Effects of Mentor Relationships on Middle School Students' Grades, Attendance, and Self-Esteem

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of mentoring relationships on academic grades, school attendance, and student self-esteem. Background information will show the current graduation rate of American high school students to be 80%. Researchers began investigating why some students fail as far back as the 1960's and 1970's hoping to identify individuals who may be at risk for future dropout. The Nation At Risk was a report prepared by the Federal government in 1983 describing the state of the educational system in the United States. Subsequent studies heightened attention to the dropout rate and what interventions could be used to lower it. To date, legislation, including The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, has not improved the graduation rate. Students who do not graduate from high school earn lower salaries, and place a greater burden on national and state budgets due to a loss of purchasing power, lower levels of tax receipts, and lower levels or worker productivity. Three indicators of future dropouts that will be discussed in this paper include: poor grades, poor school attendance, and low student self-esteem. Mentoring relationships between middle school students and elder mentors will be tested as an intervention to improve the indicators.