Date of Graduation

2001

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between school organizational health, school size, and school achievement in the areas of reading, mathematics, and language as mediated by socioeconomic status (SES) in West Virginia public middle schools during the school year 1999–2000. The study will use the participating schools' free and reduced lunch rate to determine socioeconomic status. Once determined, socioeconomic status will be assumed as a mediating categorical variable and data analysis will determine its effects. The population for this study were the 99 West Virginia middle schools that were configured by the county boards of education to separately house the grade configurations of 5, 6, 7, 8; or grades 6, 7, 8; or grades 7, 8. Data were collected through the use of surveys procedure (Kerlinger 1996). A first and second mailing included a letter of intent and invitation to the school principal and teachers, the questionnaire, and a return self-addressed envelope. The usable return rate for this study was 69 middle schools. There were nine research questions that guided this study. The questions were answered by Analyses of Variance (ANOVAS), which were conducted to determine the significance of the relationship between variables and Pearson's coefficient of correlation that were calculated to determine the statistical relationship between dependent variables and independent variables. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. The findings of this study provide evidence that West Virginia middle schools with high socioeconomic status show no significant correlation to organizational health and school achievement in reading, mathematics, and language; whereas, West Virginia middle schools with low socioeconomic status report a statistically significant correlation between organizational health and school achievement in mathematics, reading, and language. Further analyses of the West Virginia middle school size as defined by grade span, population and organizational health data also suggest a statistically significant correlation between middle school achievement in reading, mathematics, and language when mediated by low SES schools. Low SES four grade span middle schools record statistically significant correlations as do low SES small population middle schools in mathematics, reading, and language achievement.

Share

COinS