| The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the relationships between three variables. First there was the general poverty level of community, or group of communities. This poverty level was deemed the ambient poverty level. The ambient poverty level was determined for two groups of North Carolina counties based on the percentage of children living in poverty according to the 2003 federal poverty standard. These percentages were calculated using data from the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates from the United States Census Bureau.;The next variable of comparison was ethnicity. The three ethnic categories for this study were Black, White, and Hispanic. The last variable used in this study was student achievement defined by the mean percent proficient on the North Carolina End of Grade tests of reading and mathematics.;Using independent sample T-tests, paired sample T-tests, and a one-way between groups analysis of variance, the study found that ambient poverty level does have some effect on the academic achievement of students. It has a varying effect on ethnic subgroups, and grade spans. These grade spans consist of two groups. The elementary group is a composite of grades 3-5, while the middle grades group is a composite of grades 6-8. In addition, ambient poverty has a varying effect when reading performance is compared to mathematics performance.;There were three important patterns that emerged from the analyses. First, the mean percent proficient for the low poverty group was higher than the mean percent proficient for the high poverty group at every disaggregation. Second, in the between groups comparison of the ethnic groups, the White students had the highest percent proficient, the Hispanic students had the next highest percent proficient, and the Black students had the lowest percent proficient. Third, in reading, the interethnic pattern was split.;Due to the variation in achievement between ethnic groups, grade spans, subject areas, and poverty levels, increased differentiation in remediation strategies might be a fruitful area for exploration. Moreover, the findings also suggest that increased sensitivity to family social status, economic conditions, and potential to support student achievement might be helpful. |
