The Lost Boys: Academic Achievement and School Attitude of African American Male Students’ in an Urban Elementary School

Abstract

With the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, much emphasis has been placed on the accountability of schools and school districts to ensure higher academic achievement of all students.  The achievement gap remains among African American male students in urban school districts.  This purposed quantitative study explored the relationship between African American male students in grades 4^th-6^th, their attitudes towards school, and academic achievement.  The primary setting for this research was an urban public elementary school in Maryland.  The research provided an answer to whether there was a relationship between African American male students in grades 4^th-6^th attitudes towards school and their academic achievement.  In order to provide an answer to the purposed research question, the researcher administered the School Attitude Assessment Survey-Revised (2002) and used quarterly benchmark data of African American male students between the ages of 9-11 in grades 4^th-6^th to measure the relationship among their attitudes towards school and academic achievement.  The expected findings of the purposed research showed a relationship among African American male students' attitudes towards school and their respective academic achievement.

Keywords: academic self-perception; attitudes towards teachers; attitudes towards school; goal valuation; motivation; self-regulation.