Modeling black student academic performance in higher education

Recent research has noted differences in the predictive efficacy of educational attainment models produced for whites as opposed to blacks; and called for more resolution in the findings on blacks in advance of further comparative analyses. The National Study of Black College Students (NSBCS) is employed to develop a model that distinguishes between high- and low-performing black undergraduates attending public, four-year institutions. In the NSBCS sample (N=695), discriminant function analysis identifies several institutional and student characteristics which are related to black students' educational outcomes. Specifically, students with both high occupational aspirations and high academic performances tend to be male, attend comparatively larger schools, and, to a lesser degree, be relatively well-adjusted upperclassmen. When academic performance is the sole issue, it is positively correlated with institutional quality, but the advantage belongs to black females. Contrary to the suggestions of previous research, black community sentiment did not have relationships with educational outcomes to the extent expected. These results suggest that future models of black educational attainment marry traditional Wisconsin-type measures with institutional and student attributes.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1983 meetings of the American Sociological Association, Detroit, Mich.     

The impact of culture contact and desegregation on the whites of an urban high school

Conclusion Desegregation has generally been presented as an outgrowth of the civil rights movement and as an attempt to redress the educational disadvantages blacks have suffered as the result of a racial imbalance. Given the general theoretical considerations of resource allocation, the assumption has been that reallocations of resources to blacks would necessarily mean reallocation of these resources to blacks from whites. This view is also part of the popular culture where the process of desegregation has caused turmoil and disturbance among whites based, manifestedly at least, on the notion that improving educational benefits for blacks necessarily means a reduction in the same benefits for whites.Based on an analysis of the experiences of teachers and students at one polyethnic inner-city high school, we suggest that not only have whites at this school not been disadvantaged by the desegregation process but that there is evidence indicating that there have been more advantages for whites than for blacks. What, then, are the advantages of desegregation for whites, both students and teachers? In this school it was found that the advantages differed for white students and for white teachers, with white students experiencing more positive outcomes than white teachers experienced.     

Intergenerational effects of college graduation on career sex atypicality in women

This study was designed to determine whether parents' possession of a baccalaureate degree influenced the sex atypicality of the careers attained by their college-educated daughters. The intergenerational effect of mother's or father's possession of a baccalaureate degree was examined for members of two racial groups who were included among respondents to the 1971 and 1980 CIRP surveys. The sample was limited to females who attended a single four-year college or university as first-time matriculants in 1971 and were also full-time participants in the labor force in 1980. A final sample of 1,596 respondents (1,269 whites and 327 blacks) met all selection criteria. A 15-variable block recursive model was estimated to study vocational behavior processes in the subjects as related to five categories of variables: (1) student background characteristics; (2) precollege variables; (3) institutional characteristics of the college attended; (4) measures of the collegiate experience; and (5) outcome measures (educational attainment, sex atypicality of career). Results substantiated the indirect influence of father's and mother's college education on the women's educational attainment and career sex atypicality 9 years after matriculation in college. Intergroup differences in effects suggested differences in family and vocational processes.     

Discontinuities in schooling and educational attainment

Duncan et al. (1972, p. 224) insightfully pointed out that the timing of events in the process of socioeconomic achievement can be as important as the events themselves. While we know that substantial numbers of people delay their entry into college, and interrupt their college education once begun, no comprehensive national study has established the causes and consequences of these discontinuities in schooling.Using a structural equation model of educational attainment patterned after Featherman and Carter (1976), this article investigates educational discontinuities among American whites and blacks, males and females, using data from a nationwide, longitudinal study of the U.S. high school graduating class of 1972.     

Race and sex differences and similarities in the process of college entry

This study evaluates the process of college entry for race and sex groups as predicted by an elaboration of the Blau and Duncan (1967) status attainment model. Four important observations were derived from the study. First, sex differences among blacks, which have not been previously examined, were less pronounced than sex differences among, whites. Secondly, race effects were more influential than sex in affecting the process of college entry. Thirdly, for all groups the effects of race, sex, family status origin (SES) and standardized test performance on college attendance were substantially mediated by school process variables (e.g., high school rank and curriculum), by significant others influences, and by student educational expectations. Fourthly, the net effects of structural background variables (e.g., SES and standardized test performance) on college attendance were much stronger for blacks (particularly for black males) than for whites.This research was supported by the Russell Sage Foundation and the National Institute of Education. The author wishes to thank the reviewers and the following persons for their invaluable advice contributed to this document: James McPartland, Karl Alexander, Bruce Eckland, Walter Allen, Edward McDill, and Richard Cramer.     

REALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS AMONG BLACKS AND WHITES IN TWO‐AND FOUR‐YEAR COLLEGES

This paper looks at an aspect of the two‐year college: that it is the logical system for achieving educational equality in higher education. The authors find that low aptitude blacks are overrepresented at four‐year colleges, that blacks are less likely than whites to meet aspirations of attending four‐year colleges, and that attending a two‐year college is related to reduced probability that four‐year education will be realized.     

What really influences minority attendance? Sequential analyses of the high school and beyond sophomore cohort

While the factors that influence college minority student attendance have been the subject of recent study, there remain unresolved questions about how different factors influence college attendance decisions of applicants from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. In particular, there is ambiguity about whether blacks are more or less likely to attend than whites and what factors might improve their attendance rates. This study uses two sets of logistic regressions to identify the factors that can promote minority attendance: a set that examines attendance by all high school seniors in the high school class of 1982 and a set that examines attendance by college applicants in this class. Consistent with prior research on student access, three factors are identified that can potentially improve college attendance by minority students: (1) improved academic preparation in elementary and high school; (2) increased aspirations for higher levels of educational attainment; (3) increased levels of financial aid. Public interventions that would improve any of these factors for minority high school students are likely to improve minority participation rates.     

MARKETISATION AS A STRATEGY FOR DESEGREGATION AND REDRESS: THE CASE OF HISTORICALLY WHITE SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA

This article examines the process of desegregation in historically white schools in South Africa. It is argued that reforms within these schools can be understood as an example of the marketisation of education. The article commences with a consideration of the relevance and scope of such an approach. Exponents of marketisation in South Africa (as elsewhere) have claimed that the introduction of market forces can help to increase "choice" for the consumers of education. It is also suggested that it can act as a means of redressing past inequalities. These arguments are critically considered in relation to the experiences of black pupils both within the schools themselves and within the wider educational system. It is argued that a marketised approach towards desegregation may have increased choice for whites and for a minority of blacks, but has not increased choice for blacks as a whole. Nor has it served as an efficient mechanism for the redistribution of educational resources. Although the article is critical of many aspects of the marketisation process, it is acknowledged that some of the policies associated with marketisation are compatible with the creation of a more equitable and efficient education system.     

三重意识的张力之源：理查德·赖特笔下的种族关系

理查德.赖特在文学作品里以自己独特的视角和笔调揭露了美国20世纪三四十年代紧张的种族关系,认为种族隔离和种族界限是以人为的方式把处于共生关系的黑人和白人进行了活生生的社会切割,导致这两大种族之间的误解和仇恨。白人在教育、司法等方面对黑人实施双重标准,引起黑人对白人的更加反感和不信任。种族隔离和种族界限是黑人与白人相互仇视的根源,白人对黑人的仇恨和种族压迫引起部分黑人率先形成自己的第三种意识,激化了他们三重意识中的张力,从而促使更多的黑人加入到追求种族平等和社会公正的斗争中去。     

Racial and ethnic differences in the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences: Findings from a low-income sample of U.S. women

Despite great interest in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), there has been limited research on racial and ethnic differences in their prevalence. Prior research in the United States suggests that the prevalence of ACEs varies along socioeconomic lines, but it is uncertain whether there are racial/ethnic differences in ACE rates among low-income populations. This study examined the distribution of ACEs in a sample of 1523 low-income women in Wisconsin that received home visiting services. Participants ranging in age from 16 to 50 years were coded into five racial/ethnic groups, including Hispanics and four non-Hispanic groups: blacks, whites, American Indians, and other race. Following measurement conventions, ten dichotomous indicators of child maltreatment and household dysfunction were used to create a composite ACE score. Five other potential childhood adversities were also assessed: food insecurity, homelessness, prolonged parental absence, peer victimization, and violent crime victimization. Results from bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed that, while rates of adversity were high overall, there were significant racial/ethnic differences. Total ACE scores of American Indians were comparable to the ACE scores of non-Hispanic whites, which were significantly higher than the ACE scores of non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics. Whites were more likely than blacks to report any abuse or neglect, and they were more likely than blacks and Hispanics to report any household dysfunction. The results underscore the need to account for socioeconomic differences when making racial/ethnic comparisons. Potential explanations for the observed differences are examined.     

The impact of legalized abortion on high school graduation through selection and composition

This analysis examines whether the legalization of abortion changed high school graduation rates among the children selected into birth. Unless women in all socio-economic circum-stances sought abortions to the same extent, increased use of abortion must have changed the distribution of child development inputs. I find that higher abortion ratios are associated with higher graduation rates for black males, but not other demographic groups. In a pooled analysis, I find that abortion has a significant negative impact on graduation rates. The effect disappears when I control for ethnicity. The cohorts born between 1965 and 1979 contained falling shares of whites, who have relatively high graduation rates. Regression results indicate abortion ratios are linked with the fertility differences between ethnicities, which suggests this is a channel of influence. Overall, the relationship between abortion exposure and educational attainment is small. A standard deviation change in abortion might move the national graduation rate by less than three-tenths of a percentage point.     

Race-Based Differential Prediction in Air Force Technical Training Programs

Bayesian Johnson-Neyman methodology was used to investigate differential prediction by race in United States Air Force technical training programs. Meaningful Johnson-Neyman regions of differences were found in eight of nine comparisons. In all nine training courses the regressions for blacks were flatter than for whites and the race-differentiated regression lines intersected within the range of predictor test scores. In six cases the cut-score for course qualification was within the Johnson-Neyman region, and in every case the bias was negative for blacks. It is noted that if the cut score had been set substantially higher the bias would have been positive for blacks in all cases. This analysis may explain why earlier studies that averaged bias across the predictor distribution yielded mixed results. It is hypothesized that the consistent results obtained here are a consequence of the lower predictability found in the black subpopulation.     

Racial differences in factors associated with bachelor's degree completion: A nine-year follow-up

This study employed a sample of 5,577 students initially enrolling in 352 four-year colleges and universities. The study's purpose was to investigate racial differences in the factors associated with bachelor's degree completion. The sample was followed over a nine-year period, from 1971 to 1980. Tinto's (1975) theoretical model guided the selection of 19 predictor variables. This set of predictors accounted for between 15% and 29% of the variance in attaining the bachelor's degree for white and black men and women. For all race and sex subgroups, measures of the collegiate experience (e.g., number of institutions attended, academic and social integration, and subsequent institutional commitment/satisfaction) had the strongest and most consistently positive regression weights with degree completion. Only a small number of significant race or sex differences were found in the factors associated with degree completion. For black men, the number of institutions attended and the size of the institution initially attended had significantly stronger negative associations with degree attainment than they did for white men. Institutional commitment/satisfaction had positive regression weights for all subsamples, but the magnitude was greater for men of both races than it was for women. Within samples, academic integration was a somewhat stronger predictor of degree attainment than social integration for whites but not for blacks.     

Family Background,Individual and Environmental Influences,Aspirations and Young Adults' Educational Attainment: A follow-up study

In this follow-up study of an earlier investigation (Marjoribanks, 2002a), relationships were examined between adolescents' educational aspirations and young adults' educational attainment, after taking into account measures of family background, individual characteristics and proximal learning settings. Data were collected as part of a longitudinal survey of Australian youth (3772 females and 3476 males). The findings from the two analyses suggest that: (a) family background, individual characteristics and proximal learning settings combine to have large associations with adolescents' aspirations, and these aspirations have the largest relationship with young adults' eventual educational attainment; and (b) there are ethnic group differences in the linear and curvilinear nature of relationships involving measures of individual characteristics, adolescents' educational aspirations and young adults' educational attainment. An 'aspiration 2 attainment 2 background' model is proposed to examine the ongoing and different interactions between aspirations and academic outcomes for students from various family backgrounds.     

Academic pressures and the black adolescent

This study examined the relationships among social class, race, and academic pressure in an inner city public high school. Previous research outside the inner city on U.S. and English high school students, who were predominantly white, has yielded four major factors: parental stress, peer stress, importance of school, and fear of failure. The primary purposes of this study are (1) to measure academic stress in an inner city setting, (2) to observe differences and similarities between blacks and whites and between middle- and lower-class adolescents, and (3) to determine if the four previously observed factors would be as pertinent for this sample as they were for previous samples. Race differences were observed on 4 of 10 factors with blacks indicating significantly more pressure than whites. A race by class interaction was observed on one factor and no significant differences were observed on the five remaining factors.     

Do parents,teachers, and psychoeducational evaluators agree in their perceptions of the problems of black and white emotionally disturbed children?

The aim was to examine the agreement among parents, teachers, psychologists, and educational diagnosticians in their perceptions of the problem behaviors of emotionally disturbed children. The sample of 194 emotionally disturbed boys and girls included 129 whites and 65 blacks. The use of measures of relationship showed that there was significantly greater consensus among the raters in perceptions of white than of black children; agreement was particularly poor between parents and teachers of black youngsters. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

THE APPLICATION OF A FACTORIAL DESIGN TO THE STUDY OF CULTURAL BIAS IN GENERAL CULTURE ITEMS ON THE NATIONAL TEACHER EXAMINATION1

This article describes a series of studies performed with the National Teacher Examinations which were designed to study the relationship between the cultural content of special sets of general culture test items and the performance of blacks and whites on these experimental items. Significant differences between the performance of blacks and whites were found in terms of black, modern, and traditional test items. A replication of the study with the same test items, and also with a different group of test items, is also described.     

The effects of social class and ethnicity on gender differences in GCSE attainment: a secondary analysis of the Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales 1997–2001

This article is based upon a secondary analysis of three successive cohorts of the Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales and examines the effects of social class and ethnicity on gender differences in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) attainment for those who left school in 1997, 1999 and 2001 respectively. The article shows that both social class and ethnicity exert a far greater influence on the GCSE performance of boys and girls than gender. Within this it assesses whether there is an interaction effect between gender and social class and also gender and ethnicity in terms of their impact on educational attainment. The article shows that, across all three cohorts, there is no evidence of any systematic variation in the size of the gender differences in educational attainment that exist across either social class or ethnic groups. Simply in terms of the effects of social class, ethnicity and gender on educational attainment, therefore, it is argued that these can actually be understood in terms of a simple ‘additive model’. The implications of this for initiatives aimed at addressing gender differences in educational attainment are considered briefly in the conclusion.     

Children's ability to recognize other children's faces.

Facial recognition ability was studied with 288 children from 4 grades--first, second, third, and sixth--who also varied by sex race, and school type, the last being segregated or integrated. Children judged whether each of 40 pictures of children's faces had been present in a set of 20 pictures viewed earlier. Facial recognition ability increased significantly with each grade but leveled off between ages 8 and 11. Blacks' performance is significantly better than whites', and blacks are better at recognizing faces of whites than whites are at recognizing blacks. Children from an integrated school show smaller differences recognizing black or white faces than children from segregated schools, but the effect appears only for children of the integrated school who also live in mixed-race neighborhoods.     

Child Welfare,Education, Inequality,and Social Policy in Comparative Perspective

Using international data on child well-being and educational attainment, this article compares child well-being in the United States to member countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Multiple measures of child well-being are analyzed, such as material well-being (including poverty, unemployment, and income inequality), child health and safety (birth weight, infant mortality, health care, and childcare), educational attainment, and family and peer relationships (including generational cleavages). Using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory as an organizational framework, the impact and interrelatedness of these systems on educational attainment are examined, with parallels drawn between a nation's social policies, child well-being, and educational attainment. The author asserts that social policy in the United States is more comprehensive than is commonly believed, although the redistributive benefits of social policies are allocated much differently compared to OECD countries. Explanations for comparative differences in social policy include differences in political culture and political development as well as racial and class conflict. The author concludes that it is difficult to ignore the role of race and socioeconomic class in explaining differences in social welfare expenditures between the United States and European countries because the pattern of social welfare distribution (broadly conceived—including programs, tax breaks, and incentives) falls largely along racial and class lines.