Analyzed survey data from 4 middle schools across Detroit using SPSS and Microsoft Access software programs, improving understanding of racial experiences and developing strategies to mitigate effect on academic performance.

1. Previous Research: A significant amount of research has focused
on the impact of racial discrimination on the psychological health
of African American youth (Enrique W. Neblett Jr.Cheri L. Philip
Courtney D. Cogburn Robert M. Sellers 2006). In general, research
suggests that racial discrimination leads to a wide variety of
negative psychological outcomes including high levels of distress,
low self-system and increased depressive symptoms (Fisher, C. B.,
Wallace, S. A., & Fenton, R. E., 2000).
Purpose of Project: Little empirical research has been conducted
to examine the relationship between African American
adolescents’ experiences with racial discrimination and academic
outcomes (Enrique W. Neblett, Jr., Cheri L. Philip, Courtney D.
Cogburn and Robert M. Sellers 2006). This research project focus
on how racial discrimination affects the academic outcomes,
specifically the academic persistence of middle school African-
American students. The academic persistence and academic
outcomes of African-American students is of particular interest
because previous research suggests that there an achievement
gap between the academic success of black students and their
peers of other races (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986).
Methods
Data Collection:
• The data used for this study was collected as part of a larger
2008 study meant to discover the effects of racial identity on
the lives of young African American middle school aged
children.
Participants:
• The study uses data from 1,588 self-identifying black
adolescents (Mage = 14.14, SD= 1.65) from four middle schools
of varying average student income levels and racial
composition.
• Each participating student answered a racial identity
questionnaire that took approximately 50-75 minutes to
complete.
Data Analysis:
• 22 questions from the questionnaire were analyzed for this
project and those questions directly related to the topics of
experiences of racism and the academic persistence in various
situations
Procedure:
• The IBM developed statistics analysis program called SPSS was
used to analyze the relationships between the different
variables.
• The independent variables will be the amount of racist
experiences a middle school child has experienced combined
with gender and age
• The dependent variable will be the academic persistence of
each student
Results
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics for the Measures of Racial Discrimination and
Academic Persistence
Discussion
References
Enrique W. Neblett Jr., Cheri L Philip, Corutney D.
Cogburn, Robert M. Sellers, 2006. African
American Adolescents’ Discrimination
Experiences and Academic Achievement: Racial
Socialization as a Cultural Compensatory and
Protective Factor. Journal of Black Psychology, 32,
199-205.
Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J. U. (1986). Black students’
school success: Coping with the “burden of acting
White.” Urban Review, 18(3), 176-206.
Fisher, C. B., Wallace, S. A., & Fenton, R. E. (2000).
Discrimination distress during adolescence.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(6), 679-
695.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
and the Center for the Study of Black Youth in
Context at the University of Michigan.
Background
The Effect of Racial Discrimination
on the Academic Persistence of
African-American Students
Kevin Akumiah and Hoa Nguyen
Variable Number of
Items
M SD Reliability
(Cronbach’s
Alpha)
Racial
Discrimination
(RD)
18 1.1797 1.18 .97
Academic
Persistence
4 3.1252 .64 .67
Variable B SE B ℬ t p
Racial
Discrimination (RD)
-.431 .085 -.796 -5.057 <.001
RD X Gender .033 .028 .058 1.205 .228
RD X Grade Level .033 .010 .507 3.216 .001
Child’s Grade Level -.064 .018 -.134 -3.646 <.001
Child’s Gender .134 .046 .105 2.941 .003
Analysis: The data shows that the more racial
discrimination a student experiences, the less likely
they are to persist through academic challenges.
Additionally, lower ranges of racial discrimination have
a higher impact on the academic persistence of
children in different grade levels.
Significance: Failure to persist through academic
challenges and racial discrimination can be expected to
be one of many causes of the achievement gap
between African-American students and their peers of
other races.
Future Research: Future studies should focus on
identifying the specific sources of racism in the lives of
young African-American students and identify methods
that can be used to reduce the frequency and impact
of these experiences of racism. These studies could
potentially develop practical solutions on how to shrink
the achievement gap.
Table 2: Regression Analysis Summary for Effects on Academic Persistence