Assessing the impact of school socioeconomic status (SES) and school building conditions on student performance among upstate New York public schools

Abstract

TPS 731: Neurological effects in children, Exhibition Hall, Ground floor, August 26, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background: In previous studies, low socioeconomic status (SES) and poor school building conditions (SBCs) have been associated with poor school outcomes such as low attendance and academic achievements. While a few attempts were made to understand the potential causal framework, the indirect effect of school SES and SBCs on student performance mediated by students’ respiratory health has not been tested. Methods: The mediating effects of students’ respiratory health on the relationships between school SES, SBCs and school outcomes were assessed using the counterfactual based mediation approach. Records of respiratory visits among children aged 4-18 were extracted from statewide hospital discharge data and school level hospital visit rates were calculated. Information on SBCs was collected from the 2010 school building condition survey for all public schools in upstate New York. School SES, attendance rate, and students’ scores in the standard test were obtained from school report cards. The associations between the mediator (students’ respiratory health) and outcomes (attendance/performance) were first assessed. Natural indirect and direct effects were then calculated for the outcomes showed significant associations with the mediator. Results: Schools with higher respiratory visits among students reported consistently lower attendance. Suggestive associations were also found between poor respiratory health and standard test scores but not with Regents exam scores. About a 7% decrease in school attendance due to low school SES, as indicated by the free lunch eligibility, was mediate through students’ respiratory health. While strong total effects were observed between school SES/SBCs and standard test scores, the mediating effect of respiratory health was insignificant. Conclusion: Poor respiratory health may be one of the most crucial issues to address in improving student attendance and academic performance. Future studies should further explore the mediating effect of other social or parental factors on the path from school SES/SBCs to school outcomes.