ERIC Number: ED336250
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1991-Aug
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Mitigating Disadvantage: Effects of Small-Scale Schooling on Student Achievement in Alaska.
Huang, Gary; Howley, Craig
This paper examines the hypothesis that school size mediates the effect of disadvantaged status on the achievement of individual students. A previous study using national data from the High School and Beyond data set failed to confirm the hypothesis. This study sought to test the hypothesis further by limiting the analysis to students in a single state, using multiple indicators of educational disadvantage, and applying more rigorous control over background variables known to affect academic achievement. The group studied included all (13,553) students in Grades 4, 6, and 8 who had attended the same school since first grade and who had participated in the fall 1989 Alaska Statewide Student Testing Program. The disadvantaged status of students was rated on a scale of 0-4, with 1 point each given for minority ethnic status, migrant education status, Chapter 1 status, and handicapped status. Data were analyzed with multiple regression analysis, controlling for school resources, school climate, and student academic background. While the overall average achievement score was lower for students in small schools than in large schools, results indicated that: (1) the negative effect of disadvantaged background on student achievement is significantly less in small than in medium or large schools; and (2) the interaction of disadvantaged status and school size explains an additional, significant amount of variance in student achievement. (Author/SV)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Alaska
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A