Abstract:
This study explored the relationship of cognitive and noncognitive variables within academically underachieving high school students. The research on academic achievement variables is plentiful in the literature among high performing populations. Past studies reveal that a multitude of factors effect academic achievement in high school students. This population differs from the majority of the research in that this study utilizes at-risk and beyond at-risk high school students from a rural Georgia system. As a result, the purpose of this study was two fold: to determine if there were academic and background variables that significantly predict course completions and EOC scores in at-risk high school students from data collected in the 2018-2019 school year and to gain an understanding of grit and resilience among gender, minority, and nonminority high school students in the 2018-2019 school year.
A quantitative design was employed to investigate the relationship of the aforementioned variables in these at-risk high school students. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to discover such relationships. Results indicated several significant predictors in both cognitive and noncognitive variables. Specifically, the variables of attendance and resilience stand out as strong predictors of academic achievement. Implications reveal implementing resilience building characteristics in school may increase academic achievement results.
Keywords: resilience; grit; high school; at risk; early warning;