Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Is A Good Student Also A Happier One? Traditional Measures Of School Functioning As Predictors Of Students' Well-Being, Yael Israel-Cohen, Gabriela Kashy-Rosenbaum, Oren Kaplan

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

Academic achievement, behavior, and school connectedness have long been considered central measures for assessing students’ optimal functioning in school. With the growing interest in positive education and its’ inclusion of well-being as a central educational goal, attention has been turned to the extent to which these traditional measures of school functioning are related to students’ well-being. Based on a sample of 314 Israeli middle school students from one school, this study focuses on the relationship between the latter measures of school functioning and students’ well-being, operationalized as life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, hope, and gratitude. Using structural equational modelling, …

The Relationship Between Body Mass Index, Fitness, Socioeconomics, And Academic Accountability School Rating: A Texas Study, Serena S. Bahe

Theses & Dissertations

Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates in the United States have doubled for adults and tripled for children (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2015). In addition, Texas, the second largest state, ranks 10th for the highest percentage of obesity among youth age 10-17 (CDC, 2015). Nationally, the United States falls behind other countries in high school and college completion rates (Greenstone, Harris, Li, Looney, & Patashnik, 2012), and since 2001 when the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) began, school administrators have reduced physical education, art, music, and recess by 44% to increase the time students spent in reading and …

Social Emotional Development's Effect On Academic Achievement Of Children With Special Needs, Adrienne Dunn

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine how social emotional strategies could be embedded into the academic curriculum for students with special needs. In order to develop a greater understanding on how to most effectively embed the strategies, a variety of stakeholders were called upon to gather information about strategies the could be implemented. The effectiveness of the strategies would be illustrated by the students’ attitudes towards learning after the implementation of embedded strategies and skills. This study focused on gathering information from a faculty at an intermediate school and the implementation of strategies was done in a collaborative …

The Effects Of Rubric Use On Calibration Accuracy, Katrice Hawthorne, Linda Bol, Shana L. Pribesh

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The utility of rubric-referenced calibration and the interaction between achievement and calibration accuracy were investigated. Students (N = 596) were assigned to one of three rubric conditions: (1) a global condition, (2) a general criteria condition, or (3) a detailed criteria condition. Students in all three conditions provided holistic predictions and postdictions. Students in the rubric conditions also provided criteria-based predictions and postdictions. Whereas calibrating by condition did not affect calibration accuracy overall, significant effects were found between calibration accuracy by criteria and achievement level. Lower achieving students had better calibration accuracy in the detailed rubric criteria condition when compared …

Heterogeneity Of Rural Schools In The World: Effects Of School Location On Academic Achievement Across 28 Countries, Julia Zhu

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Rural schools have been consistently under examined compared with urban and suburban counterparts. This paper examines the effects of school location, specifically rural schools, on student academic achievement in 28 countries, using TIMSS 2011 data for fourth grade students. After controlling for student, family, teacher, and school characteristics, as well as country fixed effects, rural schools in 5 countries have shown significant and positive effects on student math achievement, and those in another 5 countries have shown significant and negative effects.

Small Learning Communities And High School Academic Success, Jeremy Eugene Warren

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Thousands of students drop out of high school every day in the United States and the repercussions affect more than just the individual. Research on smaller learning communities (SLC) reveals increased student achievement, as well as improved teacher perception of student engagement. Student attendance, grade point average, and standardized test scores have been seen to improve within the SLC. In addition, graduation rates for students enrolled in a SLC have revealed increases, but this research focuses on the SLC as an intervention for any student. The current research targets at-risk students in an educational climate of sparse resources, and an …

The Effects Of Student Self-Assessment With Goal Setting On Fourth Grade Mathematics Students: Creating Self-Regulating Agents Of Learning, Laura Clift

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With the national trend toward student accountability as learners, few studies have identified effective instructional strategies that motivate elementary students in becoming agents of learning and the effect of these strategies on academic achievement. This quantitative study investigated the effect of student self-assessment with goal setting (SAGS), based on the work of Stiggins, Arter, Chappuis, and Chappuis (2006), on elementary school students’ academic achievement and motivation in mathematics. This study employed a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, nonequivalent control-group design. Participants were 130 students drawn from six intact classes of fourth graders from five elementary schools located in a large Archdiocese in the …

The Importance Of Highly Effective School Library Media Programs On School Learning Environments, Alexandra M. Juch

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of a previously identified successful school library program (SLMP) in a Connecticut public school. The primary goals of this research are to answer these questions by conducting a single case study to examine the nature of this previously identified SLMP so that promising practices identified from this study can be applied to other SLMPs in Connecticut public schools. The data collection methods embodied both qualitative and quantitative instruments that included surveys, interviews and documents. Qualitative data analysis included preparation, familiarization, coding and general meaning that was entered into a table …

Male Gender Disparity Gap: Does Gender Impact Education, Laura D. Smith

EDL Sixth Year Theses

This case study focuses on male gender disparity in education and the large numbers of males referred and receiving special education services. The data indicates that females outperform males academically, and that the males behaviors impacts their academic success. The connection to males at a young age being placed in low ability reading groups based upon behaviors, and their motivation and academic achievement is affected negatively. The eighth grade students at a PK - 8th grade rural Connecticut school participated in this researcher’s case study. The case study looked at, how students perceived their education, and what role their education …

Determining The Academic Achievement Of English Language Learners (Ells) By Using Additional Measures Of Growth, Adriana Maria Marin

Dissertations

Accountability measures employed in the country to determine the academic achievement of all the student population rely solely on the results obtained on the standardized tests. Such measures have often placed English language learners’ (ELLs) at risk of academic failure despite the fact that research on second language acquisition (SLA) has stated the complexity involved in the learning/acquisition process of a target language. Scholars have also discussed the influence accountability measures and the issues with the validity of the tests implemented to assess ELLs may have on such results. Therefore, in an effort to obtain a more comprehensive idea of …

Effects Of Motivational Prompts On Motivation, Effort, And Performance On A Low-Stakes Standardized Test, Katrice A. Hawthorne, Linda Bol, Shana Pribesh, Yonghee Suh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Increased demands for accountability have placed an emphasis on assessment of student learning outcomes. At the post-secondary level, many of the assessments are considered low-stakes, as student performance is linked to few, if any, individual consequences. Given the prevalence of low-stakes assessment of student learning, research that investigates the relationship between student motivation, effort, and performance on low-stakes tests is warranted as these tests are increasingly being used to make judgments about the quality of student learning. This quasi-experimental study was conducted at a public mid-sized university with 87 undergraduate students enrolled in four 100-level general education courses. The researchers …

Congruence Between Interest And Field Of Study As Determinant Of Academic Achievement Among University Students In Gilgit- Baltistan, Sadiq Hussain, Zaighum Ali, Ansar Ud Din

Business Review

on Pakistani students' academic achievement as postulated by Holland. A total of 133 participants from various departments of Karakoram International University, Gilgit-Pakistan have participated in this study. The Career Key Urdu that is adapted form of Career Key by Jones (2010) was administered to participant to measure their personality type and students obtained marks in last semester were recorded to assess their academic achievement. Results support the concept of "congruence" in Gilgit-Pakistan and congruent group has higher academic achievement as compared to incongruent group.

No Excuses Charter Schools: A Meta-Analysis Of The Experimental Evidence On Student Achievement, Albert Cheng, Collin Hitt, Brian Kisida, Jonathan N. Mills

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

While charter schools differ widely in philosophy and pedagogical views, the United States’s most famous urban charter schools typically use the No Excuses approach. Enrolling mainly poor and minority students, these schools feature high academic standards, strict disciplinary codes, extended instructional time, and targeted supports for low-performing students. The strenuous and regimented style is controversial amongst some scholars, but others contend that the No Excuses approach is needed to rapidly close the achievement gap. We conduct the first meta-analysis of the achievement impacts of No Excuses charter schools. Focusing on experimental studies, we find that No Excuses charter schools significantly …

The Influence Of Placement In A Co-Taught Inclusive Classroom On The Academic Achievement Of General Education Students On The 2014 New York State Ela And Mathematics Assessments In Grades 6-8 In A Suburban New York School District, Michael M. St. John

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the influence of placement in a co-taught inclusive classroom on the academic achievement of general education students in Grades 6-8 in a suburban New York school district on the 2014 New York State ELA and Mathematics Assessments. Propensity score matching was utilized to select the sample to provide a balanced sampling technique. The final sample was comprised of 746 students in Grades 6-8 in a suburban New York upper middle class district during the 2013-14 school year. The variables that were included in this study were gender, socioeconomic status, attendance, ethnicity, past academic performance as measured by …

What Factors Of Motivation Predict Achievement Of College Readiness? A Study Of Self-Determination And College Readiness, Laura Meeks Hudson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This predictive, correlational study examines the association between the fulfillment of the three basic psychological needs (relatedness, competence, and autonomy) described by self-determination theory and the academic achievement of college readiness as measured by ACT scores. Self-determination theory posits that fulfillment of the three basic psychological needs is associated with greater academic achievement. Juniors from a public high school complete the Basic Psychological Needs Scale questionnaire and the results will be analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to determine whether or not relatedness, competence, and/or autonomy may be predictors of college readiness achievement.

At Issue: A Comprehensive Review And Synthesis Of The Literature On Late Registration, Patrick Tompkins, Mitchell Williams

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Using a literature review taxonomy described by Cooper and Hedges (2009), an analysis of 32 publicly available studies of late registrations was conducted to provide researchers and policymakers with an assessment of the extent, quality, and major findings of the studies. The reviewer asserted that few high-quality studies have been conducted on late registration, and the research does not provide strong evidence that late registration is associated with poor student outcomes. The review provided answers to the following questions: What does the body of research on late registration indicate about the advisability of retaining it as an option for students? …

Reading Achievement In A Large Urban School District : An Analysis Of The Effects Of Four Reading Programs On The Reading Growth Of Four Reading Ability Groups., Deborah Patrice Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reading underachievement among adolescent students, specifically in urban areas, has been well documented in the literature. This unfortunate reality may point to two problems in America. Many schools possess neither the skill to prepare students for college and career nor possess the capacity to prepare them for a workforce that is becoming more and more high tech and in need of literate workers. Some schools are at a loss when it comes to teaching students to think of literacy as a critical tool for self-advocacy and identity development. Sociocultural perspectives on literacy view reading as an activity that develops as …

Weightlifting, Performing Arts Electives, And Academic Achievement: A Comparison In An East Tennessee High School, Lana Page

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between the academic achievement as measured by ACT English, math, and composite scores of students who took 6 or more credits of weightlifting, 6 or more credits of performing arts, or no elective focus in an East Tennessee high school serving grades 9-12 from the graduating classes of 2010 through 2014. The independent variables were the elective focus groups students took during high school and race and ethnicity. The dependent variables were ACT English, math, and composite scores. A series of one-way analyses of variances (ANOVAs) …

Long-Term Student Achievement Of Students Attending A Year-Round School And A Traditional Calendar School In One Urban School Division In Virginia, April M. Bruce

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the reading and math performance of students who attended a year-round elementary school to the performance of students who attended a traditional calendar elementary school in one small urban school division in Virginia. As a part of the study, the performance of these students was also examined as they transitioned into the same traditional calendar middle school to determine if year-round education had long-term effects on student achievement. Analysis of Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) raw score data was used to determine the level of performance in reading and math for the …

An Evaluation Of A Central Virginia Alternative School : Do Students Benefit From Their Experience?, Anthony H. Francis

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if students benefited from attending a Central Virginia alternative school, defined as a remedial alternative school which scaffolds students both socially and academically so they may return to their base school. Twelve students took part in the study that examined the academic indicators of grade point average, attendance, and number of disciplinary infractions as well as students’ perceptions of their experiences. The difference in trust levels was minimal, but students had accurate perceptions of how their grades, attendance, and discipline had changed while attending the alternative school. The study revealed three areas …

Evaluating A Ninth Grade Transition Program : Link Crew, Luke Saechao

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

For U.S. students, ninth grade is a critical year in the educational pipeline, often dictating a school-to-school transition period. The author evaluates the ramification on achievement following such a school-to-school transition. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a ninth grade transition program called Link Crew, which was implemented by a large comprehensive urban high school. Do transition programs assist in maintaining achievement and readiness? Participants in the study were transitioning grade nine students from two high schools in central Virginia, in which only one received treatment via the Link Crew transition program. The quantitative study utilized school division …

The Impact Of Performance Evaluations On Teachers' Instructional Practices And Student Achievement : Evidence From A Rural School District, Lee Ann Calvert

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance evaluation procedures in a local county school district to find out if the performance evaluation system influenced student achievement. Can effective teaching be linked, via evaluation tools and rubrics, to student achievement outcomes? A second focus of this research investigation was to examine the impact that the county's evaluation system had on teacher practice. Does the evaluation system provide a crucial link between student achievement and teacher performance, or do teachers view it as a formality, or worse, as a less-than-meaningful mandated exercise? This investigation will be the first step …

The Disconnect Between College And Reality, Janice Bell Underwood, Elizabeth Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

With formative assessments, teachers can more accurately determine student interests and aptitudes and drive achievement.

The Relationship Between Socio-Economic Status And The Academic Achievement Of Culturally Diverse Students, Yvette P. Ford

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Test results have shown that culturally diverse students from both high and low socioeconomic groups have continued to underperform when compared to the dominant group.

The study focused on high achieving minority students in order to gain deeper insight of factors that lead to high academic achievement of culturally diverse students (Hispanics and Blacks) from both high and low socio-economic groups. The data for this study included the 2012 CRCT of middle school students, and interview records with 4 students, 4 parents and 4 teachers. The quantitative data were analyzed and sought to answer the following research questions: (a) Does …

The Relationship Between Music Participation And Mathematics Achievement In Middle School Students, Joshua Boyd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A comparative analysis was used to study the results from a descriptive survey of selected middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8. Student responses to the survey tool was used to compare multiple variables of music participation and duration of various musical activities, such as singing and performing on instruments, to the mathematics results from Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (Georgia Department of Education, 2011. The results were analyzed with the use of the Pearson r correlation coefficient. The intensity of relationships was assessed with analysis of variance (ANOVA). A final t-test of means was conducted to compare the …

Game Design And Homemade Powerpoint Games: An Examination Of The Justifications And A Review Of The Research, Jason Paul Siko, Michael Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Research on educational games often focuses on the benefits that playing games has on student achievement. however, there is a growing body of research examining the benefits of having students design games rather than play them. Problems with game design as an instructional tool include the additional instruction on the programming language itself as well as the potential costs associated with new software. One way to mitigate these problems is to use Microsoft PowerPoint as game design software. While not intended for this purpose, MS PowerPoint is ubiquitous in schools and requires little additional instruction before students can design games. …

Effects Of An Inverted Instructional Delivery Model On Achievement Of Ninth-Grade Physical Science Honors Students, Donna Howell

Education Dissertations and Projects

This mixed-methods action research study was designed to assess the achievement of ninth-grade Physical Science Honors students by analysis of pre and posttest data. In addition, perceptual data from students, parents, and the researcher were collected to form a complete picture of the flipped lecture format versus the traditional lecture format.

The researcher utilized a 4MAT learning cycle in two Physical Science Honors classes. One of these classes was traditionally delivered with lecture-type activities taking place inside the classroom and homework-type activities taking place at home; the other inverted, or flipped, delivered with lecture-type activities taking place outside the classroom …

Using Dweck's Theory Of Motivation To Determine How A Student's View Of Intelligence Affects Their Overall Academic Achievement, Keely P'Pool

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study explored how student intelligence was directly linked to the goals and motivation held by students when engaged in academic settings. Students were administered a questionnaire developed by Dr. Carol Dweck in which they responded to statements in order to determine their individual theory of intelligence. Once this was accomplished, multiple student variables (including but not limited to first semester GPA, second semester GPA, ACT composite score, age, and college coursework) were compared to their view of intelligence to determine if any correlations existed.

Results showed that there was no significant difference between students who viewed intelligence as malleable …

The Effects Of Technology Instruction On The Academic Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students, Karen Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A digital native is an individual born between 1981 and 2001, and children born after 2001 are called millennials. Educators are expected to meet the needs of today's technologically savvy students. Some researchers assert that an academic `moral panic' is taking place that lacks the empirical and theoretical knowledge to support the claims that education needs to change to meet the needs of digital natives and millennials. The problem is that considering that the majority of students today are digital natives are educators meeting the learning needs of their students. This research study focused on the use of instructional technology …

Transfer Student Study, Angie Bomier, Ramon Pinero, Kellian Clink

Library Services Publications

Minnesota State University, Mankato benefits enormously from the talents of the students who transfer here from other institutions. It is important to understand their stories, their needs, and the resources that the institution can provide to best facilitate their success here. To that end, this document will discuss the research about transfer student achievement generally, and then move to our own processes and statistical description of these students and their experiences here as is seen through the Noel Levitz and NSSE data on transfer students as it relates to advising. Advising is critical to student success in general and particularly …