Association Between Addition of Learning Support Professionals and School Performance

This study capitalizes on the gradual introduction of learning support professionals (LSPs; e.g., school social workers) into an urban school district’s elementary schools ( n = 71) between 2001–2002 and 2008–2009. The time series allowed for a school-level investigation of associations between the presence of LSPs and aggregate school achievement utilizing fixed-effects methodology. Schools with an LSP in a given year, as well as the cumulative years in which a school had an LSP, were both positively associated with the percentage of students who scored at or above proficient in reading achievement on the California Standards Test and were negatively associated with the cumulative number of years a school was in program improvement status, but not associated with mathematics achievement. Findings suggest that school social workers function as a school resource and indicate the utility of fixed-effects methodology in assessing the impact of social work services in schools.

Evaluation of the Relationship between AcademicPerformance and Physical Fitness Measures in California Schools

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness in California schools. Data from the academic year 2004-2005 Fitnessgram were compared to reading, mathematics and science scores on the California Standards test (CST) of 253 elementary schools in the Orange County School District. Physical education teachers from the 10 lowest scoring and 10 highest scoring schools were interviewed regarding content of the physical education classes in their school. Simple correlation coefficients revealed a positive linear relationship between academic scores and physical fitness scores. The interview with the teachers revealed that most of the 10 lowest scoring schools did not have a designated physical education teacher. All of the 10 highest scoring schools had designated physical education teachers and followed the physical education guidelines recommended by the California Education Board.