Objectives: The authors examined the association between county-level estimates of children's health status and school district performance in California.

Methods: They used 3 data sources: the California Health Interview Survey, district archives from the California Department of Education, and census-based estimates of county demographic characteristics. They used logistic regression to estimate whether a school district's failure to meet adequate yearly progress goals in 2004 to 2005 was a function of child and adolescent's health status. Models included district- and county-level fixed effects and were adjusted for the clustering of districts within counties.   Results: County-level changes in children's and adolescent's health status decreased the likelihood that a school district would fail to meet adequate yearly progress goals during the investigation period. Health status did not moderate the relatively poor performance of predominantly minority districts.   Conclusions: They found empirical support that area variation in children's and adolescent's health status exerts a contextual effect on school district performance. Future research should explore the specific mechanisms through which area-level child health influences school and district achievement.

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Publication Authors:

• Susan I. Stone
• et al