This research study examined the impact of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program on students' self-efficacy and academic achievement outcome measures at the middle and high school level. AVID is a college readiness system designed to prepare at-risk students in the fourth through 12th grade for college. The main focus of this study was to determine if there was a difference in students' self-efficacy based on the number of years in the AVID program and if there was a difference in AVID students' academic achievement outcome measures between seventh and eighth grade in reading and math.
Participants included seventh through 11th grade AVID students in one suburban school district within northeast Ohio (N = 239). These students reported perceptions of their self-efficacy on the My Voice Survey (QISA, 2010). Student achievement data were obtained from the 2010-2011 Ohio Department of Education Local Report Card.
Through multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) the data were analyzed. Findings from this study indicated that there were statistically significant differences in students' self-efficacy based on the number of years in the AVID program and statistically significant differences in academic achievement outcome measures between seventh and eighth grade AVID students in reading and math. AVID students' active engagement was statistically significant in year 1 of the AVID program when compared to year 2, year 3 or more. Seventh grade AVID students' math scores had a statistically significant higher mean score (414.66) than did eighth grade AVID students' math scores (403.02). These results suggested that AVID students' self-efficacy and academic achievement outcomes did not increase as they progressed through the program. The data showed that perhaps the AVID program may not be the answer to the problem that was posed in this study and that the AVID program alone may not be the reason for the findings of the study. The results may be attributed to other variables beyond the AVID program, such as high quality instruction from teachers, mentoring from tutors, support from guidance counselors, or encouragement from family members.