Education Commons^™

An Investigation Examining The Closing Of The Achievement Gap In Louisiana With The Ngss, George Cage

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and its implications of being a curricular and pedagogical intervention in terms of narrowing the achievement gap in science education for Children of Color. In using the explanatory mixed methods design, standardized test data and one-on-one interviews were examined to assess the effectiveness and impact of the NGSS’ implementation in the state of Louisiana. This study utilized student performance results from the LEAP 2025 to conduct a statistical analysis that measured trends in performance by Children of Color, specifically Black students, before and after the implementation …

Let’S Talk About It: Bridging The Gap Between Diverse Students And Their White Teachers, Beth Dean Boring Shoff

Theses and Dissertations

The achievement gap is a notorious construct of 21st-century schools and refers to the achievement of marginalized groups as compared to their White counterparts. This qualitative action research studied this phenomenon in a small, suburban school district experiencing shifting demographics by analyzing educators’ perceptions and attitudes for multicultural education and culture-centered themes. Survey responses and interview data were coded using Banks’s five dimensions of multicultural education (content integration, knowledge construction, equity pedagogy, prejudice reduction, and empowering school culture) to frame professional learning opportunities for White, middle-class educators. Additionally, emergent themes were identified that impact the achievement gap in this setting: …

The Impact Of Collective Efficacy And Collective Inquiry On Closing The Achievement Gap, Anne Marie Yarborough

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this two-phased, mixed-method action research study was to investigate the impact of a professional learning community’s collective teacher efficacy and their practice of collective inquiry in closing the achievement gap of eighth-grade social studies English language learners. The research questions guiding this research: 1. How and to what extent will collective inquiry impact collective efficacy among teachers? 2. How and to what extent will a professional learning community's collective efficacy impact student achievement on the 8th-grade social studies state assessment for English language learners?

Social cognitive theory and adult learning theory provided the theoretical foundation for this …

The Impact Of Self-Regulated Learning Tutoring And Mentoring Program On Black Males In Eighth-Grade Science, Julie Liddle Lott

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of practice described in this paper was identified by the state testing gaps between White and Black male students at a middle school in central South Carolina. This identified problem of practice led to the development of the research question: What is the impact of a tutoring and mentoring program using self-regulated learning strategies on my Black male students and their academic achievement in eighth grade science? The purpose of this study is to determine if a tutoring and mentoring program will affect the academic achievement of my Black male students in science.

The action research model being …

The Effect Of Summer Vacation On Reading Level, Stacey Klinkhammer

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a lengthy break from school, with no formal academic activity, caused a decrease in a student’s academic achievement. Specifically, if reading scores decreased. The study aimed to compare two groups of high school students, primarily in grades 9-11. The study compared those who enrolled in summer school courses for remedial purposes and those who did not enroll in summer school. The study focused on students’ reading skills before and after their school’s summer vacation, which is approximately 12 weeks long. District assessments of student’s ability were the metrics used for …

The Role Of Arts Education In Closing The Achievement Gap In High Poverty Schools, Deanne Basse

Masters Theses

This paper will review research that identifies different types of poverty and how brain development may be affected as a result of living in poverty. Although research reflects support and understanding by the American people that arts education is important to the well roundedness of youth and, in fact, correlates with higher standardized test scores, arts programs continue to be cut especially in areas of poverty. There is an achievement gap in educational success when it comes to students that live in poverty and that of students in higher socioeconomic situations. Students of poverty are working with increased internal and …

Ability Grouping And Student Achievement In Four Rural Elementary Schools In The Southern United States, Rhonda Denise Kelley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School personnel are concerned that reading gaps of grade 3 and grade 4 students have persisted in 4 rural elementary schools in the southern United States despite the use of ability grouping to improve student reading proficiency scores. Between the 2014-2016 school years, less than 50% of students in grades 3 and grade 4 scored at the proficient level in reading at the 4 target rural schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the teachers' and administrators' perceptions regarding the influence of grouping on the reading performance of students in grades 3 and 4. Using Vygotsky's …

African American Male Community College Completion And Mode Of Instruction, Lisa M. Harper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite innovative policy and pedagogical transformations, postsecondary achievement gaps continue to exist between African American males and other students. Low college credential completion rates by African American males have prevented an East Texas community college from meaningful participation in the President's 2020 postsecondary education attainment goal of increasing U.S. college graduates by 5 million. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate a hypothesized connection between the independent variable, mode of instruction, and the dependent variables, mathematics course completion and college completion by African American males. Guided by Ogbu's cultural-ecological theory of minority school performance, a chi-square test of …

Across The Great Divide: The Effects Of Technology In Secondary Biology Classrooms, Johnny Howard Worley

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study investigates the relationship between technology use and student achievement in public high school across North Carolina. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a digital divide (differences in technology utilization based on student demographics of race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and municipality) exists among schools and whether those differences relate to student achievement in high school biology classrooms. The study uses North Carolina end-of-course (EOC) data for biology to analyze student demographic data and assessment results from the 2010-2011 school year from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The data analyses use descriptive and factorial univariate …

Instructional Practices Of English As Second Language Teachers, Karen Ann Wallis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The past decade has seen a significant increase in the emergence of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States. Nationally, a disparity in achievement exists between ELLs and non-ELLs. Relatedly, this problem was evident in a northeastern school district, where ELLs had not made Adequate Yearly Progress 2 years in a row. The purpose of this study was to examine how much time English as Second Language (ESL) teachers spend on a variety of best instructional practices. Constructivism, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, and Tomilinson's differentiated instruction were the frameworks used to guide this research. A within-group design was …

Ability Grouping Interventions And Math Performance Among Inner-City School, Vladimir Sreckovic

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the city selected for this study, only 29% of inner-city students scored proficiently on standardized tests, whereas 71% of their peers at nearby suburban and affluent schools achieved the proficiency level. To address the gap, the local district implemented ability grouping in one charter school. The purpose of this ex post facto quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of ability grouping among inner-city students in mathematics as an instructional intervention for improving student achievement. Ability grouping theory as an instructional strategy was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The criterion measure of mathematics improvement was provided …

Divergent Summers: Measuring The Effect-Size Of Summer Vacation On Reading And Mathematics Achievement Scores For Different Populations Of Maine Students, Brian I. Mazjanis Phd

All Student Scholarship

This quantitative study of summer learning for Maine students in grades three through grades eight analyzed changes in academic achievement level in mathematics and reading that occurred during the summer recess of 2009. The patterns of learning exposed in this study have meaningful implications for policymakers attempting to close the achievement gap.

The Caring Beliefs And Practices Of Effective Teachers, Barbara D. Mccollum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current educational reform tends to emphasize an impersonal test-driven approach to teaching while the present research maintains this reform is inequitable because it neglects the personal component of teacher caring, which is necessary to reach all students, especially disaffected underachievers. The purpose of the present multi-case study was to determine the caring beliefs and practices of six effective teachers in two Title I Elementary schools in a central Georgia school system, how these beliefs and practices manifested in the classroom, and in what ways the teachers’ beliefs and practices may have been influenced by their own cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds …

Closing The Gap: Use Of The Instructional At-Home Plan (Iahp)® By African American Parents And The Impact On Literacy Achievement Among Their Kindergarten Children, Tanya Foster Demers

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this ex post facto study was to investigate the use of the Instructional At- Home Plan (IAHP)® by African American parents and its impact on kindergarten literacy achievement among their children. The study used DIBELS data from students who attended a Chicago Public School with a population that averaged 98.6% black and 96.75% low-income status. Parents of students who attended classes for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years utilized the Instructional At-Home Plan. The achievement of their children was analyzed and compared to those students who attended kindergarten for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years: students whose …