Racial Disparities in Student Perceptions of School Climate and Student Achievement.

Introduction: Racial disparities in student achievement are a well-documented problem of American public schools. Historically underserved racial groups demonstrate lower academic achievement and graduate from high school at rates 15-28% lower than White students. School climate captures students’ experience of school, and differences in climate serve as intervention targets to increase racial equity. Using data from Seattle Public Schools, the we asked the following research questions: (1) To what extent do students from different racial backgrounds perceive differences in school climate? (2) To what extent do lower perceptions of school climate account for lower grades for students of color?

Methods: All students (N=29,593) from the 97 SPS schools in grades 3-12 completed the annual school climate survey in 2016 (44.4% male, 45.8% female, 6.5% prefer not to state; 59.2% English at home). Students self-reported their race: 15.1% Asian, 10.7% African American, 6.7% Latino or Hispanic, 14.9% Multiracial, 1.5% Native American, 1.7% Pacific Islander, and 44.9% White. Previous analyses established measurement sufficiency of climate subscales. Students self-reported their grades. Multilevel, step-wise structural equation modeling in Mplus was used, with grades modeled as an ordered categorical variable. Standardized effects sizes are reported.

Results: Model 1 tested the association of race with self-reported grades, accounting for clustering at the school level. Compared to Whites, students from most other minority groups reported significantly lower grades, (Black: β=-0.44; Latino β=-0.58; Multiracial β=-0.20; Native American β=-0.58; Pacific Islander β=-0.34). Model 2 examined the change in this association once school climate was entered in the model. Racial disparities in perceived school climate were significant, with Black (β=0.10, p<0.05) and Multiracial (β=-0.06, p<0.05) students reporting significantly worse climate at school compared to White students. School climate was also significantly associated with grades (β=0.15, p<0.001), but accounted for only a small portion of the association between race and grades (e.g., the estimated effect of Black vs. White on grades was reduced to β=-0.43, and Multiracial vs. White on grades to β=-0.19).

Implications: Results suggest that school climate reform efforts will do little to ameliorate the racial gap in achievement. Although Black and Multiracial students experiencing a worse school climate compared to white students is notable, this difference alone does not account for race-based gaps in achievement. Schools attempting to create more equitable environments for students of color will need to do more than focus on climate-related disparities to address racial achievement gaps.