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Academically Resilient Latino Elementary Students Bridging the Achievement Gap

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Abstract

This study investigated associations between school-readiness patterns of Latino students and their subsequent academic achievement. After identifying a subgroup of students with academic risk at kindergarten entry who showed signs of later average or better academic skill development, academic data were gathered to explore how this group of “resilient” students (risk-catching up group) compared to their risk-lagging peers (those who entered kindergarten at high risk and continue to perform far below grade-level) and ready-proficient peers (those who entered kindergarten with low risk and continue to perform at a proficient level). Students were evaluated on individually administered measures that assessed cognitive and academic learning resources. A series of one-way MANOVAs identified that on academic measures of oral reading fluency (GORT-4) and verbal and nonverbal cognitive development (KBIT-2) students in the risk-catching up group performed consistent with their ready-proficient peers, and both groups scored significantly higher than the risk-lagging students. In contrast, scores on the California Standards Test ELA and math indicated that students in the risk-lagging group scored significantly lower than risk-catching up students who scored significantly lower than ready-proficient students. These findings provide evidence that the risk-catching up students made substantial progress to develop the academic skill base needed to support ongoing improvements in academic achievement; however, this growth was not fully discerned in the CST test results. Importantly, these results suggest that closing achievement gaps is an ongoing process, not an end point. The study highlights the importance of school readiness experiences for all students and that early and targeted interventions are needed to support a positive academic trajectory for all students.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Education and Counseling, School Psychology Program, Lewis & Clark College, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road, Portland, OR, 97219, USA

    Elena Diamond

  2. Gevirtz Graduate School of Education Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology Department, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

    Michael J. Furlong & Matthew Quirk

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  1. Elena Diamond
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Correspondence to Elena Diamond.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Diamond, E., Furlong, M.J. & Quirk, M. Academically Resilient Latino Elementary Students Bridging the Achievement Gap. Contemp School Psychol 20, 160–169 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-016-0088-8

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