A Study Examining Disparities in Selected Variables of High Performing and Low Performing High Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Abstract

This dissertation investigated and examined disparities among selected variables between high- performing and low-performing high schools in Virginia. Overall, student academic performance is the major difference between the two categories of schools, but there may be other differences within the school dynamic that can rationalize the categorization of schools. These potential differences demonstrate the need to examine other variables and the disparities within these certain variables. Seven possible variables that may have such an influence are: the student achievement scores, teacher quality, racial composition, socioeconomic status, student attendance, financial commitment, and condition of the building. Understanding these differences can provide valuable insight into the various factors that contribute to the academic success or failure of a school. Data from the study indicated that for the most part, the variables selected for comparison did indicate a significant difference in the variables. The only exception was in Teacher Quality. Since Student Achievement, Student Attendance, and Teacher Quality pertained directly to the student, and Racial Composition and Socioeconomic Status, pertained to the student body, meaning the enrollment of these three variables were demographically controlled, this indicated to this researcher that financial commitment data and building conditions data were the most important variables to this study. The basis for this is that Racial Composition, SES, Student Attendance, and Teacher Quality influenced one variable and that is Student Achievement. This reduced the importance of Teacher Quality because not all low and high-performing schools will have the same quality of teachers in the classroom. If this was the case, every student would perform equally. This, of course, was not true. Therefore, other variables played an especially important part in the disparities between the two categories of schools. This rationale would give credence to the importance of Financial Commitment and School Building Conditions. These latter two variables then influenced the educational process of students and are things the School Board can control or at least have control over.