Volume 23 Number 1
October 1983

Sigmund A. Boloz and Richard Varrati

SERIOUS QUESTIONS have been raised concerning the effectiveness of reservation school curricula. The group standardized test scores of reservation children--a barometer often used to register a school's relative worth--are typically well below the national mean. Some administrators answer the concerns about educational quality by explaining the school's limitations. However, a scientific analysis of the students' respective test scores might indicate that the quality of instruction is only one variable in determining performance on a standardized test; other variables include socio-economic status, school attendance, and stability within a particular school.

Standardized test scores of culturally- and language-different populations are, at best, questionable indicators of school performance. Administrators, school board members and parents must realize that, in addition to cultural and academic variables within the test, there are other variables that affect test scores. For instance, the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and achievement has been well documented (Douglas and Ross, 1965; Galloway, 1976; Fogelman, 1978; Matusek and Haskin, 1978). In fact, White, 1976, has listed 44 indicators of SES which have been studied at one time or another. Unfortunately, achievement tests are the only bench marks that some view as being important. Therefore, as the school's instructional leader, the administrator has the responsibility of developing an effective public relations program which both inspires confidence in the educational system and places the test results in their proper perspective.

To do this, the administrator must be adept at identifying and isolating variables which the reservation student brings to the testing situation. During the 1982 school year, Ganado Unified School District #20, located in northeastern Arizona, conducted a study which indicated several of those variables.

Each April, state-mandated standardized achievement tests are administered, with the results returned to the district in May. Reports from the State Department of Education and District Curriculum Office summarize the results and indicate the relative standing of the district within the state. Although the Ganado school system provides a comparable set of curricula and a fine staff, the mostly Navajo student population consistently averages below its public school peers across the state. The school board and staff members alike react to the summaries with deep concern and frustration. Although some educators try to address these concerns with discussions of limitations or attempt to place the results in their proper context, little data exists to support the district's competence.

In January of 1982, the district committed itself to an analysis of its student population. District planning meetings were held to discuss the assessment instrument and performance data collected. Two factors had made the continued utilization of standardized achievement tests appealing: their results were perceived as the gauge of a school's worth; and, the State of Arizona was paying for test administration and scoring. Interest centered on identifying variables which impact on the reservation student's achievement. Previous district studies had indicated variables which appeared significantly correlated with achievement. These variables were student stability within the district, socio-economic status, and average yearly attendance.

Study constraints quickly became evident. Financially, the district would be required to pay to have these special summaries analyzed and would have to allocate educator release time for data collection prior to testing. Therefore, it was decided to study a representative sample of the student population and to utilize appropriate data which was available.

Analysis of student data was rendered more cost effective by systematically sampling the highest grade in each of the four district schools. The third, sixth, eighth, and twelfth grades were targeted, and each school assigned a representative to the coordination responsibilities. In most cases, this was the building counselor. These persons met with the steering committee, and the study was refined. Information was compiled from cumulative records and summarized.

Stability within the district was defined as each student's total length of uninterrupted enrollment at the public school. As previous studies had indicated that the median stability of seventh and eighth grade students was five years, this was selected as the lower limit at which students would be labelled stable. Students whose total uninterrupted enrollment was fewer than five years would be classified as transient.

Socio-economic status was determined according to each student's meal classification. At the beginning of each school year, parents were given the opportunity to apply for free meal benefits for their children. Government standards had been established for various income levels and adjusted for family size. Since this information had been compiled by the district, it was utilized in the study. Students were classified as high SES if they did not qualify for free or reduced meal benefits and as low SES if they did qualify.

Average daily attendance was ascertained by totaling the attendance of all students in each grade during their last seven academic quarters. An average enrollment was established for each grade, excluding all students with less than seven quarters' enrollment. Students were assigned a status of above average attendance or below-average attendance for that grade level. It should be understood that this study did not differentiate treatment of the different kinds of absences: i.e., school phobia, truancy, illness, parent exploitation, parent-approved absence for trips, etc.

For each grade of the study, students were separated into six distinct subsets. These were: stable with high SES and above-average attendance; stable with low SES and above-average attendance; stable with high SES and below-average attendance; stable with low SES and below-average attendance; transient with high SES; and transient with low SES. Depending on the student's biographical data, each was assigned to a subset for group analysis. Their tests were appropriately coded and returned to the state-designated scoring service.

The most consistent variable in the study was the socio-economic status of each student's family. The strong relationship between academic achievement and SES held true across all three academic test areas and for all grade levels except twelve. However, upon inspection, it was found that many students who were eligible for free and reduced lunches at this grade level did not fill out an application. Since such a high percentage of students at this level did not apply, the study task force eliminated the variable from the twelfth-grade analysis.

The effect of school attendance also provided essential data. Although above-average school attendance at the primary level did not have a strong influence across all subtests, it did in the language area. Students in the sixth and eighth grade with above-average attendance had superior scores in both the reading and the language subtests, and their twelfth grade counterparts demonstrated a similar superiority in the reading, the language, and the math subtests. It is also interesting to note that absences appeared to have a relatively minor effect on the achievement of higher SES students but a significant effect on the achievement of lower SES students.

This information is consistent with the conclusions of Stennett and Isaacs, 1980, who have shown that absence from school is related to a student's academic achievement. They have also stated that the effects of absences are cumulative and that it is very likely that absences from school may have a more detrimental effect in some subjects and program areas than in others. Our conclusions were also supported by their 1979 findings that absences from school had a major impact on the achievement of students in their first year in secondary school.

The final variable which was examined was a student's stability within the district. It was found that stability, like attendance, had little significant effect on the academic achievement of the high SES students but that it was a major determining factor of school achievement for the low SES. Stability had a limited effect in the primary grades with the exception again of the language subtest. Stable sixth-, eighth- and twelfth-graders out-performed the transients on the language and reading subtests, while stable eighth-graders also demonstrated superior math scores. Kohr, 1981, stated that his studies suggested a curvilinear relationship between stability of student residence with parental occupation.

The analysis of students' test results revealed extremely valuable information for both the district and the community. The findings reaffirmed that students who had the significantly higher scores were those who had consistently remained with the district and had the best attendance averages. This information assisted the administrators in developing an effective public relations program which stressed the quality of the schools and the need for stability and regular school attendance. In essence, by analyzing, the administrators had now taken the offensive. They were effectively selling the school program instead of apologizing and defending it against unjust criticism.

Although the study was limited to a simplistic analysis of the relationships of attendance, stability, and sSocioe-conomic status to academic achievement, there are many other variables which have been shown to correlate with school achievement. Their significance for the Native American child bears investigation. The variables are:

In these times of budget constraints, when students and, therefore, money is directed towards proven, quality programs, the reservation administrator must be an efficient public relations expert. Although questions will continue to be raised about the effectiveness of the reservation school, the administrator can best answer the general concerns with hard educational data. The school should not be evaluated solely on the basis of the generalized results of standardized achievement tests; rather, all aspects of assessment for rational educational program planning must be utilized.

Douglas, J. and Ross, J. "The Effects of Absence on Primary School Performance." British Journal of Educational Psychology, 1965, 35, 28-40.

Fogelman, K. "School Attendance, Attainment and Behaviour." British Journal of Educational Psychology, 1978, 48, 148-158.

Galloway, D. "Size of School, Socio-economic Hardship, Suspension Rates, and Persistent Unjustified Absence From School." British Journal of Educational Psychology, 1976, 46, 40-47.

Hambleton, D.C. and Houseley, M.A. Teacher Ratings and Student Self-Concept Ratios--Brick Park High School. Board of Education, Toronto, Research Department, 1967.

Kooker, E.W. "Changes in Grade Distributions Associated with Changes in Class Attendance Policies." Psychology, 1976, 13, 56-57.

Kohr, Richard L. "Correlates of Reading and Writing Achievement." Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 1981, April, Los Angeles.

Levanto, J. "The Problem of Attendance: Research Findings and Solutions." Presented at the 59th Annual Convention, NASSP, 1975, February, Las Vegas.

Matusek, Paula and Haskin, Christine. "Who Are the Disadvantaged and What Should We Do For Them? The Relationship of Family Variables To Achievement and Some Implications For Educational Programming." Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 1978, Toronto.

Sharpies, B., et al. Patterns of School Attendance in Ontario Elementary and Secondary Schools. Toronto: Ministry of Education, Ontario, 1979, 289 pp.

Stennett, R.G. and Isaacs, L.M. "Thames and Ross Secondary Schools: Inschool Followup of the Class of 1978-79." London, Ontario, Board of Education, 1979, Research Report 79-13.

Stennett, R.G. and Isaacs, L.M. "Absences from School: Patterns and Effects." London, Ontario, Board of Education, 1980, Research Report 80-01.

Tyerman, Maurice J. Truancy. University of London Press, 1968.

White, Karl R. The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement. University of Colorado, 1976.

Sigmund A. Boloz received the M.A. degree from Arizona State University and has spent the past I I years working with Navajo Students. He is Principal in the Ganado, Unified School District #20.

Richard J. Varrati received his M.A. at Edinboro State College in Pennsylvania and has worked the past three years as High School Principal on the Navajo Reservation.