Education Commons^™

Evaluating Educational Efficiency In Texas Public Schools Utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis, Jeremy Thompson, J. Kenneth Young, Kaye Shelton

School Leadership Review

Policymakers and professional educators attempt to be good stewards of public funds while simultaneously raising expectations for student outcomes that reflect academic excellence in the public school system. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficiency of Texas public school districts and the factors influencing the inefficiency of districts. This study is a replication of a similar efficiency study conducted by Carter (2012), which considered student performance in the 2009-10 school year on the TAKS tests. This study utilized quantitative research methods to gather data and implemented data envelopment analysis (DEA) to calculate a relative efficiency score for …

The Effect Of Campus Configuration On Ninth-Grade Achievement, James M. Finch, James L. Pate, Lantry L. Brockmeier, Michael J. Bochenko, Dianne C. Dees

International Journal of Leadership and Change

The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential explanatory research study was to determine whether there were significant differences between high schools having no freshman facility, a freshman wing, or a freshman campus on eight student performance measures. A second purpose was to examine principals’ perceptions of how their schools transition freshmen and how these transition strategies and arrangements worked. Of the eight ANOVAs conducted, only one analysis was statistically significant between the school configurations. In facilities using a freshman campus, high school students with disabilities earned significantly more core credit units than their counterparts in schools using no freshman facility. During …

Integrated Co-Professional Evaluation? Converging Approaches To School Evaluation Across Frontiers, Martin Brown, Gerry Mcnamara, Joe Ohara, Shivaun O'Brien, Jerich Faddar, Cornelius Young

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper posits that almost all inspectorates are now following, if to varying degrees, a similar overarching ideology and methodology for school accountability and improvement. The first part of the paper provides an analysis of recent changes to school inspection policies across Frontiers. Using Ireland as a case example, the next part of the paper provides an analysis of Irish school inspection policies and practices that appear to mirror other school inspection systems. To test these assumptions, the paper then provides an analysis of a key informant interview with the Chief Inspector of schools in Ireland.

The evidence suggests that …

Educators Voices From Integrated Writing And Problem Solving Common Core Workshop, Karen T. Jackson, Penny Wallin, Anna K. Lee

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article provides an opportunity to discuss and examine information gathered during a focus group of K-12 educators involved in an integrated writing and problem solving workshop. Findings demonstrate that some educators are frustrated by the culture of testing versus the culture of learning that exist as a result of the Common Core Standards implementation. Educators are eager to learn and implement new ways of learning in order to promote deeper learning and critical thinking skills. Strategies and recommendations for providing support and resources for educators to meet the expectations to prepare students to be college and career ready are …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Leadership Experiences Of The Charter School Founder-Administrator In Florida, Kathy A. Thomas Ed.D., Candace H. Lacey Ph.D.

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study examined the dual leadership role of a charter school founder-administrator. The question asked, How do charter school leaders who serve as founders and administrators describe their experiences as academic and business leaders? A phenomenological approach and constructivist perspective supported a unique appreciation of the participants’ lived experiences. The researchers sought to understand how the participants experienced their sometimes conflicting, sometimes overlapping, and sometimes unique experiences. Participant interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim; the researchers coded the transcripts. Two core categories and 11 themes were identified. The findings suggest these administrator-founders share a common understanding of the uniqueness …

Administrator’S Electronic Checklist A Teacher Accountability System For Building Transformation, Michael Mott, Jerilou Moore, Temeka Shannon

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Data-driven decision making is a major role of principals and school-based administrators. These decision makers use data to improve not only student performance, but also to identify teacher competency, needs for professional development, allocation of resources, and communication of data results (3D, 2010). The format used to collect and report data is varied, but technology seems to be the most widely used means of collection by school districts. There are web-based systems, as well as district developed formats for monitoring student achievement. An effective system of data collection is a simple, easy to use format that provides results in a …