The Impact of School-Based Mentoring on the Academic Achievement Gap

Abstract

This study examined data from the Institute of Education Sciences’ evaluation of school-based mentoring (SBM) programs to establish a causal relationship between SBM and reduction of the academic achievement gap between African American and White middle school students. Participation in SBM improved the academic performance of all students. The findings demonstrated a sizable increase in African American students’ grade point average as a result of same-race mentoring. Implications for school counselors seeking to reduce the achievement gap are discussed.

Keywords

African American students closing the gap same-race match school counseling intervention school-based mentoring

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.

Anastasia

(2012). Youth mentoring: Program and mentor best practices. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 104, 38–44.

Anderson

J. D.

(1988). The education of Blacks in the South, 1860–1935. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina.

Baker

W. L.

(2012). High school dropout: Perceptions and voices of African American and Hispanic students. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 78, 50–56. Retrieved from https://hdl-handle-net.web.bisu.edu.cn/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-05-9285

Bernstein

Rappaport

C. D.

Olsho

Hunt

Levin

. (2009). Impact evaluation of the U.S. Department of Education’s student mentoring program. Final report (NCEE 2009-4047). National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504310.pdf

Berry

J. W.

(2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 697–712. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013

Bohrnstedt

Kitmitto

Ogut

Sherman

Chan

. (2015). School composition and the Black–White achievement gap (NCES 2015-018). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/studies/pdf/school_composition_and_the_bw_achievement_gap_2015.pdf

Bryan

Moore-Thomas

Gaenzle

Kim

Lin

C. H.

(2012). The effects of school bonding on high school seniors’ academic achievement. Journal of Counseling & Development, 90, 467–480. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.2012.00058.x

Creswell

J. W.

(2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). London, England: Pearson Education.

10.

French

Homer

Popovici

Robbins

(2015). What you do in high school matters: High school GPA, educational attainment, and labor market earnings as a young adult. Eastern Economic Journal, 41, 370–386. doi:10.1057/eej.2014.22

11.

Froiland

J. M.

Worrell

F. C.

(2016). Intrinsic motivation, learning goals, engagement, and achievement in a diverse high school. Psychology in the Schools, 53, 321–336. doi:10.1002/pits.21901

12.

Gagnon

D. J.

Mattingly

M. J.

(2018). Racial/ethnic test score gaps and the urban rural continuum. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 33, 1–16. doi:10.18113/P8JRRE3302

13.

Garringer

Kupersmidt

Rhodes

Stelter

Tai

. (2015). Elements of effective practice for mentoring. MENTOR: National Mentoring Partnership. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594036.pdf

14.

Grier

L. K.

Boutakidis

(2018). The ecology of social support in relation to academic and behavioral self-perceptions among African American boys and girls. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 28, 798–816. doi:10.1080/10911359.2018.1464416

15.

Grossman

J. B.

Rhodes

J. E.

(2002). The test of time: Predictors and effects of duration in youth mentoring relationships. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 199–219. doi:10.1023/A:1014680827552

16.

Henderson

Williams

Lawrence

(2018). The experiences of behaviorally at-risk adolescent girls in a mentoring program. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 26, 482–502. doi:10.1080/13611267.2018.1561000

17.

Herrera

Grossman

J. B.

Kauh

T. J.

McMaken

(2011). Mentoring in schools: An impact study of big brothers big sisters school-based mentoring. Child Development, 82, 346–361. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01559.x

18.

Hirschfield

P. J.

(2018). The role of schools in sustaining juvenile justice system inequality. The Future of Children, 28, 11–36. Retrieved from https://www-jstor-org-443.web.bisu.edu.cn/stable/26641545

19.

Howard

T. C.

(2010). Why race and culture matter in schools: Closing the achievement gap in America’s classrooms. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

20.

Jencks

(2001). America’s next achievement test. American Prospect. Retrieved from https://prospect.org/article/americas-next-achievement-test

21.

Kraus

S. E. C.

Cleveland

R. E.

(2016). The effects of a cross-age peer mentoring program on school connectedness with rural populations. Georgia School Counselors Association Journal, 23, 26–37. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1140852.pdf

22.

Kroll

(2011). The African American jobs crisis and the new Jim Crow. Race, Poverty & the Environment, 18. Retrieved from https://urbanhabitat.org/files/18-2.kroll_pdf

23.

Kyere

Huguley

J. P.

(2018). Exploring the process by which positive racial identity develops and influences academic performance in Black youth: Implications for social work. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 1–19. doi:10.1080/15313204.2018.1555502

24.

Larose

Duchesne

Boisclair Châteauvert

(2018). How does mentoring by teachers improve the adjustment of academically at-risk students in high school? International Journal of School and Educational Psychology. doi:10.1080/21683603.2018.1509035

25.

Leath

Mathews

Harrison

Chavous

(2019). Racial identity, racial discrimination, and classroom engagement outcomes among Black girls and boys in predominantly Black and predominantly White school districts. American Educational Research Journal. doi:10.3102/0002831218816955

26.

Lerner

Brittian

Fay

(2007). Mentoring: A key resource for promoting positive youth development. Research in Action, 1, 3–9. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED502223.pdf

27.

McDaniel

S. C.

Besnoy

K. D.

(2019). Cross-age peer mentoring for elementary students with behavioral and academic risk factors. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 63, 254–258. doi:10.1080/1045988X.2019.1579163

28.

Michigan Department of Education. (2018). Michigan school index system guide. Retrieved from https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/MI_School_Index_System_Guide_614557_7.pdf

29.

Mirpuri

Ray

Hassan

Aladin

Wang

Yip

(2019). Ethnic/racial identity as a moderator of the relationship between discrimination and adolescent outcomes. In Fitzgerald

Johnson

Qin

Villarruel

Norder

(Eds.), Handbook of children and prejudice. Springer Nature. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12228-7_27

30.

Murnane

R. J.

Duncan

G. J.

(Eds.). (2011). Whither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children’s life chances. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

31.

Musu-Gillette

de Brey

McFarland

Hussar

Sonnenberg

Wilkinson-Flicker

. (2017). Status and trends in the education of racial and ethnic groups 2017 (NCES 2017-051). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017051.pdf

32.

Ogbu

J. U.

(1992). Understanding cultural diversity and learning. Educational Researcher, 21, 5–14. Retrieved from https://www-jstor-org-443.web.bisu.edu.cn/stable/1176697

33.

Osborne

R. T.

(1960). Racial differences in mental growth and school achievement: A longitudinal study. Psychological Reports, 7, 233–239. doi:10.2466/pr0.1960.7.2.233

34.

Park

Liao

Crosby

S. D.

(2017). The impact of Big Brothers Big Sisters programs on youth development: An application of the model of homogeneity/diversity relationships. Children and Youth Services Review, 82, 60–68. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.09.009

35.

Park

Yoon

Crosby

S. D.

(2016). A pilot study of Big Brothers Big Sisters programs and youth development: An application of critical race theory. Children and Youth Services Review, 61, 83–89. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.12.010

36.

Raposa

E. B.

Rhodes

Stams

G. J. J.

Card

Burton

Schwartz

… Hussain

(2019). The effects of youth mentoring programs: A meta-analysis of outcome studies. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48, 423–443. doi:10.1007/s10964-019-00982-8

37.

Reardon

S. F.

(2016). School segregation and racial academic achievement gaps. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 2, 34–57. doi:10.7758/RSF.2016.2.5.03

38.

Rhodes

J. E.

Reddy

Grossman

J. B.

Lee

J. M.

(2002). Volunteer mentoring relationships with minority youth: An analysis of same versus cross-race matches. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 2114–2133.

39.

Rocque

Snellings

(2018). The new disciplinology: Research, theory, and remaining puzzles on the school-to-prison pipeline. Journal of Criminal Justice, 59, 3–11. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2017.05.002

40.

Rothstein

(2004). A wider lens on the Black-White achievement gap. Phi Delta Kappan, 86, 104–110. doi:10.1177/003172170408600204

41.

Rothstein

(2015). The racial achievement gap, segregated schools, and segregated neighborhoods: A constitutional insult. Race and Social Problems, 7, 21–30. doi:10.1007/s12552-014-9134 -1

42.

Spencer

Basualdo-Delmonico

Walsh

Drew

A. L.

(2017). Breaking up is hard to do: A qualitative interview study of how and why youth mentoring relationships end. Youth & Society, 49, 438–460. doi:10.1177/0044118X14535416

43.

Taylor

R. J.

Chatters

L. M.

Woodward

A. T.

Brown

(2013). Racial and ethnic differences in extended family, friendship, fictive kin, and congregational informal support networks. Family Relations, 62, 609–624. doi:10.1111/fare.12030