A National Examination of the Relationship Between School-Based Peer Networks and Top-Performing Black Male Readers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Academic Success, Peer Networks, and African American Youth in Schools

Abstract

Having access to scholarly peer networks may contribute to black male achievement (Grantham, 2004), but the impact of peer networks on black male achievement has largely been unmeasured on a national scale. Accordingly, this study assesses achievement differences between black males who attend schools with top-performing students versus those who attend schools with top-performing black males. Initial results suggest that attending schools with an average proportion of top-performing students doubled the likelihood of black males earning top-quartile reading scores. Contrarily, when factoring in the proportion of top-performing black males, initial results disappeared. Moreover, black males were 17 times more likely to earn top-quartile reading scores when attending schools with an average proportion of top-performing black males. Implications are discussed.

Author

• Kenneth Alonzo Anderson, Howard University