Abstract:
Many studies assessing the intersection of academics and athletics focus on how athletic participation affects the academic achievement of individual student-athletes. Others determine the effects of athletic participation on other academic-related outcomes such as social determination, dropout rates, college graduation rates, and expectations for going to college. However, the purpose of this study was to determine if specific schoollevel variables predict a high school’s academic performance and the success of its athletic department.
A non-experimental multivariate ex post facto correlational design and a group comparison design were used for this study. Georgia public high schools competing in the GHSA classifications AAAAA, AAAA, and AAA during the academic years 2008- 2010 were included in the study. Logistic regression determined if the school-level variables predicted a school’s academic performance. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine if high-performing and low-performing schools were significantly different in terms of athletic department success. Negative binomial and Poisson regression methods were used to determine if the school-level variables correctly predicted athletic department success.
The results of this study found the predictor variables were able to accurately predict academic performance for over 82% of schools. While the percentage of minority students, graduation rate, and GHSGT scores were significant predictors in two out of the three classifications, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students was not a significant predictor. The study found significant differences between high-performing and low-performing schools in terms of overall athletic performance in GHSA classifications AAA and AAAA. Significant differences were also found in baseball and girls soccer. The negative binomial and Poisson regression models significantly predicted athletic department success. The findings suggest that certain academic predictors (GHSGT scores and graduation rate) are also linked to athletic achievement. Demographic variables (percentage of economically disadvantaged students and minority students) were significant in classification AAA, but not in the larger classifications.
Academics and athletics are not mutually exclusive. The results of this study show they are intertwined. While academically high-performing schools generally had more successful athletic departments, academically low-performing schools tended to struggle to compete athletically.