Fallacy of a Single Model for School Achievement: Considerations for Ethnicity

Ethnic group differences in school achievement, often resulting in life cycle and generational cumulative disadvantages in stratified societies, are apparent in elementary education. Socioeconomic, family, and school factors affecting school achievement are frequently assumed to be equally applicable across ethnic groups. This study questions if a single model for school achievement, where the effect of socioeconomic factors is mediated by family processes, truly represents the processes occurring for different ethnic groups. Results show that the proposed theoretical model for school achievement fits blacks, Chicanos, and whites differently. The model best predicts school achievement for Chicanos. Socioeconomic status alone plays a small direct role in school achievement for whites but it is mediated by the intervening family socialization, school contact, and child study-time factors for Chicanos and blacks. The intervening factors also affect school achievement differently for blacks and Chicanos. The only ethnic similarity is that increased child study-time directly improves school achievement.