Education Commons^™

Closing Reading Achievement Gaps For Middle School Students, Michael D. Daugherty

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This research examined how self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and professional development compared between core content and special education middle school teachers working with middle school students in reading comprehension and fluency. Accordingly, no statistically significant difference in teacher self-efficacy between core content and special education teachers was discovered based on the ANOVA analysis results. An analysis of professional development and collective teacher efficacy showed mixed results with a negative relationship predicted between increased professional development hours for core content teachers. A predicted positive relationship existed with the number of professional development hours increasing for special education teachers. There was no statistically …

The Impact Of The Success For All Classroom Model On School Climate And Teacher Satisfaction, Amy Lynn Chesnut

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Providing quality education for students in disadvantaged communities has been at the forefront of educational research for decades. These schools struggle each year with budgets that fail to meet the needs of the school, low teacher and student morale, and low teacher retention. Success for All has been identified as an effective program to increase literacy skills and standardized test scores for disadvantaged children. The purpose of this quasi-experimental static-group comparison study was to investigate the impact of Success for All on teacher satisfaction and school climate in low performing schools. Teacher satisfaction and school climate have an instrumental, positive …

A Correlational Study Of Academic Locus Of Control, Study Preparation, And The Praxis Ii, Elizabeth Polzin

Dissertations

For school counseling candidates, the culmination of the pathway to state certification and/or licensure lies in a passing score on a standardized test. Within the state of Missouri, this test is the Praxis II. Within the state of Missouri, an achievement gap on the pass rates of the Praxis II existed between Caucasian and African American students. Participants in this study, both male and female, attended a Midwestern, private university and spanned a wide range of ages, all older than 20 years. The participant population included African American and Caucasian students. This dissertation sought to explore potential contributors to the …

Scholastic Liberation: Schools' Impact On African American Academic Achievement, Aaron M. Johnson

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article addresses some of the factors that contribute to low achievement observed in African American students. It is common that either schools or school districts are unable to fix the problem or they are unaware about how the beliefs and attitudes about African American students can contribute to their low performance in school. Furthermore, this article encourages school institutions to examine themselves and change school environments to align to the identities of African American students. African American students must be liberated from negative assumptions about them and to do that, individuals and the institution of school as a whole, …

Organizational Change Plan For Closing The Black And White Achievement Gap, Markisha Mitchell

Dissertations

Abstract

Across the United States in almost every city, every suburb and every rural area there is a gap between the achievements of Black and White students. The term “achievement gap” has become an accepted label in situations where Black students severely underperform relative to their White counterparts. Many school Districts have discretely avoided discussing and or addressing this gap for decades. School District Z, located in an urban suburb just outside of a large midwestern city, is the focus of this research as they attempt to address the gap. Approximately two-thirds of District Z is composed of students of …

Educational Policy Development For Closing The Black And White Achievement Gap, Markisha Mitchell

Dissertations

Abstract

Across the United States in almost every city, every suburb, and every rural area, there is a gap between the achievements of Black and White students. The term “achievement gap” has become an accepted label in situations where Black students severely underperform relative to their White counterparts. Many school districts have discretely avoided discussing and/or addressing this gap for decades. School District Z, located in an urban suburb of a large Midwestern city, is the focus of this research as they attempt to address the gap. Approximately two-thirds of District Z is composed of students of color, yet the …

The Impact Of Expanded Access And Increased Engagement And The Effect On Closing The Achievement Gap, Amy Lynn St. John

Dissertations

Considering instructional time is one of the most valuable and expensive resources in public education, there is nominal research examining the effectiveness of its use (Farbman, 2015). The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between the amount of extended learning time provided to eligible students at least one grade level below in reading or mathematics and their scale score growth determined by middle-ofyear results on the i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment. i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment results were examined of students who attended an extended learning time after-school program focused on remediation of standards specific to mathematics and reading in grades …

Achievement Gap In United States History End Of Course Assessment Scores In Ga High Schools, Kris Watkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this dissertation study, which employed a quantitative correlational research design, was to determine if the school-level variables of percentage of African American students, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and type of school scheduling significantly influence student performance on the Georgia Milestones U.S. History end-of-course assessments (EOCs) for the school years 2014-15 and 2015-16. The study utilized a sample of 163 high schools located in the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Results from simultaneous linear regression analyses showed that school-level percentage of economically disadvantaged students was significantly associated with school-level Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) U.S. History …

The Impact Of 1:1 Laptop Environments On The English Language Arts Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students From Diverse Socio-Economic Backgrounds, Nicole Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study extends previous research on the impact of one to one (1:1) laptop environments on student outcomes in English Language Arts (ELA) by focusing on students from various socio-economic backgrounds, while using a new technology-enhanced, state-administered assessment to measure performance. This study is significant because policy makers focus on state test scores when planning educational investments. Therefore, results from this study can assist policy makers in determining best practices related to technology integration to ensure equitable opportunities for all students. A non-experimental ex post facto causal comparative research design was used to explore the impact of 1:1 laptops …

Factors That Influence The Retention Of Urban, Hispanic High School Male Graduates: A Phenomenological Study, Robin Elliott-Ghalleb

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the retention of urban, Hispanic high school male graduates in East Harlem, New York. Originated through the works by W. E. B. Du Bois (1968), Gloria Ladson-Billings (1998) and Derrick Bell (1992) pioneered Critical Race Theory (CRT), which reported that the United States Education system has historically failed to adequately provide access to all students. Hispanics continue to have the lowest rates of high school and college degree attainment. This study’s purpose was to address the phenomenon of low retention rates of urban, Hispanic males …

Bridged: An Autoethnography Exploring How An Alternative School For "At Risk" Middle And High School Youth Overcame The Achievement Gap, Michael Koeniger

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this autoethnographic study was to discover how an alternative school for at-risk students, bridged the achievement gap. It used autoethnographic approaches to examine the factors that have led to the successes of an urban school. In this study, 19 graduates of Eastend School (all participant and institutional names are replaced with pseudonyms), three parents and six current and former staff members participated in unstructured, individual interviews and shared their experiences. Autoethnographic field notes were composed. Documents and artifacts relating to Eastend School were collected and studied. The collected data were generally coded and specifically coded until themes …

An Analysis Of Social And Demographic Variables And Student Graduation Success, Lisa Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

he dropout population does not reflect an equal representation of all student subgroups (Kena et al., 2015). There are many negative outcomes that often coincide with the decision to drop out, such as lower overall lifetime income as well as emotional and physical fitness (Chapman, Laird, Ifill, & KewalRamani, 2011). This dissertation examines how graduation success varies by the social variables of school engagement, students’ closeness to parents, and self-esteem and the demographic variable of race through the lenses of the social development model (Hawkins & Weis, 1985), the school membership theory (Wehlage, 1989), and the self-determination theory (Deci, Vallerand, …

College-Bound Students: A Study Of The Relationship Between Religiosity/Spirituality, And Achievement, William Wright

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The achievement gap between private and public school college-bound students has continued to widen each year since 1972. The researcher studied the relationship of Christian school college-bound students’ religiosity/spirituality using a validated survey instrument and their achievement as measured on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The literature implies a relationship, but there is a gap in studying homogeneous religious groups. Therefore, the researcher selected a homogeneous grouping, Texas Christian high school college-bound seniors, as the sample for this study. The researcher obtained permission to use the Religiosity and Spirituality Scale for Youth (RASSY) survey instrument and included demographic and score data …

The Achievement Gap: A Dual Nation Perspective, Myka Chavez

Honors Projects

This essay seeks to explore the achievement gap, which is a disparity in educational achievement between certain economic and racial groups, by taking a unique approach and bringing a fresh perspective. Specifically, this research focuses on how this gap is manifested in two countries: the U.S. and England. This dual nation perspective opens the door for more information and a better understanding of the gap as a whole. Analysis will be done regarding the various issues surrounding the gap in each country such as its causes, effects, and past/present solutions. Based on how these issues occur in each country and …

Black Student Self-Efficacy And The Achievement Gap: A Heterogeneous Grouping Case Study, John Anthony Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This explanatory case study explored the ways in which a heterogeneous grouping modulates academic performance for a group of Black students in an Honors Biology class at Bay City High School (BCHS), a large racially and socioeconomically diverse public high school in suburban Maryland. Data was collected through individual interviews, self-efficacy surveys, multiple observations of student on-task behaviors, student-to-student interactions, student-to-teacher interactions, and other task-related conditions. Seven students and their parents, current teachers, and former teachers provided the data. Thematic-coding of the data as outlined by Creswell (2014) was employed in conjunction with Yin's (2003) methods of analysis. In order …

The Relationship Between The Level Of Language Acquisition And Reading Achievement Among English Language Learners, Kathleen Barrett

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study examined two research questions: How are reading proficiency and English language proficiency assessment scores in third and fourth grades associated with fifth grade reading proficiency? As well as: How are reading proficiency and English language proficiency assessment scores in third and fourth grades associated with fifth grade English language proficiency? The purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between English language proficiency and reading achievement in English Language Learners. This study included one cohort of English Language Learners from a middle sized district in the Portland, Oregon metro area, enrolled from their third grade school …

Achievement Gap In Reading: A Study Of School Practices And Effectual Results, Christina S. Brown

Dissertations

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 …

The Effect Of A Summer Oral Language And Literacy Intervention On The Literacy Acquisition Of At-Risk First Grade Emergent Readers, Mary Beth Stevens

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

The persistent achievement gap between children from low-socioeconomic and mid- to upper-socioeconomic homes is evident in both national and statewide literacy assessments. Although the summer months away from school are part of the problem, they also hold the potential for an effective solution. Interventions that accelerate literacy development during summer vacation, particularly for children of low-socioeconomic status, have the potential to shift the educational trajectory of our most at-risk students. We investigated the effect of a four-week summer oral language and literacy intervention on the literacy development of rising first grade students from at-risk elementary schools in Jefferson County Public …

Unpacking The Study Of Instructional Improvement: Issues, Outcomes, And Implications Of Three Comprehensive School Reform Efforts, Gabriella Silva Gorsky

Master's Theses

There is a long history of educational reform efforts in the United States. Current literature on school reform suggests that a comprehensive approach that involves implementing instructional change across many instructional domains is more effective at producing the types of far-reaching improvement desired compared with mono-focal approaches focusing on a single new strategy. This study explored the impacts and outcomes of the Accelerated Schools Project (ASP), America’s Choice (AC), and Success for All (SFA) within the Study of Instructional Improvement (Ball, Cohen, & Rowan, 2010) schools to answer three primary questions: Are student outcomes on TerraNova mirrored by outcomes on …

The Challenge Program: A Quantitative Analysis Of Strategies Designed To Eliminate The Achievement Gap, Diane L. Moore

Dissertations

The achievement gap is one of the most daunting challenges educators face in U.S. schools today. Researchers have identified many factors that contribute to the persistence of this gap in public schools. Family backgrounds, cultural environment, and socioeconomic status appear to be the main environmental factors perpetuating the achievement gap. A review of literature also revealed poor quality teachers, ineffective school leadership, course tracking in high schools, and a lack of parental involvement were the main school factors identified. This quantitative study examined one public high school’s effort to reduce the achievement gap between African American students and Caucasian students. …

Closing The Achievement Gap Between Boys And Girls, Helen Finley

Dissertations

The critical role of accountability on schools has intensified the need to understand the impact of intervention strategies and best practices on literacy. Of particular concern is the underachievement of boys and identifying the learning differences between boys and girls. Examined in this quantitative study were the strategies and practices implemented by Blue Ribbon and Gold Star school educators to increase the literacy skills of primary-aged boys. Strategies and practices were determined through a Likert scale survey distributed to six Missouri Blue Ribbon and Gold Star schools and an equal number of schools that were not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress. …

Comparing Academic Achievement Of African-American Males Who Do And Do Not Participate In High School Athletics, Thomas Victor Montgomery, Iii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study was conducted to investigate the impact on academic achievement that high school athletics had on African-American male students who participated in high school athletics against African-American male students who did not participate in high school athletics during the 2008-2009 school year. The results were measured by grade point averages (GPAs) and surveys developed by the researcher. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not African-American males that participated in high school athletics showed higher academic achievement than African-American males that did not participate in high school athletics. The study also assessed attitudes about the relation …