claytonj@gwu.edu
Research Question:
1) What is the relationship and predictability of poverty, teacher quality, and diversity of schools on Grade 5 reading and mathematics Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) examinations for student subgroups in selected districts?
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Education and Urban Society
Journal Entry: Vol. 43, No. 6, Pp. 671-695
Year: 2011
Findings:
  1. White students in schools with a lower rate of poverty were predicted to perform better on the English reading exam than were students at schools with high poverty rates.
  2. Black students attending a school with lower rates of poverty and higher rates of highly qualified teachers were predicted to have higher rates of advance pass scores on the English reading exam than students at schools with high poverty rates and low rates of highly qualified teachers.
  3. Poverty was only able to predict the pass rates for White students, not for Black or Hispanic students.
  4. The free and reduced lunch indicators for Hispanic students was not statistically significant for Hispanic student performance.
  5. The predictor of diversity, EDI (Ethnic Diversity Index) and teacher quality were significant for Hispanic students, Hispanic students attending schools with lower rates of diversity and lower rates of highly qualified teachers were predicted to have higher rates of pass scores on the math exam than students at schools with high EDI and high rates of highly qualified teachers.
  6. White students attending a school with a lower rate of poverty and lower rate of diversity were predicted to have higher rates of pass scores on the math exam than students at schools with high poverty and a high rate of diversity.
  7. Similarly White students attending schools with low rates of poverty and low rates of diversity were predicted to have higher rates of advance pass scores on the math exam than were students at schools with high rates of poverty and high rates of diversity.
Keywords: AccountabilityRacial CompositionTeacher QualityUrban SchoolsRegions: SouthMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: Secondary DataAnalysis Methods: Regression Sampling Frame:24 School Districts in Virginia
Sampling Types: NonrandomAnalysis Units: StudentData Types: Quantitative
Data Description:
  • Purposeful sample of districts in Virginia with sufficiently large enough populations to reflect possible trends in resegregation, resulting in 24 districts located in the metropolitan areas of Northern Virginia, Tidewater, and Richmond)
  • This selection yielded a final sample of 56,046 fifth-graders from 592 K-5 or K-6 elementary schools
  • Data originated from the Virginia Department of Education and includes measures of pass rates on state-administered standardized tests in reading and mathematics as well as demographic measures of students and schools.
  • DV: academic achievement (obtaining a passing or advanced passing rate on reading and mathematics standardized test)
  • IV: poverty (percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), school diversity (calculated as the ethnic diversity index, measuring the diversity of the student body in a particular school using the proportional representation of each ethnic group), and teacher quality (whether teacher holds a bachelor’s degree, has a full state certification, and demonstrates competency in the core subjects they teach)
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts