Percentage Of Minority Students Research Articles

Referral, Identification, and Retention of Underrepresented Gifted Students

Research shows that the percentage of Culturally and Linguistically Different (CLD) students identified for participation in gifted education programs does not correlate with the percentage of minority students in the classroom. Black and Brown students are underserved and underrepresented in gifted programs and Advanced Placement classes, when compared to their White and Asian peers. CLD gifted students are at a greater risk for underachievement, dropping out of school, and incarceration. This article review focuses on referral, identification and retention of CLD students to address the problem of underrepresentation in gifted education. The central argument is that the referral process and identification for gifted students must be culturally and linguistically sensitive and teacher training must be incorporated into professional development to achieve this goal. Once students are identified as gifted, culturally sensitive gifted programs must be utilized to increase retention.

Diversity and Distance Learning: An Exploratory Study of the Relationships between Online and Minority Enrollment at Private Nonprofit Christian Colleges

Despite changing demographics in the U.S., many private nonprofit Christian colleges have been unable to recruit and retain racially diverse students, and most are experiencing declining undergraduate enrollments. The strategic plan at these institutions undoubtedly contains two directives: to increase enrollment of racially diverse students and to attract new students through online and hybrid programs. Since 2008, almost all Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) member institutions have added distance learning options. Little research has been conducted to determine whether expanded access to education has influenced a change in enrollment of racially diverse students. The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) national database has tracked online enrollment for less than a decade and does not require institutions to report on the racial diversity of students enrolled online. This lack of data requires researchers to look for relationships between online options and overall institutional racial diversity. Using exploratory correlational analysis that controlled for state population racial diversity, this research revealed statistically significant, but weak relationships between the number of online-only and hybrid students enrolled at an institution and the percentage of minority students enrolled. Findings suggest increased enrollment in hybrid programs and online graduate programs at CCCU institutions are related to a higher percentage of racially diverse students, and Black or African American students, in particular. The addition of online courses and fully online programs may provide an opportunity for private nonprofit Christian colleges to close the educational attainment achievement gap between White and minority students, and in turn, participate in God’s redemptive work in the world.

School counselor perceptions of the geosciences and career exploration activities used in their schools

A sample of 43 Mississippi school counselors was surveyed regarding resources they use in career counseling, as well as resources they believe are effective in informing students about STEM careers, particularly the geosciences. Participants were asked a number of questions about their knowledge and perceptions about STEM majors and careers. The purpose of these questions was to determine what differences, if any, exist between perceptions about geoscience careers or majors (including geology, meteorology, and geoscience) and other STEM fields (including biology and engineering). As in previous studies, significant gaps were detected in participants’ perceptions about geology and meteorology careers compared to biology and engineering careers. These included perceptions about whether a career offers opportunities to help people, help the environment, or make a lot of money, and whether it is easy to find a job in that field. Participants’ self-assessed knowledge of geoscience careers was also lower than their self-assessed knowledge about biology and engineering careers. The results suggest that greater efforts are required to increase awareness of the geosciences at the high school level. Finally, participants indicated the best way to provide them information about geoscience careers was through guest speakers, followed by websites. To help determine how school counselors could help further efforts to enhance diversity in the geosciences, responses were explored based on the percentage of minority students at the participants’ schools. The results indicated few differences could be explained by school demographics.

Recruitment, employment, retention and the minority teacher shortage

This study examines and compares the recruitment, employment, and retention of minority and nonminority school teachers over the quarter century from the late 1980s to 2013. Our objective is to empirically ground the ongoing debate regarding minority teacher shortages and changes in the minority teaching force. The data we analyze are from the National Center for Education Statistics’ nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and its longitudinal supplement, the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS). Our data analyses document the persistence of a gap between the percentage of minority students and the percentage of minority teachers in the US. But the data also show that this gap is not due to a failure to recruit new minority teachers. In the two decades since the late 1980s, the number of minority teachers almost doubled, outpacing growth in both the number of White teachers and the number of minority students. Minority teachers are also overwhelmingly employed in public schools serving high-poverty, high-minority and urban communities. Hence, the data suggest that widespread efforts over the past several decades to recruit more minority teachers and employ them in disadvantaged schools have been very successful. But, these efforts have also been undermined because minority teachers have significantly higher turnover than White teachers and this is strongly tied to poor working conditions in their schools.

Radon Testing Status in Schools by Radon Zone and School Location and Demographic Characteristics: United States, 2014.

Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive, colorless, odorless gas, and the second leading cause of lung cancer. The 1990-1991 National School Radon Survey estimated that more than 70,000 schoolrooms nationwide had "high short-term radon levels." Using data from a nationally representative survey of schools in the United States (N = 568; response rate = 69%), we examined the location and demographic characteristics of U.S. schools that had ever been tested for radon and whether having been tested varied by radon zone, which predicts average indoor radon levels in U.S. counties. Overall, 46.0% (95% confidence interval [39.8%, 52.4%]) of schools reported that they had ever been tested for radon. Testing significantly varied by region, percentage of minority students, and radon zone. These findings highlight the need for improved awareness of radon testing in schools, as testing is the only way to identify when remediation is needed.

A multilevel analysis of teacher and school academic optimism in Taiwan elementary schools

Research on teacher and school academic optimism has abounded ever since these two constructs were confirmed and shown to have positive effects on student achievement. However, one overlooked research question is the nested association between teacher and school academic optimism. This study intends to fill this gap by using hierarchical linear modeling to empirically test the relationship between individual teacher academic optimism and collective school academic optimism. By using the data from 1073 teachers in 102 schools in Taiwan, the results show that around 10% of variance in teacher academic optimism came from school level, and that school academic optimism explained nearly all of the between-school variance as it overpowered a number of school contextual variables, such as percentage of minority students and student achievement, in predicting variation in teacher academic optimism. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

A Multilevel MTMM Approach to Estimating the Influences of Contextual Factors on Trait and Informant-Based Method Effects in Assessments of School Climate

School-level contextual factors have been found to influence reports of school climate. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the extent to which these associations are related to the school climate traits being measured or the methods (i.e., informants) used to obtain them. Data from a multilevel multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) design in which structurally different and interchangeable students ( n = 45,641) and teachers ( n = 12,808), residing within 302 high schools, responded to items measuring four dimensions of school climate were evaluated through a multilevel correlated trait–correlated method (CT-CM) latent analysis that allowed for the estimation of both school-level trait and informant-based method factors. The resulting trait and method factors were regressed on several school-level contextual variables. Results indicated that the percentage of students receiving free and reduced-price meals (FRPM) in schools was associated with both school climate traits and informant-based method factors, school size and the percentage of minority students in schools were associated with some traits, and school size was associated with student method effects. Findings support the use of controlling for school-level contextual factors in school climate research.

Do interim assessments reduce the race and SES achievement gaps?

The authors examined differential effects of interim assessments on minority and low socioeconomic status students' achievement in Grades K–6. They conducted a large-scale cluster randomized experiment in 2009–2010 to evaluate the impact of Indiana's policy initiative introducing interim assessments statewide. The authors used 2-level models to analyze the single-grade data and determine whether interim assessments interacted with student ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, or school composition (i.e., percent of minority or disadvantaged students). The authors also combined estimates across grades using fixed effects meta-analysis. Results indicated little evidence about differential effects. The majority of interaction estimates were insignificant and close to zero. There is some indication that in Grades K–2 Indiana's interim assessment may have closed the Hispanic–White gap in reading. In kindergarten and Grade 3 the treatment may have widened the gap between schools with higher and lower percentages of minority students and may have reduced the gap between schools with higher and lower percentages of economically disadvantaged students in mathematics.

Authoritative school climate and high school dropout rates.

This study tested the association between school-wide measures of an authoritative school climate and high school dropout rates in a statewide sample of 315 high schools. Regression models at the school level of analysis used teacher and student measures of disciplinary structure, student support, and academic expectations to predict overall high school dropout rates. Analyses controlled for school demographics of school enrollment size, percentage of low-income students, percentage of minority students, and urbanicity. Consistent with authoritative school climate theory, moderation analyses found that when students perceive their teachers as supportive, high academic expectations are associated with lower dropout rates. (PsycINFO Database Record

Authoritative School Climate and High School Student Risk Behavior: A Cross-sectional Multi-level Analysis of Student Self-Reports.

Many adolescents engage in risk behaviors such as substance use and aggression that jeopardize their healthy development. This study tested the hypothesis that an authoritative school climate characterized by strict but fair discipline and supportive teacher-student relationships is conducive to lower risk behavior for high school students. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze cross-sectional, student-report survey data from a statewide sample of 47,888 students (50.6% female) in 319 high schools. The students included ninth (26.6%), tenth (25.5%), eleventh (24.1%) and twelfth (23.8%) grade with a racial/ethnic breakdown of 52.2% White, 18.0% Black, 13.1% Hispanic, 5.9% Asian, and 10.8% reporting another or two or more race/ethnicities. Schools with an authoritative school climate had lower levels of student-reported alcohol and marijuana use; bullying, fighting, and weapon carrying at school; interest in gang membership; and suicidal thoughts and behavior. These results controlled for demographic variables of student gender, race, grade, and parent education level as well as school size, percentage of minority students, and percentage of low income students. Overall, these findings add new evidence that an authoritative school climate is associated with positive student outcomes.

Effects of selected nonmusical characteristics and band festival participation, scores, and literature difficulty

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to examine potential validity concerns regarding the use of music festival scores as an element of value-added assessment practices mandated by federal education policy. Nonmusical school and band characteristics of band size, school enrollment, school percentage of minority enrollment, and school percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch were compared to concert band festival participation, scores, and literature selection. Results of a one-way ANOVA revealed that schools with lower enrollments and higher percentages of minority students and students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch programs were less likely to participate in a concert band festival. MANOVA results using composite festival score and literature difficulty as dependent variables indicated a significant three-way interaction for school size, free/reduced-price lunch category, and band size, with an additional interaction for minority category and school enrollment. Significant main effects were found for band size and for school enrollment. Composite festival scores were found to be higher for schools with a lower percentage of minority students and larger band sizes. Smaller bands, as well as bands from schools with lower enrollment and higher percentages of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, tended to perform less difficult literature. These results suggest that policymakers should recommend caution in the use of festival results for teacher evaluation purposes.

Measurement and structural relations of an authoritative school climate model: A multi-level latent variable investigation

AbstractThis study tested a conceptual model of school climate in which two key elements of an authoritative school, structure and support variables, are associated with student engagement in school and lower levels of peer aggression. Multilevel multivariate structural modeling was conducted in a statewide sample of 48,027 students in 323 public high schools who completed the Authoritative School Climate Survey. As hypothesized, two measures of structure (Disciplinary Structure and Academic Expectations) and two measures of support (Respect for Students and Willingness to Seek Help) were associated with higher student engagement (Affective Engagement and Cognitive Engagement) and lower peer aggression (Prevalence of Teasing and Bullying) on both student and school levels of analysis, controlling for the effects of school demographics (school size, percentage of minority students, and percentage of low income students). These results support the extension of authoritative school climate model to high school and guide further research on the conditions for a positive school climate.

School climate, peer victimization, and academic achievement: results from a multi-informant study.

School-level school climate was examined in relation to self-reported peer victimization and teacher-rated academic achievement (grade point average; GPA). Participants included a sample of 1,023 fifth-grade children nested within 50 schools. Associations between peer victimization, school climate, and GPA were examined using multilevel modeling, with school climate as a contextual variable. Boys and girls reported no differences in victimization by their peers, although boys had lower GPAs than girls. Peer victimization was related to lower GPA and to a poorer perception of school climate (individual-level), which was also associated with lower GPA. Results of multilevel analyses revealed that peer victimization was again negatively associated with GPA, and that lower school-level climate was associated with lower GPA. Although no moderating effects of school-level school climate or sex were observed, the relation between peer victimization and GPA remained significant after taking into account (a) school-level climate scores, (b) individual variability in school-climate scores, and (c) several covariates--ethnicity, absenteeism, household income, parental education, percentage of minority students, type of school, and bullying perpetration. These findings underscore the importance of a positive school climate for academic success and viewing school climate as a fundamental collective school outcome. Results also speak to the importance of viewing peer victimization as being harmfully linked to students' academic performance.

Predictive validity of the Classroom Strategies Scale—Observer Form on statewide testing scores: An initial investigation.

The present study examined the validity of a teacher observation measure, the Classroom Strategies Scale--Observer Form (CSS), as a predictor of student performance on statewide tests of mathematics and English language arts. The CSS is a teacher practice observational measure that assesses evidence-based instructional and behavioral management practices in elementary school. A series of two-level hierarchical generalized linear models were fitted to data of a sample of 662 third- through fifth-grade students to assess whether CSS Part 2 Instructional Strategy and Behavioral Management Strategy scale discrepancy scores (i.e., ∑ |recommended frequency--frequency ratings|) predicted statewide mathematics and English language arts proficiency scores when percentage of minority students in schools was controlled. Results indicated that the Instructional Strategy scale discrepancy scores significantly predicted mathematics and English language arts proficiency scores: Relatively larger discrepancies on observer ratings of what teachers did versus what should have been done were associated with lower proficiency scores. Results offer initial evidence of the predictive validity of the CSS Part 2 Instructional Strategy discrepancy scores on student academic outcomes.

Predictors of program performance on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).

Passing the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) is a prerequisite to professional licensure throughout the United States and much of Canada. As such, the EPPP helps serve a gatekeeping function for the many subspecialties of professional psychology. After first reviewing the history, validation process, known associations with other variables, and criticisms of the EPPP, we summarize the most recent program-level data according to degree type and specialty. To assess the predictors of EPPP performance, these data (i.e., % correct and recently released EPPP pass rates) were combined with other sources of graduate program information. We hypothesized that EPPP performance would be associated with program prestige, program selectivity (e.g., admission rates), and student factors predating graduate training (e.g., intelligence, motivation, and standardized test-taking ability as approximated by GRE scores and GPA). As predicted, and in every case, the EPPP was significantly correlated with these three sets of variables. Specifically, the strongest associations were found with higher GRE scores, lower admission rates, better US News and World Report scores, and greater research emphasis. We also explored the influence of minority status, and found a negative correlation between EPPP performance and the percentage of minority students in programs. To determine the strongest predictors of EPPP performance, a series of simultaneous multiple regressions was conducted. The three consistent predictors across regressions were GRE scores, percentage of minorities in programs, and internship match rates. Suggestions for clarifying these findings as well as recommendations to assess the EPPP’s validity further are provided.

Data Mining from Education Databases Examine the Factors Impacting the School Performance in the United States

Preface: The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) required each state to develop their own method to evaluate individual schools' improvement every year, and states also need to set up an index, called the adequate yearly progress (AYP), as a goal for schools to meet every year. However, what might be the possible factors impacting schools fail to make AYP? Purposes: The purposes of this paper are employing the factor analysis to identify factors which can explain the variation of percentages of schools being identified as in need of improvement Under NCLB regulations. Method: Three educational Databases were used. The correlation and regression analysis are used to examine the degree of relationship between these factors. Results: The percentage of minority students is the main factor impacting the school performance. That is, schools with higher percentage of minority students would more likely fail to make AYP.

Is the link between large high schools and student victimization an illusion?

To determine whether larger high schools have more student victimization than smaller schools, this study examined a statewide sample of approximately 7,431 ninth-grade students and 2,353 teachers in 290 Virginia high schools participating in the Virginia High School Safety Study. School size was distinguished from the proportion of students receiving free or reduced-price meals, percentage of minority students, ethnic diversity (heterogeneity), and urbanicity. In larger schools, teachers and students reported that they perceived more bullying and teasing taking place, but student self-reports of being a victim of bullying were not associated with school size. Additionally, school discipline records showed that although the total number of incidents was higher, the rate of bullying offenses was lower in larger schools. Similar results were found for measures of student threats and physical assaults. These findings raise the possibility that the link between larger schools and higher student victimization is an illusion based on perceived frequency rather than rates of victimization.

Elementary School Campuses and New Teachers

In this study, the researchers examined the five most recent years of data (2003-2004 through 2007-2008) from the Academic Excellence Indicator System of the State of Texas regarding new teachers on elementary school campuses. We examined the extent to which differences were present between elementary school campuses with the highest new teacher percentages and elementary school campuses with the lowest new teacher percentages. In every case for all 5 years, elementary school campuses with the highest percentages of new teachers had the highest percentages of minority students, highest percentages of economically disadvantaged students, and highest percentages of at-risk students than did elementary school campuses with the lowest percentages of new teachers. Implications of these findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Using geographic information systems to compare the density of stores selling tobacco and alcohol: youth making an argument for increased regulation of the tobacco permitting process in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

BackgroundThis study is based on a community participatory research (CBPR) partnership between a youth group and a local university to explore whether greater regulation of tobacco permits would reduce the...

High Achievement on Advanced Placement Exams: The Relationship of School-Level Contextual Factors to Performance

The purpose of the study was to identify school- and district-level variables that relate to advanced academic achievement, as defined by the ratio of number of scores of 3, 4, or 5 on Advanced Placement exams to school enrollment. The study initially included 46 variables for 339 public high schools in one Midwestern state. Hierarchical linear regressions were applied to 14 and then 7 independent variables, explaining 80% of the variance in advanced academic achievement among high schools. Findings indicate that after accounting for seemingly fixed factors, schools and districts can still contribute significantly in the development of advanced academic achievement. Implications for educators and policy makers are discussed. Putting the Research to Use The percentage of minority students, percentage receiving free and reduced lunch, and the educational level of the community are common reasons given for explaining the lack of high achievement or the lack of advanced opportunities for the high-ability students in their schools. However, this study found that these fixed contextual variables, in general, do not limit the school from having a group of high performers among its students. The focus needs to be on what academic services and opportunities can be provided for high-ability students that will increase their academic preparation and therefore likelihood of graduating from college. Access to advanced courses is a factor within the control of school policy makers. The question to consider, then, is how might small schools with minimal resources offer these advanced courses for their high-ability students. One promising solution is to offer the AP courses through virtual means.