Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

The evidence is overwhelming that the interaction of the community, the school leader, and the school’s context indirectly impacts students’ academic progress. In Texas, we are cognizant that these influences ultimately contribute to Texas’ success as leaders in the global economy. In this era of “austerity and social turbulence,” it is imperative that we focus fastidiously on those factors that are most likely to help eradicate the opportunity gap to ensure that traditionally underrepresented groups are college ready. Today, African Americans and Hispanics constitute 69% of public school enrollees. Consequently, we collected student, teacher, and classroom data from the Texas Academic Performance Report to determine which factors are most closely related to traditionally underrepresented students’ college readiness. Specifically, we assessed the percentage of Hispanic and African American student’s college readiness from 425 high schools in 10 counties, representing 54% of all Texas students. We discovered, in our preliminary regression analysis, that for Hispanic students, the school’s mobility rate, per-student expenditure on instruction, and average class size were the most pronounced influences. For African American students, the base salary of the teacher, per-student expenditure on instruction, and teachers’ years of experience were the most influential factors. The policy implication is that for these students, we should renew our focus on improving instruction by insisting that students show up to school, that we populate our classrooms with experienced teachers, and that we reduce class sizes. These require greater financial commitment from schools and are congruent with the tenets of culturally responsive pedagogy.