Hierarchical Linear Modeling of Socioeconomic Status and Student Achievement

• In Event: 14.044 - Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: 14.044-5 - Examining the Challenges to Student Achievement

Abstract

A persistent, substantial achievement gap has been documented between disadvantaged minorities and their mainstream White and Asian counterparts. However, contrary to prevalent beliefs that SES and achievement are strongly related, inconsistent correlations between SES and academic achievement have been reported, and attributed to inconsistencies in sampling procedures, definitions of SES, units and methods of analysis, etc. The proposed study seeks to account for such previously reported factors by employing hierarchical linear modeling and large scale data with multiple measures of SES to predict achievement in 15 year-old students from 162 schools. Preliminary findings suggest that school-level SES factors are considered, and parents’ education and family composition are controlled for, the effect of student race/ethnicity is not statistically significant.

Authors

• Tiedan Huang, Fordham University

• Anchala Sobrin, Spackenkill Union Free School District

• Michele Williams, New York City Department of Education