Full Report - Center for Collaborative Education
Full Report - Center for Collaborative Education
Full Report - Center for Collaborative Education
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Results: English Language Arts<br />
In addition to the results above, the two other variables representing individual characteristics,<br />
attendance rate and gender, demonstrated a statistically significant relationship with MCAS<br />
ELA scores at the high school level. 7 There is a positive relationship between attendance rate<br />
and MCAS ELA scores, with scores tending to increase as attendance increases. The relationship<br />
between gender and ELA achievement is also significant, with female students tending to<br />
per<strong>for</strong>m better on MCAS ELA tests than male students.<br />
Of the four variables representing school environment, only two demonstrated a statistically<br />
significant relationship with ELA achievement: Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in ELA and<br />
the percentage of the school’s population that is low-income. Elementary and middle school<br />
LEP students who attend schools that have demonstrated AYP in ELA have higher MCAS ELA<br />
scores on average than LEP students who attend schools that have not demonstrated AYP<br />
in ELA. 8 In middle school, as the proportion of low-income students at a school increases,<br />
MCAS scores in ELA tend to decrease. 9<br />
The remaining two variables representing school environment – school size and the percentage<br />
of a given school’s population that consists of LEP students – did not have a statistically<br />
significant relationship with MCAS ELA scores at any level of schooling.<br />
Results: Math<br />
In addition to the results presented in the previous sections, the other two variables representing<br />
individual characteristics – attendance rate and gender – also show statistically significant<br />
relationships with math attainment at all schooling levels. The relationship between attendance<br />
and MCAS Math scores is positive, with students with higher attendance rates tending<br />
to demonstrate higher levels of math attainment. The relationship between gender and math<br />
attainment indicates that males tend to per<strong>for</strong>m better than females on MCAS Math testing<br />
at all levels of schooling.<br />
Among the four variables that represent school environment, only AYP in Math demonstrates<br />
a statistically significant relationship with MCAS Math scores. The relationship is positive, with<br />
students attending schools that have demonstrated AYP in Math tending to achieve higher<br />
MCAS Math scores than students who attend schools that have not.<br />
There is no statistically significant relationship between MCAS Math outcomes and the<br />
percentage of the school population that is made up of low-income students, the size of the<br />
school, or the percentage of the school population that is made up of LEP students.<br />
Improving <strong>Education</strong>al Outcomes of English Language Learners in Schools and Programs in Boston Public Schools 83