Differential patterns of achievement among Asian-American adolescents

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, VoL 22, No. 4, 1993

Differential Patterns of Achievement Among Asian-American Adolescents

Sylvia Aiatorre Alva 1 Received January 21, 1992; accepted January 14, 1993

Very little is known about the factors and processes that lead to differential patterns of achievement among Asian-American adolescents. Using grades and standardized test scores as criteria variables, a paper-and-pencil survey was conducted to determine the relative effects of sociocultural variables, personality factors, and student perceptions of school and social events in explaining differential patterns of academic performance within a sample (N = 89) of Asian-American tenth graders. Generally, the results demonstrate that Asian- American students whose educational and social experiences convey a strong link between schooling, academic success, and social integration are more likely to demonstrate patterns of achievement, as reflected in higher grades and better performance on standardized tests. The study's findings are discussed in connection with the relative functionalism concept proposed by S. Sue and S. Okazaki (1990) and the effective schools literature.

INTRODUCTION

Recent reports of the status of American schools have raised consid- erable concern and controversy over the underachievement of many children, in particular, ethnic minority populations. In general, ethnic minority

This work was supported partially by an Affirmative Action Faculty Development Grant from California State University, Fullerton.

tAssistant Professor, Department of Child Development, School of Human Development and Community Service, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California 92634. Received doctoral degree in 1988 from the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in developmental psychology. Research interests include the educational attainment of Hispanie and minority group children, adolescent alcohol use, and social policy analysis and planning. To whom correspondence should be addressed.

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0047-2891/93/0800-0407507.00/0 ~ 1993 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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students are reported to have lower levels of educational attainment, grades, graduation rates, and school persistence (Rumberger, 1983; Stein- berg et al., 1984). School dropout research has identified a number of sociocultural variables that place minority group children at risk of academic underachievement, including the low educational and occupational attainment of parents, family income, size, and composition, ethnic minority status, a native language other than English, and school performance marked by underachievement, high absenteeism, and behavioral problems (Rumberger, 1983; Steinberg et al., 1984).

While the identification of risk factors has been invaluable in drawing attention to the unique sociocultural experiences of minority group children, it provides only a weak explanation of the high educational achievement demons t r a t ed by Asian-Americans , who share many of the sociocultural experiences and the minority group status that place Hispanics and other groups at risk of academic underachievement and school failure. As a group, Asian-Americans demonstrate exceptional patterns of academic success on a number of educational indices (Barringer et al., 1990; Bureau of Census, 1983; Sue and Okazaki, 1990).

Sue and Okazaki (1990), in a recent review of the educational attainment of Asian-Americans, note the absence of empirical research that ex- plains the r e p o r t e d d i sc repanc ies b e t w e e n the a c h i e v e m e n t of Asian-Americans and other cultural groups, majority and minority groups alike. Asian-Americans are a very heterogenous group marked by between- and within-group variations along a number of characteristics, including educational attainment, English language proficiency, cultural values, and socialization practices. Indeed, a growing body of empirical research has linked patterns of achievement among Asian students to cultural values and practices such as parental beliefs and expectations (Mordkowitz and Ginsberg, 1987; Stevenson and Lee, 1990), attributional styles (Hollaway et al., 1986), and parental practices (Dornbusch et al., 1987; Hess and Azuma, 1991).

In conjunction with differences in cultural values and practices, Sue and Okazaki (1990) maintain that educational attainment is also highly in- fluenced by the opportunities available for upward mobility, both in educational and noneducational domains. Using the notion of relative functionalism, Sue and Okazaki contend that explanations for Asian-Ameri- can achievement must account for individual perceptions of the relative function of education as a means of upward mobility. Although, as a group, Asian-Americans have fared well in our educational system, we cannot ignore that many Asian-American students perceive problems in upward mobility because of limitations in English language proficiency, discrimination, or cultural conflicts (Sue and Okazaki, 1990; Sue and Zane, 1985; Suzuki,

Achievement of Asian-Americans 409

1977). These perceived limitations in mobility are believed to increase the relative value and function of education as a means of achieving success (Sue and Okazaki, 1990).

Consistent with Sue and Okazaki's concept of relative functionalism, Ogbu (1983; Ogbu and Matute-Bianchi, 1986) proposes that ethnic minority students develop "folk theories" about their likelihood of success. These "theories" are subjective beliefs and attitudes that minority students develop in response to feedback from parents, peers, teachers, and community members about the likelihood for success and social integration and mobility. Similarly, a growing body of literature on the qualitative aspects of the schooling process suggests that students' perceptions of school events, the nature of teachers' expectations, and the patterns of interaction between teachers and students account for important variations in the academic attitudes and behaviors of students (Alva, 1991; Buriel, 1983; Chavez, 1984; Linney and Seidman, 1989; Minuchin and Shapiro, 1983; Rutter, 1983).

Despite converging support for Sue and Okazaki's perspective, relative functionalism remains a speculative construct, raising a number of significant issues for further research. Central to this study is the implicit assumption in the relative functionalism explanation that the educational status of ethnic minority groups is a function of the reciprocal relationship between a group's cultural values and practices and the values, practices, and conditions of schools. Regrettably, very little is known about the processes whereby the values and practices of schools function to strengthen or, conversely, weaken the connection between school success and social integration and mobility among minority and majority group children alike (Hamilton, 1983; Linney and Seidman, 1989).

Based on the relative functionalism perspective, it is expected that levels of academic achievement will be higher for students whose educational experiences support the relationship between schooling, social integration, and mobility. Conversely, students whose educational experiences provide a weak link between schooling, success, and social integration will be at risk of academic underachievement and failure. In this study we consider the relative functionalism concept within a conceptual framework of academic success (Alva, 1991; Alva and Padilla, 1989), which was originally developed to explain the academic success of Mexican-American students whose sociocultural background places them at-risk of school underachievement and failure. This framework of academic success or invulnerability is based on the assumption that academic performance is mediated by an interactive and phenomenological process that links sociocultural factors, personality characteristics, and student perceptions of school and social events in explaining the academic success of academically at-risk students.

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This conceptual framework of academic success proposes that the influence of schools on student's attitudes and achievements is not exerted by the "objective" nature of the activities and interpersonal relations operating within the educational milieu. Rather, the influence derives from a student's individual perception or interpretation of these activities and interpersonal relations. Consistent with assumptions in Bronfenbrenner 's ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), it is important that researchers attempt to study and discover how the social context of high schools and other educational settings affects a student's academic motivations and achievements. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of sociocultural factors, personality characteristics, and subjective perceptions of school and social events in explaining the differential patterns of academic achievement found within a group of Asian-American high school students. Using grades and standardized test scores as the criteria variables, a within-group study was conducted to determine the relative effects of these factors in predicting differential patterns of academic performance among Asian-American adolescents.

METHODS

Respondents

The data analyzed in this study were derived from a cohort of tenth graders who had recently made the transition from junior high school to high school. Three separate junior high schools feed into this public high school, which is located in a large urban city in California. Students from an earlier cohort who had to repeat tenth-grade courses were not included in the sample. In order to obtain a representative and academically het- erogeneous sample of this cohort, the respondents were recruited from a required course for all tenth graders enrolled at this particular high school (Career Guidance and Planning).

The school's ethnic composition is comprised primarily of Hispanic (78%) and Asian-American students (14%). Non-Hispanic Whites com- prise only 8% of the school's student population. The data of every self- identified Asian-American in this cohort were used in this study (N = 89). A comparable study using the data of self-identified Mexican-Americans was reported in a previous study (Alva, 1991).

The sample consisted of 49 (55%) females and 40 (45%) males, with a modal age of 15 years. The sample consisted primarily of immigrants (84%) and most (67%) reported that English was their dominant and preferred language. The group of immigrants was from the following four


countries: Vietnam (49%), Philippines (26%), China (18%), and Korea (6%). Sixteen percent of the sample was born in the United States. Given the small size of the Asian subgroups, their responses were combined, form- ing the Asian population in this study.

Using HoUingshead's Two Factor Index of Social Position (1965), the occupational status of the male head of household was measured. In families where there was no male head of household or he was not employed, the female's occupational standing was used. Thirteen percent of the sample resided in female householder families. No significant differences were found in the head of household's occupational standing in two-parent vs. female householder families. Using Hollingshead's index of occupations, 60% of the respondents had a head of household who was employed in an occupation at or below the level of skilled manual workers (carpenters, painters, and factory machine operators). In contrast, 35% were employed at or above the administrative level (sales representatives, shop managers, and insurance adjusters).

Procedure and Measures

Respondents were asked to complete a paper-and-pencil survey, which required approximately 40-50 minutes to complete. The survey instrument was divided into three major components: sociocultural factors, personality characteristics, and student perceptions of contextual events and conditions.

Sociocultural Factors

Three sociocultural factors were measured: gender, generational status, and parents' occupational standing. The generational status of the sample was divided into immigrants (respondents who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam, Philippines, China, or Korea) and non-immigrants (respondents born in the United States). Hollingshead's (1965) index of occupation was used to determine occupational standing.

Personality Characteristics

Personality characteristics were measured using two personality in- ventories. First, the Intellectual and School Status subscale (17 items) of the Piers-Harris Self-concept Inventory (Piers, 1984) was used to assess academic self-esteem. The measure includes items such as "I am good in my

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school work," "My classmates in school think I have good ideas," and "I am a good reader." The internal validity of the instrument was .84. Second, Clifford's Academic Accountability Scale (Clifford and Cleary, 1972), an 18-item locus-of-control scale, was used to measure the degree to which respondents accepted personal responsibility for their academic performance. Sample items include the following: "Do your grades get worse when you don't work hard?" and "Does studying before a test seem to help you get a higher score? .... When you do worse than usual, do you feel it was your fault?" The internal validity of the instrument was .70.

Student Perceptions of Contextual Events and Conditions

Student perceptions were measured using two measures. First, a 24- item school climate scale was used to measure students' perceptions of the subjective climate of their school (Alva, 1991). Using a 5-point agreement- disagreement scale, students were asked to evaluate three dimensions of their school's subjective climate: Respect and Care (9 items), School In- volvement (10 items), and College Preparation (5 items). The Respect and Care subscale contained items such as "The teachers care about me," "Teachers treat me with respect," '"I'he teachers are fair," and "Teachers consider the concerns and feelings of all students." The School Involvement subscale contained items such as: "I participate in school activities," "The school's organizations and clubs are interesting and fun," "I feel pride in my school," and "I feel I am an important part of my school." Lastly, the College Preparation subscale included items such as "Someday, I will be a college graduate, .... I feel encouraged to attend college," "I am taught subjects that prepare me for college," and "The teachers and grade coun- selors believe that I can make it through college."

The internal reliability of the three school climate subscales was assessed, with high Cronbach alphas reported for each. The alpha coefficients were .83 for the 9 items scale of Respect and Care, .82 for the 10 items scale of School Involvement, and .83 for the 5 items scale for College Preparation.

Second, a modified version of the Hispanic Children's Stress Inven- tory (Padilla et al., 1988), a 21-item scale, was used to asses the degree of stressfulness of life events or situations in three domains: Family Stress, Language-Related Conflicts, and Intergroup Relations. The following is a sample of the items in the Family Stress subscale: "I have worried that my parents will not make enough money to pay all the bills" and "I have felt that I can't communicate well with my parents." Language-Related Con- flicts were assessed using items such as "I have felt pressured to speak only


English at school" and "I have felt that other students make fun of the way I speak English." Lastly, the Intergroup Relations subscale included items such as "In certain situations at school, I have tried to hide my cultural background," "I have not been given the same opportunities that other students have," and "Because of my cultural background, I have been called bad names."

The internal reliability coefficients of the stress measure's subscales were .82 for Family Stress, .79 for Language-Related Conflicts, and .78 for Intergroup Relations.

Academic Outcome Measures

Grades

A complete set of students' tenth-grade marks were obtained from the school records. Grade point averages (GPAs) were calculated on a 4- point scale, ranging from excellent (4) to unsatisfactory (1), representing a composite index of grades received during the first two semesters of high school. Consistent with graduation requirements, grades received in physi- cal education classes were not included in calculating GPAs. Overall, the sample's GPAs ranged from .2 to 4.0, with a mean of 2.78 (SD = .95).

Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills Test Scores

Districtwide testing yielded standardized test scores in reading, language, and mathematics using the results of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS). CTBS scores are reported as percentile rankings, ranging from 1 to 99. The sample's mean scores on the reading, language, and math CTBS subscales were 33.33 (SD = 24.02), 43.45 (SD = 23.03), and 64.52 (SD = 26.97), respectively.

RESULTS

Within-Group Sociocultural Differences

To determine if there were any within-group sociocultural (gender, generational status, and parent's occupational standing) differences linked to the academic outcomes (grades and standardized test scores), several univariate analyses were conducted. No significant gender nor occupational differences were found. However, there were significant generational dif-

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ferences on the reading (F = [1,88] = 8.07, p < .01) and language (F = [1, 88] = 3.96, p < .05) subscales of the CTBS. The reading and language CTBS scores of the foreign-born group (N = 75) were significantly lower than the U.S.-born group (N = 14). The CTBS reading and language mean scores and standard deviations for the foreign-born group were 31.09 (SD = 22.54) and 43.33 (SD = 22.05), as compared to 59.67 (SD = 27.27) and 60.17 (SD = 28.31) for their U.S.-born counterparts, respectively.

Regression Analyses

Blockwise: Grades

Implicit in Sue and Okazaki's (1990) notion of relative functionalism is the assumption that the contextual variables will have a significant effect on achievement outcomes, independent of demographic and personality characteristics. Based on Sue and Okazaki's contention that academic attitudes and behaviors are linked closely to contextual events that either strengthen or weaken the perceived connection between schooling, academic success, and social integration, we would expect students' subjective perceptions of contextual events to account for a significantly greater amount of the variance in academic achievement, independent of the effects of sociocultural factors and personality characteristics.

To test this hypothesis, a pair of blockwise regressions were performed. Table I summarizes two regressions in which the predictor variables were entered in sequential order: (1) sociocultural factors (sex, generational status, and occupational standing), (2) personality characteristics (locus of control and academic self-esteem), and (3) subjective perceptions (college preparation, respect and care, school involvement, family stress, language-related conflicts, and intergroup relations).

The utility of the blockwise multiple regression technique is that it permits the simultaneous operation and statistical control of, first, all the sociocultural factors and, second, personality characteristics, enabling us to assess the relative strength of each of the model's major components in relation to grades and CTBS performance. In a separate study with the Mexican-American students in this data set (Alva, 1991), it was shown that subjective perceptions of contextual events and conditions were the most powerful predictors of grades and standardized test scores (CTBS) that combined the language, math, and reading subscales, relative to the sociocultural factors and personality characteristics.

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416 Alva

A s summarized in Table I, the proportion of variance in grades explained by the complete set of predictors was 28.4%, with the sociocultural factors and personality characteristics each accounting for nonsignificant percentages of the variance in grades. It was expected that subjective perceptions of contextual events would account for a significant percentage of the variance in grades. This prediction was confirmed. These perceptions accounted for 14.8% unique variance in grades.

Blockwise: CTBS

Following the same procedure used with grades, a set of blockwise multiple regressions was performed predicting standardized test scores in reading, language, and mathematics. Also reported in Table I, the sociocultural factors accounted for a significant percentage of the variance (20.4%) only in reading performance. The variance accounted for by the sociocultural factors was not significant in language and mathematics performance. The personality measures were entered next, and they accounted for a significant percentage of the variance of reading (26.8%) and language (13.8%) performance. Last, the block with the perception variables was entered. They accounted for unique variance in each of the three CTBS subscales: 17.9% of unique variance in reading, 26.0% in language, and 37.2% in mathematics. Taken together, the results of the blockwise regressions support the assumption that subjective perceptions of contextual events are significant predictors of academic achievement, over and above the effects of sociocultural factors and personality characteristics.

Stepwise: Grades and CTBS

Next, a series of stepwise multiple regressions were used to determine the relative significance of each of the individual predictors in explaining the academic achievement of Asian-American students. Table II summarizes the results of these analyses, including the standardized coefficients in order to provide a way of assessing the relative contribution of each predictor variable. Focusing first on grades, students' perceptions of their involvement in school were found to be significantly related to high school grades. Grades and involvement in school were found to covary. Moving to CTBS performance, five variables were found to significantly predict reading performance: generational status, academic self-esteem, school involvement, language-related problems, and intergroup conflicts. With respect to performance in language and mathematics, only the measure used to assess students' perceptions of the extent to which they were being pre-

Achievement of Asian-Amerlcans

Table II. Significant Estimators of Grades and CTBS Performance a

417

CTBS

GPA Reading Language Math

Sociocuitural characteristics Sex of respondent Generational status Occupational standing

Personality characteristics Locus of control Academic self-esteem

Subjective perceptions of contextual events College preparation Respect and care School involvement Family stress Language-related problems Intergroup conflicts

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pared and encouraged to attend college was significant in predicting academic performance levels.

DISCUSSION

While this study is not a direct empirical examination of the relative functionalism model of Asian-American achievement, the results do con- verge to provide support for some of its propositions.

In general, the results of this study reveal that Asian-American achievement is strongly linked to proximal or subjective interpretations of experiences within the social context of schools. The blockwise regression analyses used to incrementally partition the variance of the four achievement measures provide strong evidence that Asian-American students' subjective interpretations of educational and social events and conditions account for a significant and relatively large percentage of each academic indicator's variance. Above and beyond the effects of sociocultural and personality characteristics, these subjective perceptions explained a significant percentage of the variance of grades and standardized test performance in reading, language, and mathematics, in keeping with a similar study involv-

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ing Mexican-Americans (Alva, 1991). With the exception of reading, overall, Asian-American students' subjective perceptions of contextual events were the most powerful predictors of achievement.

The results also provide indirect support for Sue and Okazaki's (1990) contention that Asian-American students whose educational and social experiences convey a strong link between schooling, academic success, and social integration are more likely to demonstrate patterns of achievement. The results of the stepwise regression analysis for grades revealed that students who felt greater involvement in classroom and school activities were more likely to receive higher grades, suggesting that academically successful students are more socially integrated and feel a sense of identification with school while less successful students do not, or not to the same extent. Conversely, Asian-American students who feel isolated in school and that their educational experiences have not prepared them for college, and thus upward mobility, are more likely to demonstrate lower levels of academic achievement.

In a recent literature review, Finn (1989) proposes that active participation in classroom and school activities and concomitant feelings of identification with school are important constructs in understanding why some students succeed and others drop out of high school. In the same way that active participation in school activities provides positive rewards for students, an emotional "bond" or attachment with teachers and peers at school is also underscored. When high school students fail to become engaged in the educational process, Finn writes, "the likelihood of problem behavior, including leaving school before graduation, is increased" (1989, p. 118). Indeed, studies have shown that high school dropouts are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities and sports, when compared to their nondropout peers (Ekstrom et al., 1986). Based on the High School and Beyond data, high school dropouts also report the absence of caring relationships with teachers as a contributing factor in their decision to leave school without a diploma (Wehlage and Rutter, 1986).

The qualitative aspects of the schooling process, in particular school events that increase the perceived likelihood for social integration and mobility, were also found to be significant predictors of achievement patterns on standardized tests. Four variables significantly predicted CTBS reading scores, namely generational status, academic self-esteem, school involvement, and language-related problems. In contrast, only the college preparation subscale significantly predicted CTBS language and mathematics scores. Consistent with the findings of a similar study involving the Mexi- can-Americans from this cohort (Alva, 1991), the same set of variables were significant predictors of achievement on a composite measure of CTBS performance.


Comparing the stepwise regression analyses, a striking pat tern emerges that is not easily explained. It is not clear why the perceived likelihood of attending college was such a salient and powerful predictor of CTBS language and mathematics scores, yet absent as a predictor of grades and CTBS reading scores. One explanation is that performance on standardized reading tests is more dependent on the mediation of English-language proficiency than is mathematics or language performance. Although the vast majority (67%) reported English as their dominant and preferred language, most (84%) were foreign-born immigrants. As Cummins (1979) points out, the linguistic competence of most bilinguals is based on several language proficiency thresholds. Although these linguistic thresholds are not defined in absolute terms, the notion of thresholds serves to underscore the importance of specifying the linguistic demands of differential measures of achievement. Even though language skills are required to perform well on reading, language, and math problems, the notion of thresholds provides support to the claim that a relatively higher level of linguistic competence appears necessary for successful performance on the CTBS reading subtest.

Comparing the skills measured in the tenth-grade version of the CTBS may be helpful in evaluating Cummins's linguistic threshold hypothesis. The specific skills encompassed in the reading subtest require students to extract details from a passage given orally (oral comprehension), identify the meaning of both contextualized and decontextualized words (vocabu- lary), and extract details and meaning from a passage to answer comprehension questions (reading comprehension). The language subtest is intended to provide a measure of a student's ability to identify the correct use of capital letters and punctuation (language mechanics) and correct use of language forms and sentence structures (language expression), albeit a writing sample was not required (CTBS, 1982). In support of Cummin's notion of linguistic thresholds, there is growing evidence that language minority students are more likely to have problems with the high-order reading skills measured in the CTBS reading subtest (Carrell et al., 1988; Cummins, 1981; Dubin et aL, 1986; Smith, 1971), making the reading por- tion of the CTBS particularly sensitive to differences in generational status and language proficiency.

It should be noted that generational status was the only sociocultural factor that significantly predicted CTBS performance. As reported earlier, foreign-born Asians scored significantly lower on the reading and language subscales of the CTBS. In view of their limited English skills relative to U.S.-born Asians, the composite profile of foreign-born Asians suggests that reading achievement is mediated by lower levels of academic self-esteem and higher levels of stress and conflict involving issues of language. The findings of other studies have found high levels of stress and lower

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self-esteem among recent immigrants (Alva, 1991; Chan, 1977; Naditch and Morrissey, 1976; Padilla et al., 1986; Sue and Zane, 1985). The results also indicate that Asian-American students who scored lower in reading were more likely to report feeling isolated and uninvolved in school activities. By revealing that not all Asian-American students demonstrate exceptional patterns of achievement, and that some, in particular those with limited English language proficiency, feel very anxious and socially isolated at school, the need to examine within-group differences is clearly underscored.

From a relative functionalism perspective, perceived harriers attrib- uted to language may explain students' perceptions regarding their likelihood of attending college. To the extent that Asian-American students perceive limitations in their career choices or upward mobility because of English language skills, there is evidence that Asian-American students find careers that emphasize math and technical skills increasingly attractive (Sue et aL, 1985; Sue and Zane, 1985). In our society, attending college is one of the most salient and viable means that high school students have of achieving success and upward mobility.

Without question, the results must be tempered by the study's limitations. First, it is important to note that many of the usual cautions con- cerning the interpretation of self-report questionnaires apply to the findings of this study. The questionnaire assessed students' perceptions of their school experiences, and accordingly, the findings might have differed if behavioral measures were used to operationalize school participation and involvement or analogous constructs. Even if students' perceptions do differ from observed behaviors, students' perceptions are important to investigate in their own right. Moreover, there is substantial evidence indicating that subjective perceptions are significant determinants of behavior (Bandura, 1986). Second, the study does not address adequately the issue of cause and effect. The competing argument is that differential patterns of achievement precede the reported attitudes and perceptions of students. Yet the link between the subjective perception measures and grades and standardized test scores cannot be ignored nor easily dismissed. Last, the findings must be tempered by the fact that the study was conducted at one school, with a relatively large minority student population but small subpopulation of Asian-American students. Considering that the analyses examined within-group differences, the findings may hold for other schools.

With respect to research implications, the findings reveal a remark- able degree of heterogeneity among Asian-American high school students. Despite the high educational attainment exhibited by Asian-Americans as a group, we cannot ignore the marked within-group variations that exist in patterns of achievement. As a whole, the results of this study provide com- pelling support for the premise that students whose educational experiences


provide a strong link between schooling, social mobility, and social integration will be more likely to succeed academically. From the extant literature on school climate and effective schooling (e.g., Anderson, 1982; Bryk and Thum, 1989; Linney and Seidman, 1989; Manor, 1987; McDill et al., 1985; Rutter, 1983; Whelage and Rutter, 1986), the study's findings underscore the recommendation that school experiences be both intellec- tually challenging to motivate academic excellence and satisfying to encour- age continuing interest and motivation in school.

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Documents

Differential patterns of achievement among Asian-American adolescents