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Author: Kirby, Sheila Nataraj
Resulting in 3 citations.
1. Berends, Mark
Grissmer, David W.
Kirby, Sheila Nataraj
Williamson, Stephanie
The Changing American Family and Student Achievement Trends
Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization 12 (1999): 67-101.
Also: http://books.emeraldinsight.com/display.asp?K=9780762302567
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: JAI Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Divorce; Education, Secondary; Family Characteristics; High School Students; Marriage; Minority Groups; Schooling; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT

Data from the 1980 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth & the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study were analyzed to determine how family characteristics influenced secondary student achievement, 1970-1990. It was reported that (1) families during the 1970s & 1980s were better able to provide support for educational achievement than during the 1950s & 1960s. (2) Minority families in 1990 were more supportive of educational achievement than those in 1970. (3) Minority students made significant gains in test scores, 1970- 1990. It is concluded that Anglo American students' failure to make similar gains in achievement & the emergence of microlevel alterations to education opportunity in the US require additional study.
Bibliography Citation
Berends, Mark, David W. Grissmer, Sheila Nataraj Kirby and Stephanie Williamson. "The Changing American Family and Student Achievement Trends." Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization 12 (1999): 67-101.
2. Grissmer, David W.
Kirby, Sheila Nataraj
Berends, Mark
Williamson, Stephanie
Student Achievement and the Changing American Family
MR-488-LE, Rand Corporation, Institute on Education and Training, 1994.
Also: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/2006/MR488.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: RAND
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Demography; Family Characteristics; Family Environment; Family Size; Income; Labor Force Participation; Minority Groups; National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS); Parents, Single

Perceived declines in student achievement and family environment and the perceived ineffectiveness of increases in educational expenditures have stimulated the present investigation, which focuses primarily on estimating the change in achievement test scores that can be attributed to changing family and demographic characteristics. Family characteristics included in the analysis were income, family size, parental education levels, age of the mother at the child's birth, labor-force participation of the mother, and single-parent families. The analysis estimates effects of family changes on achievement scores of a national sample of students aged 14 to 17 in 1970 to 1975 and 1990 using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1980 and the National Education Longitudinal Survey of 1988. Using test scores as the sole measure of the effects of changes in the family provides no evidence of a deteriorating family environment for youth in 1990 compared to the same age group in 1970-1975. This study does not support the view that the schools of the 1970s and 1980s have deteriorated in significant ways with respect to the schools of the 1950s and 1960s in their instruction, and it suggests that schools have made significant progress in decreasing educational inequalities for minorities. Eighteen tables and 44 figures illustrate the discussion. (Contains 82 references.) (SLD)
Bibliography Citation
Grissmer, David W., Sheila Nataraj Kirby, Mark Berends and Stephanie Williamson. Student Achievement and the Changing American Family. MR-488-LE, Rand Corporation, Institute on Education and Training, 1994..
3. Grissmer, David W.
Kirby, Sheila Nataraj
Berends, Mark
Williamson, Stephanie
Student Performance and the Changing American Family
RB-8009, RAND Research Brief Series, December 1994.
Also: http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB8009.html
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: RAND
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Demography; Family Characteristics; Family Environment; Income; Labor Force Participation; Minority Groups; National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS); Parents, Single; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Tests and Testing

This research brief describes work documented in Student Achievement and the Changing American Family (MR-488-LE).

Full document online: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_briefs/2009/RB8009.pdf

Critics of American education frequently blame lagging student performance on the deteriorating American family structure. Moreover, it is widely asserted that substantial spending on schools and social programs over the past two decades has failed to reverse the educational downtrend. However, a recent study conducted by RAND’s Institute for Education and Training sharply challenges this view. First, the study points out that prior research--contrary to public perception--has reported gains in student performance between 1970 and 1990, as measured by nationally representative test score data. The largest gains were made by minority students, although a substantial gap still remains. Second, the study finds that demographic trends affecting the family over this time period contributed to rising test scores. Third, the minority gains cannot be fully explained by changing family characteristics, suggesting that we need to look to other factors for explanations. The most likely explanations are rising public investment in schools and families and equal educational opportunity policies.

Bibliography Citation
Grissmer, David W., Sheila Nataraj Kirby, Mark Berends and Stephanie Williamson. "Student Performance and the Changing American Family." RB-8009, RAND Research Brief Series, December 1994.