Education Commons^™

Concurrent Enrollment Programs And Acquired Social Capital For Students From Impoverished Backgrounds: An Examination Of High School And College Outcomes, Dan D. Jorgensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poverty has been linked to reduced workforce opportunities, reduced collegegoing rates, increased social-emotional challenges, and even negative health consequences. Postsecondary educational opportunities, offered during high school, that contribute to the acquisition of social capital may improve academic outcomes for students from impoverished backgrounds. The Colorado concurrent enrollment legislation, provides one opportunity for students to enroll in college level coursework and receive college credits with tuition being paid through state funding while in high school. Concurrent enrollment (CE) programs support the college application, financial aid and enrollment processes. Most importantly, they also support the development of social networks that may foster …

An Assessment Of Character And Leadership Development Latent Factor Structures Through Confirmatory Factor, Item Response Theory, And Latent Class Analyses, David L. Higginbotham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study leveraged the complementary nature of confirmatory factor (CFA), item response theory (IRT), and latent class (LCA) analyses to strengthen the rigor and sophistication of evaluation of two new measures of the Air Force Academy’s “leader of character” definition—the Character Mosaic Virtues (CMV) and the Leadership Mosaic Inventory (LMI). Special CFA methods involving robust weighted least squares estimation were implemented to analyze the rated responses through linear structural equation modeling. Most informative at the subscale level, the CFA techniques provided evidence of factorial validity and other desirable psychometric properties in support of previous exploratory results for a nine-factor CMV …

Effectiveness Of The Mind Research Institute's Algebra Readiness Curriculum On Student Achievement Implemented In A Tiered Response To Intervention Model, Nancy Quick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Algebra is typically the gatekeeper for higher-level math coursework. Low math performance on standardized assessments impedes access to these higher-level math classes. Limited math progress in high school affects future career opportunities and quality of life. High school students who have historically struggled with math need interventions that work. Research indicates that the research on reading interventions far outnumbers the research on math interventions. With the passage of new federal legislation requiring schools to document progress for all groups of students and allowing schools to use Response to Intervention models, the need for evidence based math interventions becomes even more …

Student Perceptions Of School Climate: A Validity And Data Use Study Of A District-Developed Survey, Mya L. Martin-Glenn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 25 years, researchers have consistently reported that students' perceptions of their school's climate can have a measurable impact on their level of engagement in school, motivation to learn, social development, and, ultimately, their academic achievement. In light of the continued emphasis on education reform and school accountability, the ability to accurately measure the learning environment, interpret the results from that measure, and then determine the appropriate course of action in addressing areas of concern has become increasingly important for school leaders. This dissertation used an embedded mixed methods design to examine one district's self-developed measure of their …

Perceptions Surrounding The Implementation Of Colorado Senate Bill 10-191'S New Teacher Evaluations, Sarah Melvoin Bridich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2013, many public education reform efforts in the United States of America center on testing and accountability. Recent data revealed that teachers have the single greatest in-school impact on student learning; however, the methods to assess teacher effectiveness are widely criticized for not holding teachers accountable and, consequently, are experiencing significant legislative attention. In 2010, Colorado passed Senate Bill 10-191: The Great Teachers and Leaders Act to improve student learning by revising teacher and principal evaluations, including linking them to student learning data, and eradicating tenure.

Teachers, administrators, and policymakers hold critical roles in the implementation of this bill, …