ructures with regards to grades and staying in school (Beaulieu & Israel, 1997). In further research, Israel (2001) found students living with a single parent earned significantly higher math and reading composite scores than students from all other family structures. Israel concludes that at middle and higher income levels, students from single parent families performed no differently on the standardized tests than those from two-parent or additional types of families.
Israel suggests number of siblings is a significant negative factor influencing achievement. This conclusion is consistent with previous research by Zajonc 1976 and Blake 1991. Zajonc (1976) and Blake (1991) both found as the number of children in a household increases, the academic achievement level of the children decreases. Israel determined that achievement is reduced when the child had one or more siblings that had dropped out of high school.
Further research by Sandfur (1999) examines the effects of family structure on educational attainment and well being after controlling f
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