Reading Achievement, Suspensions, and African American Males in Middle School

Institute for School Improvement, Missouri State University. 901 South National Avenue, Springfield, MO 65897. Tel: 417-836-8854; Fax: 417-836-8881; Web site: http://www.isi.missouristate.edu

Y

21

Urban Schools; Delinquency; Reading Achievement; Academic Achievement; Grade 6; Males; Student Attitudes; African American Students; Suspension; Student Behavior; Middle School Students; Correlation; Behavior Problems; Age Differences; Predictor Variables; Poverty; Disabilities

1937-0814

Associations between reading achievement and behavior, albeit problematic, are empirically supported in the literature. Although well documented, many of the studies were conducted outside of the school context using reading measures not typically aligned with school curricula. Furthermore, previous studies primarily document the existence of delinquent behavior without assessing outcomes of the behaviors. To provide more insight on this issue, this study examines the relationship of reading achievement and suspensions for African American males in the middle grades using four years of archival data from a large urban school district. Results show that the strongest relationship between reading achievement and suspensions occur at the end of sixth grade, while other indicators, depending on grade level, show strong relationships to suspensions, as well. Implications for these findings are discussed and SSR[superscript 2] I, a literacy-based alternative to conventional suspensions, is introduced. (Contains 6 tables.)

As Provided

36

2008

EJ800230