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ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present Student Research and Publications

Winter 12-16-2023

The Relationship Between Student Engagement And ACT Aspire The Relationship Between Student Engagement And ACT Aspire

Reading Scores Among Ninth-Grade Students In One Northwest Reading Scores Among Ninth-Grade Students In One Northwest

Arkansas Junior High School Arkansas Junior High School

Dwight Vincent Jr.

Arkansas Tech University

https://orc.library.atu.edu/etds_2021/53

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND ACT ASPIRE

READING SCORES AMONG NINTH-GRADE STUDENTS IN ONE

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

By

ii

DEDICATION

I would like to thank my parents, Dwight and Melissia Vincent, and my sister

April Vincent, for always loving, encouraging, and supporting me. Also, I was blessed

with a second set of parents. I want to thank my Uncle Fred and Aunt Marilyn for the

impact that they have had on my life. I also want to thank Aunt B for being such a special

auntie. Lastly, I want to dedicate this dissertation, this doctoral degree, and my career to

my brother, Frank Watson. Frank passed away in November of 2022 while I was in this

program. I thought about quitting, but I knew Frank would want me to finish, so I

finished this program in honor of him. I have always been proud to be his little brother. I

know Frank is proud of me for finishing this program. I want to say thank you to Frank

for showing me, and everyone who knew him, how to live life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank God for bringing me to this place and this time in my life to

finish this dissertation and earn a terminal degree in education. I would like to thank Dr.

John Freeman for his patience, guidance, and for helping me get to the finish line. I

would also like to thank Dr. Steve Bounds for serving on my committee. I would like to

thank Rickey Hicks, who I met in 2014 while we were both coaching at Parkview.

Rickey Hicks has proven to be a true friend, and I am thankful for the impact he has had

on my personal and professional growth over the last nine years. I hope that one day, we

work in the same district together again in some capacity. I would like to thank my

childhood friends for their friendship and for our brotherhood. I would like to thank Dr.

Jeff Flanigan for pushing me to pursue a terminal degree in the first place. I met Dr. Jeff

educator. I would not have earned my last three degrees, including this doctoral degree, if

I had not met him. Now that I have earned this terminal degree, I can rightfully say,

“checkmate.”

ABSTRACT

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND ACT ASPIRE

achievement and attendance. Reading proficiency is foundational to overall academic

success. In this study, reading proficiency served as the operational definition for the

level of student academic success. Out-of-school suspension is a disciplinary

consequence as a result of student behavior and correlates to student attendance. This

quantitative, correlational study examined the relationship between student engagement,

as defined by student attendance and discipline, and reading proficiency, as measured by

the 2021-22 ACT Aspire Reading scores for ninth-grade students in one northwest

ninth-grade students in one Northwest Arkansas junior high school. Three regression

models were formulated using student attendance, gender, and ethnicity as predictor

variables, with a combined 11.6% explanation for the variance in the reading scores.

While the analysis indicated that attendance, gender, and ethnicity predicted reading

scores, student discipline was removed from the regression analysis as a predictor

variable.

Conclusions from the research include that out-of-school suspensions have a

negative effect on reading proficiency due to their increasing student attendance.

Discipline alone did not appear to affect reading proficiency and academic achievement

significantly. The results support previous research in this field, indicating that students

with higher attendance tend to have better reading proficiency. This research suggests

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………. ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………………………………………………….. iii

ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………... iv

LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………... x

LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………… xi

Background of the Problem………………………………………………………. 4

Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………………. 6

Purpose Statement………………………………………………………………… 6

Delimitations…………………………………………………………………….. 10

Limitations………………………………………………………………………. 10

Definitions of Key Terms……………………………………………………... 10

Assumptions……………………………………………………………………... 14

Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………….. 14

Organization of the Study……………………………………………………….. 15

II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE…………………………………………………... 17

At-Risk Students and School Accountability…………………………………… 17

Affective, Cognitive, and Behavioral Student Engagement…………………….. 18

Accountability in Arkansas Schools…………………………………………….. 20

School Performance……………………………………………………... 20

School Quality and Student Success…………………………………….. 21

Student Engagement…………………………………………………….. 22

Reading at Grade Level…………………………………………………. 22

The American College Test……………………………………………... 23

Student Attendance and Student Engagement…………………………………... 25

Student Discipline and Student Engagement……………………………………. 28

Attendance and Reading Scores………………………………………………….30

Effects of Lost Instructional Time on Reading Scores Due to Discipline………. 32

Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………….. 32

Instrumentation………………………………………………………………….. 39

Data Sources…………………………………………………………………….. 40

Operational Definitions of Variables……………………………………………. 41

Data Collection………………………………………………………………….. 41

Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………. 42

Assumptions……………………………………………………………………... 44

Ethical Assurances………………………………………………………………. 45

Results…………………………………………………………………………… 51

Research Question 1 (RQ1)....................................................................... 51

Research Question 2 (RQ2)....................................................................... 55

Research Question 3 (RQ3)....................................................................... 56

Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………….. 63

An at-risk student is a student who has a predisposition for poor academic

performance based on any number of factors (Rieg, 2007). Some of these factors include

living in a single-parent home, being a minority, having limited English language

proficiency, receiving at least one academic intervention, frequent absenteeism, retention

in one or more grades, severe behavior problems, low academic performance, low

socioeconomic status, and drug and alcohol use (Rieg, 2007). Concerning attendance and

diverse student population mirrors that statewide average of 10% chronic absenteeism.

Chronic absenteeism means lost instructional time, which, in turn, directly affects student

academic success (Roby, 2004).

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), or The Nation’s

Report Card, is a standardized test given to fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-graders to

successful on grade level in any other subject. Mathematics primarily deals with

numbers, but students must be able to read at grade level to understand instructions for

mathematics assignments. Every other core subject is reading intensive, including

English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science. Reading achievement strongly

correlates to overall academic success (Baysu et al., 2023).

The Arkansas Department of Education uses a formula that produces a school

letter grade to determine a school’s effectiveness (Learning, 2023). Formulating school

Of the 17 school report card modules, this research study included the three

indicators most closely related to student engagement. These three modules are School

Quality and Student Success, School Performance, and School Environment (Learning,

2023). These three modules relate to the research on student engagement and align with

the independent variables, attendance and discipline, and the dependent variable, ACT

2022). With that, this research attempted to show the relationship and predictability of

attendance and discipline as a measure of student engagement in a Northwest Arkansas

junior high school on ninth-grade ACT Aspire Reading scores.

Student engagement reflects a student's passion or motivation to succeed

academically. It is reflected in the quality of a student’s relationship with family, school

staff, and peers (Li & Xue, 2023; Montero-Sieburth, 2022). It can also be reflected in the

this study was to determine the relationship between student engagement and academic

success as measured by scores on the ninth-grade ACT Aspire Reading scores for one

Northwest Arkansas junior high school.

For this study, student engagement was operationally defined by the level of

attendance and disciplinary referrals by ninth-grade students in the participating junior

Arkansas public schools are required to take a standardized test, the ACT Aspire, which

measures reading ability. Considering attendance data, discipline data, and ACT Aspire

reading scores, the study aimed to show the correlation between student engagement and

reading. Since reading comprehension indicates overall academic achievement (Beluce et

al., 2018), if reading scores are suffering, finding solutions to the causes of those low

scores is incumbent upon schools. Therefore, if high absenteeism and discipline referrals

are one of the causes of low reading scores, administrators can focus on solutions to

make up the affective aspect of student engagement. Behavioral engagement comprises

aspects of student engagement such as attendance, behavior, and discipline. Lastly,

feelings of motivation and a sense of belonging constitute cognitive engagement.

Cognitive engagement is essential because a positive relationship exists between

student interest in the curriculum and engagement in learning activities associated with

the form of attendance and discipline data. The data were retrieved from the school’s

student information system (SIS). The collection of student attendance and discipline data

allowed the examination of the level of student engagement.

Academic achievement was measured by examining ACT Aspire reading scores

for all ninth-grade students at one Northwest Arkansas junior high school. ACT Aspire

Reading scores broken down by demographics allowed for further examination of

academic achievement by gender and ethnicity.

Aspire Reading Assessment. The following research questions and hypotheses guided the

study:

RQ1: Is there a statistically significant relationship between student attendance and ninth-

grade ACT Aspire Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior high

school?

H

ninth-grade ACT Aspire Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior

high school.

RQ2: Is there a statistically significant relationship between student discipline and ninth-

grade ACT Aspire Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior high

school?

H

ninth-grade ACT Aspire Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior

high school.

RQ3: Do attendance, discipline, gender, and ethnicity predict ninth-grade ACT Aspire

Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior high school?

H

Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior high school.

success or lack of success. The results may provide this school and other similar schools

with a better understanding of how these variables relate and provide an impetus for

administrators and teachers to develop ways to increase student engagement and improve

student academic success. In addition, by including gender and ethnicity in the analysis, it

provided information that may assist in personalizing support based on the individualized

chronic absenteeism is to academic achievement and the importance of students being

present in the classroom.

Finally, this study may contribute to existing knowledge by advising educators

and parents that students perform better if they have good attendance and discipline rates,

thereby leading these stakeholders to seek solutions to the problem of low attendance

rates and reducing the number of discipline referrals in the schools.

and discipline.

The scope of this study was narrow, and the results may not be generalizable to

other geographical locations with differing demographics. Therefore, the results may only

reflect the school that participated in the study. Although the results may partially align

This can be affected by curriculum interest, safety, relationships with teachers and

peers, parent support, a sense of belonging, and the perception of school as

valuable (Fisher & Frey, 2021).

comprises four subject areas, including English, Math, Reading, and Science.

Scoring ranges from one to thirty-six.

of an at-risk student (Rieg, 2007).

characterized by school attendance, class participation, and classroom behavior

(Fisher & Frey, 2021).

experience that complements the school’s academic curriculum (Abro et al.,

2018).

on the learning task (Fisher & Frey, 2021). This can be demonstrated through

time investment in learning.

productively involved with outside of the classroom, including academic (i.e.,

performing arts, student government, and yearbook) and nonacademic (i.e.,

sports, vocational clubs, service clubs, and hobby clubs) (Palmer et al., 2017).

formula of the poverty line, (b) based on free and reduced lunch formulas that

vary from state to state, or (c) based on particular characteristics and situations

people find themselves in because of the amount of monetary and related material

capital they have or lack (Burney & Beilke, 2008).

violence, bullying, harassment, the sale or use of illegal substances on school

grades 9-12 (Danzig & Aljarrah, 1999).

their emotions and demonstrate empathy for others

Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) for three consecutive years. ADE has

This study investigated affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement and how

these three engagement types impact academic outcomes through the scope of

extracurricular activity participation. The study examined whether extracurricular

activities sharpen students' affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement outcomes.

All Arkansas schools serving grades 3-10 must administer the ACT Aspire. This

window, and all five tests take approximately five hours to complete. Schools must also

offer accessibility features for all students.

for schools to offer these features to students any other day of the school year. Schools

must also provide accommodations for qualifying students. Like accessibility features,

data, the best practice is for schools to provide ACT Prep interventions based on the

student’s needs in each subject area (Ray & Graham, 2021). There are a few ways that

high school students can receive ACT Prep intervention support. Virtual Arkansas offers

a course entitled ACT Prep Resources. This course includes diagnostics tests, drills,

videos, and content aligned to the reading, writing, math, science, and English portions of

the ACT. Many high schools offer summer ACT Prep courses.

Teachers provide intervention in reading, writing, math, science, and English so

According to the modules, this applies to the college readiness module in keeping

with school improvement. Consequently, this is an example of modules being

interdependent upon one another and having an exponential effect on the overall school

letter grade. Lastly, schools must set their ACT Aspire testing schedule within the testing

window.

to produce a mean score, which is then used to calculate a value for overall school quality

and student success.

Concerning the Arkansas Department of Education, student engagement is the

first indicator of school quality and student success. Student engagement measures

absenteeism. One point is assigned for each student absent less than 5% of the school

year. This student is considered low-risk. Half a point is given for each absent student,

discipline are the two indicators of student engagement. Attendance refers to the presence

or absence of the student at school and in the classroom. Discipline data is relevant

because it often affects attendance. Discipline consequences that affect attendance

include detention, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, and expulsion.

Reading at Grade Level

The American College Test, or ACT, indicates school quality and student success.

The ACT contains multiple-choice questions in English, Math, Reading, and Science.

The English portion of the ACT measures the student’s ability to make decisions to revise

and edit short texts and essays in different genres. Students have forty-five minutes to

answer seventy-five questions on the English portion of the ACT. The Math portion of

the ACT measures the student’s mathematical skills typically acquired in courses up to

Science portion of the ACT measures the student’s interpretation, analysis, evaluation,

reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space

Sciences, and Physics. Students have 35 minutes to answer 40 questions on the Science

portion of the ACT. The Writing portion of the ACT is optional. The Writing portion of

the ACT measures the student’s writing skills taught in high school English classes and

calculated by taking the highest individual tested area of each ACT session the student

has ever earned. Some postsecondary institutions accept super scores for admission,

while others do not accept super scores for admission. Super scores are not considered in

determining the school letter grade. Points are accumulated for each student for this

indicator to produce a mean score, which is then used to calculate a value for overall

school quality and student success.

The ACT Readiness Benchmark

Students are assigned one-half of a point for ACT Science scores of 23 or higher.

Students who have not scored the minimum score for each tested area receive zero points

toward the student’s total earned points. Points are accumulated for each student for this

indicator to produce a mean score, which is then used to calculate a value for overall

school quality and student success.

student for this indicator to produce a mean score, which is then used to calculate a value

for overall school quality and student success.

On-time Credits

On-time credits are another school quality and student success indicator. A

student receives one point if he earns 5.5 or more credits in the first year of high school,

11 credits by the end of the second year, and 16.5 credits by the third year. Students who

have recovered credits after the fact do not receive a point for on-time credits. Points are

Students who have not yet earned this credit as ninth through eleventh graders are not

missing this point because this indicator is only exercised during what should be the

student’s last semester of high school. Points are accumulated for each student for this

indicator to produce a mean score, which is then used to calculate a value for overall

school quality and student success.

intentionally skip a class by hiding on campus outside, in a class not assigned to the

student at the time, in or around an athletic facility on campus, in the media center,

roaming the halls, or several other places (Fallis & Opotow, 2003).

This action is commonly known as skipping and is not consistent with positive

attendance action (Fallis & Opotow, 2003). Skipping class is described in one study as

“the slow-motion process of dropping out made class-by-class and day-by-day in

students’ daily lives (Fallis & Opotow, 2003).” A student’s grades, on-time credits, and

students can earn more credits per school year. However, earning five and a half credits

per school year is unlikely if the student falls into the chronic absenteeism category,

meaning the student misses ten percent or more of the school year.

Absenteeism is a more predictive graduation factor than race, gender, or poverty

(Allensworth & Evans, 2016). In one study, course attendance is eight times more

Middle school students who are chronically absent have a 50% chance of veering off

track in high school. These students have little chance of graduating without dramatically

changing their educational experience (Allensworth & Evans, 2016). Tardiness is also a

part of attendance. A tardy student has suffered learning loss by missing instruction

during tardiness, and chronic tardiness means more substantial learning loss (Tyre et al.,

2011). Therefore, tardiness is a part of student attendance.

There is existing research on the relationship between attendance and student

individual follow-up instructional sessions, but the initial instruction is what students

miss when they are tardy or absent. This can be in the form of tardiness or being absent

altogether.

There is also existing research on the relationship between discipline and

extracurricular activity participation on student engagement. Discipline infractions may

while extracurricular activity participation usually means more student engagement

(Dickinson et al., 2021).

Student discipline is a critical factor in student engagement. The prevalence of

learning loss when consequences are issued to maintain discipline in the school is an

issue with student engagement (Kennedy-Lewis & Murphy, 2016). Many forms of school

discipline result in learning loss by removing the student from the classroom, causing the

potential consequences for tardiness and chronic absenteeism. Detentions are usually

served before, during, or after school. If the detention is to be served during school, it

should be during the student’s time that does not require them to miss instruction (Welsh,

2022). For example, recess and lunch are times when students can serve detention

without missing instruction. The detention is meant to serve as an inconvenience to the

meant to motivate the student to avoid the inconvenience of in-school suspension by

correcting the behavior that landed the student in in-school suspension, which in this case

is tardiness.

This may only work for some students (Welsh, 2022). Another issue with in-

school suspension is the quality of instruction students receive while serving time in in-

school suspension (Welsh, 2022). Students are usually given review work, which

prevents new learning (Welsh, 2022). Even if the student is given classwork current to

suspension as a vacation day, especially students who do not have parental support at

home (Welsh, 2022). It is not viewed as a punishment at all. Students receive no

instruction during out-of-school suspension and will have missed a significant amount of

the curriculum upon return (Welsh, 2022). For these reasons, schools should work to

minimize or eliminate both in-school and out-of-school suspensions by addressing the

This quantitative study examined data from the school’s student information

system (SIS) and ACT Aspire testing portal. These databases will provide student

demographic data, namely ethnicity and gender, without identifying individual students

by name. The data were collected from the most recent testing window during the 2021-

2022 school year to identify possible relationships between student attendance, student

discipline, and ACT Aspire reading scores by ethnicity and gender. The data collection

one Northwest Arkansas junior high school. The variables examined include student

attendance, discipline, gender, and ethnicity as predictor variables, and raw scores on the

2021-22 ACT Aspire Reading Assessment for the ninth-graders in the participating

middle school were used as the outcome variable.

After receiving approval from the Arkansas Tech University Institutional Review

to determine a cause and effect between the variables but to investigate the relationships

between the variables, to understand the effect of the selected predictor variables on the

outcome variable, reading scores.

Correlation and regression were selected as the research methods for this

quantitative design. The 2021-2022 school year data was used to identify possible

relationships between attendance, discipline, and academic achievement. ACT Aspire

Reading scores measured academic achievement. The collection of student attendance

between student attendance, student discipline, and ACT Aspire Reading scores, multiple

regression analysis was used to assess the predictability of the outcome variable based on

the effect size of the predictor variables. Through this statistical method, the researcher

determined how much each predictor variable explains the variance in the outcome

variable, reading scores.

participating Arkansas junior high school. The convenience sample for this study

consisted of all ninth-grade students in this participating junior high school who received

a score on the ACT Aspire reading assessment during the 2021-22 school year.

The data were collected from the 2021-2022 ninth-grade class in the selected

Northwest Arkansas junior high school. The participating school houses two grade levels

with an enrollment of 720. The school's demographic makeup is 65% Hispanic, 18.6%

migrated from the Marshall Islands for employment opportunities in the poultry industry.

Compared to the student population for Arkansas in 2021-22, the breakdown was

59.5% White, 19.4% African American, 13.9% Hispanic, 1.8% Asian, 1.0% Pacific

Islander, and 4.4% Other. Based on these percentages, the ethnic population of the

participating school is not reflective of Arkansas as a whole. The higher percentages of

Sample Population by Ethnicity and Gender

areas are English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing.

readiness at every step. In addition to summative assessments that measure how

much students have learned over time, ACT Aspire will include formative

assessments that help teachers meet students’ learning needs within individual

classes throughout the year. The aligned assessments will inform teachers about

students’ progress toward specific learning standards so they can better tailor their

instructional activities and resources to help students learn (New, 2023, p. 1).

Concerning reliability and validity, one part of research posted on the ACT Aspire

of the ACT Aspire using the overall state standards, ACT Aspire Performance Level

Descriptors, and the ACT Aspire test items (Learning, 2023, p. 3).”

Student attendance and student discipline are individual data sets, but both come

from eSchool, the school’s student information system (SIS). eSchool can run a report for

calculated according to whether the student missed more than or equal to ten percent of

the school year. Discipline data is broken down into the number of chronically absent

students, the number of in-school suspension assignments, and the number of out-of-

school suspension assignments. These assignments can overlap, meaning several more

than one student represents one.

Operationally defining a variable involves the specificity of how a variable will be

school suspension assignments per student. ACT Aspire scores are on a numerical scale,

similar to the traditional 0-100 grading scales. These scores fall within the categories,

which are “In Need of Support,” “Close,” “Ready,” or “Exceeding.”

The data consisted of archived data maintained in eSchool, the school’s student

visible in the data report. The data were provided in an Excel file and uploaded into SPSS

software for statistical analysis.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between student

engagement as defined by the number of days of attendance and discipline referrals

during the 2021-22 school year for the ninth-grade students in one Northwest Arkansas

junior high school and student academic success as measured by raw scores on the ACT

determined if there was a positive or negative correlation between the two variables and

whether the hypothesis was supported or unsupported.

H

ninth-grade ACT Aspire Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior

high school.

Variables Analyzed and Statistical Analysis Used for Each Research Question

discipline, gender, and

ethnicity predict ninth-grade

ACT Aspire Reading scores?

Aspire Reading Scores

Predictor Variables:

Student Attendance

Student Discipline

Gender

Regression

RQ2: Is there a statistically significant relationship between student discipline and ninth-

grade ACT Aspire Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior high

school? RQ2 was answered using a Spearman Rho correlation with the two variables,

RQ3: Do attendance, discipline, gender, and ethnicity predict ninth-grade ACT Aspire

Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior high school? RQ3 was

answered by using multiple linear regression to determine if student attendance,

discipline, gender, and ethnicity predict ninth-grade ACT Aspire Reading scores.

H

Reading scores in the participating Northwest Arkansas junior high school.

on file.

changed it.

approval (Appendix A). The student data were provided in an Excel file with all

identifying information masked to maintain the anonymity of the participants.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between student

attendance and student discipline on ACT Aspire Reading scores by ethnicity and gender.

This study examined whether sound student attendance and discipline yield higher

academic achievement. ACT Aspire Reading scores measured academic achievement.

ninth-grade ACT Aspire Reading scores for the 2021-22 school year. The Pearson r

correlation is the most widely used statistic to determine the strength of the relationship

between two continuous variables. The statistic is reported based on a range from +1.00

to -1.00. The closer the score to +/- 1.00, the stronger the relationship. The plus or minus

indicates the relationship's direction, not the statistic's value.

The correlational analysis had to meet three pretests in order to be used for this

purpose. Those three pretests are normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity. Normality is

Histogram Showing the Distribution of Attendance Data

Histogram Showing the Distribution of ACT Aspire Reading Scores

straight line, then the pretest for linearity is not met. The scatterplot for student

attendance and ACT Aspire Reading scores is presented in Figure 3. While there do

appear to be more data points below the regression line, the general direction of the data

is in a linear direction, and it was determined that the second pretest was met.

The third pretest is homoscedasticity, which refers to the general shape of

the scatterplot. In the scatterplot in Figure 3, it appeared that the data points were lumped

toward one end of the graph. To satisfy homoscedasticity, the majority of the data points

should be clustered in the middle, with fewer on each end. Based on the visual from this

scatterplot, the third pretest was not met.

Scatterplot of Attendance and ACT Aspire Reading Scores

necessary for the data to be normally distributed. The results of the Spearman correlation

are presented in Table 5.

Spearman correlation was computed to assess the relationship between student

attendance and ACT Aspire Reading scores for the 382 ninth-grade students in the

participating middle school. There was a statistically significant positive correlation

between these two variables, r = .266(p = <.001, α = .05). Therefore, the null hypothesis

that stated there is no relationship between the two variables is not supported.

A similar process was used in analyzing the data to answer RQ2. Although the pretests

for normality and linearity were met (See Figure 4), the data failed the pretest for

homoscedasticity, and the researcher was not able to use Pearson r correlation.

Spearman correlation was used to determine if there was a statistically significant

relationship between student discipline and ACT Aspire Reading scores for the ninth-

grade students in the participating middle school. As presented in Table 6 below, there

was a statistically significant relationship between the two variables, r = -.114( p = .026,

Correlation Results for Suspensions and ACT Aspire Reading Scores

relationship and not cause and effect. Therefore, RQ3 was established to go deeper into

the relationship demonstrated between these variables and attempts to establish whether

the two continuous variables, along with two additional categorical variables, have an

effect on predicting these ninth-grade student ACT Aspire Reading scores.

A multiple linear regression was used to answer RQ3. Do student attendance,

student discipline, gender, and ethnicity predict ninth-grade ACT Aspire Reading scores?

Multiple regression analysis is similar to correlational analysis but allows for a

by the fact that two of the predictor variables were continuous (attendance and

discipline), and two were categorical (gender and ethnicity). Multiple linear regression

allows the use of both continuous and categorical variables as long as variables with three

or more categories use dummy variables in the analysis. Gender had two categories, so it

was not necessary to use dummy variables for gender. However, ethnicity had seven

The first pretest is n quota. There has to be a predetermined minimum n size

before multiple linear regression can used. There is a formula established to determine

the size needed for a particular analysis. Counting the number of continuous predictor

variables (two) plus the number of categories within each categorical variable minus one

in each (seven) for a total of nine. Multiple that number by 10 equals 90. Based on this

formula, the dataset for this study should have a minimum of 90 cases. The n in the study

dataset equals 382. Therefore, the n quota pretest is met.

Scatterplot of z Prediction and z Residual Scores for ACT Aspire Reading Scores

The third pretest is the homoscedasticity of the dependent variable, ACT Aspire

Reading scores. A scatterplot was run using the z residual scores compared to the z

predictor scores to determine their distribution. If most of the data points fall within +/-2

standard deviations, then it is determined that the outcome variable meets the pretest for

homoscedasticity. When viewing Figure 5, it is apparent that the ACT Aspire Reading

scores fall within that range, and the third pretest is met.

The fourth pretest is multicollinearity. If two continuous variables are highly

pretest for multicollinearity has been met. None of the variables are highly correlated

with each other.

The fifth and final test is normality. If the distribution of the unstandardized

residuals found from the outcome variable is normally distributed, this pretest would be

met. By reviewing Figure 6, the distribution of the unstandardized residuals for ACT

Histogram for the Distribution of Unstandardized Residuals for ACT Aspire Reading

Scores

Reading scores for the ninth-grade students in the participating middle school, student

discipline did not. Therefore, the null hypothesis is partially rejected. Three of the four

predictor variables used in the study did statistically predict the outcome variable.

The results of this study show that academic achievement decreases as attendance

decreases. Being present at school is necessary for all students to experience academic

achievement. Out-of-school suspension is commonly given to students who have

it address the root causes of the behavior.

In the researcher’s experience, the out-of-school suspension enables or

encourages negative behavior because students who struggle with behavioral issues view

the out-of-school suspension as a vacation. It is an opportunity for them to leave school

without guidance or accountability. The parents or guardians are usually working, and

behavior that landed the student with the out-of-school suspension in the first place. The

lost instructional time leads to lower academic achievement.

The relationship between lost instructional time due to suspension and academic

achievement has been discussed in the education community for some time. Allensworth

and Evans (2016) state that absenteeism is a direct cause of poor academic achievement

in school, and every instructional day counts. Basford (2021) points out that chronic

absenteeism is an indicator of the school-to-prison pipeline, making absenteeism an issue

ethnicity combined with low attendance may predict these scores. Since the

demographics for the students in this study skewed toward non-English speaking students

more than the general population of Arkansas, ethnicity may also correlate to reading

scores.

equitably distributed across gender and ethnicity and if not, develop policies that will

make it more equitable.

3) School leaders need to analyze whether at-risk students are chronically absent

and involved in disciplinary actions more than other students. Programs and policies

should be undertaken to help support these students to increase attendance. For instance,

rather than adding to lost instructional time, students exhibiting chronic tardiness and

absenteeism could benefit from support in the form of wraparound services (Kezar et al.,

avoid school altogether. This shows up as tardiness and absenteeism. Rather than only

issuing consequences, such as detention or suspension, this student might benefit from

working with a school counselor or social worker. Social services provided by a school

counselor or social worker may rectify student social issues, thereby improving student

attendance and eliminating lost instructional time (Kezar et al., 2020).

This quantitative, correlational study was very narrowly focused regarding

sampling and analysis. It examined only one grade level in one junior high school in one

geographic region of Arkansas. Many streams of research can be expanded from this one

study. Some of the recommendations for future research are provided below.

1) There are over 200 variables that affect a student’s ability to succeed

academically. In the present study, a limited number of variables were examined. A more

3) Another direction would be to examine schools that use alternatives to out-of-

school suspensions in response to disciplinary infractions and to research programs to

address underlying behavior issues. The data may show that this strategy by school

administrators may be an effective tool to combat chronic absenteeism.

4) Another recommendation is to examine the impact of social and emotional

6) Studies using other methods and designs, such as qualitative or mixed methods

designs, may reveal a deeper understanding of the issues by investigating the perceptions

of teachers and principals to these issues, as well as students who are engaged in

disciplinary actions and low attendance.

I had a few expectations coming into this research. Chronic absenteeism was an

issue that needed to be resolved to facilitate school improvement. In reviewing

by the student but as a reward. It does not address, much less solve, the underlying reason

for the negative behavior. It is a direct cause of lost instructional time, leading to more

negative behavior. It also affects school ratings because the school information system

counts out-of-school suspensions as absent. Coming into this research, I believed that the

out-of-school suspension would have the same effect regardless of gender or ethnicity.

be a parent, an administrator, a teacher, and sometimes other individuals, to identify the

reason for the negative behavior and identify what we can do as a team to help remedy

the underlying cause of the negative behavior. This has had a tremendous impact on our

attendance. Last school year, we were at about twenty-three percent chronic absenteeism.

This school year, we are at zero percent chronic absenteeism. Only some students

in the school are anywhere near on pace to be in the chronic absenteeism category. If

there is one thing that I could have done better, it would be to extend the research to

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Appendix B: District Approval to Conduct Study

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: MARCIA SMITH <msmith1@sdale.org>

Date: Wed, Jun 28, 2023, 9:38 AM

Subject: Re: Reserach

To: DR. JEFF FLANIGAN <jflanigan@sdale.org>, Shannon Tisher

<stisher@sdale.org>, Kelli Langan <klangan@sdale.org>