This document summarizes research examining the relationship between student health risks, resilience factors, and academic performance in California schools. The research found:
1) Schools with lower academic performance had larger percentages of students engaging in risky behaviors like substance use, experiencing health risks like lack of exercise, and having low developmental supports.
2) When examining longitudinal data, schools where more students faced health risks and low resilience saw smaller improvements in test scores over time, compared to schools where fewer students faced these challenges.
3) Specifically, schools with high levels of physical inactivity, poor nutrition, substance use, violence and safety issues among students experienced less growth in academic performance, while schools with more caring relationships and high expectations for students
Instruments for measuring public satisfaction with the educationEmad Mohammed Sindi
Instruments used by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.K. Department for education to measure satisfaction with public and private education in their countries.
This spreadsheet accompanies Professor Gamoran's February 1 lecture/webcast for the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner:
Education researchers have become increasingly aware of the challenges of measuring the impact of educational practices, programs, and policies. Too often what appears to be cause and effect may actually reflect pre-existing differences between program participants and non-participants. A variety of strategies are available to surmount this challenge, but the strategies are often costly and difficult to implement. Examples from general and Jewish education will highlight the challenges, identify strategies that respond to the challenges, and suggest how the difficulties posed by these strategies may be addressed.
Instruments for measuring public satisfaction with the educationEmad Mohammed Sindi
Instruments used by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.K. Department for education to measure satisfaction with public and private education in their countries.
This spreadsheet accompanies Professor Gamoran's February 1 lecture/webcast for the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner:
Education researchers have become increasingly aware of the challenges of measuring the impact of educational practices, programs, and policies. Too often what appears to be cause and effect may actually reflect pre-existing differences between program participants and non-participants. A variety of strategies are available to surmount this challenge, but the strategies are often costly and difficult to implement. Examples from general and Jewish education will highlight the challenges, identify strategies that respond to the challenges, and suggest how the difficulties posed by these strategies may be addressed.
Presented by Calvin Sambo (ARC-IAE) at the International Forum on Water and Food (IFWF), South Africa, 14-17 November 2011.
The International Forum on Water and Food (IFWF) is the premier gathering of water and food scientists working on improving water management for agricultural production in developing countries.
В данной работе мы проводим анализ репрезентации и деятельности субъекта в виртуальном пространстве,
опираясь на философскую теорию Жиля Делёза и Феликса Гваттари. Технологии и интернет являются
неотъемлемым дополнением современной реальности. Пользователь становится всё более погружен в
процесс виртуальной коммуникации, деятельности и консюмиризма. Виртуальная реальность дополняет
реальность повседневную, «вплетаясь» в неё. Такие философские концепции, как: ризома, желающее
производство, машины желания, тело без органов, линии ускользания и номадизм являются, по нашему
мнению, той терминологической базой, с помощью которой возможно изучение процессов, протекающих
в виртуальном пространстве. Философский дискурс постнеклассической парадигмы наиболее полно
способствует описанию различных процессов, в которые включена личность в виртуальном пространстве
(«акт творения» субъектом самого себя).
Hemmer, lynn a cross case state analysis ijobe v2 n1 2014William Kritsonis
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, PhD - Editor-in-Chief, NATIONAL FORUM JOURNALS (Established 1982). Dr. Kritsonis earned his PhD from The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; M.Ed., Seattle Pacific University; Seattle, Washington; BA Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. He was also named as the Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Education and Professional Studies at Central Washington University.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SCHOOL DISCIPLINE REFORMASSESSING THE ALTER.docxjane3dyson92312
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SCHOOL DISCIPLINE REFORM?
ASSESSING THE ALTERNATIVES TO SUSPENSIONS AND EXPULSIONS
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S OFFICE for Civil Rights announced this spring that the number of suspensions and expulsions in the nation’s public schools had dropped 20 percent between 2012 and 2014. The news was welcomed by those who oppose the frequent use of suspensions and expulsions, known as exclusionary discipline. In recent years, many policymakers and educators have called for the adoption of alternative disciplinary strategies that allow students to stay in school and not miss valuable learning time. Advocates for discipline reform contend that suspensions are meted out in a biased way, because minority students and those with disabilities receive a disproportionate share of them. Some also assert that reducing suspensions would improve school climate for all students. Government leaders have taken steps to encourage school discipline reform. The Obama administration has embarked on several initiatives to encourage schools to move away from suspensions and toward alternative strategies. In 2011, the Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Supportive School Discipline Initiative to coordinate federal efforts in this area. In January 2014, the DOE released a resource package with a variety of informational materials designed to support state and local efforts to improve school climate and discipline. The package
included a “Dear Colleague” letter, issued jointly by DOE and DOJ, warning against intentional racial discrimination but also stating that schools unlawfully discriminate even “if a policy is neutral on its face—meaning that the policy itself does not mention race—and is administered in an evenhanded manner but has a disparate impact, i.e., a disproportionate and unjustified effect on students of a particular race.” Discipline reform efforts are also underway at the state and school-district levels. As of May 2015, 22 states and the District of Columbia had revised their laws in order to require or encourage schools to: limit the use of exclusionary discipline practices; implement supportive (that is, nonpunitive) discipline strategies that rely on behavioral interventions; and provide support services such as counseling, dropout prevention, and guidance services for at- risk students. And as of the 2015-16 school year, 23 of the 100 largest school districts nationwide had implemented policy reforms requiring nonpunitive discipline strategies and/or limits to the use of suspensions. In an April 2014 survey of 500 district superintendents conducted by the School Superintendents Association (AASA), 84 percent of respondents reported that their districts had updated their code of conduct within the previous three years. What evidence supports the call for discipline reform?
by MATTHEW P. STEINBERG and JOHANNA LACOE
44 EDUCATION NEXT / W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 educationnext.org
PHOTOGRAPH /.
COM 2204HStandardized Testing Problem Speech OutlinePolicy PLynellBull52
COM 2204H
Standardized Testing Problem Speech Outline
Policy Proposition:
A federal law should be passed that eliminates the requirement for K-12 students in the United States to take standardized tests.
Definitions:
1. Standardized tests: A test administered and graded in a consistent manner.
a. In California, we’re mostly familiar with the STAR program that administers some large-scale standardized tests for our state.
2. No Child Left Behind Act: Law passed in 2001 that established a requirement for students to be tested in reading and math during grades 3-8 and one time in high school.
3. Teaching to the test: devoting extra time and attention in the classroom to the skills needed on standardized tests
Background:
1. When the No Child Left Behind Act was introduced in 2001, standardized testing became an important tool in evaluating both student and national progress in education. More pressure was put on students and teachers to perform well on these tests because it became the main way of determining a schools effectiveness.
2. In 2009, the Race to the Top program was introduced which would pit schools against each other, with the schools that have the best student test scores receiving increased funding.
3. The No Child Left Behind Act’s goal of reaching “100% proficiency on standardized tests by 2014” failed (ProCon.org).
4. In 2019, the Nation’s Report Card reported that in the last ten years proficiency scores in math and reading remained almost the same even though higher standards of academics were imposed (ProCon.org).
5. In March 2020, the Education Secretary temporarily waived the requirement for standardized tests for the 2019-20 school year due to the pandemic, stating that students should be “focused on staying healthy and continuing to learn” (ProCon.org).
Inherencies
Structural: Federal laws like the NCLB require standardized testing for students during most of their years in K through 12 education. An additional structural inherency that also should be noted is that there currently isn’t a law that mandates less standardized testing.
Attitudinal: According to a poll conducted by Education Next, 66% of parents and 67% of the general public support testing (Henderson) because they believe that it measures the performance of schools and students well.
Claims
1. High stakes testing has a negative effect on students’ mental health/performance
a. Because of the laws and programs that tie incentives and punishments into standardized tests, there is an increasing pressure on students to perform well on these tests. This leads to anxiety, stress, sleeplessness, and other health issues in young children.
b. A poll in 2019 by PDK international found that “50 percent of responding teachers see pressure on their kids to do well on tests” (Dean).
c. “A pediatrician reports witnessing an ‘incredible’ increase in anxiety over five years.” During heavy testing months, “she sees a new patient each day complaining of stomach ac ...
EDD614ASSIGNMENTCASE2Trident International University .docxbudabrooks46239
EDD614ASSIGNMENTCASE2
Trident International University
James Newton
EDD 614
Assignment Case 2
Dr. James Hodges
February 10, 2020
“Impact of Poverty on the Education Success of Children”
Background
Education is one of the most fundamental rights across the world. However, access to education continues to vary cross different communities, cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Numerous studies have attempted to explore the causes of variations in access and successful educational outcomes across different groups of people. Riedi, Dawn and Kim (2017) state that learners with the capacity to deliver high academic performance exist in all income levels across the United States. Nonetheless, the success rates of learners from low-income backgrounds continue to be lower than their wealthy counterparts. While the dropout rates have reduced phenomenally from low-income neighborhoods, children from wealthy families still register the lowest dropout rates. Level of income coupled with gender factors may also play a role in school dropout rates or low academic performance for children from poor backgrounds. A longitudinal qualitative study undertaken by Ramanaik et al. (2018) found that for many poor families, girls’ domestic tasks came at the cost of schooling with greater concerns regarding the need to safeguard their sexual purity. Furthermore, with the rising desire of the girls’ educational and career goals, parents often encourage girls’ agencies to communicate openly both at home and in school. Children from poor households are also less motivated to work harder in school compared to their contemporaries from wealthy backgrounds. Friels (2016) observes that scholars have tried to make efforts towards exploring the influence of poverty on student success. According to Friels (2016), a combination of factors such as poverty, race and ethnicity have been the defining indicators of student academic attainment. For instance, African American children from low-income neighborhoods continue to face challenges such as low classroom attendance and dropout rates compared to their peers from financial stable backgrounds. In light of the above, this qualitative study will investigate the effects of poverty on educational success in children.
Research Problem
The indicators of academic achievements are often widely recognized across different sides of the scholarly divide. They include hard work, student competence and abilities, school culture, as well as teachers’ competencies. While these factors have been expansively identified and explored by scholars, one major area of research has often been overlooked: the extent to which poverty or level of income impacts educational outcomes for children. Renth, Buckley and Pucher (2015) observe that even though studies exist on this problematic area of knowledge, there have been minimal qualitative explorations on the influence of poverty on children’s educational outcomes. For instance, major qualit.
The title for this Special Section is Developmental Research a.docxarnoldmeredith47041
The title for this Special Section is Developmental Research and Translational
Science: Evidence-Based Interventions for At-Risk Youth and Families, edited by
Suniya S. Luthar and Nancy Eisenberg
Processes of Early Childhood Interventions to Adult Well-Being
Arthur J. Reynolds, Suh-Ruu Ou, Christina F. Mondi, and Momoko Hayakawa
University of Minnesota
This article describes the contributions of cognitive–scholastic advantage, family support behavior, and school
quality and support as processes through which early childhood interventions promote well-being. Evidence
in support of these processes is from longitudinal cohort studies of the Child–Parent Centers and other pre-
ventive interventions beginning by age 4. Relatively large effects of participation have been documented for
school readiness skills at age 5, parent involvement, K-12 achievement, remedial education, educational attain-
ment, and crime prevention. The three processes account for up to half of the program impacts on well-being.
They also help to explain the positive economic returns of many effective programs. The generalizability of
these processes is supported by a sizable knowledge base, including a scale up of the Child–Parent Centers.
Growing evidence that early childhood experiences
can improve adult well-being and reduce educa-
tional disparities has increased attention to preven-
tion (Braveman & Gottlieb, 2014; Power, Kuh, &
Morton, 2013). Early disparities between high- and
low-income groups are evident in school readiness
skills, which increase substantially over time in
rates of achievement proficiency, delinquency, and
educational attainment (Braveman & Gottlieb, 2014;
O’Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009). In this article, we
review evidence for three major processes by which
early childhood interventions (ECIs) promote well-
being and reduce problem behaviors. These are (a)
cognitive advantage, (b) family support behavior
(FS), and (c) school quality and support (SS).
The accumulated research widely supports these
processes as critical targets of preventive interven-
tions for children growing up in economically dis-
advantaged contexts. Our perspective on promoting
well-being is informed by three decades of studying
the Child–Parent Centers (CPC), a large-scale pro-
gram providing comprehensive education and fam-
ily services to low-income children from preschool
to third grade. CPC’s success in promoting well-
being and high economic returns is documented in
the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), which has
tracked 1,500 families into adulthood. We also draw
on the accumulated life course research on the ben-
efits of primarily center-based ECIs, as well as con-
temporary programs and practices.
Consistent with prevention research, well-being
is used to describe the multidimensional outcomes
of ECI, including school achievement and attain-
ment, socioemotional development and mental
health, and health behavior. We regard well-being
as not just the absence o.
Assignment Content1. Top of FormProfessional dispositions ha.docxbraycarissa250
Assignment Content
1.
Top of Form
Professional dispositions have been defined as the “values, commitments, and professional ethics that influence behavior toward candidates, families, colleagues and communities and affect candidate learning, motivation and development as well as the educator’s own professional growth” (NCATE, 2000).
Dispositions can also be described as attitudes and beliefs about counseling, as well as professional conduct and behavior. Not all dispositions can be directly assessed, but aspects of professional behavior are assessed during classes and field experiences in counseling settings.
Review the Master of Science in Counseling Professional Dispositions.
To prepare for professional dispositions assessments in this program, write a 700 word paper in which you:
· Reflect on your personal strengths in connection to the dispositions. Support your ideas with examples.
· Identify areas for personal growth in connection to the dispositions. Support your ideas with examples.
· Outline an action plan for developing the identified areas for personal growth.
· Describe why it is important to adhere to the dispositions. How do they support professionalism in counseling? How do they make a counselor effective?
Format your assignment according to course-level APA guidelines.
Bottom of Form
The title for this Special Section is Developmental Research and Translational
Science: Evidence-Based Interventions for At-Risk Youth and Families, edited by
Suniya S. Luthar and Nancy Eisenberg
Processes of Early Childhood Interventions to Adult Well-Being
Arthur J. Reynolds, Suh-Ruu Ou, Christina F. Mondi, and Momoko Hayakawa
University of Minnesota
This article describes the contributions of cognitive–scholastic advantage, family support behavior, and school
quality and support as processes through which early childhood interventions promote well-being. Evidence
in support of these processes is from longitudinal cohort studies of the Child–Parent Centers and other pre-
ventive interventions beginning by age 4. Relatively large effects of participation have been documented for
school readiness skills at age 5, parent involvement, K-12 achievement, remedial education, educational attain-
ment, and crime prevention. The three processes account for up to half of the program impacts on well-being.
They also help to explain the positive economic returns of many effective programs. The generalizability of
these processes is supported by a sizable knowledge base, including a scale up of the Child–Parent Centers.
Growing evidence that early childhood experiences
can improve adult well-being and reduce educa-
tional disparities has increased attention to preven-
tion (Braveman & Gottlieb, 2014; Power, Kuh, &
Morton, 2013). Early disparities between high- and
low-income groups are evident in school readiness
skills, which increase substantially over time in
rates of achievement proficiency, delinquency, and
educational attainment (Braveman ...
Quickly And Substantially Improve Student Achievementnoblex1
The primary goal of educators in every public school and district across the country has always been to provide a solid educational foundation for all students. Such a foundation is key to students' eventual success in higher education, the workforce, and, in a broader sense, their adult lives as citizens and heads of their own families. In recent years, however, school success has increasingly come to be measured by results on standardized assessments, and the public expectation is that all children should meet state-established standards.
Thousands of schools and districts are grappling with the need to significantly, and rapidly, raise student achievement as measured by high stakes assessments. They are looking for answers— a roadmap — to guide their improvement efforts. Their efforts to improve might also go more smoothly if they are better prepared for "speed bumps" experienced by other districts. School districts can have a profound and positive impact on school improvement efforts. But many of them will have to make substantial changes in the way they do business.
A substantial number of studies have been conducted over nearly three decades to identify factors describing individual schools that have defied the odds by accomplishing high levels of achievement while serving significant numbers of children from low-income or minority families. But until recently little research has focused on school districts as the locus for improvement efforts.
For information about efforts to improve larger systems, educators often turned to research done in the corporate world. Perhaps the most famous of these studies was conducted by Peters and Waterman, who studied companies that ranked high on six measures of long-term financial health. The study contributed to a revolution in many American businesses that responded to the findings describing several characteristics of successful companies. Among Peters' and Waterman's key findings were that the high-performing corporations:
- were "close to their customers" and listened to what customers or clients said about their products and services;
- had a "bias for action"—they tried new ways of doing things, then tried other alternatives if necessary; and
- shifted responsibility for improving quality to the "workers" themselves — those dealing directly with clients and customers.
The Fifth Discipline, by Peter Senge, is another work that was originally written for the corporate world that has had substantial impact on education. In particular, his concept of the learning organization translated well to the understanding that schools had of themselves. However, the primary theme in his book — the importance of taking a systems view — was overlooked by many.
Source: https://ebookschoice.com/quickly-and-substantially-improve-student-achievement/
Olson, james caring and the college professor focus v8 n1 2014William Kritsonis
William Allan Kritsonis, Editor-in-Chief, NATIONAL FORUM JOURNALS (Founded 1982). Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Distinguished Alumnus, Central Washington University, College of Education and Professional Studies, Ellensburg, Washington; Invited Guest Lecturer, Oxford Round Table, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Hall of Honor, Prairie View A&M University/Member of the Texas A&M University System. Professor of Educational Leadership, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
Olson, james caring and the college professor focus v8 n1 2014William Kritsonis
NATIONAL FORUM JOURNALS (Founded 1982 (www.nationalforum.com) is a group of national and international refereed journals. NFJ publishes articles on colleges, universities and schools; management, business and administration; academic scholarship, multicultural issues; schooling; special education; counseling and addiction, international issues; education; organizational theory and behavior; educational leadership and supervision; action and applied research; teacher education; race, gender, society; public school law; philosophy and history; psychology, and much more. Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Editor-in-Chief.
Across the country schools face a multitude of challenges related to student discipline and school climate that potentially impact social and academic outcomes for students. Schools are continually changing and the demands that students face daily have increased at a rapid rate. When students are ill-equipped to face such demands, and traditional reactive approaches to discipline are employed, there is an increased likelihood that they will drop out, or will face punitive measures that do not ultimately improve behaviors (Morrissey et al., 2010). Choosing to dropout of high school may cause serious repercussions for students, their communities and families. Although many interventions currently used to decrease the number of dropouts do not have strong evidence to support their effectiveness (Freeman et al., 2015), several studies conducted in the past 20 years indicate that improved outcomes for students graduating high school have occurred through various interventions. School of Life (SOLF) is a intervention offered as an alternative to in school detention and suspensions. Although other dropout prevention programs have been evaluated, SOLF is a time and resource efficient method for targeting dropout and students who have participated in this intervention over the past three years have seen positive results, including higher rates of graduation (Baggaley, 2015). The purpose of the current study was to answer the following three research questions: 1. What is the effect of the SOLF on grade advancement/dropout rates? 2. What is the effect of SOLF on attendance? 3. What is the effect of SOLF on school connectedness and student motivation?
Toth-Cohen, S., Miller, C., Muhlenhaupt, M., Zapletal, A. Strategies for Integrating health lIteracy into entry-level OT curricula: A comprehensive approach. American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference and Expo, Chicago, IL, April 9, 2016.
EDUC – 3003 Week 2Assignment 1
Ashley Ann Abron
Walden University
1)Pages 35-41 of Assessing and Guiding Young Children's Development and Learning outline four general decision-making categories of assessment. Briefly, summarize each of these. Identify when assessment for each category is most likely to be effective.
When simplified teachers use assessment into two categories (1) to use the information to work with their students individually/group and (2) to monitor their progress. To avoid being overwhelmed with information the assessment process follows four general decision-making categories. The first is Assessing to Know Children Individually and as Members of a Group. The one thing that individuals and groups have in common is that they each have their own approaches to what and how they learn. Teachers will have to maneuver working with both and how their attitudes and habits can affect their learning. Knowing the abilities of children individually as well as in a group will help the teacher to aid in their educational development and interest. Assessment will be most effective when a teacher can discern when to assess a child individually and when to asses as a group. In addition a teacher should know the strength of the individual and the group. If an issue is clearly limited to an individual there is no need to assess the whole class. Teachers should also keep in mind what can influence a child's behavior such as the environment, time of day, materials available, and other children.
Another general decision-making category of assessment is Assign Progress Toward Expected Outcomes in Development and Learning. This means that as children progress through their education it is expected that they meet certain requirements. Children are expected to reach certain milestones not only in their growth and development but also in their academic’s studies. To ensure that children are reaching these milestones assessments should be frequent can cover various aspects for them to be the most effective. The third general decision-making categories of assessment are Expected Child Outcomes in Major Development Domains. When assessing student’s teachers should focus on the major domains of child development; physical, social, emotional, and cognitive. Each domain is important to the overall development of growth of a child. For teachers to successfully assess each domain of a child is to record the progress of each, even if it isn't required.
Conclusively Expected Child Outcomes Stated as Standards is the last category of the assessment decision making. Organization in child education from state departments to school districts have written out specific academic and developmental standards for children of every age group. Standards are directed towards content and performance from the general to the specific. In this regard, assessment is most effective when it is flexible and comprehensiv.
1. Excellence in research, development, & service
ENSURING THAT
NO CHILD IS LEFT
BEHIND
How Are Student Health Risks & Resilience
Academic Progress of Schools?related
to the
THOMAS L. HANSON
GREGORY AUSTIN
JUNE LEE-BAYHA
SUPPORTED BY A GRANT FROM THE STUART FOUNDATION TO
THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
®
3. Introduction
Public schools have come under enormous pressure in
recent years to demonstrate academic gains and to address
deeply rooted disparities among students of different races,
ethnic groups, and income levels. Clearly, boosting academic
achievement should be a top priority. Less evident, however,
is the long-term effect of supporting this goal by diverting
attention and funding from programs that have traditionally
supported student health and well-being.
Over the past decade, research studies and reviews have
consistently concluded that student health status and
achievement are deeply connected. Evidence has been
mounting that meeting the basic developmental needs
of students — ensuring that they are safe, drug-free,
healthy, and resilient — is central to improving their
academic performance.1
It is time for educators and policymakers to ask some critical
questions: Have efforts to boost academic performance
overlookedthecontinuingimpactofnon-academicbarriersto
student learning? Even worse, have efforts to raise test scores
come at the expense of basic supports for student well-being?
Has the pendulum swung so rapidly toward accountability
that schools are in danger of losing previous gains?
WESTED’S INQUIRY
To address these questions — and to shed light on the
connectionsbetweenpromotingresilience,reducinghealth-
risk behaviors, and improving academic achievement —
WestEd set out to investigate how student health risks and
resilience are related to the academic progress of schools.
We did this by examining how these factors relate to
subsequent changes in academic performance.
Inanearlierreport,wedescribedhowstudenthealthriskand
resilience factors are concurrently related (when measured
at a single point in time) to scores on California’s Academic
Performance Index (API). The API, a summary measure of
academic performance for schools, is the cornerstone of
California’s educational accountability system.2
The results
from these analyses indicated that schools with low API
scores have large percentages of students who (1) engage
in risky behavior, (2) are exposed to health risks, or (3) have
low levels of developmental supports — otherwise known
as resilience assets.
The relationship shown between API scores and health risk/
resilience, however, was static. It did not reflect how student
health risk and resilience were related to improvements in
test scores across time. Thus we initiated a longitudinal
study to assess the extent to which student exposure to
health risks (e.g., lack of physical exercise, poor nutrition,
substance use, violence, lack of safety) and low levels of
developmental supports or resilience assets (e.g., exposure
to high expectations and caring relationships at school)
impede raising test scores over time.
The Policy Context
Throughout the country, states are implementing
accountability systems to hold students, teachers, and
educational administrators responsible for ensuring that
students demonstrate acceptable levels of achievement.
The centerpiece of most state accountability systems is
“high-stakes testing” — student achievement testing in
which students, teachers, and/or schools receive rewards or
sanctionsbasedontestscores.Thepracticeofimplementing
such accountability systems has been codified into federal
law through the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 (NCLB).
California has been in the forefront of the national
accountability movement. In 1999, the Public Schools
Accountability Act (PSAA) created the state’s educational
accountability system. The system requires the California
Department of Education (CDE) to calculate academic
WestEd excellence in research, development, & service 3
4. 4 Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind: How Are Student Health Risks & Resilience Related to the Academic Progress of Schools?
performance test results for public schools and publish
school rankings based on these test scores. California
public schools are expected to show improvements in
student achievement by meeting annual growth targets. A
school that meets the growth target is eligible for rewards
under the Governor’s Performance Award Program. These
rewards consist of monetary incentives for schools and cash
bonuses for teachers. A school that fails to meet its annual
growth target may be earmarked as needing assistance
and financial resources. Or, worse, it may be sanctioned or
monitored for interventions such as state takeover.a
It is no surprise that accountability measures have had a far-
reaching impact on public education in California. Test score
results dominate the educational landscape, influencing
everything from administrator and teacher reassignments to
real estate prices. Schools, governments, and the public are
now engaged in a concerted search for — and debate over
— strategies to improve school performance.
Much of the renewed emphasis on improving school
performance has targeted the implementation of new
standards,curricula,teachingtechniques,andotherpractices
that focus classroom time directly on academics and raising
test scores. Many of these interventions are indispensable for
improving academic performance.
Yet not all students are able to benefit from academically
oriented reforms. Many children come to school with a
variety of health-related problems that make successful
learning difficult, if not impossible.3
Efforts to improve
academic performance have not only overlooked the role
of non-academic barriers to learning, but at times such
efforts have come at the expense of programs that address
these barriers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many
schools have cut back on ancillary programs and courses
that address the comprehensive health needs of students
in order to concentrate more resources on instruction and
test-taking skills.4
Such changes are likely to be shortsighted
and counterproductive. Reallocation of resources away
from health-related programs and activities that support
learning may actually undermine children’s academic
performance in the long term.
Unfortunately, little attention is being directed toward
removing health-related behavioral and environmental
barriers to learning. Similarly, support has diminished
for efforts to create the conditions that promote student
connectedness to school — a connectedness that is essential
for student motivation and long-term success.5
The Research
For this study, we chose to look at how gains in test scores
were related to three types of health-related barriers to
student learning:
(1) poor physical health indicators, such as lack of
exercise and inadequate nutrition;
(2) alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use (including use
at school); and
(3) violence, victimization, harassment, and lack of
safety at school.
We also looked at how test scores were related to more
beneficial influences on student well-being:
(1) caring relationships;
(2) high expectation messages; and
(3) opportunities for participation and contribution.
We used longitudinal, school-level test-score data, as well as
datafromthestate-sponsoredCaliforniaHealthyKidsSurvey
(CHKS). The CHKS is a comprehensive student self-report
assessment tool for monitoring the school environment,
student health risks, and resilience assets (see box on page
8). It assesses important non-academic barriers to student
a Sanctions appear to be more salient than rewards, especially
since funds for these awards have been unavailable in recent
California budgets.
5. 5WestEd excellence in research, development, & service
learning in school and other environments. Together, the
CHKS data and the test score data compiled by the state
provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine how
a variety of different facets of health risk and resilience
are related to academic performance across a majority of
California’s highly diverse schools.
Finally, we examined whether or not student health risk and
resilience are differentially related to changes in academic
performance in low- and high-performing schools. Because
low-performing schools are facing intense pressure to
increase test scores, often by cutting back on ancillary
programs and courses that address the comprehensive
health needs of children — it is particularly important
to demonstrate that the relationships of health risk and
resilience to academic performance found in the state as a
whole also apply in low-performing schools.
Findings
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, NUTRITION, AND
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Over the years, research evidence has concluded that
physical activity and nutrition significantly affect student
achievement. School physical education programs have
shown favorable effects on students’ academic achieve-
ment through increased concentration and improved
How the Analyses Were Performed
database by aggregating individual student
responses within schools — with each
observation representing a school and
each variable in the data representing the
school-level average of each item asked in
the Core and RYDM Modules (see Hanson
and Austin, 2003). This aggregated data set
was then merged with the SAT-9 database.
Autoregressive regression models were
used to examine how health risk and
resilience were related to subsequent
changes in test scores, after controlling for
baseline SAT-9 scores and the racial/ethnic,
socioeconomic, and grade composition
of the school. Socioeconomic status was
measured by parental education and
the percentage of students receiving
subsidized meals. We also controlled for
the percentage of students classified as
English language learners. These controls
allowed us to examine the relationship
between health risk/resilience measures
and subsequent changes in test scores in
schools, independent of any effects that
socio-demographic variables may have on
academic performance.
Limitations
Several methodological limitations should
be noted in interpreting the results.
First, although the results are based on
longitudinal data, the data are still only
observational. Other factors that we did
not consider in our analyses could be
responsible for the relationship of health
risk/resilience to subsequent changes in
test scores. Second, the analysis is based
on school-level information, describing
how school characteristics are related to
each other. Further research is needed
to determine how the characteristics
of individual students are related to
individual academic test scores. Finally,
the data come from the secondary schools
that chose to conduct the CHKS. The data
are not necessarily representative of all
California students. This is especially a
limitation of the resilience data, which
were derived from only 628 schools. These
results need to be confirmed analyzing a
representative sample of schools.
Data Sources
This study relied on 1998-2002 test score
data for 7th
, 9th
, and 11th
graders from
the Standardized Testing and Reporting
Program’s (STAR) research files released by
the California Department of Education as
well as aggregated health risk and resilience
data from local school administration of
the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS).
School-level academic performance was
assessed by average national percentile rank
scores (NPR) on the Stanford Achievement
Test (SAT-9) in reading, language (written
expression), and mathematics. Data for
20 health risk behaviors were available
from the CHKS Core Module from 1,773
secondary schools. Data on 16 resilience
assets from the supplementary CHKS
Resilience and Youth Development Module
(RYDM) were available for 628 schools. A
full list of measures is available in Hanson
and Austin (2003).
Methods
To create the data set used in the analysis,
the CHKS was converted into a school-level
Efforts to improve academic performance have
not only overlooked the role of non-academic
barriers to learning, but at times such efforts
have come at the expense of programs that
address these barriers.
6. 6 Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind: How Are Student Health Risks & Resilience Related to the Academic Progress of Schools?
performance on mathematics, reading, and writing tests.6
Poor dietary choices, inadequate nutrient intake, and morn-
ing fasting have been linked to lower motivation and atten-
tiveness in school, as well as lower academic performance.7
Rigorous, randomized studies have shown that participa-
tion in school breakfast programs is associated with signifi-
cant improvements in academic functioning — particularly
among low-income and/or poorly nourished children.8
Annual Change in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
Reading Language Math
PHYSICAL HEALTH
Any Physical ActivityA
+** 0 +*
Any Nutritious Intake +** +* 0
Breakfast +** 0 +*
SUBSTANCE USE & AVAILABILITY
Lifetime ATM UseB
0 0 0
Lifetime Hard Drug UseA
0 0 0
Lifetime Intoxication –** –* –*
30-day ATM UseB
–# –# 0
30-day Hard Drug UseA
0 0 0
Lifetime Intoxication on School Property –* –# –*
30-day ATM Use on School PropertyB
–* 0 –*
Alcohol/Cigarette AvailabilityA
0 0 0
Marijuana AvailabilityA
0 0 0
Offered Illegal Drugs at School –** 0 –*
SCHOOL SAFETY ENVIRONMENT
Harassed 0 0 0
Threatened/Injured with Weapon –# 0 0
Property Stolen/Damaged –* –* –*
Perceived School Safety +** +** +**
Physical Fight 0 0 0
Weapon Possession –** –** –**
Annual Change in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
Reading Language Math
EXTERNAL RESILIENCE ASSETS
Total External Assets at School 0 0 +#
Caring Relationships at School + # +# +**
High Expectations at School +* 0 +#
Meaningful Participation at School 0 +# 0
Total External Assets at Home 0 0 0
Caring Relationships at Home 0 0 0
High Expectations at Home 0 0 0
Meaningful Participation at Home 0 0 0
Total External Assets in Community 0 0 0
Caring Relationships in Community 0 0 0
High Expectations in Community 0 0 0
Meaningful Participation in Community +* +# 0
Total External Assets from Peers 0 0 0
Caring Relationships with Peers 0 0 0
High Expectations with Peers 0 0 0
INTERNAL RESILIENCE ASSETS
Total Internal Resilience Assets 0 0 0
Sadness/Hopelessness –* –* –**
Estimates come from a model that controls for test scores at the year of the survey, grade in
school (7th, 9th, 11th), racial/ethnic composition, percentage of students receiving subsidized
meals, average parental education, and percentage of English learner students. Outcome
variable is change in test score in the year following CHKS administration.
Source: 1998-2002 CHKS and STAR data, school-level analysis.
A
Measure applicable to high school students only.
B
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana (ATM).
+ Gains in test scores increase as percentage of students in a school with this
characteristic increases.
– Gains in test scores decrease as percentage of students in a school with this
characteristic increases.
0 Gains in test scores not significantly (p<.10) related to percentage of students in a
school with this characteristic.
# Significant at 10%; * Significant at 5%; ** Significant at 1%.
Table 1. Health Risk/Resilience and Subsequent Changes in Test Scores
The results presented in Table 1 and graphically for
selected outcomes in Figures 1–2 show that schools with
proportionately large numbers of students who engaged
in some weekly physical activity and ate nutritiously had
greater subsequent gains in test scores than other schools.
Additionally, we found in separate analyses that physical
activity and nutrition had equally beneficial consequences
for test score gains in low- and high-performing schools.
7. 7WestEd excellence in research, development, & service
Figure 1 shows that as the percentage of students who
engage in physical activity goes up, subsequent gains in
test scores increase. For example, the results for reading
indicate that in schools where 76% of students reported
that they engaged in physical activity in the week prior
to the survey, NPR scores (SAT-9) declined by 0.4 one year
later. This compares with increases of 0.6 points and 1.7
points in schools where 88% and 100% of students reported
engaging in physical activity, respectively.b
The pattern for breakfast shown in Figure 2 is even more
striking, particularly for reading scores. Reading scores
declined by 1 point in schools where 48% of students
reported eating breakfast on the day of the survey, and
increased by 2.2 points in schools where 76% of students
reported eating breakfast. Although the breakfast results
for language are not statistically significant, gains in
language test scores also appeared to increase as the
percentage of students who eat breakfast rises.
Overall, the results suggest that implementation of
programs that ensure that all students meet minimum
physical education and nutrition standards may help
hasten improvements in test scores.
Figure 1. Any Physical Activity & Annual
Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
Figure 2. Breakfast Consumption & Annual
Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
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b The levels of health risk/resilience displayed on the horizontal
axis of each figure correspond to deviations from the mean.
For example, 76 and 100 are 2 standard deviations from the
mean, 82 and 94 are 1 standard deviation from the mean, and
88 represents the mean level of physical activity in the sample.
Schools with proportionately large numbers of
students who engaged in some weekly physical
activity and ate nutritiously had greater sub-
sequent gains in test scores than other schools.
8. 8 Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind: How Are Student Health Risks & Resilience Related to the Academic Progress of Schools?
The California
Healthy Kids Survey
The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) is a comprehensive
student self-report health risk and resilience data collection system
supported by the California Department of Education (CDE) for use
by local school districts. It was developed in 1997 by WestEd in
collaboration with Duerr Evaluation Resources and an advisory
committee of researchers, teachers, school prevention and health
program practitioners, and public agency representatives. It was
funded by CDE in response to rising demands for schools to collect
and use data to assess student needs, to justify program funding,
to guide program development, and to monitor their progress in
achieving program goals. The immediate impetus was meeting
the requirements of the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act (SDFSCA). The survey is designed to provide a
common set of comprehensive health risk and resilience data across
the state to guide local program decision-making. Its emphasis is on
preventing substance use and violence and on promoting positive
youth development and well-being.
The secondary school survey used in this analysis has a flexible
modular structure that enables local schools and communities
to easily customize it to meet local needs and interests, but the
state required that all school districts administer the Core Module
that assesses key health risk variables involving substance use,
violence, and physical health. Schools can choose to administer
any of five supplementary modules and also add questions of their
own choosing. A single elementary school instrument provides
comparable, developmentally appropriate data focusing on risk and
resilience factors, but it was not used in this analysis. For more details
about the CHKS, see WestEd (2002) and the Healthy Kids Survey Web
site (http://www.wested.org/hks).
SUBSTANCE USE AND ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE
Evidence drawn from years of research has shown that
adolescent substance use is closely connected with academic
success.9
Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use is also linked
to several other school-related factors. These include
reduced attention span, lower investment in homework,
more negative attitudes toward school, lower motivation,
and increased absenteeism.
While the link between substance use and school achieve-
ment is clear, the reasons for it are less so. One explanation
is that academic difficulties are a consequence of substance
use.Studiesdemonstratingthatdruguseinterfereswiththe
learning process provide support for this explanation.10
A
second theory suggests that students become more likely
to engage in unhealthy behaviors (such as substance use)
as a consequence of the frustration and estrangement
they experience due to poor school performance. A third
explanation is that substance use and poor academic
performance may not, in fact, be distinct. Instead, each
may represent just one aspect of a more generalized
tendency toward deviance and unconventionality.11
The research literature provides empirical support for each
of these explanations.12
Studies based on longitudinal data
suggest that substance use and academic performance
are reciprocally related. Substance use appears to reduce
subsequent academic performance, and, reciprocally, poor
academic performance increases subsequent substance use.13
For this study, we examined the relationship of test scores
to three general areas of substance use: (1) lifetime and 30-
day substance use; (2) substance use/intoxication on school
premises; and (3) availability of drugs. As shown in Table 1,
lifetime substance use; 30-day hard drug use; and alcohol,
cigarette, and marijuana availability were not significantly
associated with subsequent changes in test scores. However,
lifetimeintoxication,substanceuseandintoxicationatschool,
9. 9WestEd excellence in research, development, & service
and being offered drugs at school were significantly related
to changes in test scores. Schools with proportionately large
numbers of students who reported ever being intoxicated,
who reported using substances or being intoxicated at school,
and who reported being offered drugs at school exhibited
smaller gains in test scores than other schools.
Taken as a whole, these results point to the importance
of maintaining a drug-free school in any effort to improve
achievement. Figures 3–5 show how subsequent gains in test
scores are related to lifetime intoxication; 30-day alcohol,
tobacco, and marijuana use on school premises; and drug
offers on school grounds, respectively.
In examining differences across schools, our analyses
suggest that substance use was a greater impediment to
school progress in high-performing schools than in low-
performing schools. These results held for six of the ten
substance use measures considered: (1) lifetime alcohol,
tobacco, or marijuana use; (2) lifetime intoxication; (3) 30-
day substance use; (4) lifetime intoxication at school; (5) 30-
day substance use at school; and (6) drug offers at school.
As an example of how substance use is differentially related
togainsintestscoresinlow-,medium-,andhigh-performing
schools, the results for 30-day substance use are shown in
Figure 6. Notice how low-performing schools exhibited
substantial gains in test scores the following year, while
high-performing schools exhibited substantial declines.
This pattern is brought about by statistical regression (also
known as regression toward the mean), whereby units that
score low or high on one occasion are more likely to score
closer to the mean on a subsequent occasion.
Figure 3. Lifetime Intoxication & Annual
Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
-10
-5
0
5
10
0 10 25 40 55 0 10 25 40 55 0 10 25 40 55
ChangeinSAT-9(NPR)
Reading Language Mathematics
Percent in school ever intoxicated
2.2
1.6
0.6
-0.3
-1.2
3.0
2.4
1.6
0.7
-0.1
2.9
2.4
1.6
0.8
0.1
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Figure 4. 30-day Substance Use at School
& Annual Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
Figure 5. Offered Illegal Drugs at School &
Annual Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
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Takenasawhole,theseresultspointtothe
importanceofmaintainingadrug-freeschoolin
anyefforttoimproveachievement.
10. 10 Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind: How Are Student Health Risks & Resilience Related to the Academic Progress of Schools?
Figure 6. 30-day Substance Use at School and
Annual Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR) for Low-,
Medium-, and High-Performing Schools
-10
-5
0
5
10
0 3 6 8 11 0 3 6 8 11 0 3 6 8 11
-10
-5
0
5
10
0 3 6 8 11 0 3 6 8 11 0 3 6 8 11
-10
-5
0
5
10
0 3 6 8 11 0 3 6 8 11 0 3 6 8 11
High-Performing Schools
Medium-Performing Schools
ChangeinSAT-9(NPR)
Percent in school reporting any 30-day
substance use on school property
Reading Language Mathematics
Low-Performing Schools
Reading Language Mathematics
Reading Language Mathematics
6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2
7.2 7.4 7.7 7.9 8.2 7.9 7.5 7.1 6.8 6.4
1.6 1.2 0.7 0.4
0.1
2.1 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.3
2.9 2.4 1.8 1.5 1.0
-4.1
-5.1
-6.2 -6.9 -7.9
-3.3
-4.1 -4.9 -5.4 -6.2
-2.9 -3.6 -4.3 -4.8 -5.4
The important thing to notice in Figure 6 is that substance
use on school premises appears to have the most deleterious
consequences for the academic progress of high-performing
schools. The figure shows that 30-day substance use at
school appears to be (1) unrelated to changes in reading
and language test scores in low-performing schools, (2)
moderately related to reductions in test score gains in
medium-performing schools, and (3) strongly related to
declines in test scores in high-performing schools.
Similar patterns of results were apparent for the other
five measures of substance use listed above. It is possible
that low-performing schools encounter impediments to
academic performance that are so different from other
schools that substance use has little influence on academic
progress in these schools.
SAFETY AT SCHOOL AND ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE
It is intuitively obvious that violence, crime, antisocial
behavior, and other types of social disorganization on a
school campus can have adverse effects on student learning.
Numerous studies demonstrate that bullying and violent
actions in school settings have deleterious consequences
for students.14
Bowen and Bowen (1999) describe three ways in which
risky school environments can adversely affect student
performance and learning. First, exposure to violence,
abuse, and crime on campus can increase emotional and
psychological distress experienced by students — which,
in turn, can reduce academic performance by diminishing
students’ capacity to concentrate and expend energy on
academic-related matters.
Second, distress associated with exposure to crime, violence,
and/or bullying and teasing may directly reduce instruction
time by causing students to stay home from school or cut
classes.15
Perceptions of danger at school could also reduce
students’ psychological engagement with school.16
It is possible that low-performing schools
encounter impediments to academic
performance that are so different from other
schools, that substance use has little influence
on academic progress in these schools.
11. Lastly, crime, violence, and social disorganization at school
may affect academic performance by influencing classroom
teaching and learning processes. For example, researchers17
found that children who were disruptive and aggressive in
the classroom had a negative impact on their classmates’
education by diverting teachers’ attention and reducing
instruction time.18
To measure the role of violence, victimization, and lack of
safety in the school environment, we examined how gains
in test scores were related to the following: (1) harassment
because of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or
disability; (2) being threatened or injured with a weapon;
(3) having property stolen or damaged; (4) engaging in
physical fights; (5) weapon possession; and (6) perceptions
of school safety.
As shown in Table 1, half of these items were significantly
related to subsequent changes in test scores, while half were
not. Specifically, reports of harassment, being threatened/
injured with a weapon, and physical fighting at school were
not significantly related to changes in test scores.
Test score gains were significantly smaller, however, in
schools with a high percentage of students who reported
having their property stolen or damaged at school, who
reported carrying weapons at school, and who reported
feeling unsafe at school (Figure 7). These three factors
— theft and vandalism, insecurity, and weapon possession
— had equally harmful effects in low- and high-performing
schools. Overall, the results suggest that efforts to reduce
weapon possession and improve overall school security are
not only beneficial to student safety and well-being (the
most important outcome of such efforts), but they could
also translate into significant gains in test scores.
SCHOOL EXTERNAL RESILIENCE ASSETS AND
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Besides examining how changes in test scores are related
to risk factors, we also examined how beneficial influences
on child well-being impacted test scores. Studies across a
broad variety of fields have begun to identify a clear set
of factors related to healthy outcomes for children living
in risky environments. Resilience research — studies of
positive youth development in the face of environmental
threat, stress, and risk — identify these factors as
(1) caring relationships, (2) high expectation messages, and
(3) opportunities for participation and contribution.19
These supports, referred to as external resilience assets
or protective factors, are associated with both lack of
involvement in health compromising behaviors and
with academic success.20
To maximize opportunities for
successful learning and healthy development, these three
resources should be available to youth across all significant
environments — school, home, community, and peer
groups. Attention to these assets in school settings, which
can help youth navigate adolescence in healthy ways, hold
great promise for comprehensive programs addressing the
developmental and academic needs of children.21
Figure 7. Safety at School & Annual
Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
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11WestEd excellence in research, development, & service
12. 12 Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind: How Are Student Health Risks & Resilience Related to the Academic Progress of Schools?
As shown in Table 1, external resilience assets were not
consistently related to annual gains in test scores, with
several notable exceptions. Test scores increased more in
schools where students reported (1) high levels of caring
relationships at school, (2) high expectations at school,
and (3) meaningful participation in the community.
These results are presented graphically in Figures 8–10.
Each of these graphs shows a similar pattern. As caring
relationships at school, high expectations at school, and
meaningful participation in the community increase,
subsequent gains in test scores also increase. These
results confirm that attention to external resilience assets
in school settings show great potential for addressing the
academic needs of children.
Table 1 also shows how internal assets and sadness/
hopelessness are related to changes in test scores. It turns
out that only sadness/hopelessness was associated with
changes in test scores across time. As the percentage
of students who reported that they felt sad or hopeless
increased, subsequent gains in reading, language, and
mathematics test scores declined (see Figure 11). No
evidence was found that external or internal resilience
assets provide any more (or less) benefit in low- performing
schools than in high-performing schools.
Overall, the findings demonstrate that schools providing
caring, supportive, and challenging environments have
great potential to help students and improve academic
performance.
Figure 8. School Caring Relationships &
Annual Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
Figure 9. School High Expectations & Annual
Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
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13. 13WestEd excellence in research, development, & service
Figure 10. Community Meaningful Participation &
Annual Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
Figure 11. Sadness/Hopelessness & Annual
Changes in SAT-9 Scores (NPR)
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-10
-5
0
5
10
48 55 62 70 77 48 55 62 70 77 48 55 62 70 77
Percent in school reporting meaningful participation in community
ChangeinSAT-9(NPR)
Reading Language Mathematics
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.1
1.5
0.6 1.1
1.5
2.0
1.0 1.3 1.6 2.0 2.22.5
Conclusions & Implications
Do health risk and low levels of resilience assets impede
the progress of schools in raising test scores? Our analyses
suggest that they do. Subsequent test score gains were
smaller in California schools with high percentages of
students who did not routinely engage in physical activity
and healthy eating; who reported ever being intoxicated,
usingsubstancesatschool,andbeingoffereddrugsatschool;
who reported high levels of property theft, vandalism, and
weapon possession on school grounds; and who attended
schools with high numbers of students who felt unsafe
at school. Schools with high percentages of students who
reported high levels of caring relationships at school, high
expectations at school, and meaningful participation in
the community exhibited greater subsequent gains in test
scores than other schools.
Overall, these results held for about 40% of the health risk
and resilience measures that we examined, even after
accounting for socioeconomic differences across schools.
Moreover, health risk and low resilience assets typically
have equally detrimental consequences for subsequent
test score gains in low- and high-performing schools —
although substance use and availability appear to have
more deleterious consequences for the academic progress
of high-performing schools than of low-performing schools.
Perhaps low-performing schools encounter impediments
to academic performance that are so different from other
schools that substance use has little additional influence
on academic progress in these schools. Taken as a whole,
the results suggest that schools with higher percentages
of students who are less engaged in risky behaviors such
as substance use and violence, who are more likely to
eat nutritiously and exercise, and who report caring
relationships and high expectations at school made greater
progress in raising test scores.
Moreover, health risk and low resilience
assets typically have equally detrimental
consequences for subsequent test score gains in
low- and high-performing schools.
14. 14 Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind: How Are Student Health Risks & Resilience Related to the Academic Progress of Schools?
The results have important policy implications for schools
and stakeholders trying to meet accountability demands
for improved academic performance. Although the
implementation of new standards, curricula, teaching
techniques, and other types of practices that focus
directly on academics are indispensable for improving
academic performance, not all students will benefit from
these academically oriented reforms. The results suggest
that addressing the health and developmental needs of
youth is a critical component of a comprehensive strategy
for meeting the accountability demands for improved
academic performance. Specifically, district and school
leaders can take steps to promote student health and well-
being by increasing student access to moderate-to-vigorous
physical activity in physical education classes, monitoring
the nutritional content of items offered at school, and
promoting greater awareness among students about their
physical health and nutrition. Crime, violence, antisocial
behavior, and other types of social disorganization on a
school campus can have adverse consequences on student
learning and should be targeted with comprehensive
prevention programs. Moreover, practices that provide
students with supportive, caring connections to adults at the
school who model and support healthy development, and
clear and consistent messages that students can and will
succeed at high levels, hold great promise for addressing
the developmental needs of children and improving student
learning. Findings from this study suggest that efforts to
improve schools should go beyond the current emphasis
on standards and accountability measured by test scores.
Policies and practices focusing exclusively on increasing
test scores while ignoring the comprehensive health needs
of students are almost certain to leave many children, and
many schools, behind.
Endnotes
1
Allensworth, Lawson, Nicholson, & Wyche
1997; Marx, Wooley, & Northrup 1998; Mitchell
2000; Symons, Cinelli, Janes, & Groff 1997.
2
Hanson, Austin, & Lee-Bayha 2003.
3
Council of Chief State School Officers 1998.
4
Costante 2002; Deutsch 2000.
5
Center for Mental Health in Schools 2000.
6
Dwyer, Coonan, Worsley, & Leitch 1979; Sallis
et al. 1999; Shephard 1997; Shephard et al.
1984; Symons, Cinelli, Janes, & Groff 1997.
7
Benton & Roberts 1988; Chandler, Walker,
Connolly, & Grantham-McGregor 1995; Pollitt,
Leibel, & Greenfield 1981; Pollitt, Lewis,
Garza, & Schulman 1982; Schoenthaler, Amos,
Doraz, Kelly, & Wakefield 1991; Schoenthaler,
Bier, Young, Nichols, & Jansenns 2000;
Simeon & Grantham-McGregor 1989.
8
Meyers, Sampson, Weitzman, Rogers, &
Kayne 1989; Murphy et al. 1998; Powell,
Walker, Chang, & Grantham-McGregor 1998;
Simeon 1998.
9
Andrews, Duncan, & Hops 1994; Beauvais,
Chavez, Oetting, Deffenbacher, & Cornell
1996; Braggio, Pishkin, Gameros, & Brooks
1993; Crum, Ensminger, Ro, & McCord 1996;
Dozier & Barnes 1997; Eggert & Herting 1993;
Ellickson, Bui, Bell, & McGuigan 1998; Hu,
Lin, & Keeler 1998; Mensch & Kandel 1988;
Newcomb & Bentler 1986; Schulenberg,
Bachman, O’Malley, & Johnson 1994.
10
Andrews, Duncan, & Hops 1994.
11
Hirschi 1969; Jessor & Jessor 1977.
12
Donovan & Jessor 1985; Maguin & Loeber
1996; Newcomb & Bentler 1988.
13
Andrews, Duncan, & Hops 1994; Crum,
Ensminger, Ro, & McCord 1996; Galambos &
Silbereisen 1987; Newcomb & Bentler 1988.
14
Beauvais, Chavez, Oetting, Deffenbacher, &
Cornel 1996; Bowen & Bowen 1999; Eccles,
Lord, & Midgley 1991; Ellickson, Saner, &
McGuigan 1997; Furlong, Chung, Bates, &
Morrison 1995; Gronna & Chin-Chance 1999;
Herrenkohl et al. 2000; National Center for
Educational Statistics 1995.
15
Leitman, Binns, & Duffet 1995.
16
Bowen, Richman, Brester, & Bowen 1998.
17
Lochman, Lampron, Gemmer, & Harris 1987.
18
Bowen & Bowen 1999.
19
Benard 1991.
20
Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller 1992; Masten &
Coatsworth 1998; Werner & Smith 1982; 1992.
21
Flay, Allred, & Ordway 2001; Roth, Brooks-
Gunn, Murray, & Foster 1998.
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