title: Assessing the Impact of School-Based Health Centers on Academic Achievement and College Preparation Efforts: Using Propensity Score Matching to Assess School-Level Data in California.
abstract: This study examines the association between school-based health center (SBHC) presence and school-wide measures of academic achievement and college preparation efforts. Publicly available educational and demographic data from 810 California public high schools were linked to a list of schools with an SBHC. Propensity score matching, a method to reduce bias inherent in nonrandomized control studies, was used to select comparison schools. Regression analyses, controlling for proportion of English-language learners, were conducted for each outcome including proportion of students participating in three College Board exams, graduation rates, and meeting university graduation requirements. Findings suggest that SBHC presence is positively associated with college preparation outcomes but not with academic achievement outcomes (graduation rates or meeting state graduation requirements). Future research must examine underlying mechanisms supporting this association, such as school connectedness. Additional research should explore the role that SBHC staff could have in supporting college preparation efforts.
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Center, Oakland, CA, USA mbersamin@prev.org.
authors.forename: Melina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bersamin
authors.affiliation: Heilbrunn Department of Population & Family Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7274-0508
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garbers
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Center, Oakland, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jenna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gaarde
authors.affiliation: Heilbrunn Department of Population & Family Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santelli
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D002140:California; D003099:College Admission Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057216:Propensity Score; D012572:School Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: academic; college preparedness; school-based health center (SBHC); youth