Latent class analysis (LCA) is a statistical procedure used to identify qualitatively different subgroups within populations who often share certain outward characteristics. The assumption underlying LCA is that membership in unobserved groups (or classes) can be explained by patterns of scores across survey questions, assessment indicators, or scales. The application of LCA is an active area of research and continues to evolve. As more researchers begin to apply the approach, detailed information on key considerations in conducting LCA is needed. In the present article, we describe LCA, review key elements to consider when conducting LCA, and provide an example of its application.

This study examined the level and impact of five types of parent involvement on elementary school children’s academic achievement by race/ethnicity, poverty, and parent educational attainment. The sample comprised 415 third through fifth graders who completed the Elementary School Success Profile. Hypotheses from Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital were assessed with t tests, chi-square statistics, and hierarchical regressions. Consistent with the theory, parents with different demographic characteristics exhibited different types of involvement, and the types of involvement exhibited by parents from dominant groups had the strongest association with achievement. However, contrary to theoretical expectations, members of dominant and nondominant groups benefited similarly from certain types of involvement and differently from others. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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Drawing from a national probability sample of middle and high school students who recently completed The National School Success Profile (SSP), this article focuses on students’reports of their exposure to neighborhood and school danger, and the effects of exposure on their attendance, school behavior, and grades. Males, African Americans, high school students, school lunch recipients, and urban students tended to report higher exposure to environmental danger. Measures of neighborhood and school danger both contributed significantly to the prediction of each school outcome, especially attendance and behavior. Measures of neighborhood danger were slightly more predictive of outcomes than measures of school danger. The findings contribute to the identification of adolescents most likely to live in a context of fear and danger, and provide support for an ecological approach to promoting students’school success.

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