Education Commons^™

An Investigation Of A Methodology To Assess District Performance, Peter Simpson, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

School Finance and Student Achievement

This study investigates a resource-based methodology to assess district performance as an indicator of student achievement on standardized assessments. The problem that this investigation addresses is that performance measurement and the associated decision-making is indeterminate. There is a lack of empirical research that relates decision-making about resource utilization to performance.

The study utilizes structuralism to assess the relationship between the independent variable of resource utilization and the dependent variable performance. Complex Adaptive System theory is used as a framework for Concept Mapping methodology. The study is grounded in theories from Complex Adaptive Systems and Microeconomics that state that performance is …

Connecting Resources To Student Achievement: Assessment Of The Indeterminacy Of District Performance, Peter Simpson, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

School Finance and Student Achievement

The purpose of this study is to conduct cluster analyses, resulting in groupings of N=113 districts based on socioeconomic status (SES), which is the independent variable and primary correlate of performance. It is a quantitative analysis of N=113 districts in Massachusetts for the period from 2000 to 2005. The study conducts cluster analyses to evaluate district performance as measured by student achievement. The problem is stated by National Research Council (1999) that: “Indeterminacy characterizes education production”. Indeterminacy is represented by variation in the N=113 districts’ performance. The groupings of performance obtained from the cluster analyses provide information about the types …

Patterns Of District Performance In Student Achievement: Connecting Resources To Student Achievement, Peter Simpson, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

School Finance and Student Achievement

This presentation is the first sequence of a three-phase study using a mixed method sequential explanatory strategy (Creswell, 2003). The study is research in-progress that investigates how resources can increase or diminish the value resources as they move through the education delivery system contributing in variations in its overall performance (Porter, 1985). The study is unique, because it combines, and is based on microeconomic and complex adaptive theories to examine resource utilization within school districts. This first sequence has two analytical goals and steps: (1) to verify the significant correlation, but with patterns of variability for district performance measured by …