1. Dependent variable (x): frequency a student recieves post-secondary guidance received from school administrators

  2. Independent variable (y): student socio-economic status

  3. Null hypothesis: There is no effect of student socio-economic status on the frequency a student recieves post-secondary guidance received from school administrators.

  4. Alternate hypothesis: There is some effect of student socio-economic status on the frequency a student recieves post-secondary guidance received from school administrators.

In the realm of public education administration, many issues have and continue to persist. One of those issues includes academic inequities based on socioeconomic status. While there are a variety of ways public and nonprofit organizations are tackling this issue, there is a lack of emphasis focused on the role school administrators play in the educational outcomes of our students from low socio-economic communities. As many know, public schools are overcrowded and underfunded, leaving school administrators and educators with less time available per student than ever before. This begs the question: how do school administrators choose which students to focus time and resources on? Is it the students who show promise and drive to have successful life outcomes, or the students who aren’t receiving such support from their guardians due to limited time and finances? This is the basis which will inform the following research proposal.

I will use the following variables from the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS) dataset from the National Center for Education Statistics to evaluate the relationship between student socio-economic status on the frequency a student recieves post-secondary guidance received from school administrators:

Dependent variable:
X2SES: Socio-economic status composite
X2FAMINCOME: Total family income from all sources
X2POVERTY: Poverty indicator (relative to 100% of Census poverty threshold)
X2MOMEDU: Mother's/female guardian's highest level of education
X2DADREL: Father/male guardian's relationship to sample member

Independent variable: 
S1CNSLTLKCLG: S1 E09E 9th grader talked to school counselor about going to college
S1CNSLTLKJOB: S1 E10E 9th grader talked to school counselor about adult jobs/careers
S1CNSLTLKJOB: S1 E10E 9th grader talked to school counselor about adult jobs/careers
S1FYNOTSURE: G05J 9th grader does not know what he/she will do in 1st year after HS
S2TALKHSCNSL: Talked w/ high school counselor about options for after high school
S3CNSLCLG: Has met with high school counselor about college admissions in 2012-2013 year
S3CNSLAID: Has met with high school counselor about financial aid in 2012-2013 year

These are most of the variables related to my research question found in the HSLS dataset. There are also variables related to student GPA, college entrance exams, and other factors that may also be related to the topic.