How Changes in Families and Schools Are Related to Trends in Black-White Test Scores

2008 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Berends ◽  
Samuel R. Lucas ◽  
Roberto V. Peñaloza
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Family Background ◽  
High School Seniors ◽  
Representative Data ◽  
School Conditions ◽  
White Test ◽  
Socioeconomic Composition ◽  
Nationally Representative

Through several decades of research, a great deal has been written about trends in black-white test scores and the factors that may explain the gaps in different subject areas. Only a few studies have examined the changing relationships between gaps in students' test scores and family and school measures in nationally representative data over several periods. This article builds on this previous work and addresses some of its limitations by analyzing nationally representative data in 1972, 1982, 1992, and 2004 that provide consistent measures of high school seniors' mathematics achievement and several school and family measures. Together, these databases for four cohorts of high school seniors provide the opportunity to analyze associations between the gaps in black-white test scores and changes in family background and school characteristics (in terms of both changes in means and coefficients). The analyses reveal positive changes for black students relative to white students between 1972 and 2004, such as improvement in some socioeconomic family background characteristics. Yet, some school conditions (racial/ethnic and socioeconomic composition) did not improve for black students, and despite some beneficial changes, inequalities persist.

Increasing Racial Isolation and Test Score Gaps in Mathematics: A 30-Year Perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 978-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Berends ◽  
Roberto Peñaloza
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Test Score ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Racial Isolation ◽  
Representative Data ◽  
Mathematics Test ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Test Score Gaps

Background/Context Although there has been progress in closing the test score gaps among student groups over past decades, that progress has stalled. Many researchers have speculated why the test score gaps closed between the early 1970s and the early 1990s, but only a few have been able to empirically study how changes in school factors and social background characteristics relate to that convergence. The main reason for this is the lack of data for multiple student cohorts—information necessary for the examination of such relationships. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study We analyzed nationally representative data from 1972, 1982, 1992, and 2004, examining the mathematics achievement of four high school senior cohorts, and several school and family background characteristics. We examined how changes in these measures (in terms of means and coefficients) relate to the black-white and Latino-white test score gaps and to changes in school minority composition. Population/Participants/Subjects For our analysis, we used the following nationally representative data sets, which are part of the Longitudinal Studies (LS) program at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72); High School and Beyond senior cohort of 1982 (HSB-82); National Education Longitudinal Study senior cohort of 1992 (NELS-92); and Educational Longitudinal Study senior cohort of 2004 (ELS-04). Research Design Conducting secondary data analyses of these nationally representative data, we estimated a series of regressions for each senior cohort, entering the race dummy variables to estimate the unadjusted predicted mathematics test score difference between black and white students and between Latino and white students. Next, we estimated a series of multilevel regressions for each cohort to analyze how trends in school and social background measures are related to trends in the black-white and Latino-white mathematics test score gaps. Finally, we used the pooled coefficients in the decomposition of the difference between the predicted means of white and black test scores. Findings/Results Our estimates revealed that between 1972 and 2004, increases in school segregation corresponded to significant increases in the black-white and Latino-white test score gaps, outweighing the positive changes in family background measures for these minority groups. Conclusions/Recommendations Understanding how our society can address these countervailing forces—the improving socioeconomic conditions for black and Latino families on the one hand, and the increasing racial isolation of these students in schools on the other— necessitates innovative ideas and experimentation.

The Complexity of College Readiness: Differences by Race and College Selectivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 334-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Klasik ◽  
Terrell L. Strayhorn
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
College Readiness ◽  
School Performance ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
College Outcomes ◽  
Representative Data ◽  
College Selectivity ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
High School Performance

To make the abstract idea of “college readiness” legible for public purposes, readiness indicators have tended to treat students identically: If a student meets a simple benchmark, he or she is ready for any college. This shorthand ignores that indicators of readiness may differ according to students’ backgrounds and where they choose to enroll in college. We use nationally representative data to show that readiness measures that are sensitive to students’ race/ethnicity and the selectivity and level of colleges in which they enroll reveal important nuance in readiness predictions. We find different readiness benchmarks indicate readiness for different groups of students when high school performance measures are used to predict different college outcomes, complicating the interpretation and use of conventional readiness measures.

Trends in Medical and Nonmedical Use of Prescription Opioids Among US Adolescents: 1976–2015

2018 ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Sean Esteban McCabe ◽  
Brady T. West ◽  
Phil Veliz ◽  
Vita V. McCabe ◽  
Sarah A. Stoddard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Seniors ◽  
Prescription Opioid ◽  
Prescription Opioids ◽  
Sociodemographic Differences ◽  
Nonmedical Use ◽  
Monitoring The Future ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
National Trends

OBJECTIVES Most US studies of national trends in medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids have focused on adults. Given the limited understanding in these trends among adolescents, we examine national trends in the medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids among high school seniors between 1976 and 2015. METHODS The data used for the study come from the Monitoring the Future study of adolescents. Forty cohorts of nationally representative samples of high school seniors (modal age 18) were used to examine self-reported medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids. RESULTS Lifetime prevalence of medical use of prescription opioids peaked in both 1989 and 2002 and remained stable until a recent decline from 2013 through 2015. Lifetime nonmedical use of prescription opioids was less prevalent and highly correlated with medical use of prescription opioids over this 40-year period. Adolescents who reported both medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids were more likely to indicate medical use of prescription opioids before initiating nonmedical use. CONCLUSIONS Prescription opioid exposure is common among US adolescents. Long-term trends indicate that one-fourth of high school seniors self-reported medical or nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids has declined recently and remained highly correlated over the past 4 decades. Sociodemographic differences and risky patterns involving medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids should be taken into consideration in clinical practice to improve opioid analgesic prescribing and reduce adverse consequences associated with prescription opioid use among adolescents.

scholarly journals Synthetic Cannabinoid Use Among High School Seniors

2017 ◽  
pp. 24-32
Author(s):  
Joseph J. Palamar ◽  
Monica J. Barratt ◽  
Leigh Coney ◽  
Silvia S. Martins
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
High School Seniors ◽  
Synthetic Cannabinoid ◽  
Illegal Drugs ◽  
Polydrug Use ◽  
The Past ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Monitoring The Future ◽  
Nationally Representative

OBJECTIVES In this study, we examined the prevalence and correlates of current synthetic cannabinoid (SC) use among high school seniors in the United States. METHODS Monitoring the Future, an annual nationally representative survey of high school seniors, began querying current (30-day) SC use in 2014. Data were examined from the 2 most recent cohorts (2014–2015; N = 7805). Prevalence of self-reported use was examined and differences in demographics and recency and frequency of other drug use was compared between current marijuana-only users and current SC (plus marijuana) users using χ2 and generalized linear model using Poisson. RESULTS We found that 2.9% of students reported current SC use; 1.4% of students (49.7% of users) reported using SCs on ≥3 days in the past month. SC users were more likely to report more recent (and often more frequent) use of lysergic acid diethylamide, cocaine, heroin, and/or nonmedical use of opioids compared with marijuana-only users. Compared with current marijuana-only users, SC users were more likely to report lower parent education (P < .05) and current use of a higher number of illegal drugs other than marijuana (Ps < .001). Students using SCs ≥10 times in the past month were more likely to be boys, frequent marijuana users (Ps < .01), African American, and users of multiple other illegal drugs (Ps < .001). CONCLUSIONS SC use is typically part of a repertoire of polydrug use, and polydrug use is less prevalent among marijuana-only users. Current SC users are at risk for poisoning from use of the newest generation of SCs and from concurrent drug use.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document