The effects of school context and course taking patterns on racial achievement dynamics in high school

Achievement disparities by race and class are a pressing and persistent problem in American education. This study examines an underexplored dimension of these disparities by considering whether Black-White differences in high school achievement vary in two key ways: (1) in terms of how school engagement and socioeconomic status interrelate within a network of sequential relationships with various achievement outcomes, here called "achievement dynamics"; and (2) whether the magnitude and mechanisms within this system of relationships vary as a function of school context. Using multiple-group structural equation modeling, Part 1 of this study finds that socioeconomic status and school engagement do relate differently to achievement outcomes for Black and White high school students, with White students on average reaping substantially more benefits from their social class status than Black students with comparable backgrounds. The second part of this study, which uses multiple-group multilevel structural equation modeling, finds that school-level SES and school public/private status do in fact moderate racial differences in how student SES relates to achievement outcomes. More specifically, school-level SES was a particularly salient moderator for Black students' achievement dynamics, but less so for Whites. The findings also point to potential context-dependent downward and upward academic assimilation effects for Black and White students, respectively. Also, Part 2 of this study shows that when controlling for student background, Black students' achievement dynamics in high school are much more sensitive to their school context than those of their White counterparts. Implications of both phases of this study for research, policy, and practice are discussed.