THE BACKGROUND
For the first part of our research, we used the Google search engine. The first thing we searched on Google was “grade point average and single-family household.” We found a website:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a746639709~db=all
This website had a study done where they compared a students GPA (Grade Point Average) to their household, just like we are attempting. They found that in their study, in all but one case, when given the California Achievement Tests, the people with two or more parent/adult households had higher test scores than people with a single parent/adult household. There was also a homogenous nature to the population for this study conducted by this group.
Next, we used Google again to search up the phrase “single parenting and children’s academic achievement.” We located a website that had also done research on family structure.
http://library.adoption.com/articles/single-parenting-and-childrens-academic-achievement.html
This also shows that if two kids have the same academic achievement, one being from a single parent household, and the other from a two-parent household, that the single parent household child is three times more likely to drop out than the child from the two-parent household. They give a small conclusion that to this day, there is no definite answer to the question of “Does Single Parenting Negatively Influence Academic Achievement?” Another fact that they include is if they live in a mother-absent household, they are more likely to struggle in science courses than if they are in a father-absent household.
They help us with a theory as to why it seems like single parent households have lower academic success. They state that because the adult is (usually) the primary source of income for the family, they have less time to help their children with school work to help improve their grades.
After this, we kept using Google.com to try to find research on this data. However, we were very unsuccessful in finding this data. When we typed out entries into Google, such as “grade point average affected by parents,” we got many results of what GPA stands for, and the definition of Grade Point Average. Also, we found many results on tips to improve you grade point average in college and/or high school.
Next, we searched (using Google) “students grades affected by parents.” Again, we could not find any useful results. We were only able to locate things such as “Follow your sons/daughters Grade Point Average online!” or “Show your students grades to parents online.”
After this we reattempted to use Google again to search “student grades relation to parents.” We got our results of our search, and they did not turn out as we hoped for. We were only able to locate things like “Should parents be graded just like children are in school?”
Later, once more, we used our beloved Google.com to search yet another phrase for us, “Students grades, and parent’s relation.” Again, we achieved poor search results. Most of the results we achieved were along the lines of “Should parents be allowed to follow their child’s grades online?” or “Should schools be allowed to show parents their sons or daughters grades via the internet?”
As we keep trying to find results via Google.com, we decided to search up our newest phrase, “students GPA and parent household.” Finally, we have gotten bad results for our 5th time! We only achieved a test that had been done, where the question at hand was “Do good looks get students good grades?”
FINALLY, we searched “students gpa and parent household.” We found one result of a test on single parent households and more. The website we located was:
http://www.jstor.org/pss/2112692
This website gives us statistical data. It states that “Students from one-parent households have test scores that are about .30 standard deviations lower [than that of students from two-parent households.] Both mother absence and father absence reduce students’ grades, by .17 and .27 standard deviations, respectively.” This shows us some statistical evidence to prove that one-parent households have lower educational levels than those from two-parent households.