Education Commons^™

Explicitly Teaching Scientific Argumentation: Using Action Research To Study High School Science Readiness And Detracking, Ami Lefevre

Dissertations

Access to advanced-level science courses can be difficult for those students who start in a tracked system. Tracking is an educational practice where students are assigned to different classes based on ability level. African American and Hispanic students are most at risk since most minority students are found in the lower level track (Burris, 2014; Mehan, 2015; Oakes, 2005). This investigation used an action research approach to determine how explicitly taught elements of scientific argumentation would impact student mastery of argument skills and influence instructional practices by a professional learning community. A mixed method study was used to collect qualitative …

Tracking German Education: An Examination Of Three Postwar Periods, Jennifer Hart

Master's Theses

This study examines tracking policies in the German education system in three pivotal postwar time periods in order to learn more about the system of tracking in German schools and how it has evolved and changed over time. I specifically seek to answer this research question: How were tracking policies in the German education system reshaped or addressed in education reforms after the end of World War I, World War II, and post-reunification? This is a historical study; thus, the data I collected came from a variety of primary and secondary sources relevant to the subject with the aim of …

High School Curriculum Tracks As Determinants Of Post-Secondary Outcomes: A Study Of Track Mobility And Its Effects, William Morrison

Dissertations

Despite scores of studies that have shown that tracking and ability grouping perpetuate the academic achievement gap that exists in the United States, the practice continues. The reason for this persistence is a confluence of educational, social, and political factors. As tracking will continue as practice for the foreseeable future, research must help to identify the best and worst of tracking practices so that its negative effects are minimized and positive effects maximized. Oakes (2005) has identified five common elements of tracking policies and practices: extent, pervasiveness, flexibility, mobility, and locus of control. Of these elements, it is my contention …

Student Access To Advanced Placement (Ap) Coursework: Principals' Beliefs And Practices, Steve Wood

Dissertations

Advanced Placement® (AP®) courses provide high school students an opportunity to be exposed to the rigors of college while they are still in high school. Since school policies play a role in the opportunities for students to pursue these courses, educational leaders must be aware of the ways in which their personal beliefs and school practices influence the course-taking patterns in their students.

This study investigated the relationship between principals' personal beliefs and perceptions of school practices, and the opportunities for students to successfully complete rigorous Advanced Placement coursework. The study utilized a questionnaire distributed to eight-eight principals of schools …

The Impact Of Tracking On Student Achievement: A Multilevel Growth Model, Carrie Christine Livingston

Dissertations

Tracking is the process of sorting students into different curriculum tracks, such as academic, general or vocational, based on student's abilities, interests, and needs. Ability grouping pertains to academic subjects and is the process of placing students with similar skills and abilities into levels, such as an honors level course or a regular level course. This study defines a track as the course level in which a student is enrolled within an academic subject, such as remedial, regular, or honors. The purpose of this research study is to further explore the relationship between academic tracks and student achievement and to …