The Effects of Family Structure on the SAT-10 Scores of

The Effects of Family Structure on the SAT-10 Scores of
Middle School Students in Southeast Alabama

A Proposal Presented to the Graduate Faculty of Troy University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for EDU 6691
By Jenna Palmore
Troy University Dothan

Chapter I
Introduction

Problem Statement
According to the Center for Health Statistics (2007b), there were 21,255 divorces granted in Alabama in 2007, a rate of 4.6% per 1000 people. In Houston County, Alabama, the rate was 6.6% with 639 divorces being granted. Both the Alabama and Houston County rates were higher than the national average of 3.6% (Center for Health Statistics, 2007a). Custody of the children is often a major point of concern in divorce cases and generally results in the forced transition of the children to a single-parent household or a cycle of living with each parent for a specified amount of time. Not all single-parent households are the result of divorces, however. Sometimes, children are born into them because one of the parents, more often the father, does not want to be involved in the child’s life. It is also becomingly increasingly popular for single individuals to adopt children. The question that this study seeks to answer is whether the absence of a parent has an effect on the academic achievement of the children.

Purpose of the Study
The intent of this study is to determine if student achievement is affected by the structure of the family. Specifically, this study will determine if there is a significant difference in the SAT-10 scores of students who live in single-parent households compared to students who live in two-parent households.

Significance of the Study
By understanding the effects of family structure on the academic achievement of middle school students, steps can be taken to ensure that parents are aware of the effects and are educated on what they can do to improve their child’s performance. Though the geographic scope of the study is small, the results may be useful to parents and teachers all over the country.

Definition of Terms
SAT-10: Stanford Achievement Test, series 10; a standardized test that measures students’ knowledge in core subject areas.
Single-parent household: one in which one or more children live with and receive primary care from a single individual, either male or female.
Two-parent household: one in which one or more children live with and receive primary care from one male and one female who are legally married

Limitations and Delimitations of the Study
This study will utilize data from the four public middle schools in Dothan, Alabama for the 2007-2008 school year. These schools include Beverlye Middle, Carver Magnet, Girard Middle, and Honeysuckle Middle Schools. The total middle school enrollment for the 2007-2008 school year was approximately 2000 students (Dothan City Schools, n.d.). This study will utilize the scores of students whose family structure meets the requirements of a one- or two-parent household as defined above. The scores of students whose family structure falls outside of these definitions will not be included in the study sample.

Hypothesis
The data will show a significant difference in the scores between students who live in two-parent homes and students who live in single-parent homes. Students from two-parent households will have higher scores on the SAT-10.



Chapter II
Review of Literature

The general consensus among researchers is that family structure does have an effect on the academic achievement of secondary school students. Where researchers differ is on the specific causes and extent of the effects. There is not a large body of geographically-specific research on the effects of family structure on standardized test scores, nor is there sufficient research of the effects on scores in history or social studies.

Support for Negative Effects
J. Battle (1997) looked at the effects of family structure on Hispanic students in middle school and determined that students who live in two-parent households generally exhibit higher achievement than students who live in single-parent households.
S.-L. Pong (1997) also cited evidence of lower academic achievement in students from single-parent families but included stepfamilies in the same category. Pong stated that these students have lower scores on standardized tests and are more likely to have behavioral problems in school. In addition, students from single-parent and stepfamilies are more likely to drop out of school and not attend college. The author hypothesized that socioeconomic factors played a role in these findings. This idea supports the theory that single parents have less time to spend with their children because they must work to provide for their family. Pong also found a relationship between the number of students in the school who came from nontraditional families and the overall performance of the school as a whole, concluding that:
…attending a school with a high concentration of students from single-parent families and stepfamilies is, on average, more detrimental to a student’s eighth-grade achievement than is his or her living in a single-parent family or stepfamily (p. 744).
S. Cavanagh and others (2006) support many of the same theories cited by Pong (1997) such as lower graduation rates, standardized test scores, and academic grades for students who come from nontraditional families. Cavanagh and his fellow researchers hypothesized that these negative effects are the result of a lifetime of family instability, stating that “family structure at birth predicted students’ academic status in math in the ninth grade” (p. 329).
W. Jeynes (2005) has authored multiple papers dealing with the relationship of student academic achievement, family life, and religion. He supports the idea that students coming from a single-parent household will often have lower academic achievement than their peers who come from two-parent households. Jeynes cites evidence that students coming from stepfamilies may have even lower scores than those from single-parent families. The underlying cause of these negative effects is a lack of parental involvement which can be attributed to many different factors including lack of interest or the necessity of working long hours. Jeynes used standardized test scores, as well as other factors, in his study. He concluded that family structure had an effect on the academic achievement of students in relation to the amount of communication between the parents and the children. The presumption is that students in single-parent or stepfamilies do not have as much access to one or both parents, and, therefore, communication is impeded.

Support for Little or No Effects
H. Marsh (1990) conducted a study to determine if family structure had a significant effect on the academic achievement of students through their last two years of high school. He looked at the students in the tenth grade and then, two years later, in the twelfth grade. Marsh looked at 22 different variables and came to the conclusion that the structure of the family had “remarkably little effect on student growth and changes during the last two years of high school” (p. 337).

Chapter III
Methodology

A quantitative approach will be utilized to determine if family structure has an effect on the overall achievement of middle school students in the subject of social studies. Scores from the SAT-10 will be used to indicate achievement in this study.

Research Questions
Through this study, the researcher aims to address the following questions:
1. What percentage of middle school students in Dothan, Alabama, who attend public schools, are currently living with two parents?
2. What percentage of middle school students in Dothan, Alabama, who attend public schools, are currently living with only one parent?
3. When compared, is there a significant difference between the SAT-10 social studies scores of students who live in single-parent households and those who live in dual-parent households?
4. Is the same conclusion reached for each grade level in the middle school setting?

Population
The scores compared in the study will be obtained from the Dothan City Schools database of students who attend the four public middle schools in Dothan, Alabama. Each of these schools contains students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The only reason a student’s score would not be included in the study sample is if their family structure does not fall under the definitions included in chapter one.

Data Collection
The SAT-10 scores of students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades during the 2007-2008 school year will be used in this study. These scores are kept on file with the Dothan City Schools system. The school system also keeps demographical information on file for each student. These records will be needed to determine the family structure of each student, and permission to view and use these records will need to be obtained.

Instrumentation
Predictive Analytics Software, formerly known as SPSS, will be utilized for data input and analysis.

Data Analysis
Descriptive analysis will be used to determine the percentages of students who live in one- and two-parent households. Using demographical data obtained through the Dothan City School system, students will be placed into one of the two categories. If a student’s family structure does not meet the requirements of a one- or two-parent household as defined in chapter one, that student’s scores will not be used in the sample. Once the raw totals have been determined, those numbers will be converted into percentages.
Once the mean score of each group has been established, a t-test will be used to determine if there is a significant difference in the scores of the student population as a whole. Using ANOVA, the researcher will then analyze the scores of each separate grade level to determine if the results of the t-test are consistent across all grades.

Ethical Treatment of Population
No direct contact will be necessary between the researcher and the students whose scores will be analyzed in the study. All information will be obtained through the administration and records of the Dothan City School system. Grade level and family structure status (one- or two-parent) are the only identifying factors that will be linked to the students whose scores are being used. Because this study focuses on two specific groups of students, there will be no need for any student to be individually identified in the course of the study.

References

Battle, J.J. (1997). Academic achievement among Hispanic students from one- versus dual-parent households. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 19(2). Abstract retrieved March 26, 2009 from ProQuest Education Journals database.

Cavanagh, S.E., Schiller, K.S., and Riegle-Crumb, C. (2006). Marital transitions, parenting, and schooling: Exploring the link between family-structure history and adolescents’ academic status. Sociology of Education, 79(4), 329-354. Retrieved March 26, 2009 from ProQuest Education Journals database.

Center for Health Statistic, Statistical Analysis Division. (2007a). Table 77, divorces and divorce rates, Alabama and the United States, 1945-2007. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://www.adph.org/healthstats/assets/divorcetable77avs07.pdf

Center for Health Statistics, Statistical Analysis Division. (2007b). Table 78, divorces and divorce rates by county of decree, Alabama, 2007. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://www.adph.org/healthstats/assets/divorcetable78avs07.pdf

Creswell, J.W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Dothan City Schools 2007-2008 school year enrollment summary. (n.d.) Accessed March 3, 2009 from http://www.dothank12al.us/enrollment/summary0708.htm

Jeynes, W.H. (2005). Effects of parental involvement and family structure on the academic achievement of adolescents. Marriage and Family Review, 37(3), 99-116. Retrieved March 27, 2009 from ProQuest Humanities International Complete database.

Marsh, H.W. (1990). Two-parent, stepparent, and single-parent families: Changes in achievement, attitudes, and behaviors during the last two years of high school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(2), 327-340. Retrieved March 26, 2009 from EBSCOhost database.

Pong, S.-L. (1997). Family structure, school context, and eighth-grade math and reading achievement. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59(3), 734-746. Retrieved March 26, 2009 from EBSCOhost database.