Purpose: A student's academic success, as determined by achieving proficiency or advanced levels on the California Standards Test (CST) is said to be predicated on solid and effective core content knowledge and delivery by the teacher. This position ignores the impact of the teacher's effectiveness in creating a positive relationship with the student, having an encouraging disposition towards students, and establishing a learning environment steeped in multiculturalism and diversity. The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not these latter practices have a direct impact on the academic achievement of the student as measured by the California Standards Test.

Methodology: A sixty-item survey called the Teacher-Student Relationship Questionnaire (TSRQ) was used to collect data provided from 7th and 8th grade middle school students. The TSRQ was designed to measure student perception of their previous year's Language Arts teacher on the constructs of the teacher-student relationship, teacher expectations, and the teacher's use of culturally-relevant pedagogy within the instructional practice. Completed surveys were sorted and the comparative means for each item was calculated. The mean responses were compared using a one sample t-test for percentages against CST student growth percentage.

Findings: Descriptive statistics found a significant relationship between student perceptions of the teacher-student relationship and academic growth; however, statistical analysis did not reveal a statistically significant relationship between student perception of the teacher-student relationship and academic growth.

Conclusions and recommendations: This study will be of significance to the educational community because in today's era of educational accountability, it is vital that teachers establish a positive interpersonal relationship with students in order to effectively deliver the curriculum to students with intentions of improving student academic achievement. The interaction and connection between the teacher and student must be steeped in trust, respect, and admiration, which will open up pathways of learning and eventually increase student achievement. Further studies are recommended in the areas of culturally-relevant pedagogy and how this construct impacts teacher effectiveness and student academic achievement.