Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Creating A Schedule That Increases Instructional Time, Heather Macey

All Graduate Projects

This project was designed to help elementary schools create a master schedule that increases direct instructional time by forming large blocks of uninterrupted time for all classroom teachers. Many teachers struggle with how to structure their daily schedule. Often times there are things other than good quality instruction driving the decision of the structure of school schedules that create very choppy and ineffective schedules that do not support the best learning environment for the children. This project will combine several different approaches in scheduling taken by others that were researched and found to be effective in increasing instructional time and …

An Examination Of Core Course Admission Deficiencies And Their Impact On Six-Year Graduation Rates For Transfer Students At The University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, David S. Belieu

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the six-year graduation rate of transfer students who enter the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a deficiency in a core course admission requirement. The study explored the odds of a transfer student graduating in a six-year period if he/she were admitted with a deficiency. Specifically, the study examined graduation rates for transfer students who entered UNL with a core course deficiency in mathematics and foreign language. The study also examined graduated transfer students admitted with one or more core course deficiencies GPAs versus graduated transfer students who were admitted without a deficiency. After …

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Grade Retention, Latrice Shontae Richardson

Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine elementary teachers’ perceptions of grade retention. Additionally, the study observed demographic data that explored the differences in elementary teachers’ perceptions by (a) geographical location, (b) years of experience, (c) grade level assignments, (d) age, (e) level of education, (f) ethnicity, and (g) influences on perceptions.

The participants included 164 elementary teachers from five rural (northern) and five suburban (southern) regions of Mississippi. Since teachers play such a huge role in the classroom, they also play a vital role in grade retention. Teacher decisions can create a successful educational experience for a …

Investigating Efforts To Change Educator Attitudes And Teaching Strategies Through Professional Development Focused On The Use Of Backward Design Curriculum And The Principles Of Efficacy: Educator Beliefs And Attitudes, Alice Marie Jordan Aldridge

Dissertations

School districts continually face problems associated with student achievement. The 2001–2002 federal mandate contained in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act held schools accountable for success of all students in reading and mathematics. Standardized tests were employed to measure the success. The purpose of this study was to investigate efforts to change educator attitudes and teaching strategies through professional development focused on the use of backward design curriculum and the principles of efficacy. Participants completed a pre and post Likert survey. Three 45-minute professional development sessions were conducted incorporating discussions on the principles of efficacy and backward design curriculum. …

Penyediaan Dan Penilaian Modul Asas Bahasa Arab Untuk Pelajar Universiti., Sainei Andamit

Student Works (2010-2019)

This thesis is primarily focused on a study conducted on “The Preparation and Evaluation of The Basic Arabic Language Module for University Students”. Subjects involved in this research do not cover all students from higher institutions in Malaysia but specifies the research demographic on a selected group of students from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). These students do not have the very basic level of Arabic, comes from different academic disciplines in UMS, and they are from various ethnic and religious groups in Malaysia. The module applied for this research experiment was produced by the researcher based on information gathered from …

Student's Attitudes Toward High-Stakes Testing And Its Effect On Educational Decisions, Aldo Alfredo Moran

Dissertations

With the recent increase in accountability due to No Child Left Behind, graduation rates and drop-out rates are important indicators of how well a school district is performing. High-stakes testing scores are at the forefront of a school's success and recognition as a school that is preparing and graduating students to meet society's challenging demands.

*please download the dissertation to see the full Abstract.

Kindergarten Assessments As A Predictor For A Student’S Need For Intervention, Victoria Ellen Weinketz Hoover

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the kindergarten assessment results from the three windows in reading, written communication, and mathematics were a valid predictor of a student’s need for intervention up until the conclusion of second grade. Reynolds (1992) suggested that a student’s overall school success is reflective of the approach taken early in kindergarten. With the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), districts have set in place strategies to meet the standard of all students reading on grade level at the conclusion of the third grade. If districts are to rise to the …

Third Grade Reading Performance And Teacher Perceptions Of The Scott Foresman Reading Street Program In Title I Schools In South Mobile County, Jamie Ladnier Hicks

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if third grade reading performance of students enrolled in south Mobile County Title I schools improved as a result of the first year implementation of the Scott Foresman Reading Street program. Attempts were also made to identify predictors that may improve future reading performance and data were obtained regarding the perceptions and overall satisfaction of the certified instructional personnel in grades K-5 employed in the Mobile County Public School System during the 2009-2010 school year, the first school year following the initial full year of program implementation. Reading performance was measured using …

A Comparison Of Course Completion, Satisfaction, Achievement, And Performance Among Non-Profit Professionals Who Complete Andragogical Or Pedagogical Online Learning Modules On Grant Writing, Joe Bernard Bradley Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes among staff members of nonprofit social service agencies who participated in or completed an andragogicallyfacilitated or a pedagogically-conducted online learning module on foundation grant writing. The efficacy of andragogical methods is unknown and often debated due to scarce empirical research on the topic. Though most prior empirical studies revealed no significant differences in outcomes between the two methods, this is the first study of its kind to address each of the assumptions of andragogy in an online non-formal learning environment. Effectiveness was measured based on participants’ self-reported reaction to learning …

Exploring A High School Community Relations And Parent Involvement Program, Robert Corey Sink

Dissertations

There are few issues in education that get as much attention as the need for improvement of parental and community involvement in and support for local schools. School faculties want to know how to improve the way they work with families and community members to better meet the needs of their students and parents want to find how to best communicate with the schools to help their children succeed. Even though there is extensive research and agreement about the importance of this topic, many schools continue to labor with these partnerships. This exploratory correlational research study employed a pre-test/post-test and …

Examining The Relationship Between Standard Tests, Experiential Learning Strategies, Student-Centered Teaching Attitudes, And Student Achievement In Communication Arts, Joann Clay

Dissertations

The purpose of this collaborative research study was to examine the relationship between standard tests, experiential learning strategies, student-centered teaching attitudes, and student achievement in Communication Arts. Each researcher took primary responsibility for the quantitative data (survey responses based on a Likert Scale and Missouri Assessment Program [MAP] and the qualitative data [open-ended questions, responses, and classroom observations of teachers]). This study was based on a collaborative effort in identifying the existence of teaching factors which could increase student achievement on the MAP test. The MAP test is one of several educational reforms mandated by the No Child Left Behind …

School Size And Student Academic Achievement In Idaho High Schools, Barbara J. James

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not a relationship existed between school size and student academic performance in Idaho high schools. This study used the mathematics portion of the Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) taken by all 10^th grade students in the spring of 2009 to compare academic achievement in students in small schools and students in large schools. Mean scores for proficient and advanced students were calculated and categorized into five school size classifications. For instance, 91% of all Boise High School (BHS) 10^th grade students demonstrated proficiency in mathematics on the ISATs. …

High-Stakes Testing And Its Relationship To Stress Levels Of Secondary Teachers, Sonya Colman Christian

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between high-stakes testing and the stress levels of secondary teachers in Jackson’s Jackson Public School District. The independent variables of age, gender, subject taught, teaching experience, degree and school level were used to determine the differences of the various groups. A survey was piloted and used to determine teachers’ levels of stress. There was not a statistically significant difference between the stress levels of teachers who teach subjects that are measured by high-stakes testing and those who do not. There also was not a statistically significant difference between the stress levels of veteran teachers and …

The Effect Of Guided Reading Instruction On Reading Achievement, Vanda Lea Underwood

Dissertations

Although reading achievement correlates highly with a student’s ability to do well in school, not all children achieve in reading. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate whether reading instruction provided in small groups at the child’s own reading level, known as guided reading instruction, would result in significant improvement in the reading achievement of fourth- and fifth-grade students. Teachers’ commitment to and perception of guided reading instruction were also examined in the study district. The hypothesis was: Have student reading scores improved on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) in 2007 and 2008, after implementing guided reading …

Process Evaluation Of The Instant Word Notebook, Jeannie Ellen Roberts

Dissertations

This program evaluation of The Instant Word Notebook was conducted by two educators who created an instructional tool to teach and assess the most frequently occurring words in written text, commonly known as Instant Words. In an effort to increase the reading scores of first and second grade students, teachers were instructed to teach Instant Words. It was observed that teachers exposed students to Instant Words, but had no systematic process to teach and assess Instant Words for mastery. The purpose of The Instant Word Notebook was to teach and assess mastery of Instant Words to first and second grade …

Effects Of At-Home Reading Activities And Parental Involvement On Classroom Communication Arts Assessments: Focus On The High School Level, George Edwards

Dissertations

This dissertation was written collaboratively by Cynthia Warren, Linetta Carter, and George Edwards with the exception of chapter 4 which is the individual effort of the aforementioned researchers. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of athome reading activities and parental involvement on classroom communication arts assessments with a focus on the high school level. A total of 150 students from two inner city schools and one suburban middle school were chosen for the multi-method research. Students’ reading scores were evaluated and their parents were interviewed. A collaborative study involving three investigators was conducted to determine if …

The Use Of Multiple Intelligence Concepts With Middle School Students And Future Academic Achievement, Christa Fountain Glenn

Dissertations

This quantitative quasi-experimental study examined the variables of student’s grade point averages when Multiple Intelligences were introduced and implemented in a study in 2007. To examine this information, in 2007 a study was conducted of 115 eighth grade students from a single grade school in the southern United States. At the conclusion of the study in 2007, it was the researchers’ belief that students may possibly utilize the Multiple Intelligences in their upcoming years as high school students, therefore, the study continued and the academic achievement by way of grade point averages of 94 of the original students now ending …

Fourth And Fifth Grade Student Achievement And Possible Relationship To Three Teacher Selection Tools, Jon D. Hall

Dissertations

This study attempts to identify possible relationships between cognitive ability, teacher dispositions, and content knowledge and elementary classroom achievement. Data was gathered on teachers using the Wonderlic Personnel TestTM, Star Teacher Pre-ScreenerTM, and Praxis IITM assessments and compared to classroom growth on the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) computer-based adaptive assessment. The sample size was limited but included fourth and fifth grade teachers that volunteered from selected Kentucky public school districts. Pearson correlation analysis did not show any significant relationship between the scores on the three teacher assessments and student academic growth using the MAP growth index scores for corresponding …

A Study To Determine The Influence Of Student Status And Gender On The Learning Styles Of Freshmen Students, Ali J. Morris

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to compare the learning styles, as defined by David A. Kolb, of traditional freshmen students and non-traditional freshmen students to determine if there is a significant difference between them. The researcher also collected data to determine if there is a correlation between learning styles for gender and traditional/non-traditional student status.

Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (LSI) was used as the survey instrument and was administered to all students in the sample. The stratified random sample population consisted of 550 students selected from the freshmen class and provided to the researcher by the Office of Institutional …

Generational Affiliation As A Component Of Culture: Focus Group Perspectives Of Three Generational Cohorts, Elisabeth Anne Nesbit

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the multicultural elements related to generational affiliation. Much of current generational literature is anecdotal and does not empirically explore the culture of each generation. A constructivist ground theory approach was applied to the study of three generational cohorts (Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials) using focus groups to (a) explore the values, beliefs, and worldview inherent to each generation, and (b) extend theory on multiculturalism Data from nine focus groups, three for each generational cohort, were analyzed for key themes within each generational cohort. Results indicated that, in keeping with the American …