The Relationship Between School Climate Dimensions and Reading and Mathematics Achievement Scores in Elementary Schools

Abstract

School climate is a malleable construct that schools or districts can utilize to target the individualized needs of specific groups of students. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceptions of different school climate dimensions and reading and mathematics achievement scores for elementary school students of different gender, grade level, and prior achievement. There is general agreement that school climate is a composite variable made up of many dimensions (Brookover & Erickson, 1975). For school climate to become an important avenue for school reform and improved educational practice, it must be defined in terms of specific contributing dimensions, then studied in terms of the relationship between each climate dimension and achievement scores for different groups of students.

To examine the research questions, a two-stage quantitative analysis of data was utilized using school-level data first and student-level data second. Measures utilized included measures of school climate, measures of reading and mathematics achievement, and individual characteristics. The data analysis procedures included bivariate regression and multiple regression. The findings indicated that the most consistent school climate dimensions to have a significant association with student achievement in reading and mathematics were “safety,” and “interpersonal relationships,” as well as several of their subdimensions. Overall, these dimensions were more frequently predictive of mathematics achievement as opposed to reading achievement, male achievement as opposed to female achievement, and 4th grade achievement as opposed to 5th grade achievement.

Continued study of the relationship between dimensions of school climate and student achievement could help solidify the literature regarding the efficacy of school climate as an adequate measure of school quality as it relates to student outcomes such as reading and mathematics achievement.