Publication Date

2015

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Malecki, Christine K.

Degree Name

Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)

Legacy Department

Department of Psychology

LCSH

Psychology; Educational tests & measurements; Elementary education; Academic achievement--Examinations--Research; Educational evaluation--Research; Reading--Ability testing--Research; School children--Education (Elementary)--Research

Abstract

The goals of this study were to evaluate achievement gaps between varying sub-group populations (i.e., ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status) as well as estimate which student-level and or school-level characteristics account for variance in reading growth over time. This longitudinal study followed a cohort of 2,077 students (1st -- 5th grade) nested within one school district's 21 elementary schools. The participant's early literacy (Letter Sound Fluency), reading-curriculum based measure (R-CBM), and Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) scores were analyzed utilizing univariate and multivariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs and MANOVAs). School-level characteristics were entered into hierarchical linear models to evaluate variance in reading growth trends across time. Outcomes identified significant mean differences between varying ethnic, gender, and socio-economic (SES) groups; with Asian and White students scoring higher than their African American and Hispanic/Latino peers, females scoring higher than males, and high SES students scoring higher than their low SES peers. Follow-up analyses showed significant interactions between varying ethnic and SES group populations; with African American students eliminating the African American-White gap under high SES conditions. Finally, hierarchical models showed that on average Asian and White students scored higher on R-CBM and ISAT assessments than their African American and Hispanic/Latino peers across time; similar findings were shown between gender and SES groups. Models also revealed that Asian and African American students demonstrated significant decelerations in R-CBM growth across time in comparison to their White and Hispanic/Latino peers. These analyses provided little evidence to support the impact of school-level characteristics on existing differences in sub-group growth rates. The implications of this study expand achievement gap research and provide more evidence to deepen our understanding of the achievement gap.

Comments

Advisors: Christine K. Malecki.||Committee members: Vicki L. Collins; Michelle K. Demaray; Vinita Menon; Laura D. Pittman; Gregory A. Waas.

Extent

181 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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