Factors Impacting Student Success in Grades 6-8 During School of Choice Transition at Two Middle Schools

 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY

THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 

 FACTORS IMPACTING STUDENT SUCCESS IN GRADES 6-8 DURING

SCHOOL OF CHOICE TRANSITION AT TWO MIDDLE SCHOOLS

 

MICHELLE ANNETTE CLOUD

Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. William Allan Kritsonis

Dr. David Herrington

Dr. Wanda Johnson

Dr. Lucian Yates, III

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

 

October 2008

Agenda

Part I, The Problem

1. Introduction

2. Statement of the problem

3. Purpose of the study

4. Significance of the study

5. Research questions

Part II, Literature Review

1. Conceptual framework

2. Existing studies

Part III, Methodology

1. Research design

2. Subjects of the study

3. Data analysis method

The Problem

Introduction

Educating the 21st Century student often entails numerous and somewhat overwhelming challenges. An ever-increasing number of students enter school with deficits stemming from socio-economic to socio-linguistic barriers. At far too many campuses, resources, parental support, and community support are limited.

Background of the Problem

One component of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) is adequate yearly progress, or AYP. Any Title I school designated in need of improvement (based on AYP rating) must offer all students attending that school the opportunity to attend a school in the district that has successfully met its AYP goals (Texas Education Agency, 2008).

 Statement of the Problem

In response to the NCLBA (No Child Left Behind) Act of 2001, administrators, counselors, teachers, students and parents are now strongly considering the benefits and disadvantages of transferring students to a selected school of choice.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is three-fold:

(1) The study will assess the academic impact on transfer students.

(2) The study will assess the social impact on transfer students.

(3) The study will explore the perception of counselors on the academic and social impact of transfer students.

Significance of the Study

The significance of the study is to ensure that children across the country receive the maximum benefit from the legislation prescribed in the NCLBA.

Research Questions to be Investigated

Quantitative research questions to be answered are as follows:

1. What are the differences in the 2005/2006 Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores and 2006/2007 Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores between transfer and non-transfer students in

grades 6-8?

Research Questions to be Investigated

Quantitative research questions to be answered are as follows:

2. What are the differences in the Mathematics and Language Arts grade point average (G.P.A.) between transfer and non-transfer students in grades 6-8?

Research Questions to be Investigated

Quantitative research questions to be answered are as follows:

3. What are the differences in the attendance rate between transfer and non-transfer students in grades 6-8?

Null Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were developed from the preceding quantitative research questions:

H01: There is no statistically significant difference between the 2005/2006 Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores and the 2006/2007 Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores of transfer students and non-transfer students in grades 6-8.

H02: There is no statistically significant difference in Mathematics and Language Arts grade point average (G.P.A.) of transfer and non-transfer students in grades 6-8.

H03: There is no statistically significant difference in the attendance rate of transfer and non-transfer students in grades 6-8.

Qualitative Research Questions

Qualitative research questions to be answered are as follows:

4. What behaviors/habits do counselors observe from transfer students in grades 6-8?

5. Which factors in the school of choice schools do counselors perceive are the most helpful in assisting transfer students in grades 6-8?

Literature Review

Diagrammatic format of the Conceptual Framework

Factors Impacting Student Success During “School of

Choice” Transition

Students often learn a great deal simply by observing other people

Describing the consequences of behavior is can effectively increase the appropriate behaviors and decrease inappropriate ones

Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for teaching new behaviors

Teachers should help students set realistic expectations for their academic accomplishments

Students must believe that they are capable of accomplishing school tasks

Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors and take care that they do not model inappropriate behaviors

Self-regulation techniques provide an effective method for improving student behavior

Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models

A graph format of Omrod’s (1999) findings developed from Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

Describing the consequences of behavior can effectively increase appropriate behaviors and decrease inappropriate ones

Existing Studies

•A comprehensive set of information regarding school choice has been provided in The National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) (Bielick & Chapman, 2003).

•The NHES data indicated that the proportionate number of students enrolled in specifically assigned public schools decreased between 1993 and 2003 due to more students enrolling in chosen public schools.

•The study further indicated that the proportionate number of students enrolled in private schools remained stable between 1993 and 2003 (Bielick & Chapman).

Existing Studies

•The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a study in December of 2004 to provide Congress with a report reviewing the first 2 years of implementation of the NCLBA school choice.

•The United States GAO considered the following factors:

(1) the number of Title I schools and students that have been affected nationally,

(2) the experiences of selected school districts in implementing choice,

(3) the guidance and technical assistance that education provided (p. 1).

Existing Studies

•The GAO found “(a)bout 1 in 10 of the nation’s 50,000 Title I schools were identified for school choice in each of the first 2 years since enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act . . .” (United States Government Accountability Office, 2004, p.1).

•“The proportion of schools identified for choice varied by state” and “(a)bout 1 percent of eligible children, or 31,000 students, transferred in school year 2003-2004” (GAO, p. 1).

Existing Studies

•Eight hundred families were surveyed by Researchers at the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

•The families had earnings less than $50,000 a year and were located in three cities, Denver, Milwaukee, and Washington, with recent or established school choice programs (Viadero, 2007).

•Parents in lower socioeconomic categories complete the process for selected campuses in an altogether different manner than parents in higher income brackets even though both groups of parents report equal satisfaction with the process (Viadero, 2007).

Existing Studies

•45% Quality of the academic program

•19% Curriculum

•11% Location of the school

• The study concluded that most families expressed satisfaction with their choice and satisfaction increased when students were an integral part of making the decision (Viadero, 2007).

Description of research methods

Research Methods:Mixed Methods Study

Quantitative DataDescriptive StatisticsCausal-Comparative

Qualitative DataInterviews

Description of research methods(continued)

Quantitative Data

For the quantitative portion of the study, the researcher will use the following data:

•2005/2006 and 2006/2007 Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores •Mathematics and Language Arts grade point averages •Attendance rates

Description of research methods(continued)

Research Design

•Independent variable •School Choice

•transfer•non-transfer students

• Dependent variables•Mathematics and Reading TAKS scores •Mathematics and Language Arts grade point averages •Attendance rates

•Descriptive statistics will include the following information about the sample population: gender, grade level, ethnicity, socio-economic status, educational placement (special education, regular education, gifted and talented, English Language Learners), at-risk status and chronological age.

Description of research methods (continued)

Research Design

•Descriptive Statistics for the following variables:•gender•grade level•race•socio-economic status •educational placement (special education, regular education, gifted and talented, English Language Learners)•at-risk status •chronological age

Description of research methods (continued)

T-tests for independent means will be calculated to determine if differences exists with:

(1)the Mathematics and Reading TAKS scores between transfer and non-transfer students in grades 6-8

(2) the Mathematics and Language Arts grade point average (G.P.A.) between transfer and non-transfer students in grades 6-8

(3) the attendance rate between transfer and non-transfer students in grades 6-8

Description of research methods (continued)

Population and Sample

•6th – 8th grade students from one large school district in Texas

•Criterion Sampling – Transfer students•School A = 153 transfer students•School B = 156 transfer students. •Total number of transfer students = 309

•Stratified random sampling – Non-transfer students •The number of non-transfer students will equal to the number of cases of transfer students and will be similar in certain demographics

Description of research methods (continued)

Instrumentation

Extant data from the 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 Mathematics and Reading TAKS Test will be used to determine if differences exists between the 2005/2006 Mathematics and Reading TAKS scores and the 2006/2007 Mathematics and Reading TAKS scores of transfer students and non-transfer students in grades 6-8.

Description of research methods (continued)

Research Procedures

•A database of all transfer students will be obtained through school records and developed using Excel. A database of students who elected to remain at their home campus using school records will also be created, the non-transfer students. The database will also contain the Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores, Mathematics and Language Arts G.P.A. and attendance rates of transfer and non-transfer students.

Description of research methods (continued)

Research Procedures

•The researcher will develop two groups: transfer students and non-transfer students.

•Each student will receive a code to protect his or her anonymity.

•Once the spreadsheets have been developed using Excel software, the data will be imported to SPSS 13.0 to complete descriptive statistics and t-tests for independent means.

Description of research methods (continued)

Data Analysis

•Descriptive statistics will include demographic information about the transfer and non-transfer students.

•Descriptive statistics will be analyzed and frequencies and percentages will be presented in table format.

Description of research methods (continued)

Data Analysis

•T-tests for independent means will be used to compare means to answer the research questions for the quantitative portion of the study. •Apply the standard alpha level: 0.05. •The rejection rule will be applied.

Description of research methods (continued)

Qualitative

The qualitative data will consist of responses from participants. Counselors will be interviewed and asked questions that correlate with the theoretical framework, which is taken from Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory.

Description of research methods (continued)

Research Design

•For the qualitative portion of the study, the independent variables will be the transfer students. • The dependent variables will be the counselors’ perception.• Demographic information from school counselors from two

schools, School A and School B, will be collected using structured interviews.

•Counselor participants will be interviewed using structured and semistructured interviews during telephone survey or personal sessions. •Each counselor participant will be asked feeling and sensory questions.

Description of research methods (continued)

Instrumentation

Extant data from the 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test will be used to determine if differences exists between the 2005/2006 Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores and the 2006/2007 Mathematics and Reading Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores of transfer students and non-transfer students in grades 6-8.

Description of research methods (continued)

Pilot Study

•The researcher will pilot the structured and semistructured interview questions to determine if the interview questions are clearly worded with a panel of experts.

Description of research methods (continued)

Population and Sample

•Counselors that had the opportunity to observe and interact directly with transfer students.

•This sample population is a criterion case and will consist of six participants. Each participant must be a certified counselor.

Description of research methods (continued)

Instrumentation

•Interview questions will be structured and semistructured.

•The panel of experts will consist of counselors that have been confirmed and certified according to the standards established by the Texas State Board of Education for Certification.

Description of research methods (continued)

Research Procedures•Eligible counselor participants will be called to schedule an appointment. •After confirmation of the appointment, the researcher will conduct a face-to face or telephone survey with counselor participant. •Upon completion of the interview session, counselor participants will be mailed a thank you letter for their willingness to participate in the study.•Each returned consent form would be assigned an identification number to be used in a coding system for management of data collection.

Description of research methods (continued)

Data Collection and Recording

•Structured demographic questions will be asked of each counselor participant who agreed to take part in the research.

•The demographic questions will address the following: gender, age, education level, and years of experience in education and total years of counseling experience.

•Semistructured interview questions

Description of research methods (continued)

Data Analysis

•Qualitative data will be coded according to related themes and analyzed for recurring and emergent themes correlating with the theoretical framework.

•Emergent category designation, cross-case analysis, peer debriefing and triangulation will be used to support the statistical data gathered from the quantitative portion of the study.

References

Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28, 117-148.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Bielick, S, & Chapman, C. (2003). Trends in the use of school choice: 1993-1999 (NCES 2003-031). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Fraenkel, J., & Wallen, N. (2006). How to design and evaluate research in education. 6th ed. New York: McGraw Hill.

Isaac, S. & Michael, W. (1997). Handbook in Research and Evaluation for Education and the Behavioral Sciences (3rd ed.) San Diego, CA:EdiTs/Educational and Industrial Testing Services.

References

Ormrod, J. E. (1999). Human learning (3rd ed) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Public Agenda, 1999).

Schneider, M., Teske, P., Marschall, M., Mintrom, M., & Roch, C. (1997). Institutional Arrangements and the Creation of Social Capital: The Effects of Public School Choice. The American Political Science Review, 91(1), 82-93.

Sirkin, R. (2006). Statistics for the social sciences. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 45   

Texas Education Agency (2008). Retrieved June 14, 2008, from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/data.html

United States Government Accountability Office. (2004). No child left behind act: Education needs to provide additional technical assistance and conduct

Implementation studies for school choice provision. (Highlights of GAO-05-7, a report to the Secretary of Education).

References

Viadero, D. (2007, January). Researchers Examine School Choice Picks. Education Week, 26(19), 9.  Retrieved July 21, 2008, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1197232011).