School Climate in the Era of Accountability: The Relationship Between Composition, Climate, and Student Achievement

• In Event: 46.078 - Effects of School Climate and Composition

Abstract

Using Bryk’s framework to differentiate school climate, this study examines three dimensions of school climate (academic, disciplinary, and sense of community) at the high school level. This study utilizes data from High School Longitudinal Study 2009 to explore how school organizational features and school compositional characteristics affect student educational performance. Structural equation modeling is used to examine the extent (1) school climate varies by the compositional characteristics (2) school structure predicts climate (3) school climate mediates the relationship between composition and achievement and (4) school climate moderate individual effects on achievement. Preliminary findings indicate that smaller school size, school sector, and school SES influence school climate and that school disciplinary climate predicts better sense of community and academic climate.

Author

• Stephen Kotok, The University of Texas - El Paso