Date of Award

Spring 2-16-2021

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Executive Ed.D. in Education Leadership Management and Policy

Department

Education Leadership, Management and Policy

Advisor

Nicole DiCrecchio, Ed.D.

Committee Member

David Reid, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Richard Blissett, Ph.D.

Keywords

Zero-Tolerance Policy, In-School Suspension, Out-of-School Suspension, PARCC Scores

Abstract

Since zero-tolerance policies were put into effect, suspension rates have risen dramatically in the United States (Ayers et al., 2001). This fact is unsettling because research shows that suspension has a negative impact on both academic achievement and poor life outcomes (Rausch & Skiba, 2005). The goal of this quantitative study was to explore the predictive power of in-school and out-of-school suspension on academic achievement in Grades 6–8 in New Jersey by controlling for student demographics and school climate variables. This study used hierarchical multiple regression to analyze the data and used a fixed effects model to control for the year. The analysis of the data determined if there is a significant relationship between suspension and academic achievement and whether a school’s suspension rate could predict a school’s scores on the PARCC examination. This study concluded that there is a significant and negative relationship between in-school suspension and academic achievement. The findings also revealed that there was not a significant relationship between out-of-school suspension and academic achievement, which contradicts the research.

Share

COinS