The impact of early literacy and behavior sanctions on African-American male high school students' matriculation in a selected South Carolina school district

The study under investigation was the impact of early literacy and behavior sanctions on Black male matriculation towards graduation in a selected South Carolina school district. Attendance and course failure in English strongly predicted whether or not students graduated from high school. Early literacy is the foundation for academic success in the United States. Further, literacy development is associated with successful participation in the workforce. This study examined the nature of the relationship between, early literacy development, discipline sanctions on African-American males, performance on the English End of Course Exam, and matriculation beyond the 9th grade. More specifically, this study determined if there was a relationship between the two factors of English End of Course grades and discipline sanctions on persistence toward high school graduation in a selected South Carolina school district during the 2008-2009 school year.;Quantitative research methods examined the relationship between discipline, literacy, and black male matriculation towards graduation in the selected South Carolina school district. The quantitative research design used inferential statistics. The study variables were summarized using frequency tables and descriptive statistics. Each research question was analyzed using the appropriate statistical tools such as the t test and ANOVA test. Data from the 2008-2009 school year were collected from the participating county's SASI and PowerSchool computer data systems.;The data indicated there was some difference between English End-of-Course Exam grades and suspension incidents between Black males who matriculated beyond the ninth grade toward graduation and Black males who did not matriculate beyond the ninth grade. However, no significant difference was noticed in the mean of suspension days between Black male students who matriculated beyond the ninth grade and Black males who did not matriculate beyond the ninth grade in the selected South Carolina school district.