Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Evaluation in education'

Alternative high schools serve some of the most vulnerable students and their programs present a significant challenge to evaluate. Determining the impact of an alternative high school that serves mostly at-risk students presented a significant research problem. Few studies exist that dig deeper into the characteristics and strategies of successful alternative schooling. Moreover valid program evaluation methods to identify successful alternative school practices are hit and miss. As a result, public policy and systems of accountability have either disregarded information relating to alternative high schools or unjustifiably included them in comparisons with traditional high schools.

This dissertation studied the issue of how best to evaluate alternative high schools and what tools support leaders in planning a thorough and accurate program evaluation. The Alternative High School Program Evaluation Toolkit was developed to support school leaders and evaluation teams made up of internal and external stakeholders as they facilitate the program evaluation process. The features of the Toolkit address the need for alternative school evaluation to be practical, useful, fair and accurate. The Evaluation Toolkit includes training materials, protocols, an evaluation planning worksheet and an evaluation planning matrix that supports the team in conducting the evaluation.

The research represented in this dissertation is theoretically and practically grounded in Bridges and Hallinger's (1995) Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Borg and Gall's (1989) Research and Development (R&D) Cycle. The product of the R&D Cycle was the Alternative High School Program Evaluation Toolkit and a process for use by evaluation teams assigned the task of planning and carrying out program evaluations.

The time between the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, marked a period of unprecedented policy-driven education reform. Unfortunately, the major objectives of the policy were not achieved, and the very problems it sought to fix still exist. One reason for this was an overreliance on testing and test scores as a lever for change. This study’s purpose was to explore the ways in which an educational leader could bring the tools of the practitioner-scholar to bear on public policy problems worth solving. This research question was addressed through three distinct, but interconnected, articles that utilized different methodologies. The first demonstrated the application of the tools of public policy analysis to bilingual education policy at the federal, state, and local levels. The second critiqued New York State’s student growth model used in the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) using quantitative methods. The third analyzed the broader APPR policy and sought to address its many shortcomings by proposing a new, viable policy alternative for consideration by policymakers. The major implications of this study include a strong caution against the use of standardized tests of student achievement to measure progress toward policy goals, a demonstration of the importance of identifying and applying criteria to assess public education policies, and a recognition of educational leaders as important actors in the policy making process.

This program evaluation seeks to determine whether a new expulsion program established in a suburban school district in the Mountain West region of the United States was successful in its goals of reengaging expelled students and preparing them for a successful transition back to a traditional school. This new program was designed as a foil to computer based programs of previous years and adopted a social-emotional focus to increase student resiliency. Quantitative student data, as well as qualitative data from student focus groups was analyzed to gauge program effectiveness. Findings indicate that students earned significantly more credits and had significantly fewer absences than students from the previous year’s program. Focus groups suggested that a warm, welcoming environment staffed by caring, supportive adults was critical to increasing student engagement. Additionally, direct instruction and practice of social-emotional and resiliency skills contributed to a sense of preparedness to return to a traditional school environment.

Historically, the state of Missouri has utilized the Performance-Based Teacher Evaluation (PBTE) system developed by Dr. Jerry Valentine from the University of Missouri (Valentine & Harting, 1986). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 mandated more rigorous accountability standards for state education systems (Moe, 2014). The 2012 revisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provided to Missouri by the U.S. Department of Education relieved the original mandates of the NCLB Act (MODESE, 2015a). However, added were provisions for teacher and administrator accountability which required evaluation of research-based principles of effective instruction (MODESE 2015a). In this study, the researcher reviewed one evaluation system, the Network for Educator Effectiveness (NEE) teacher evaluation system, to determine if a correlation existed between principal evaluation data and student perception data of specific classroom teachers in relation to student performance on state assessments. Of the six research questions included in the case study, the data generated for question three with a bivariate correlate for the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient for the NEE Evaluation Indicator 4.1 principal’s evaluation and student survey data for Indicator 4.1 revealed the best line of fit with r = .63. The significance output of p < .01 was the greatest significant correlation of the study. These data indicate both the students and the principal recognize the teacher’s level of implementation for Indicator 4.1 (teacher instructional strategies leading to student problem-solving and critical thinking). No other correlates were found to be significant for this study.

This qualitative case study analyzed a teacher development and evaluation program implemented in an independent school district in Southeast Minnesota. Teacher effectiveness is a complex construct, which makes teacher evaluation challenging. Three stakeholder group’s perspectives were analyzed in this multiyear qualitative case study. Through interviews, teachers and administrative team members’ perspectives were gathered in the 2011-2012 academic school year and the implementation team members’ perspectives were gathered five years later in the 2016-2017 academic school year. The qualitative data was analyzed to answer the research sub-questions: (a) how and to what extent did the 2011-2012 implementation of the district’s Teacher Professional Growth Protocol build a foundation to meet the 2014-2015 Minnesota Statute requirements on teacher evaluation?, (b) how and to what extent did the district’s Teacher Professional Growth Protocol engage teachers in reflective practice focused on growth?, and (c) how and to what extent did the district’s Teacher Professional Growth Protocol build a foundation for continuous improvement? Triangulated data indicated commonalities as well as discrepancies in perspectives resulting in two lessons learned: (1) research and practice align; bridging the two is a concern; and (2) continued and expanded application of implementation science is needed for system effectiveness. There is a discrepancy bridging research and practice, which this study demonstrates. The findings indicate a strong need to reallocate time to meet the needs of a public school district to develop its teachers and to grow their effectiveness.

This thesis examines the relationship between self-efficacy, parental self-efficacy, and valence toward school. Given the link between student’s higher achievement and parental involvement, a desire for deeper understanding of how to engage parents in their children’s learning was the driving force behind this study. Research was conducted to seek understanding of a potential relationship between parents’ school valence and how social constructionist theory may play a role in their self-efficacy. Further inquiry focused on how parents’ self-efficacy in learning may have an impact on engagement with their children’s learning. Follow-up questioning probed at what support parents want in order to feel more successful when engaging with their children in learning. This descriptive research is a mixed methods approach, utilizing survey and personal interview data to come to some conclusions on the interplay of these factors. Ultimately it is determined that more research is necessary to come to more concrete conclusions, though an underlying connection between self-efficacy and parental self-efficacy is made. It is recommended that further research be conducted on a larger scale. This research would investigate if there is a significant correlation between parents who had involved parents when they were in school and parents who are involved with their own children’s education.

Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe the attributes of public charter schools considered important for the selection of a charter school as perceived by the parents of charter school students. A second purpose of this study was to identify the sources parents used to inform their decision to enroll their child in a charter school.

Methodology. This qualitative study was accomplished by interviewing parents of public charter school students in three districts within San Bernardino County. The interview consisted of nine open-ended questions and each interview was recorded to ensure accuracy of the responses. The results of the interview were analyzed and organized into a narrative form. The population for the study included parents of public charter school students.

Findings. The participants noted smaller class sizes, higher educational quality, and a more nurturing environment as the main reasons for selecting a public charter school. Their answers also indicated the variety of programs available to them at charter schools influenced their decision to enroll their children. Participants noted talking with friends and family as a major source of gathering information about schools. Using some form of the internet was also instrumental for parents when obtaining information about a given school.

Conclusions. The results of this study supported the conclusion that parent perceptions of schools and the education they offer may be more influential than the school’s performance on state assessments. Results indicated many other factors influenced a parent’s selection of a school. A positive environment, which cultivated learning, and a variety of educational opportunities were crucial attributes for many parents.

Recommendations. The researcher recommended the study be replicated in a different region of California to see if the results remain the same. Additionally, a study should be conducted to see how many and why parents removed their children from public charter schools and returned them to traditional public schools.

The Montessori method is a comprehensive, child-centered, developmentalist philosophy of education developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in Rome, Italy, in the early 1900s. The Montessori method differs from traditional approaches to education, and has had limited exposure in the U.S. until the last 20 years. Despite this growth, little research data exists on the effectiveness of the method or of parent understanding the method. This research project attempted to determine parent understanding of the Montessori method of education at three Montessori schools in Massachusetts that educate children from toddlers to grade 8.

The objective of the research was to design, implement, and analyze a survey that measured parent understanding of the Montessori principles and classroom practices. The survey was developed using the Montessori principles as the foundation. The goal was to determine both the extent of parent understanding of the Montessori principles and parent perception of how these principles are carried out in the Montessori classroom.

Parents and guardians were asked a total of 10 questions, 7 of which were five-point Likert scales. The quantitative questions specifically addressed the six Montessori principles and were designed to test parents’ overall understanding of each principle. Responses ranged from a principle being not at all important to very important. The qualitative portion of the survey instrument utilized three open-ended, self-completed questions designed to reveal a range of parent perceptions about Montessori education and classroom practices.

The surveys revealed that parent values and thinking do line up with some aspects of the Montessori method and philosophy. The surveys also revealed that parents seem to value classroom practices contrary to the founding principles. What parents value and what parents think about regarding concepts such as goal setting, achievement, competition with peers, and teachers preparing and presenting lessons is in direct contrast with some of the Montessori founding principles and intentions.

If Montessori schools wish to remain viable, they will need to reconcile the Montessori principles with conflicting parent values and, further, determine how to better align their principles with parent views and desires for their children.

School districts composed of a large number of high-poverty students are generally not found to be high-achieving (Chenoweth & Theokas, 2013). In Missouri, districts are assessed in accordance with the fifth edition of the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) which results in an Annual Performance Report (APR) score (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education [MODESE], 2014d). School administrators of districts having two consecutive years of APR scores over 95% while having a student population composed of a large number of students receiving free or reduced price meals were recruited for a qualitative study. Interview questions were developed based on the Rosenholtz (1985) paper about effective, high-poverty, inner-city schools. The questions were designed to extract information about the ways in which building leaders decrease teacher isolation, maintain a skilled teaching staff, set and monitor goals, remove non-instructional tasks for teachers, and maintain a collaborative school culture. Upon analyzing interview data, seven common themes emerged: collaboration, relationships, consistency and stability, high expectations, clarifying tasks or objectives, using and analyzing data, and community support. Over 60% of Missouri schools report a 50% or higher free and reduced price meal rate among students (MODESE, 2014j), which leads to additional challenges for educators (Balfanz, 2011; Hagelskamp & DiStasi, 2012; Jensen, 2013). Besides adding to current data about high-achieving, high-poverty districts, this study provides evidence specific to Missouri educators that can be used to inform future practices.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the academic achievement in reading among students enrolled in single-gender and coeducational classes, as well as the impact of teachers’ perceptions on the outcome of academic achievement. The study used a mixed-method approach to address this purpose. This study reported quantitative findings from reading scores on the Acuity test for 396 students in grades two through eight, from four elementary and two middle schools within an urban district in Missouri. Acuity scores were examined in several ways: comparison of the means for coeducational and single-gendered classrooms by grade and gender, as well as Chi-Square test of significance and the analysis of variance. The findings of the study varied by grade level for single-gender and coeducation classrooms, but overall there was no significant difference. Using the qualitative method, this study reported findings from 36 teachers that were in six different groups. The researcher divided the teacher participants into six sample groups. Each group consisted of six subjects. Two groups taught single-gendered classes of the same sex. Another two groups taught single-gendered classes of the opposite sex as the instructor, and the last two groups taught coeducational classes. The results of the teacher perceptions indicated that a single-gendered classroom did not necessary alter student behavior. If student behavior was not altered, there was no expectation of positive change in student achievement. The overall findings of this study concluded that there was no significant difference in student achievement between single-gendered and coeducational classrooms in an urban setting. From this study, the researcher recommended that school leaders should cautiously embrace single-gendered classrooms, due to the notion that they do not necessarily fulfill the claims that supports previously made.

Self-evaluation accuracy is a necessary component of music learning. Without it, students rely on teacher feedback and do not develop skills necessary to become independent learners. While research has indicated that self-evaluation is unreliable and inaccurate, peer-evaluation has been shown to have the potential to be both reliable and accurate. Using social constructivist theory and transfer theory as conceptual frameworks, this study investigated the effects of peer-evaluation on self-evaluation skills in the music classroom.

Pretest and posttest self-evaluation scores of 42 ninth grade band students were compared with three teacher mean scores. Results found students made a slight improvement in self-evaluation accuracy after five peer-evaluations given over 10 weeks. Qualitative analysis of student feedback from peer-evaluations found students improved in both precision and use of musical language and vocabulary. To further investigate students' perception of peer-evaluation, two focus group interviews were administered.

Emerging themes suggested students have a positive impression of peer-evaluation. They found it to be a team building and motivating activity that made them want to be both honest and critical with their peer feedback. Peer-evaluation allowed students to be part of the learning process that helped them build confidence in their evaluation skills. Students found peer-evaluation to be an effective tool for developing critical thinking skills, specifically analytical listening, and were able to cite examples of how skills used and learned during peer-evaluation were transferred to their own self-evaluation skills.

As there is little research on peer-evaluation and music at the high school level, it is the hope that this research will provide a foundation for future research of peer-evaluation at all grade school levels and in all ensemble genres. In addition, this research will hopefully support the introduction of peer-evaluation as a methodology to be taught to pre-service teachers and to help dismiss previous negative notions about peer-evaluation to in-service music teachers, shedding light on the positive impacts of peer-evaluation and its possible uses with students in the music classroom.

This investigation aimed to answer two questions: first, is there construct equivalence of self-efficacy between the Self-Efficacy for Learning Form [SELF] (Zimmerman & Kitsantas, 2005) and the new Spanish version Escala de Autoeficacia en la Regulación del Aprendizaje (EARA)?; and second, are the EARA's scores valid measures of self-efficacy for learning among law students? Throughout the validation process, the guidelines of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing were followed. A team of three translators applied the forward method. Furthermore, two consultants evaluated every translated item from Bandura's theoretical perspective. In a preparation for EARA's administration, six law students in their second year took a preliminary version. Additionally, their comments provided a bridge between the scores of this version and the self-efficacy construct. The first question was answered affirmatively.

To answer the second question, the EARA was administered to a sample of 159 law students during the second semester of their first year. Using SPSS, various statistical procedures were applied to obtain evidence based on EARA's internal structure as well as evidence based on an external variable. The Cronbach's α for internal consistency was .957. The factor analysis revealed 14 factors. As part of the factor analysis, the themes of the items under each factor were examined. In a predictor-criterion relationship, a correlation (Pearson r) of .179 was calculated between the variable of self-efficacy for regulated learning and the academic grade point level at the end of the semester. It was concluded that the results did not yield sufficient evidence to support a valid interpretation of EARA's scores as measures of self-efficacy of regulated learning of the participants.

Finally, various recommendations were presented for EARA's usage in future investigations.

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.

The effects of Tennessee’s Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTI²) framework were evaluated to determine the impact on one middle Tennessee public school district. General education teacher’s beliefs, student achievement, and special education referral and eligibility data was assessed before, during, and after implementation. Results indicate that teacher’s beliefs were mixed and varied according to the time participants were surveyed. Significant achievement differences were found on TVAAS math fifth grade, TVAAS reading fourth grade, and STAR reading and math scores. Practical significance was noted for students referred and made eligible for special education. A recommendation that RTI² supports student achievement and decrease special education services was derived, while teacher’s indicated a greater need for implementation support.

This ethnographic study addressed two effective programs designed to assist first-time underrepresented college students navigate and successfully graduate from a private four-year university. This study also addressed how small universities can often reach out to first-generation college students even when these students apply too late for special programs. It focuses on incoming-freshmen on their first semester of their freshmen year and on Alumnae. I explore how students’ transitions from high school to a four-year university are bounded by a variety of factors within the school's structural organization. By taking an anthropological framework, my qualitative research explores behavior and perspectives about the transition of First Generation College students (FGCs) and how support systems can enable these students to stay enrolled in college.

Findings indicate four major themes that enabled students to successfully graduate or enroll into the subsequent semester: 1) social support; 2) social capital; 3) importance of mentor, 4) importance of FGCs programs. The research process utilizes participant observation and interviews in uncovering the role that these support programs play in the transition of these students. Questions were posed for further research and recommendations were made for implementation by the university programs evaluated in this thesis.

This study was designed to determine the relationship between the family unit, which was defined as single-parent households and two-parent households, and educational placement. Data were collected from six Southwest Missouri K-8 districts in Region C. Participants reported student enrollment according to categories of single-parent special education, single-parent regular education, two-parent special education, and two-parent regular education. In addition, district special education coordinators were interviewed to gather data on their perspectives and experiences regarding the different household types and educational placement. This mixed methods design revealed students from single-parent households are more likely to be negatively affected by home environment situations and have a higher probability of academic deficits leading to special education placement. The negative effects included lack of stability, lack of organization, lack of availability to assist with academic tasks, lack of attention to diagnoses and treatment, lack of exposure to outside academic influences, increased demands on the student from inside the household, and hunger. These negative effects were attributed to decreased financial security, less stable working hours, and lower education levels of the single parents.