Does Neighborhood Matter? Family, Neighborhood, and School Influences on Eighth-Grade Mathematics Achievement

Abstract

This paper explores ways by which neighborhoods and schools may influence the mathematics achievement of eighth grade students. We use data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS: 88) and combine it with U.S. Census data at the level of students' residential zip codes. These data allow us to analyze simultaneously all aspects of students' lives: their families, neighborhoods, and schools. Our findings suggest that “bringing neighborhood in” makes sense for this line of research. Disadvantages at the neighborhood and school level may place students at risk, by influencing students and their achievement in mathematics directly and indirectly. We find that both disadvantaged neighborhoods and disadvantaged schools are directly associated with lower levels of mathematics achievement, even after controlling for individual level background variables. Disadvantaged neighborhoods are also indirectly associated with students' mathematics achievement, by weakening parents' ability to help children succeed in school. Despite these difficulties, parents may be able to overcome, to some degree, neighborhood disadvantages by frequently communicating with their children, closely monitoring their activities, and providing extra learning opportunities for them.