THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL CLIMATE AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN READING IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN VIRGINIA, USA - Academic Research Study

Oct 15, 2026

Quantitative research examines how school climate relates to student academic achievement in reading at the elementary level in public schools in Virginia, USA. The study analyzes existing 2018-2019 data, including Grade 5 Reading Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) pass rates and school climate survey results from two school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Results show school climate dimensions correlate most strongly with Reading SOL pass rates in both districts. Findings support school leaders in emphasizing climate as a key driver of achievement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Review of Literature

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL CLIMATE AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN READING IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN VIRGINIA, USA DAVID BELTON JODIE L. BRINKMANN Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, U.S.A. ABSTRACT In the past decade, teachers and researchers have recognized the vital role school climate plays in the public school setting in the United States (Thapa, Cohen, Guffey & HigginsD’Alessandro, 2013). One of the greatest indicators of achievement is the relationship between school and student socioeconomic status (Sirin, 2005). According to Bryk and Schneider (2003), if schools create positive learning environments, students will achieve at a higher level than what their socioeconomic background would otherwise predict. The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the relationship between school climate and student academic achievement in reading at the elementary level in public schools in Virginia, USA. The researcher examined extant data from the 2018-2019 school year, which included Grade 5 Reading Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) pass rates and school climate surveys from two school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The findings indicated that the school climate dimension had the strongest correlation to the Reading SOL pass rates in both school districts. School leaders and building-level principals could use these findings to better understand the importance of school climate and its impact on student achievement. INTRODUCTION In the past decade, teachers and researchers have recognized the vital role school climate plays in the public-school setting in the United States (Thaps, Cohen, Guffey, & HigginsD’Alessandro, 2013) . School climate can improve student achievement and decrease high school dropout rates and problem behaviors (Wang & Degol, 2015) . According to Bryk and Schneider (2003), if schools create positive learning environments, students will achieve at a higher level compared to what their socioeconomic background might otherwise predict. How well a student performs in school is a strong predictor of their future education, occupation, and salary potential (United States Department of Labor, 2017) . Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether there was a correlation between school climate and academic achievement in Reading atthe elementary school level. REVIEW OF LITERATURE President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on December 10, 2015. This act reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was passed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 as part of his War on Poverty campaign (Zinskie & Rea, 2016) . ESSA offers support and resources to schools that are in danger of academic loss due to environmental factors such as poverty (Zinskie & Rea, 2016). According to Chenoweth (2016), one of the main principles of ESSA is that school personnel must imagine that “all students can succeed”(p. 1) . ESSA goes beyond traditional assessment methods by requiring school districts to use at least one non-academic measure in their accountability methods for documenting overall student Educational Planning | Winter 2024 7 Vol. 31, No. 1 achievement and school quality (Blad, 2016) . Schools must have the ability to analyze the data connected to the measures to show whether there is any effect on various subgroups, such as English language learners (Blad, 2016) . ESSA provides examples of feasible measures states can examine, including school climate and safety and student engagement (Blad, 2016) . The term organizational climate dates back to the 1950s when school researchers were attempting to form different types of concepts in the school workplace (Hoy, 1990) . School climate is a phrase that indicates teachers’view of their work setting; it is affected by the school administration, informal organization, formal organization, and the personality of the staff (Hoy, 1990) . A school’s organizationa

FAQs

What is the purpose of the study?

The study aims to identify the relationship between school climate and students’ academic achievement in reading at the elementary level in Virginia public schools.

What data sources were used in the quantitative analysis?

The researcher used existing 2018-2019 data, including Grade 5 Reading SOL pass rates and school climate survey results from two school divisions in Virginia.

What did the findings indicate about school climate and reading achievement?

School climate dimensions showed the strongest correlation with Reading SOL pass rates in both school districts.

Oct 15, 2026

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