Investigating the Crucial Role of Parental Education Level, Race, and Gender in Shaping Students’ Academic Performance

Assessing performance is the traditional method of progressing students through the educational ladder. It provides educators insights into students' abilities and their advancement towards educational objectives. Contemporary society rewards academic excellence as a predictor of a child’s future professional success. Education stakeholders are thus interested in knowing and adequately addressing factors that affect students’ academic performance to enhance students’ academic success. It is well established that a booming economy relies on the literate and qualified mathematicians its educational institutions produce. This study investigated the impact of parental education levels, gender, and race/ethnicity on the academic performance of high school students in mathematics, reading, and writing. The study was based on a 1000-sample dataset collected from students aged 15-17 from three high schools in the United States. The additional features in the dataset used for this study included lunch status and test preparation to course completion. The aggregate marks attained by students in the different subjects were used as academic performance scores. Exploratory analysis of the dataset revealed its patterns. Additionally, a t-test and analysis of variance were conducted to determine the influence of the three independent variables on the target (i.e., academic scores). Findings revealed that parental education levels, gender, and race/ethnicity statistically predict students’ academic performance. Based on the findings, education stakeholders can devise sustainably effective strategies to identify and support at-risk students and address the identified factors in the long term, empowering them to make informed decisions for the benefit of students. Keywords: parental effects on students, demographic effects on students’ performance, high school students, academic performance prediction DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/14-7-05 Publication date : October 30th 2024