Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Educational and school achievement'

Educational reform is at the forefront of legislatures and school districts across the United States (Hattie, 2011). To find and employ high school improvement initiatives that lead to improved educational experiences for students, educational leaders must examine in great detail what systems have been successful and then modify the initiatives to fit the characteristics of their particular school districts (Berliner & Glass, 2015). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of initiatives one Midwestern high school implemented beginning in 2012. The initiatives implemented included the Tardy Sweep policy, Response to Intervention (RtI) program, and a Late Work policy. The data collected were archival and reflected the school years from 2010-2011 through 2015-2016. Using descriptive statistics, the findings demonstrated an improved attendance rate, a decline in discipline referrals, and decreased failure rate with the implementation of these initiatives at one Midwestern high school. The findings of this study provide a compelling argument for the implementation of the three initiatives at other high schools.

The academic achievement gap between African American and Caucasian students continues to be a major concern for policymakers and educators. This gap started to shrink in the 1970s and 1980s with integration, but the 1990s showed the achievement gap was on the rise again. The characteristics of the neighborhoods where children live and attend school have a great impact on their academic performances. This research study examined the relationship between poverty, community violence and the academic performance of elementary school age children, especially African American students. Seventy-eight public elementary schools were randomly chosen in Los Angeles County that had at least 10% African American students who completed the reading achievement test in each primary grade level (2-5 grade levels) in April 2012. The results showed that poverty and community violence had a significant negative impact on reading achievement test scores for African American students. Furthermore, the impact of community violence was twice that of poverty on academic performance. On the other hand, Caucasian students’ test scores were significantly impacted by poverty and not community violence. One explanation for this difference was that African American students experienced twice as much community violence in their neighborhoods as compared to Caucasian students. Since educators cannot change neighborhood characteristics, they need to focus on developing educational models that mitigate the impact of community violence and trauma on African American students.

This study explored the role of school superintendents and board of education trustees in closing the achievement gap, which can be defined as “the disparity in academic performance between groups of students” (Muhammad, 2015, p. 14). District leaders (superintendents and school boards) set the priorities in their school systems and have the power to promote or thwart educational equity (Skrla, McKenzie, & Scheurich, 2009). The purpose of this qualitative study was to highlight effective practices of superintendents and school boards that have prioritized closing achievement gaps and have succeeded in narrowing them. This study involved four case studies and made use of interviews, observations, and document review. The data revealed that the most formidable challenges to closing achievement gaps were increasingly diverse student needs, stakeholders’ deficit-thinking about students, lack of family engagement, and financial obstacles. In order to overcome those challenges, the researcher found that superintendents used various strategies, including setting a vision for equity at the district level, using data to drive decision-making, hiring quality teachers and leaders, using district funds resourcefully, providing rigorous curricula for students, and creating innovative academic and non-academic programs for students. Although there is academic literature on the challenges that school superintendents face in closing achievement gaps and the strategies that they have used to overcome them, there is a lack of research on how superintendents and their school boards collaborate to narrow achievement gaps. The aim of this study was to address that gap in the literature. Data revealed that district leaders collaborated to narrow gaps by setting district visions, goals, and policies, sharing information, and partnering on the budgeting and hiring processes.

After the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004, many schools began to use a Response to Intervention (RtI) model instead of the discrepancy model when identifying students with specific learning disabilities (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). When elementary schools adopted the RtI model, it was shown to be successful with any students who need academic interventions (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). The success at the elementary level has led to middle schools adopting the model with varying success (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). In this study, middle schools that have developed an academic RtI program through the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process were compared to non-PLC middle schools that may not provide a systemic process of academic interventions to determine if PLC schools produce higher academic achievement. Academic achievement was determined by students’ Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) index scores in communication arts for seventh and eighth graders. As a result of the application of a t-test, there was not a significant difference between the scores of PLC schools and the scores of non-PLC schools. Building principals of the middle schools in the PLC group were surveyed to identify the characteristics of the RtI model that were in place. The survey results of the six top-performing PLC schools were analyzed and compared to the entire PLC group to determine what characteristics lead to improved academic achievement. The components of RtI present in the top-performing schools included interventions that were implemented for at least three years, interventions provided a minimum of three days per week, and a maximum of 70 minutes of intervention per week.

The study was conducted to determine whether Edmodo, an interactive digital platform that enables students and teachers to interact collaboratively, has an impact on student achievement. Teachers at an urban southeast middle school were given the opportunity to receive training in Edmodo and after doing so, agreed to participate in this study. A total of 207 seventh-grade students exposed to Edmodo were compared to 120 students who were not. An aptitude treatment interaction design applied through least squares regression was used to examine the joint impact of demographics (i.e., gender, ethnicity, English language learner status, special education status, and age relative to grade), initial ability, and exposure to Edmodo on students’ Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores in reading. The results of this study failed to identify a significant first or second order effect of Edmodo on students’ reading achievement. Among the demographic factors examined, only English language learner status was found to have a significant impact on student achievement. The impact of Edmodo may depend on the quality and quantity of its usage, as captured through a share score. Future studies should consider using causal modeling to explore that relationship. Efforts should be made to continue using the platform in order to realize the benefits associated with it. Future efforts should focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the way collaboration affects student achievement.

Almost one-third of the students attending public high schools in the United States dropout of school each year with Hispanic students being a significant percentage of the students failing to graduate. While, this is a national problem, there is a variation in the rates in which specific ethnic/racial groups are dropping out of school with Hispanics (36.5%) dropping out at a higher rate than Asian (8.6%) and White (19%) students. This study analyzes the group difference between Latino students' educational aspirations and academic achievement during eighth and 10^th grade, as well as gender difference in aspiration level.

The findings of this study assessing the relationship of educational aspirations and academic achievement of Latino students who are participants of GEAR UP yielded varying results. The educational aspirations of the GEAR UP Latino students during eighth and 10^th grade showed a growth in the variable over time. Further, the educational aspirations and the academic achievement of the student participants produced relationships of significance during the students' eighth grade year, but not during their 10^th grade year. It was found during eighth grade, participants with educational aspirations of a bachelor's or master's degree had better academic outcomes, based on California Standard Test (CST) performance, than student participants with higher educational aspirations of a professional degree (i.e., medical, law). This was not the case for 10^th grade findings, which yielded non-significant results between academic achievement and educational aspiration after the transition to high school. Next, when analyzing aspiration level based on gender, there was no significant relationship, which may be attributed to the programming of GEAR UP. Lastly, a regression analysis to assess the predictability of 10^th grade GPA was reviewed using the independent variables eighth grade GPA, CST performance, and educational aspiration. The analysis showed eighth grade GPA had the strongest relationship to 10^th GPA.

These findings suggest there are factors beyond educational aspirations contributing to student persistence and academic achievement in high school, with eighth grade GPA having the strongest relationship to 10^th grade GPA. Based on this, the perception students have about their possible education attainment level may be developed based upon educational experiences from middle school. Therefore, student's relationships, self-efficacy beliefs, and academic performance in this period of the educational pipeline are critical for educational attainment levels beyond high school.

The sixth grade is very important for education stakeholders, as it marks the beginning of the transition period for students to high school. No consensus has been reached so far among scholars on whether block scheduling is the best way to provide students the time that is necessary to facilitate effective learning and the retention of knowledge.

The purpose of this quasi causal-comparative, ex-post facto study was to determine the effectiveness of block scheduling in improving the mathematical performance of sixth-grade students by using data from a selective Nebraska public school system regarding the performance of its sixth-grade students on their state assessment evaluation scores in traditional and nontraditional schedules. The researcher analyzed the results of a mathematics assessment from one school in the Nebraska public school system, using data from learners at the sixth-grade level as the specific purposeful sample. The results indicated that there were no significant differences found in student mathematical proficiency scores for each type of scheduling. This suggests that the type of scheduling of mathematics courses does not influence a student’s mathematical achievement. This conclusion also held true when comparing the students of various races, free or reduced lunch status, and genders. Due to limitations including missing data and an intermittent block schedule, the researcher cannot conclude that block scheduling improves academic performance; further studies are recommended.

This dissertation is a mixed-methods study that critically looked at peer-reviewed articles and empirical research findings about goal setting for middle school students and the possible effects that goal setting had on achievement. This project synthesized the information from articles about goal setting in general and, more specifically, the student-informed goal-setting processes. The study spawned from the literature review and critically assessed one teacher’s use of the informed goal setting process to affect the achievement of her Midwestern middle school students. Students in the treatment group completed pre and post-questionnaires that assessed their understanding of goal setting and achievement. The researcher used students’ assessment data reports to instruct and coach students on their use of data to establish SMART goals for fall conferences, during the winter and spring R-CBM and MAZE testing, and quantitatively compared the treatment groups’ data to that of a peer-like control group. The researcher analyzed focus group responses for perception trends about the goal setting process. The results of the qualitative information and quantitative data indicated an attitudinal and behavioral shift in the use of the SMART goal setting process; however, the researcher found no statistically significant difference between the treatment and control groups. Goal setting did not have adverse effects on either student performance or behavior; so, with proper feedback, conferencing, and follow-through, goal setting should continue to be part of routine habit-building instruction. Further study is needed to determine the effect that the ‘informed’ aspect had on student attitudes and achievement and to explore parental influences on goal setting and attainment.

This multimethod, multiphase study was designed to determine the impact of charter school reform on achievement in North Carolina. The study was designed to be an analysis of the relationship between classroom climate, interactions, and student achievement, through a complexity systems context. This methodology allowed for combined qualitative, quantitative, network analysis, and agent-based modeling to capture the simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic interactions in classrooms. The data for the study were drawn from eighth-grade mathematics teachers and students at four charter schools in a North Carolina urban area (n = 300). Through the analysis of data, a more detailed and nuanced picture of the relationship between classroom climate, interactions, and charter school achievement emerged. The findings suggest that teacher control and second-semester math grades are statistically significant; the higher the level of control teachers exercise, the higher students score on common core achievement. According to the findings of this study, North Carolina charter schools have served as a successful reform strategy to address the achievement gap problem in North Carolina, with school-specific strategies including high teacher support, students’ teaching students, IAP/tutoring/online supplemental program, and small classrooms. All schools, on average, scored 30.9% to 56.8% higher on grade-level proficiency (GLP) than the North Carolina 2014–2015 average. The network analysis showed how classrooms can be more or less complex in different ways with instructional, emotional support, and behavior management interactions that fit into network structures of teacher to one-student, teacher to whole class, whole class to teacher, and student to student or students. The predictive ABM, based on achievement scores over time, school achievement strategy, classroom climate, high teacher control, and second-semester math grades, demonstrated accuracy. The ABM captured macroclassroom and microstudent outcomes, along with climate changes based on interactions that either increased or reduced positive climate. This is important because a teacher has limited resources and must deal with uncontrollable influences from outside the classroom. Teachers have the power to create a positive or negative climate by their verbal and nonverbal interactions. Teachers’ interactions have consequences that impact students’ achievement and students’ lives. Consequently, every interaction matters.

As a society, America has struggled to resolve some deep-seated differences over values. These differences are most visible and divisive in the historical White-Black dichotomy. In the realm of education, the Black male achievement gap is a vivid reminder of this previously legalized oppressor-oppressed relationship.

The Black male achievement gap is a particularly unique phenomenon in that Black male students surpass every other racial and gender category in educational achievement gaps (NCES, 2013a, 2013b, 2014a, 2014b; NAEP, 2011, 2013). This phenomenon is well-known and well researched. Many researchers point to a fundamental conflict over values that results in this lingering gap between Black male students and their peers. Though these value differences have been researched, how these differences are being reconciled in efforts to close Black male achievement gaps is not known.

Argyris and Schön’s (1978, 1989b) theoretical framework provides a practical way to engage the values of the school organization. This perspective allows social scientists to understand whether or not the values guiding the actions of the organization are enabling the organization to effectively meet its stated goals. This research study analyzes a school’s process of responding to the Black male achievement gap, focusing on the school leader’s efforts to close these gaps. The theory of action framework allows the school leader’s efforts to be mapped, distinguishing between espoused and in-use theories of action and understanding if and how the in-use theories are reconciling value differences within the school organization.

While it is important to recognize the economic background of students and home factors contributing to their achievement, the purpose of this study was to discover what best practices schools were implementing with low socioeconomic students to narrow the achievement gap in communication arts (Darling-Hammond & Richardson, 2009; Gorski, 2013; Snell, 2003). The research design incorporated mixed-methods by employing data collected from surveys, interviews, and secondary data sources. A triangulation of data was used to increase the credibility and validity of the study (Fraenkel et al., 2012; Mills, 2014). For this study, the quantitative data were collected using a survey as well as Missouri Assessment Performance (MAP) scores. The qualitative data were collected through interviews. In addition to increasing the validity of the study, the benefits of using triangulation also included creating varied ways to understand and reveal the results of the study (Fraenkel et al., 2012; Guion, Diehl, & McDonald, 2011; Mills, 2014). The results of this study indicated a blend of research-based best practices can make a positive impact in narrowing the achievement gap in students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in the area of communication arts. The significance of this research is the results provide educators an outline of successful research-based instructional strategies to assist communication arts students.

A case study was performed using archival data from retained students in three rural Missouri school districts. The data were examined to determine if a correlation existed between grade level retention and improved student achievement in Math and English Language Arts. A t-test was used to determine the impact retention had on student achievement. Scores were collected from the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) data from retained students the year before they were retained, as well as the year following when they were retained. Data were collected from 2006-2014. Data from this study revealed students who were retained showed significant gains in academic achievement in both Math and English Language Arts. By running a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), it was discovered there was a difference in the performance of males and females after being retained. Retention was also revealed to play a significant role in determining the probability of a student dropping out of school. As a result of this research, it is recommended multiple strategies of instructional improvement and modes of student intervention or retention are implemented before a student is considered for grade-level retention.

An investigation into the relationship of organizational climate and academic optimism as predictors of student achievement and school effectiveness was conducted. De-identified secondary data from 67 elementary schools in the Northern portion of Alabama were used. The instrumentation for this study included School Academic Optimism Survey (SAOS), Organizational Climate Index (OCI), the Index of Perceived Organizational Effectiveness (IPOE) which is now known as the SE Index (School Effectiveness Index), a composite score for Academic Achievement (AA), and socioeconomic status (SES). Ordinary Least Squares Block Regression method was used to test the effects of the independent variables separately and together on school effectiveness and academic achievement. The results suggested that all variables had a moderate correlation with each other. Also, when controlling for SES both optimism and climate served as independent predictors for achievement and effectiveness. When entered into a regression model together while controlling for SES, climate predicted achievement while optimism did not. This was likely due to the small sample size as compared to the number of predictors in the model. Both climate and optimism served as predictors for effectiveness when in the regression model. The results of this study lend further support to the importance of School Academic Optimism and Organizational Climate as predictors of academic achievement and organizational effectiveness.

With an increased focus on global competition, many educators and policymakers relied on international assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to evaluate the ability of their education system to prepare students for the global economy. Students in the United States continued to demonstrate disappointing results on the PISA, which led to an outcry by American educators and policymakers and a call for reform. To lessen the achievement gap between the United States and other countries, experts suggested the importance of identifying the characteristics of high performing countries and adapting effective policies to fit the needs of the United States.

The current study sought to provide a research-based foundation for school reform in the United States by initially seeking relationships between research-based factors of school working conditions and learning environments (initial teacher education and professional development; teacher appraisal and feedback; school climate; school leadership; and teachers’ instructional beliefs and pedagogical practices) from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and student achievement. Then, where relationships occurred, the researcher ascertained the extent of differences within those factors between the United States and the top five, middle five, and lowest five performing countries that participated in both the 2012 PISA and 2013 TALIS.

The analysis of the data revealed several relationships among factors of school working conditions and learning environments and student achievement. The results also indicated several differences within these factors between the United States and the selected countries. Based on these results the researcher offered several recommendations to educators and policymakers in the United States, such as providing teachers with the time and skill to offer each other meaningful feedback, completing further research on the efficacy of utilizing student performance data in evaluation frameworks, allowing teachers more meaningful opportunities to reflect and collaborate in order to foster common beliefs about teaching and learning, and providing additional training to teachers in the United States on the appropriate and effective use of assessment strategies.