Anticipated Date of Graduation
Spring 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences
Department
Mathematical Sciences
First Advisor
Doug Darbro
Abstract
This research study examined the relationship between a student’s home environment and their STAR math score by investigating 9 home environment variables. It also examines the best model to predict STAR score from the 9 home environment variables while controlling for the covariate, prior STAR score. The results being that including the covariate in the 9 predictor model was a statistically significant improvement over not including the covariate. However, the best model to predict STAR score was a model that only included the covariate and one variable, number of people living in house(s). Furthermore, when investigating the 9 variables, it was found that multiple variables had a statistically significant correlation. For the quantitative variables, this includes the correlation between number of people living in house(s) and number of adults living in house(s) being statistically significant with a moderate correlation, the correlation between number of people living in house(s) and number of primary homes being statistically significant with a small correlation, and the correlation between number of adults living in house(s) and number of primary homes being statistically significant with a moderate correlation. The only statistically significant correlation for categorical variables is between QuietArea and Dinner. These findings contribute to the existing literature on mimicking beliefs, uncontrollable factors for students, and the influence of the home environment on work ethic. The study acknowledges limitations, including the restricted choice of variables and only collecting data from one school and one grade, restricting generalizability. However, the results provide insight to school districts, administrations, and teachers on the impacts that home environments are having on student academic success.
Recommended Citation
Michlig, Autumn, "Examining the Relationship Between Students’ Home Environment and Math Test Scores" (2024). Master of Science in Mathematics. 57.
https://digitalcommons.shawnee.edu/math_etd/57