The relationship between the school environment and student achievement in Virginia elementary schools

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student perceptions of the educational environment of selected schools and the level of student achievement.;The Commonwealth of Virginia was selected as the site for this research because of its convenience to the research teams and because of the diversity of its population patterns.;A 5 percent random sample of Virginia public elementary schools was chosen for inclusion in the study. Fourth grade students in each school completed a school environment questionnaire. Demographic data and standardized test scores were obtained for each student participating in the study.;It was hypothesized that there is no relationship between the level of student achievement and student perception of school climate after controlling for the effects of student ability, socio-economic status, race, and sex.;It was concluded that student perception of school climate was significantly related to student achievement. The climate factors Student Perception of Academic Futility, Student Perception of Future Educational Attainment, and Student Perception of Prospects for Academic Success were highly correlated with student achievement.;Future studies should combine individual climate, achievement, and demographic data on a school unit basis for the purpose of investigating differences between schools of contrasting climates and dissimilar student body composition