Relative Test Performances Over Time of Black, Spanish, and Anglo Students: A Case Study. Discussion Papers

The major issue investigated in this paper is whether or not any change appears over a five-year peiod in the differences in performances between minority and non-minority students in that district. Since the relative performance advantage of non-minority students is frequently ascribed to their better backgrounds, socio-economic factors are held constant. The data used consist of test scores obtained for each student in the third, fifth, and seventh grades, plus a measure of the socio-economic status of that student's family. Multiple regression analysis is used. The study concludes that the test scores of minority students relative to those of non-minority students do not appear to change much over time. Although Anglo students score higher than Black or Spanish students, socio-economic factors, while accounting for a significant portion of test-score differences, do not account for all racial/ethnic differences. The persistence of significant test-performance differences between Anglos and minorities over time leads one to conclude that the school system described in this study succeeded in maintaining the relative performance position of the three major racial/ethnic groups but did not substantially succeed in eliminating the performance deficiency exhibited by minority students. (Author/JM)