Multilevel Examination of Student, School, and District-Level Effects on Academic Achievement

Abstract

The authors examined the relationship between individual family structure, school family structure, and school effectiveness—defined as school academic achievement. The relationships were examined while controlling for important school and district-level input and process factors. School family structure had a much stronger relationship with school achievement than either school socioeconomic status or school racial composition. Neither district-level process nor input factors mitigated the strong relationship between school family structure and school academic achievement. School-level family structure had a more important association with individual-level achievement than even an individual's own family structure. The relationship could not be accounted for by an array of district-level factors.