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NELS 8th grade 1

NELS 8TH

GRADE EDUCATIONAL TRANSITION AND EXPERIENCES

NELS 8TH

GRADE EDUCATIONAL TRANSITION AND EXPERIENCES

Ashea M. Turner

SOWK 300 02

Jacqueline Mcarthur

February 23, 2012

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NELS 8th grade 2

Abstract

This study will examine the characteristics of 8th

grade students along with unique transitioning

patterns as they moved to higher levels of education. These traits includes the overall math

proficiency exam scores, number of hours students watches TV on weekdays, students sex, and

the percent in school who receive free lunch. There will be a close examination of the correlation

between all the variables. Overall, there will be a conclusion stemming from the data collected

which will provide further analysis.

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Hypothesis

The number of hours a student watches TV on the weekdays has an effect on his/her overall

math proficiency exam score. The independent variable is the number of hours a student watches

TV weekdays. The dependent variable is the overall math proficiency exam score. The values for

the number of hours students watch on week days are: 2 or less hours, 2-4 hours, and 4 or more

(1, 2, 3, and 8.) The values for the dependent variable of the math proficiency exam score are:

below level 1, level 1, level 1 and 2, and all 3 levels (0, 1, 2, 3, and 8).

The control variable is the student sex and percent of students in school who receive free lunch.

Values for sex are male and female. Values for percent of students in school who receive free

lunch are none-30, 31-75, and 76-100. The higher number of hours a student watches TV on

weekdays will result in lower math proficiency exam scores. The lower the number of hours a

student watches TV on weekdays will result in higher math proficiency exam scores. The effect

of the control variable on the original bivariate relationship described in the first hypothesis is

the percentage of male and females who watch a certain amount of hours of TV on weekdays

and the scores received on the math proficiency exam scores.

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Rationale

The independent variable will ultimately affect the dependent variable because the number of

hours students watch TV on weekdays has a huge impact on their overall math efficiency exam

scores. The higher the amount of hours a student watches TV, diminishes the time he/she could

be studying for the math exam. The lower the amount of hours of TV watched by students,

increases study time, which in turn will result in higher math proficiency exam scores.

The control variable will influence the bivariate relationship because the sex of the student will

automatically determine the number of hours of TV watched by females and males which will

have a direct impact on exam scores. The control variable will show the number of hours female

students watch of TV and the number of hours males watch of TV. The percent of students in

school who receive free lunch will also influence the bivariate relationship because students who

receive free lunch may not necessarily have an incentive to do well in school because they

receive free lunch. There is no monetary investment which in turn will not motivate the students

to do well. Students who have to pay for lunch may have more of an incentive to do well because

of the monetary investment in his/her education. Students who have to pay for lunch typically

come from middle to high income family households. Students who do not have to pay for lunch

usually come from low income family households.

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Results

Table 1

Number of Hours Students Watches TV on Weekdays

Hours

Count Col Pct 2 or less hours 2-4 hours 4 or more Totals

Below Level 1 10.5 11.5 15.4 12.1

Level 1 27.0 34.0 39.7 32.9

Level 1 and 2 22.2 22.9 21.1 22.2

All 3 Levels 29.9 21.5 13.3 22.4

Missing 10.3 10.2 10.5 10.3

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Table 2

Overall Math Proficiency

by the Number of Hours Students Watches TV on Weekdays

Sex

Count Col Pct 2 or less hours 2-4 hours 4 or more Totals

Male Respondents

Below Level1 10.2 12.7 15.8 12.6

Level 1 24.1 30.2 35.8 29.5

Level 1 and 2 23.5 23.4 22.4 23.2

All 3 Levels 32.3 23.1 14.7 24.2

Missing 9.8 10.6 11.2 10.5

Female Respondents

Below Level1 10.7 10.5 15.1 11.7

Level 1 29.6 37.6 43.0 36.0

Level 1 and 2 21.2 22.4 20.0 21.4

All 3 Levels 27.9 20.1 12.3 21.0

Missing 10.6 9.4 9.7 9.9

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NELS 8th grade 7

Table 3

Percent of Students in School Who Receive Free Lunch

Sex

Male Respondents

Count Col Pct 2 or less hours 2-4 hours 4 or more Totals

Below Level 1 17.0 12.7 18.4 15.6

Level 1 36.3 40.6 44.2 40.6

Level 1 and 2 19.9 21.5 17.2 19.7

All 3 Levels 14.8 14.7 10.1 13.3

Missing 12.0 10.5 10.1 10.8

Female Respondents

Below Level 1 26.0 24.4 21.7 24.0

Level 1 43.3 48.0 40.0 43.9

Level 1 and 2 12.5 13.4 12.2 12.7

All 3 Levels 6.7 3.9 4.3 4.9

Missing 11.5 10.2 21.7 14.5

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NELS 8th grade 8

Discussion

The longer hours students watched TV on weekdays resulted in lower math proficiency exam

scores. Also, students who received free lunch had a higher rate of lower exam scores. Males

watch more TV on weekdays compared to females. Lower exam scores are higher with males

than female students. The control variable is sex; male and female. Using the control variable

helped influence the bivariate relationship because it showed the ratio of males to females

according to the number of hours of TV they watch on weekdays. The effects of the control

variable is that it helped to categorize students by using sex as the constant, and other factors to

see the percentage or ratio of students who did or did not do well on their exams based off of

environmental influences.

The number of hours a student watches on weekdays results in their overall math proficiency

exam. Students who watch more hours of TV tends to score poorly on their exams. There is an

impact on socioeconomic status and education. Family background is linked with educational

attainment. There is a unique correlation between free lunches and standardized exams. Free

school lunch is a predictor in how well or poor students will do on exams. The control variable

of free lunch was used to determine the social class of students in the school. Conclusions which

can be drawn from this study is that students with poor academic skills will indeed have lower

test scores and students with great academic skills will have higher test scores.

According to the information provided, students who come from lower income family

households who receive free lunch, do poor on proficiency math exams. Therefore, spending

more time on studying and diminishing hours of watching TV will overall increase performance

on test taking which will result in exceptional exam scores.

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NELS 8th grade 9

References

Murphy, M., Pagano, M., Nachmani, J., Sperling, P., Kane, S., & Kleinman, R. (1998). Therelationship of school breakfast to psychosocial and academic functioning.Archives of Pediatrics

and Adolescent Medicine, 152(9), 899-907. Retrieved from http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/152/9/899

Smith, J. (1997). Effects of eighth-grade transition programs on high school retention and

experiences. The Journal of Educational Research, 90(3), 144-152. Retrieved fromhttp://www.jstor.org/pss/27542084

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NELS 8th grade 10

Appendix

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NELS 8th grade 11

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NELS 8th grade 12

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NELS 8th grade 13

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NELS 8th grade 15

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NELS 8th grade 16

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NELS 8th grade 17

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NELS 8th grade 18

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NELS 8th grade 19