The Influence Of Enrollment In Agriscience Courses On The Science Achievement Of High School Students

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if agriscience courses impact the science achievement of high school students. Objectives included describing students on selected demographics, measuring students' science achievement as measured by the Louisiana exit examination, and comparing science achievement of agriscience students with nonagriscience students. The population for this study was 11th grade students enrolled in public schools in Louisiana who completed the state mandated exit examination in 1998. The subjects for this study were a census of the defined population. The findings of the study indicated that agriscience students earned higher scores than non-agriscience students on the science portion of the exit examination. Agriscience students scored as high or higher on four of five science domain sub-scales. It was also found that agriscience students were more likely to pass the examination than non-agriscience students. It was concluded that participation in agriscience courses was beneficial to high school students. Recommendations were made that students be encouraged to enroll in agriscience courses, also recommended is further research to determine the impact of agriscience programs on science achievement of special education students as well as a longitudinal study to determine the impact of specific agriscience courses.