Differences in Access to Athletic Trainers in Public Secondary Schools Based on Socioeconomic Status

Context: Significant health care disparities exist in the United States based on socioeconomic status (SES) but the role SES has on secondary school athletes' access to athletic training services has not been examined on a national scale. Objective: To identify differences in access to athletic training services in public secondary schools based on school-SES. Design: Cross-Sectional Study Setting: Database secondary analysis. Patients or Other Participants: Data for 3,482 public high schools. Main Outcome Measures: Data were gathered from the Athletic Training Location and Services (ATLAS) database, United States Census Bureau, and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). We included schools from 5 states with the highest, middle, and lowest poverty percentages (15 states total) and collected county median household income (MHI), percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch, race/ethnicity demographics, and access to athletic training services (full-time AT, part-time AT only, no AT) for each school. Data were summarized in standard deviations, means, medians, interquartile ranges (IQR), frequencies and proportions, one-way ANOVAs, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: There were significant differences in school-SES between schools with full-time, part-time only, and no athletic training services. Schools with greater access to athletic training services had fewer students eligible for free and reduced lunch (full-time: 41.1%±22.3, part-time only: 45.8%±24.3, no AT: 52.9%±24.9, p<0.001). Similarly, county MHI was higher in schools with increased access to athletic training services (full-time: Median [IQR], $56,026 [$49,085–$64,557], part-time only: Median [IQR], $52,719 [$45,355–$62105], and no AT: Median [IQR], $49,584 [$41,094–$57,688], p<0.001). Conclusions: SES disparities were present in access to athletic training services in a national sample of public secondary schools. Access to athletic trainers positively influences student-athlete's health care across several measures. Pilot programs or government funds have been used previously to fund athletic training services and should be considered to ensure equitable access regardless of school-SES.

Sometimes a Long and Winding Road: An Exploration of Kalamazoo Promise Stop Out and Reenrollment

This exploratory, descriptive study examined trends associated with Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise) student stop out, reenrollment, and persistence to a credential upon reenrollment. For the 2006–2017 cohorts, 78% were retained from first to second year. Inferential models suggested that first-year stop out was mainly correlated to students’ high school free-and-reduced lunch eligibility (FRL) and high-school GPA. Forty-five percent of stopped out students reenrolled, and reenrollment was primarily correlated with time. The median time to return was 3 non-summer semesters, with Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino(a) students predicted to reenroll in fewer semesters than White students. For the 2006–2012 cohorts, 30% of all stopped out students who reenrolled have earned a degree to date. Upon reenrollment, nearly half of all postsecondary certifications were earned by FRL students. Discussion links our findings to wider trends, highlights actions to bolster outcomes, and illustrates how this study could be a benchmark comparison for other tuition-free policies.

Quantitative analysis of impact of response to intervention on 2019 sixth-grade rural public middle school Missouri assessment program performance by free and reduced-price lunch eligibility

This study focused on the impact of response to intervention on 2019 sixth-grade rural public middle school Missouri Assessment Program performance by free and reduced-price lunch eligibility. Response to intervention was used to decrease learning gaps for students. Missouri Assessment Program performance was used as an accountability measure for Missouri public school students. The researcher used the Missouri Assessment Program, a standardized assessment given to Missouri public school students in grades three through eight. The annual test includes mathematics and English language arts in grades three through eight and science in grades five and eight. This research focused on mathematics in grade six. This study concluded that there were significant differences in student scores based on: free and reduced lunch eligibility; race and ethnicity; response to intervention received; and response to intervention level. Moreover, the researcher found that students in response to intervention Level 2 are effectively identified to receive academic assistance. This seemed to be a stronger identifier than free and reduced-lunch eligibility and race.

Demographic Shifts and Segregation in Fargo and West Fargo, North Dakota Schools

In this article, we examine how demographic changes in Fargo and West Fargo, North Dakota between 2000 and 2017, including the resettlement of refugees, have impacted equitable educational arrangements in Fargo Public Schools (FPS) and West Fargo Public Schools (WFPS). Drawing on multiple data sources, including North Dakota’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Common Core of Data (CCD) available from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) and block group data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to examine city and district level changes in the years 2000 and 2017. We also conduct descriptive statistics and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to assess the relationships among Black student enrollment, performance on state tests and enrollment characteristics that include race and free and reduced lunch. Findings underscore the increasing isolation of students over time by race, socioeconomic background and language.

Three Midwest Rural School Districts’ First Year Transition to the Four Day School Week

The four-day school week is a concept that has been utilized in rural schools for decades to respond to budgetary shortfalls. There has been little peer-reviewed research on the four-day school week that has focused on the perception of parents who live in school districts that have recently switched to the four-day model. This study collects data from 584 parents in three rural Missouri school districts that have transitioned to the four-day school week within the last year. Quantitative statistical analysis identifies significant differences in the perceptions of parents classified by the age of children, special education identification, and free and reduced lunch status. Strong parental support for the four-day school week was identified in all demographic areas investigated; however, families with only elementary aged children and families with students receiving special education services were less supportive than other groups.

If You Are Poor, It is Better to be Rural

Part of a larger research project involving the study of mathematics achievement of middle and high school students in Tennessee, this report analyzes said achievement in terms of school locale and the percentage of disadvantaged (pdisadv) students enrolled in the school. Schools were designated as Rural, Large Central City, and Other Nonrural. Socioeconomic Status (SES) was determined by the percentage of students receiving federally subsidized free and reduced lunch. Schools were then placed into one of three economic categories: Low to moderate pdisadv (less than 50 percent of students receiving free or reduced lunch), High pdisadv (50-74.99 percent), or Highest (75 percent or greater). The findings involving SES and achievement were as expected, the higher the percentage of disadvantage, the lower the achievement. Interesting results involving locale as well as the intersection between locale and SES were also discovered. If a student is poor, the data suggests, it is better, in terms of mathematics achievement, to be rural. The possibility exists that close-knit, economically disadvantaged rural locales offer a sense of community not found in other economically disadvantaged locales which enables rural students to achieve at a higher level mathematically than their nonrural peers.

Teacher Absences in the Commonwealth of Virginia

The purpose of this study was to analyze selected variables for public schools and districts in Virginia to determine the relationship of school and policy characteristics to teacher absences. This study included two research questions: What is the relationship between certain school district policy provisions and teacher absenteeism? What is the relationship between certain school characteristics and teacher absenteeism? The analysis for this study involved computing descriptive statistics, correlating continuous variables, and running multiple regressions for each dataset (school and district for each year) to determine the predictors of the dependent variable, chronically absent teachers. Although the school models were significant, neither was a particularly strong predictor of chronically absent teachers, only accounting for 15.2% of the variation (2011-2012 model with R2 = .152) and 9.6% of the variation (2013-2014 model with R2 = .096) that is predicted by the independent variables. Nevertheless, there were independent policy and school variables that were significant predictors in both school years. The most prominent variables included total leave, personal leave maximums, income protection provisions (sick leave banks, short-term disability), free and reduced lunch population percentage of a school, pupil/teacher ratio of the school, and the grade level of the school (elementary, middle, and high).

Collective Impact

H. O. Wheeler Elementary School, labeled as a failing school in 2004 became the Integrated Arts Academy, an arts magnet school through the development of strong school/community partnerships. It tells the story of how initially two key community arts organizations provided the Burlington School District with vision and professional development to address excellence and equity in a school with a diverse population that included 98% free and reduced lunch, 40 percent English language Learners (23 different languages/dialects spoken) and 25% Special education. To help achieve success the school has expanded partnerships with arts and community organizations. This chapter demonstrates how the partnerships through articulating mutual vision and expectations have contributed to a balanced population that has sustained its cultural richness, enhanced student academic and behavioral performance, and positively impacts grants, curriculum, residencies, community, and teacher education.

The Informational Significance of A–F School Accountability Grades

Background/Context Despite problems with accountability systems under No Child Left Behind, the policy has been widely commended for exposing the depth and breadth of educational inequality in the United States. As states implement new accountability systems, there is growing concern that attention to achievement gaps and the performance of marginalized children has faded. Many approved accountability plans no longer report achievement by student subgroups or include subgroup performance in the calculation of accountability indicators. Research Purpose This study examined the informational significance of Oklahoma's A–F accountability grades relative to the policy objective of achievement equity. Informational significance as explained in self-determination theory provided a framework to explore the usefulness of an A–F grade for understanding achievement differences within and between schools. Research Design We evaluated the informational significance of Oklahoma A–F school grades by analyzing reading and math test scores from over 25,000 students in 81 elementary and middle schools. The study was designed to address two questions: Do students in “A” and “B” schools have high average achievement and small achievement gaps compared to students in “D” and “F” schools? What is the difference in average achievement and achievement gaps between school grades when holding constant contextual school conditions? Results We found test score gaps attributed to Free and Reduced Lunch qualification and minority status. Free and Reduced Lunch and minority students average about one standard deviation lower in math and reading than their peers. Test score gaps varied across A–F school grades with the largest gaps existing in “A” and “B” schools. HLM results showed that A–F grades do not differentiate schools by effectiveness levels. For reading, we did not find statistically significant main effects attributed to letter grades. For math, the only statistically significance difference was between students in “A” and “B” schools and students in “F” schools. This difference had a small effect size. School grades did moderate achievement gaps, but gaps moved in a direction opposite from what would be desired of an accountability system that measured achievement equity. Conclusions Progress made under NCLB in exposing achievement inequity in the U.S. has taken a step back with Oklahoma's A–F school grades. Our evidence suggests that a composite letter grade provides very little meaningful information about achievement differences.