Browsing by Subject "student achievement"
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Item The Effect of Parent Engagement on Student Achievement(2021-05-01) Wallingford, Krista; Quinton, Janice; Miller, Natasha; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this case study was to examine whether increasing the frequency, quantity and quality of parent engagement would increase student performance on skills deemed essential through their Individualized Education Program (IEP). The measurement tool was a teacher-created activity that was sent home twice a week for three weeks to the parent with the intention of it being completed by the student with the parent’s support. Findings of this case study demonstrated that when the level of parent engagement increased during the course of the three weeks, the student’s performance and skill acquisition also increased. Given the importance of the findings of this study, increasing the frequency and/or length of time of the study in the future would yield more accurate and applicable results.Item The Effects of Professional Development in Formative Assessment on Mathematics Teaching Performance and Student Achievement(Public Knowledge Project (PKP), 2009-05-06) McGatha, Maggie B.; Bush, William S.; Rakes, ChristopherItem Federal Funding as a Driver of School Reform through Budgetary Decision Making Among Transformational Leaders in Title I Schools(2022-04-25) Allen, Yolanda; Bands, Kathleen; Labatt, Arronza; Rose, Caleb; Morrow, Adrienne; Hood College Department Organizational LeadershipEducational equity has been a long-standing goal among legislators since the passing of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (McLaughlin, 1975). While initially the focus was examining the disparity in resources available to schools in different geographical areas, as accountability measures were enacted, the achievement gap between socioeconomic disadvantaged groups and their peers emerged. Despite the many efforts of school reform from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which included provisions, Title I, to provide subsidies to schools servicing a high concentration of students from socioeconomically impacted communities, and the various iterations that followed, the discrepancy in student performance persists. There are, however, some economically impacted schools where gains are being made in narrowing this disparity in performance. Research related to student achievement have examined the impact of funding as well as the process that leaders use to make decisions (Lafortune, Rothstein, Schanzenbach, 2018; Bezzina, Gatelli, Grassetti, Vidoni, 2008; Martorell, Stange, McFarlin, Jr., 2015). The research, however, has neglected to study the concrete financial decisions made by principals coupled with leader behaviors that influence student outcomes. Rooted in Karl Marx’s theory of justice, this qualitative study contributes to the ongoing research around public education, funding, and equity to highlight strategies that leaders employ through the allocation of federal Title I funds that influence student achievement (Marx, 1976). With the moral underpinning of social responsibility as it relates to equitable opportunities for all, this research explores the ideology of Transformational Leadership and its presence in Title I leaders along with spending priorities and decision-making processes to create a level playing field for students. The information garnered from this research will support the development of school-based leaders through academic and district-based development programs. In Phase 1 of the study, district level state assessment scores for each Title I school in the sample were retrieved and analyzed to examine growth trends in the Title I schools across a 10-year period. The rate of growth in student performance was compared in two durations of time during NCLB (2010-2015) and ESSA (2016-2019). This performance data was used to further understand the leadership lens used in establishing budgetary priorities and processes among building leaders during these shifts in legislation. Phase 2 involved one-on-one interviews with Title 1 principals. Responses were coded where spending priority themes emerged, attention to the The People, The Landscape, The Foundation and The Soul. Phase 3 included two focus group sessions of five participants each. Principals included in these focus groups lead schools with a large socioeconomically disadvantaged population. However, the schools represented in the focus group samples do not qualify for the identification of Title I therefore are not recipients of Title I federal funding. Their responses coupled with those of Title I principals were used to align practices and procedures to the elements of Transformational Leadership. The combination of this data analysis asserts that effective school reform begins with a transformational leader who embodies charisma and develops a customized program for their school through collaboration and effective communication.Item Investigating Teacher Perceptions of Professional Development and Student Achievement in Rural Maryland(2015) Sheehe, Kay Roché; AuMiller, William J.; Department of Educational Professions; Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)This dissertation addresses 12 questions related to an overall investigation designed to determine if there is a relationship between teacher perceptions of professional development and student achievement in rural Maryland. During an era of federal, state, and local education reform, lessons learned could help dramatically redesign professional development for the future. “Pedagogical Content Knowledge” (PCK) coined in 1986 by Lee Shulman, a past president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the 1995 book written by Stephen Brookfield Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher helped to form the conceptual framework of this study. Twelve elements relating to professional development were part of the questions on the Teaching, Empowering, Leading, and Learning (TELL) Maryland Survey of 2011 and 2013. The change in these TELL Maryland Survey teacher perceptions was correlated with the change in student High School Assessment (HSA) senior exit exam results for the same time period. Data were included from 79% (11,365 of 14,368) of teachers in 80% (63 of 79) of all rural high schools in Maryland that reported HSA senior exit exam data and responded at a 50% or higher rate on both studied years of the TELL Maryland Survey. After analyzing statewide data, disaggregated by five regions, it was determined that three professional development elements had positive correlations and nine had negative correlations, although none of these were statistically significant. Those elements that correlated most positively with student achievement (with shortened titles used in the study) were collaboration, reflect(ion), and time. The literature review provided insight into some possible reasons for these results.Item Predicting Student Outcomes from Information Knowable at the Time of Hire: A Systematic Review(Yola, 2010-08-10) Valentine, Jeffrey C.; Rakes, Christopher R.; Canada, DerickaItem A Study on the Effect of a Dual-role Induction Model on Retention and Student Achievement(2016) Ridgely, Lori A.; Santamaria-Makang, Doris; Department of Educational Professions; Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)The purpose of this study was to compare/explore the effectiveness of a dual-role new teacher induction model in a Western Maryland School District (WMSD) to a site-based induction model in a Pennsylvania School District (PASD) on new teacher retention and student achievement. In this study, the exploratory design was used in conjunction with the comparative design in order to provide an in-depth depiction of the effectiveness of a WMSD dual-role induction model. The exploratory research was an attempt to lay the groundwork for future studies (Kowalczyk, 2016). Quantitative data were comparative, and qualitative data were exploratory. This study used a mixed-method approach, organized into four phases. Phase One consisted of secondary Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) data, as well as attrition data for both a WMSD and a PASD to make a comparison of new teacher retention and reading and math student achievement. First and second (1-2) grade MAP data and new teachers’ (district-wide) attrition data were used for both districts. Independent samples t-tests were used to explain the difference between two means, and repeated measures ANOVA tests were used to make comparisons of the average student scores across multiple time periods. Both tests were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Attrition data were calculated by percentages. Phase Two consisted of an online survey of 41 primary grade (K-2) new teachers in the WMSD, consisting of primary grades kindergarten, first, and second (K-2). The online survey program, Survey Monkey, organized the data into percentages. The online survey served as the guide to the development of interview questions for the new teachers. Phase Three involved semi-structured interviews with WMSD new teachers in primary grades K-2. New teachers volunteered and were selected through a question on the survey. The interviews addressed experiences of new teachers regarding why they stayed, what would cause them to leave, professional development, support systems, and how the use of data informed their instruction. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and Thematic In Vivo coding was used to analyze the responses. Phase Four was triangulation of the data analysis from the MAP, attrition data, survey and interviews. The most critical finding of this study was that the WMSD dual-role induction model did not make significant impact on student progress over the course of three years in reading and math achievement over a PASD site-based induction model. Another important finding was that the WMSD survey and interviews determined that the professional development used to guide instruction was more effective in math than reading. A final significant finding of this study was that the WMSD increasingly retained new teachers for each of three years since the onset of the dual-role induction model. Based on triangulation of data, implications for future practice include recommendations to enhance quality of mentor time, teacher preparedness in data analysis, and reading professional development, and to reduce teacher attrition. These practices will broaden the exploration of a dual-role induction model and its effectiveness on new teacher retention and student achievement, and provide school districts options in choosing an effective induction model.