An analysis of data collected from the 2007--2008 Tennessee state report card and the variables related to science test results

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement reading scores, school district per-pupil expenditures, school size, percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-priced meals, and attendance were related to science TCAP test scores from the 2007--2008 school year. The data were gathered from an analysis of mean standardized test scores in reading and science of 8th graders in 67 school systems comprising 181 schools located throughout Tennessee. One hundred eighty-one schools configured grades 6 through 8 were used in this study. Only 177 schools had reported attendance available on the Tennessee Department of Education website.;Pearson correlations were performed between the 8th mean grade science TCAP scores and 8th grade mean reading scores, per-pupil expenditure, school size, attendance, and the percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-priced meals. Independent-samples t tests were conducted to evaluate whether 8th grade mean science TCAP scores and 8th grade mean reading scores varied depending on whether the school per-pupil expenditure was above or below the state average of ;The school characteristic with the strongest association with the mean 8th grade science TCAP scores as computed by Pearson's correlation is the mean 8th grade reading TCAP scores. The values can be ranked as follows: mean 8th grade reading scores (.92) > percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced meals (-.84) > per-pupil expenditure (-.62) > attendance (.60) > school size (.23).