An Exploratory Analysis Of School, Teacher, And Student Characteristics At Early College High Schools And Selected High Schools In North Carolina

This study was an exploratory analysis of how school, teacher, and student characteristics impact student achievement at 34 ECHSs and 56 selected traditional high schools in North Carolina. The study utilized the database from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center (NCERDC), to examine a randomly drawn sample of 2,175 high school students who took the Algebra I EOC test during the 2008-2009 school year. The researcher chose to utilize data from the NCERDC because it is longitudinal and links student outcomes to multiple teachers, programs, and schools over time. Three logistic regressions were conducted to determine the predictive ability of school, teacher, and student variables on school type (ECHS or control). The school level variables that were predictive of whether a school was an ECHS or not included eligibility for Title I, student gender, student ethnicity, and free/reduced price lunch status. The teacher level variables that were significant predictors included teacher licensure area, licensure route, licensure status, and experience. The student level variables that impacted school type were student grade level, Algebra I subject area, Algebra I achievement and scale scores, participation in extracurricular activities, and attendance. Suggestions for future evaluation of the ECHSI are discussed.