A multilevel analysis of student achievement in the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988

The purpose of this study was to investigate the communal effects that student and school characteristics have on mathematics achievement for 12 th grade students. The student-level variables investigated were socioeconomic status (SES) and student perceptions of parental academic emphasis, engagement, and teacher effectiveness. The school-level variables were teacher perceptions of collaboration, academic emphasis, and leadership, as well as principal perceptions of their own influence. The researcher employed hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to explore a proposed process by which variables at two levels of the school environment may simultaneously influence student outcomes.; The data were drawn from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) Second Follow-Up, collected from students, teachers, and principals across the U.S. in 1992. In the NELS:88, student-level measures were linked to characteristics of their teachers, making possible a multilevel study using two units of analysis. Both student- and school-level measures were associated with achievement. Student SES and engagement explained 22% of the variation in mathematics achievement. School-level teacher collaboration and academic emphasis were influential also. Student-level parental academic emphasis and perceived teacher effectiveness, along with school leadership and principal influence were insignificant predictors of mathematics achievement.; As predicted by social cognitive theory, student achievement was associated with individual and environmental measures. Variables proximal and distal to a child's educational experience interacted to explain 12th grade mathematics achievement, in part as expected. A school environment marked by high student SES, student engagement, and academic emphasis promoted higher student achievement, although teacher collaboration detracted from achievement after accounting for other measures. Implications for research and leadership practice were considered. The results indicated that school leaders may promote 12th grade mathematics achievement by placing greater emphasis on academic components.