Date of Award

8-2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Executive Leadership

First Supervisor

Ronald D. Valenti

Second Supervisor

Welton Sawyer

Abstract

The decision to drop out is a dangerous one for the student. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between student mathematics achievement as measured by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Grade 4 Mathematics Test (G4MT), Grade 8 Mathematics Test (G8MT), and Integrated Algebra Mathematics Test (IAMT) and dropping out of high school in a medium-size school district in the Lower Hudson Region of New York. Furthermore, the study examined to what extent the New York State mathematics tests served as predictors of students dropping out of high school. The 680 research participants were students who first entered Grade 9 in the 2006-2007 school year. There was no statistically significant relationship between students’ mathematics achievement and dropping out of high school. However, there was a statistically significant relationship between student taking the NYSED G4MT, G8MT, and IAMT and dropping out of high school. Taking the NYSED G8MT and IAMT contributed significantly to the prediction of students dropping out of high school. Students taking the NYSED G4MT and G8MT were almost 3 times more likely not to drop out of high school. Moreover, students taking the NYSED G4MT, G8MT, and IAMT were 10 times more likely not to drop out of high school. Knowing these early warning signals could help inform district planning for interventions to address some of the reasons behind a dropout outcome.

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