Longitudinal Study on the Relationship Between African American Boys' Attitudes of Their Teacher-Student Relationships and Their Mathematics Achievement on State Tests

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the present 2-year longitudinal retrospective investigation was to determine whether there was a relationship between fourth- and fifth-grade African American boys’ attitudes of teacher-student relationships and their mathematics achievement. Data from the Measuring Effective Teachers (MET) project conducted from 2009-2010 through 2010-2011 school years and sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2013a) were utilized in this study. The participants were 2,468 Grade 4 African American boys and 2,739 Grade 5 African American boys enrolled in five large, urban school districts across the United States. Archived data comprised the individual responses of the participants from the Tripod 7C’s survey and the mathematics scores from state tests (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2013a). Method In addressing the research questions, the statistical method utilized was multiple regression. The independent continuous variables came from the 7Cs survey and comprised care, control, clarify, challenge, captivate, confer, and consolidate. The dependent variable in this study was the mathematics state test scores. Several assumptions for multiple regression models were met prior to being appropriately applied to the population of interest in that the coefficients and parameters of the regression equation were not influenced by one another.

Findings The results of this study were similar to findings of recent literature with respect to the relationship between African American boys’ perceptions of their teacher-student relationships and their mathematics achievement on state tests. Additionally, the results of this study added to the present body of knowledge by examining teacher qualities that African American boys perceive as impacting their mathematics achievement. From the results of this study with Grades 4 and 5 African American boys, positive relationships existed involving control and clarity with mathematics scores, while there was a negative relationship between consolidate and mathematics scores.