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The Impact Of The Mississippi Department Of Education's Dyslexia Grant Program On Third Grade Achievement, Cena Windham Holifield

Dissertations

Dyslexia is the most common reading disability and is non-discriminatory, affecting learners of all races and cultures (Shaywitz, 2003). Scientific data reveals dyslexia affects 70-80% of students with poor reading skills (Moats & Dakin, 2008).

The Mississippi Legislature appropriates funds yearly to support the Mississippi Department of Education, (MDE) Grant Pilot Program (MDE, 2009). The purpose of this dyslexia grant program is to support general education teachers in meeting the needs of regular education students who have been identified as having dyslexia and related disorders (MDE, 2009).

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the MDE …

Closing The Gap Between Teacher Perception And Response To Intervention (Rti) Student Achievement, Melissa A. Hyatt Bouchér

Dissertations

Many communities rely on public schools to educate and properly train students who become the future members of society. So with educational groundwork constantly changing, districts are charged with excelling in various areas like Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Quality of Distribution Index (QDI). One area within that concern focuses on student behavior prevention programs by improving student achievement and increasing state test scores. Educational leaders reexamine teacher qualifications, rigor and relevance in classroom instruction, class size reduction, and providing effective professional development sessions aligning in accordance to each school’s vision and goals.

The purpose of this study was to …

The Effect Of Teacher Retention On Student Achievement In Third Grade Reading/Language Arts, Kathy Bang Sellers

Dissertations

The United States government has placed emphasis on the placement of highly qualified teachers within each classroom through the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This becomes more difficult when teachers become frustrated for various reasons and leave the profession of teaching before gaining the necessary experience to positively impact student achievement.

The purpose of the study was to examine the possible relationship between teacher retention, teachers staying within the teaching profession, and the effect it has on student achievement. The study is based on individual teachers' class summary reports from the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010 …

The Relationship Between Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Principal Leadership Behaviors And The Achievement Of Students With Disabilities, Margaret Elizabeth Constantino

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine special education teacher perceptions of principals’ instructional leadership behaviors and students’ academic achievement on the Georgia Comprehensive Criterion-Referenced Tests. The researcher sought to determine if a relationship between specific instructional leadership practices in the areas of setting direction, influencing others, and redesigning the organization as performed by the principal and as perceived by their teachers is related to the achievement of special education subgroups in English/Language Arts and Mathematics. Special educators from elementary schools, identified by the principals, were surveyed to measure the extent to which they perceived their principal exhibited specific …

Leadership Practices That Promote Increased Student Achievement In Secondary Schools, Billy Ray Jones

Dissertations

The purpose of the following study was to determine the degree to which the perceptions of teachers and school level administrators may differ, and the effects of these perceptions on student achievement as measured at the school level by the school’s accountability score reported in the form of the Quality Distribution Index (QDI). This index ranges from 0 to 300 and is used in the state of Mississippi to assign schools to one of seven accountability labels. Schools may be classified as one of the following depending on their QDI score: star, high performing, successful, academic watch, at risk of …

A Historical Perspective Of Testing And Assessment Including The Impact Of Summative And Formative Assessment On Student Achievement, Carole Sanger Brink

Dissertations

In 2007, Georgia developed a comprehensive framework to define what students need to know. One component of this framework emphasizes the use of both formative and summative assessments as part of an integral and specific component of the teachers' performance evaluation. Georgia administers the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) to every elementary student in Grades 1 though 8. Before 2008, the state tested eighth-grade students on a quality core curriculum. In 2008, the state began testing students on a Georgia Performance Standard curriculum. A direct comparison of the curriculum change should have contained items to test both curriculums. However, this was …

The Impact Of A School-Wide High School Advanced Placement Program And Culture On Participating Students' High School Achievement And Engagement Outcomes And First Year University Academic Success, Gregory E. Tiemann

Student Work

Along with a high grade point average and high standardized test scores, access and success in higher education is impacted by the courses on a student's transcript. Advanced Placement (AP) courses have set up a cooperative endeavor between secondary schools and colleges, increasing the likelihood of higher levels of educational attainment and early college success. An AP culture which challenges high school students in taking more advanced placement courses can serve as the greatest impact for them as they are bound for college and academic success. This study examined the relationship of AP courses and student achievement as measured by …

Elementary Students’ Perceptions Of Teachers: Factors That Influence Achievement, Susan Hladky

Dissertations

This quantitative study a) examined third grade students’ perceptions of teachers in relation to care, respect, help, and motivation to succeed; b) examined relationships among achievement, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity and students’ perceptions of their teachers, and c) identified the relationship of students’ perceptions as they relate to higher levels of achievement. The research question that formed the basis of this study was: What is the relationship among student achievement, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and third grade students’ perceptions of their teachers? A correlational research design was used to identify relationships among students’ perceptions of teachers, gender, socioeconomic status, …

The Relationship Between Inquiry-Based Science Instruction And Student Achievement, Michael Louis Suarez

Dissertations

Teaching science through inquiry has become a focus of recent educational reform in Mississippi and other states. Based on the Constructivist learning theory, inquiry instruction can take many forms, but generally follows the scientific method by requiring students to learn concepts through experimentation and real-world, hands-on experiences.

This dissertation examines the relationship between the amounts of time spent using inquiry-based science instruction and student achievement as measured by the Mississippi State Science Assessment. The study also identifies teacher perceptions of inquiry and the amount of professional development received by participants on using inquiry-based instructional techniques. Finally, this study identifies factors …

Is There A Relationship Between The Play Attention Program And Improved Student Achievement?, Jenny Ann Webber

Dissertations

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its effects on student academic achievement have been researched for many years. There have been many interventions that have been used in treating ADHD that have been found successful when implemented consistently. Some of the interventions that have been researched in the past are behavior modification, pharmacotherapy with stimulants, educational interventions, and a combination of these. Play Attention is an intervention that incorporates aspects of behavior modification through computerized cognitive-training, which utilizes feedback-based technology. Through Play Attention, students wear a helmet or armband embedded with sensors. These sensors read students’ brain activity in order …

Is There A Relationship Between Positive Behavior Supports And Student Achievement?, Todd Edward Boucher

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between a school’s behavior program and student achievement. This study explored the many facets of school behavior plans from across the state of Mississippi and compared the responses of high school principals to the schools’ U.S. history standardized test scores.

School discipline has become an issue that schools find themselves dealing with on a daily basis. While school discipline issues are not new to the educational arena, the way in which some schools are handling them is changing. Some of the changes are as a result of changes …

Literacy Achievement In Nongraded Classrooms, Anita Therese Kreide

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal quantitative study compared literacy achievement of students from second through sixth grade based on two organizational systems: graded (traditional) and nongraded (multiage) classrooms. The California Standards Test (CST) scaled and proficiency scores for English-Language Arts (ELA) were used as the study’s independent variable to measure student performance. A matched control was utilized in which nongraded students were compared with graded students based on gender, ethnicity, and date of birth. Data analysis included independent samples t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and effect size. Results showed that nongraded students had a significant advantage over their graded counterparts in literacy achievement …

Comparative Achievement Of Students In A Freshman Academy With Those Not In A Freshman Academy By Race And Gender In One East Tennessee High School., April Campbell Leonard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement of students who participated in a freshman academy program to the achievement of those who participated in the traditional high school curriculum. The researcher used grade point average and composite ACT score as determinants of achievement. The population consisted of the graduating classes of 2009 and 2010 at one East Tennessee high school. Independent sample t tests evaluated the relationship between achievement and type of freshman experience. The independent variables were participation in the freshman academy, being male, being female, and race. The dependent variables were grade point average and …

Comparative Study Of Reading First Schools Reading Achievement To Non-Reading First Schools., Wandaleen Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was any significant increase in the reading achievement of Reading First third grade students compared to the reading achievement of the third grade reading students in Non-Reading First schools located in southwest Virginia for 2004-2009. The Standards of Learning (SOLs) reading test scores were compiled from the Virginia Standards of Learning test scores that are available to the public from the Virginia Department of Education website. The elementary schools chosen for this study have a similar number of disadvantaged students and similar demographics. The reading achievement was being examined after …

Expanding A Validated Model: Effects And Antecedents Of Student Engagement, Barbara Nesbitt

All Dissertations

This study attempted to identify aspects of student engagement and capital inputs that impacted student achievement. The primary research question in the study asked: Does student engagement mediate the effects of capital inputs at the student, school, and class level to improve student achievement? The study also sought to understand how student engagement, capital inputs, and student achievement differed between White and African American students. This study used the 1990 and 1992 follow-up waves of the NELS:88 dataset. Two standardized scores defined student achievement: 12th grade reading and mathematics. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural …

Is There A Correlation Between Differentiating Instruction And English Language Learner Achievement?, Melissa Monique Deangelo

Dissertations

Minority students and English language learners are underachieving. Schools with a culture of every student, every day, have the ability to break generational cycles and to change the future of these students that has been predicted by circumstances. This case study examined and analyzed the differentiated instructional practices and implementation at three elementary schools, and determined if there was a correlation between differentiated instruction and success of English language learners. More specifically, the purpose of this case study was to examine (a) the extent of the principles of differentiated instruction present in the classroom (b) differentiated instruction in response to …

The Relationship Between Situational Leadership And Student Achievement, Hope Owens Beaver

Dissertations

The study of leadership has been one of great interest for many years and many leadership theories have since surfaced. Bolman and Deal’s (1991) situational leadership theory places leadership styles into four unique frames and suggests that the most effective leaders are able to utilize the most appropriate leadership frame that a situation might require. This study investigates these situational leadership frames which are structural, political, human resource, and symbolic and the relationship they may have with student achievement based on school performance labels given by the Mississippi State Department of Education.

The study was conducted in two months and …

How Do Teacher Qualifications Impact Student Achievement In Relation To The Achievement Model Established By The Mississippi Department Of Education?, Timothy Darren Holland

Dissertations

The following study was conducted in a six-county geographical region and involved teachers from various high schools that taught classes which were involved in the subject area testing program. Each participant taught one of the four state-mandated subject area classes that are tested to determine achievement levels and accreditation ratings for each high school.

The focus of the study was to collect information from each teacher regarding the qualifications they held during the 2009-2010 school year and to compare those qualifications with the mean scale score for each teacher’s subject area classes. The researcher focused on five separate teacher qualifications …

National Board Certification And Student Achievement: Do They Relate In Louisiana?, Barbara Ann Foster

Theses and Dissertations

Candidate for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School Administration The state of Louisiana has spent a large amount of money over the past years to ensure highly qualified teachers for every student. This study aimed to discover whether or not there was a statistically significant association between teachers who attain National Board Certification and student gains in achievement on standardized tests specifically the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) in an urban Louisiana school district. The research was to determine if students taught by Nationally Board Certified teachers (NBCTs) outperformed students of comparable backgrounds taught by …

The Effect Of Leadership Orientations On Student Achievement, Rhonda Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between and impact of principals' leadership styles on student achievement as determined by school performance scores (SPS). Bolman and Deal's (1984; 2003) four leadership frames model (structural, human, political, and symbolic) were utilized to identify principals' leadership styles. The sample for this study consisted of 15 principals from low socioeconomic status (SES) schools and 17 principals from high SES schools located in north and middle Louisiana.

Schools were chosen by searching the Louisiana School Directory, which is based on grade configuration, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. All schools in selected parishes …

Achievement, Engagement, And Behavior Outcomes Of Youth At Risk Following A Pre- Eighth-Grade Summer Academic Enrichment Program And Participation In A School- Wide, School Year Long, Ownership, Mastery, And Grading Initiative, David K. Alati

Student Work

A significant difference was found for youth at risk who refused the pre-eighth-grade summer academic enrichment program pretest-posttest comparisons for total reading (t (19) = 2.05, p = .05 (one-tailed), d = 0.473 but not for reading vocabulary t (19) = 1.58, p = .07 (one-tailed), d = 0.351, and reading comprehension t (19) = 1.65, p = .06 (one-tailed), d = 0.392, also where all test scores were in the direction of improvement. No posttest-posttest Analysis of Variance difference was observed for between groups reading achievement test score comparisons. A pattern of significant language test score improvement was …

An Examination Of Reading And Mathematic Achievement Among Second Grade Students Who Have Received Instruction From Either Teachers Who Have Been Trained In Choice Theory/Reality Therapy Methods Or Teachers Who Have Not Been Trained, Jane Virginia Hale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to see if second grade students who were taught by teachers trained in choice theory/reality therapy (CT/RT) methods had higher achievement scores in mathematics/reading compared to students who were taught by teachers who were not trained. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model suggests that school counselors need to active in the systemic processes of the school to provide comprehensive services to a large number of students (ASCA, 2005). According to Hatch & Bowers (2002), the primary mission of school counselors is to support and encourage academic achievement. The intent of this study …

Length Of School Calendars And Student Achievement In High Schools In California, Illinois And Texas, James M. Pedersen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Women In Mathematics: An Historical Account Of Women's Experiences And Achievement, Kendra D. Huff

CMC Senior Theses

For a long time, women have struggled to gain complete acceptance in the mathematics field. The purpose of this paper is to explore the history of women in the field of mathematics, the impact and experiences of current female mathematicians, and the common trends for women in the mathematics field, through literature review and personal interviews. This paper looks at the lives of four famous female mathematicians, as well as female mathematicians in the Claremont Colleges who were interviewed for this paper. Specifically this paper examines the discrimination they faced and how they overcame this discrimination, as well as the …

The Influence Of Selected Demographic Characteristics On The Reading Ability Of Fourth Grade Students In Louisiana, Johnny W. Morgan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected demographic characteristics on the reading ability of fourth grade students in Louisiana. The dependent variable for this study was reading ability of fourth grade students. Independent variables were demographic characteristics as measured by reading achievement (overall reading score and subscale reading score on the LEAP assessment). The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) exam is a high-stakes test that is administered to fourth grade students in Louisiana. Students must pass specific portions of the test to be promoted to fifth grade. Academic achievement data on the LEAP test …

Student Achievement As An Investment In Human Capital: Using Longitudinal Patterns Of Per Pupil Instructional And Capital Expenditures, Socioeconomic Status, And Past Performance In Predicting Student Achievement, Charles Anthony Roberts

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Existing research illustrating a significant relationship between school spending and student achievement is expanding. However, research specifically investigating the relationships between capital expenditures (maintenance, renovations, and construction) and instructional expenditures (teacher quality, teacher salaries, textbooks, class size) with student achievement both individually, and as a function of overall school spending, is lacking. Recent studies have linked school spending to student achievement in an attempt to increase school funding as a response to No Child Left Behind Act (2001) mandates. This study attempts to augment this area of inquiry by providing feedback across the Commonwealth of Virginia on longitudinal patterns of …

Examining The Attitudes And Outcomes Of Students Enrolled In A Developmental Mathematics Course At A Central Florida Community College, Leila Sisson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Examining students' attitudes toward mathematics has become extremely popular. This study examined the attitudes and outcomes of Beginning Algebra students at a central Florida community college. Quantitative methods were used to examine the students' initial composite attitudes toward mathematics. The initial composite attitude was used to examine the relationship between CPT scores and State Competency Exam scores. Further analysis was conducted to examine completers' and non-completers' initial attitudes. The composite change score was determined and quantitative methods were used to examine interactions between class sections, age, gender, and ethnicity.

The study began with 217 students and ended with 158. The …

A Multiple Regression Analysis Of Factors Concerning Superintendent Longevity And Continuity Relative To Student Achievement, Timothy Plotts

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Mixed Methods Inquiry Into The Relationship Between Belongingness And Achievement Of Middle School Transfer Students, Tamala Renee Maddox

All ETDs from UAB

A MIXED METHODS INQUIRY INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BELONGINGNESS AND ACHIEVEMENT OF MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSFER STUDENTS TAMALA R. MADDOX EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP ABSTRACT Student achievement is closely monitored and is believed to reflect how well a school is serving its student population therefore; it is incumbent upon schools to investigate a means of improving student achievement. As the number of students transferring to suburban school settings continues to increase, it has become increasingly important to determine how to assist these students in successfully transitioning into their new school environment. This study explored how sense of belonging affects achievement motiva-tion and academic …