The Performance of Latinos in Rural Public Schools: A Comparative Analysis of Test Scores in Grades 3, 6, and 12

Abstract

Over the lastfew decades, California 's rural communities have experienced a sociodemographic transformation as the percentage of Latinos in these towns increased dramatically. These high concentrations of Latinos are correlated with poverty and low educational achievement. Using multiple regression analysis, this study examines how socioeconomic status, school funding, English proficiency, and Latino concentration affect test scores. This study's major findings are: (a) that the socioeconomic status of parents in rural communities is the primary predictor of academic performance; and (b) that the academic performance of both rural Latinos and Whites improves as Latino concentration increases. This last result is in contrast to previous studies, which have relied on pairwise correlations andfocused on primarily urban populations.

All Segregation is Not Equal: The Impact of Latino and Black School Composition

“…Only one published study examines the effect of proportion Latino on test scores net of family background. In this study, Hampton, Ekboir, and Rochin (1995) unexpectedly nd a positive effect of proportion Latino on test scores for both Latinos and whites. Their study should be interpreted cautiously, however.…”

Parental factors and early English education as a foreign language: a case study in Mainland China

“…In the case of immigrant students who learn English as their second language (ESL) in host countries, studies generally have found that ESL students' SES, typically measured by parental income, educational background, and/or occupations, are associated with the students' academic English development and achievement at school (e.g., Carhill, Suárez-Orozco, and Páez 2008;Entwise and Anstone 1994;Fernandez and Nielsen 1986;Hakuta, Butler, and Witt 2000;Hampton, Ekboir, and Rochin 1995;Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, and Todorva 2008).…”

The influence of individual characteristics and parenting behaviors on adolescent academic performance

“…Previous literature and his own findings led him to conclude that SES has a far greater impact on academic performance than the number of adults living in the home. Hampton, Ekboir and Rochin (1995) also concluded that socioeconomic status was the main predictor of student performance in school in their study on rural Latino families. Battle (1997) concludes by pointing out that "the majority of Hispanic students belong to families at the mean and lower levels of SES (relative to their White counterparts) in which family configuration makes little to no difference" (p.165).…”

“…Socioeconomic status is controlled because it has been consistently linked to academic performance and is a direct predictor of the family's availability of resources (Hampton, Ekboir, & Rochin, 1995;Jacobson & Crockett, 2001). In addition, family socioeconomic status is also closely tied to the quality of the public school the child attends (Rodriguez, 1999).…”