Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Educational Achievement and Aspirations: Findings from a Statewide Survey from 1998 to
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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Educational Achievement and Aspirations: Findings from a Statewide Survey from 1998 to 2010 Charlotte M. Nitardy • Naomi N. Duke • Sandra L. Pettingell • Iris W. Borowsky
Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract Educational achievement and attainment are associated with health outcomes across the entire life span. The objective of this study was to determine whether racial/ethnic disparities in academic achievement and educational aspirations have changed over time. The study used data from the Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) from 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010. The MSS is administered to adolescents in public secondary schools, charter schools, and tribal schools. Measures of academic achievement and educational aspirations were examined by race/ethnicity, poverty status, and family structure. Chi square tests evaluated differences in the above proportions. The analytic sample included 351,510 adolescents (1998, N = 67,239; 2001, N = 69,177; 2004, N = 71,084; 2007, N = 72,312; and 2010, N = 71,698). Study participants ranged in age from 13 to 19 years (mean = 15.9, SD = 1.6). Most were white (81.7 %), followed by 5.4 % Asian American/Pacific Islander, 4.3 % Black/African American, 2.7 % Hispanic/Latino, 1 % American Indian, and 4.9 % mixed race. Results showed that academic achievement fluctuated amongst all the racial/ethnic groups, but there were significant race/ethnic disparities at every time point. Overall, academic aspirations increased over time among the adolescents. Poverty was associated with poorer academic indicators for white youth, but not consistently for other racial/ethnic groups of youth. Family C. M. Nitardy (&) N. N. Duke I. W. Borowsky Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA e-mail: [email protected] S. L. Pettingell Center for Adolescent Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
structure, however, was significantly associated with the educational indicators across all racial and ethnic groups. Despite many efforts to improve educational outcomes, there remain significant disparities in educational achievement and aspirations related to race-ethnicity and social status. Findings have implications for efforts to improve adolescent health at both individual and community levels. Keywords Educational aspirations Academic achievement Racial and ethnic disparities Adolescent health Health disparities
Introduction Education is a powerful determinant of health behavior and outcomes and therefore, increasing educational achievement among adolescents and young adults is an adolescent health objective for Healthy People 2020 [1]. A linear relationship is observed between years of schooling and health, with health measured by rates of mortality, chronic disease, functionality and disability, and health behaviors [2, 7]. Both academic success and achievement are strong predictors of adult health outcomes [1–6]. For example,
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