Date Approved
9-16-2011
Embargo Period
3-3-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. School Psychology-Professional School Psychology
Department
Psychology
College
College of Science & Mathematics
Advisor
Dihoff, Roberta
Subject(s)
Academic achievement; Catholic high schools
Disciplines
Child Psychology | Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine whether the distance a student lives from their school influences their academic achievement. In detail, this study has correlated the distance in miles a student lives from his or her school with their grade point average at the end of their freshman and junior years. Data has been collected from 100 participants at two private high schools in southern New Jersey, Our Lady of Mercy Academy and Saint Augustine College Prepatory School. Both schools are grades ninth through twelfth. Both schools are Catholic schools but you do not have to be Catholic to attend. Both schools operate off of a 4.0 grade point average scale. The data collected was archival dating back no more than ten years ago. Each participant's town of residence was given as well as their GPA's from ninth and eleventh grades. A test for correlation was used to determine the effect of distance on a student's academic achievement. The researcher hypothesizes that students who do not attend neighborhood schools and therefore must commute will not do as well, academically, as students who do attend neighborhood schools.
Recommended Citation
Armstrong, Gillian, "The loss of neighborhood secondary schools: how the distance a student lives from their school can affect their academic achievement" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 84.
https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/84
