VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH ASSIGNING STUDENTS TO BEHAVIORAL CLASSROOMS

The effects of gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and basi c skills performance on (a) grade failure, (b) course failure, (c) Tex as Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test scores, and (d) attendanc e of middle school students assigned to behavioral classrooms were ide ntified. Computerized data were collected from 2 middle schools locate d in 2 different El Paso school districts. Each middle school had 3 be havioral classrooms, which together included 85 students. The data wer e collected on 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students who were enrolled du ring the 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years. Results of chi-square analy ses indicated that SES had a significant impact on grade failure, cour se failure, TAAS test scores, and attendance (p < .001). In addition, basic skills performance was not related to grade failure but had a si gnificant relationship with course failure, TAAS test stores, and atte ndance (p < .01). Gender and ethnicity were not related to any of the dependent variables. Implications for tracking ''at risk'' students wi th low SES or poor basic skills performance were suggested.