The Relationship Between Exclusionary Discipline, Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Graduation Rates at 4A, 5A, and 6A High Schools

Author

Ryan M. CavazosFollow

Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

7-2020

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2975-6325

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Irma Harper

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Andrew Lumpe

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Karan Duwe

Abstract

High school graduation is a significant predictor of future success. In most cases, a high school graduate will earn more money and live a healthier lifestyle than those who do not graduate from high school. The graduation rate in the United States is lower than the graduation rate of many other industrialized countries. Three known predictors of graduation rate are the number of exclusionary discipline assignments a student incurs, the race of the student, and the socioeconomic status of the student. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between graduation rate, exclusionary discipline, race (nonwhite), and low socioeconomic status. In order to determine the relationship, this study used action research and a quantitative research design. Data were collected from the public education information management system reports and data from the annual Texas academic performance report to determine the graduation rate, the number of exclusionary discipline assignments, the percentage of nonwhite students, and the percentage of low socioeconomic status students of 4A, 5A, and 6A schools in Texas. There were 109 randomly selected schools that were used in this study. The random sample included schools from all over the state of Texas, with enrollment numbers ranging between 508 and 4,283 students. The research determined that, in this study, exclusionary discipline and socioeconomic status were significant predictors of graduation rate. However, in this study, race (nonwhite) was not a significant predictor of graduation rate. Race (nonwhite) being an insignificant predictor of graduation rate was in contrast to the literature reviewed in this study. This study concluded that almost 37% of the variance in graduation rate could be determined by exclusionary discipline, race (nonwhite), and socioeconomic status.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Cavazos, Ryan M., "The Relationship Between Exclusionary Discipline, Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Graduation Rates at 4A, 5A, and 6A High Schools" (2020). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 245.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/245