Current Search: School improvement programs -- Evaluation (x)
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- Title
- School principal influence actions, climate, culture, and school performance.
- Creator
- Miron, Bree J., Pisapia, John, Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
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This quantitative, non-experimental study was conducted to investigate the link between school principal influence actions, climate, culture, and school performance. Additionally, this study sought to determine if the influence of these variables or the relationship among them is altered by individual and/or institutional characteristics. The first phase of the study was conducted to determine whether or not the Customer Survey aligned to distinct dimensions. Two factors were identified:...
Show moreThis quantitative, non-experimental study was conducted to investigate the link between school principal influence actions, climate, culture, and school performance. Additionally, this study sought to determine if the influence of these variables or the relationship among them is altered by individual and/or institutional characteristics. The first phase of the study was conducted to determine whether or not the Customer Survey aligned to distinct dimensions. Two factors were identified: Staff Attitudes and Student Disruptions. The second part used regression to examine the relationships among four constructs and test the seven hypotheses.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004307, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004307
- Subject Headings
- Critical pedagogy, Educational leadership -- Influence, School improvement programs -- Evaluation, School mangement and organization, School principals -- Influence
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Examining the Effectiveness of Turnaround Models in Florida Public Schools.
- Creator
- Fulton, Angela R., Shockley, Robert, Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
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Improving student performance in America’s chronically underperforming schools has been a challenge for many decades. Despite various school reforms, little to no progress has been shown. Schools have continued to fail, and achievement gaps have widened. The current state of schools has called for a drastic intervention. School turnaround has emerged as the country’s response to improving persistently-low performing schools. This study was designed to determine if the turnaround models...
Show moreImproving student performance in America’s chronically underperforming schools has been a challenge for many decades. Despite various school reforms, little to no progress has been shown. Schools have continued to fail, and achievement gaps have widened. The current state of schools has called for a drastic intervention. School turnaround has emerged as the country’s response to improving persistently-low performing schools. This study was designed to determine if the turnaround models outlined in the federal school improvement grant (SIG) were effective in improving student performance in low-performing schools in Florida. Specifically, this study investigated the impact of the transformation and turnaround intervention models on student achievement. This study also sought to determine if size (school enrollment), socioeconomic status (FRL), minority enrollment rates (Black and Hispanic), as well as principal gender, race, and years of experience moderate the relationship between the intervention model used and student achievement. The ultimate objective was to determine if turnaround intervention models improved student performance in low-performing schools in Florida. A quantitative method, including three statistical analyses, was employed to respond to three research questions and test nine corresponding null hypotheses. Florida’s 69 SIG Cohort I schools were identified for data collection and analysis. A t test analysis revealed there was not a significant difference in the performance of the transformation and turnaround model schools as measured by percent of points earned towards school grade. Further, chi square analysis revealed there was not a relationship between the model (transformation or turnaround) and school grade. Additionally, multiple regression analysis revealed none of the moderator variables were statistically significant. A discussion of the findings, implications for policy and practice, and recommendations for turnaround are explained in detailed, followed by suggestions for future research.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013131
- Subject Headings
- Public schools--Florida, School improvement programs--Florida--Evaluation, Student achievement, Academic achievement--Florida
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Beyond fidelity: relating educational practices and their determinants to student learning gains.
- Creator
- Urdegar, Steven M., Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
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This study explored how contextual factors influenced the effect of educational practices on student reading achievement and describes an alternative means of assessing educational programs under conditions of multiple-treatment interference and innovation diffusion. Over 1,500 reading teachers at 69 elementary schools within a large diverse district completed surveys regarding multiple aspects of the reading program, actions of their reading leaders, and instructional program coherence at...
Show moreThis study explored how contextual factors influenced the effect of educational practices on student reading achievement and describes an alternative means of assessing educational programs under conditions of multiple-treatment interference and innovation diffusion. Over 1,500 reading teachers at 69 elementary schools within a large diverse district completed surveys regarding multiple aspects of the reading program, actions of their reading leaders, and instructional program coherence at their schools. Nearly 13,000 students in grades 2 through 5 were assigned to those teachers. Factor analyses were used to separately identify patterns within survey items that measured educational practices, leadership actions, and instructional program coherence. Then, the students' achievement gains were adjusted for the effects of fixed demographic and organizational variables through hierarchical linear modeling. Finally, classroom level relationships between the adjusted achievement gains, and subscales computed from the factors that were identified, were examined through a path analysis. Educational practices were found to align to six factors labeled Technology, Training Utility, Advanced Skills, Basic Skills, Grouping, and Assessment. Leadership actions were found to align to two factors labeled Relationship and Task. Fixed effects at the student, classroom, and school levels were found to have an impact on both the initial status and growth components of student achievement. In the path model, Task was found to have a significant direct effect on Advanced Skills, while the effect of Relationship on educational practices was partially mediated by Instructional Program Coherence. Both Advanced and Basic skills were found to have positive effects on Adjusted Gain when taught at the appropriate level, and negative effects, when taught at the inappropriate level., Technology was found to facilitate Basic Skills instruction overall, with greater benefits seen at the upper grades. It was concluded the rates of use seen for Advanced and Basic skills instruction were similar at the three types of schools examined because of poor differentiation due to innovation diffusion. Teachers who perceived their leaders as supportive, tended to rate their schools as more coherent and training requirements as more appropriate, and used technology and assessment more often, leading to gains in student achievement.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77653
- Subject Headings
- School management and organization, Decision making, Education, Evaluation, Educational tests and measurements, School improvement programs, Evaluation
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Here, Let Me Show You: The Use of Senior Exhibitions in Conjunction with Traditional Assessments.
- Creator
- Mimbs, Christopher, Weber, Roberta K., Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Curriculum, Culture, and Educational Inquiry
- Abstract/Description
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This case study examined how senior exhibitions function in a progressive educational environment that employs traditional assessments. The researcher interviewed 18 students and three faculty members of The Crefeld School about the Creative Expression, one of the 14 exhibitions that students are required to complete for graduation. The researcher conducted a document analysis and content analysis of rubrics for two essays and the Creative Expression. The researcher conducted a survey of...
Show moreThis case study examined how senior exhibitions function in a progressive educational environment that employs traditional assessments. The researcher interviewed 18 students and three faculty members of The Crefeld School about the Creative Expression, one of the 14 exhibitions that students are required to complete for graduation. The researcher conducted a document analysis and content analysis of rubrics for two essays and the Creative Expression. The researcher conducted a survey of student participants and a questionnaire to assess students’ perceptions of authenticity. The researcher observed three students present their Creative Expression in front of faculty, students, and family. The researcher conducted a survey analysis based on Cooper’s (1976) and Whitney’s (1978) tests for polarity of sentiment and Hsu’s (1979) test for disagreement. The researcher used a program designed by Morris (1979) and transposed to Microsoft Excel by Liebermann and Morris (2015) in order to calculate p values and to determine the ES value based on the standard deviation. The researcher also attempted to conduct a point biserial Pearson Product Moment to determine if a relationship existed between results on a mathematics exam and results on the Creative Expression. The findings of the study revealed that students at The Crefeld School had a positive experience working on the Creative Expression; many of them identified how the project reflected their interests, prepared them for college and careers, and was a good representation of authentic assessment. Tests for polarity were used to measure participants’ perceptions of authenticity. The category of task had the least amount of disagreement, while the category of overall authenticity had the most disagreement. Document analysis and content analysis of rubrics showed how thorough the rubric descriptions were so students knew how they were being assessed; interviews with students and faculty revealed that the rubrics, while used as guidelines, were not followed strictly in any of the major assessments. Survey data revealed any disagreements in responses to survey questions, based on Cooper’s (1976) and Whitney’s (1978) tests for polarity. As no dichotomous variable existed, a point biserial test was unwarranted regarding results on a traditional assessments and on the Creative Expression.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004733, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004733
- Subject Headings
- Action theory., Education, Secondary--Evaluation., School improvement programs., Educational evaluation--Methodology., Educational tests and measurements., Educational innovations.
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- A comparative analysis of the success of students placed in the lowest level of remedial coursework taken through CAI versus a traditional remedial education mode of instruction: implications for success, retention and costs.
- Creator
- Vassiliou, John., College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
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The purpose of this study was to examine the Computer-Assisted Instructional (CAI) method as an alternative to the Traditional method of instruction for the lowest level of remediation in the content areas of mathematics, reading, and sentence skills, and to specifically determine the comparative effectiveness of these two delivery modes in terms of student success, retention, and costs. The researcher aimed to (a) determine the extent to which ACCUPLACERª mean scores for CAI participants...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to examine the Computer-Assisted Instructional (CAI) method as an alternative to the Traditional method of instruction for the lowest level of remediation in the content areas of mathematics, reading, and sentence skills, and to specifically determine the comparative effectiveness of these two delivery modes in terms of student success, retention, and costs. The researcher aimed to (a) determine the extent to which ACCUPLACERª mean scores for CAI participants increase based on pre and post measures, (b) investigate the pros and cons fiscally of each method of delivery (CAI vs. Traditional), respectively, (c) examine whether CAI participants are more likely to enroll during the immediately following semester compared to students enrolled in a Traditional course, and (d) investigate the extent to which CAI participants are equally or more likely to complete successfully the course taken during the immediately following semester compared to students enroll ed in a Traditional course. The study consisted of a two-group design (CAI and Traditional), and four dependent variables. All CAI participants (N = 129) were self-selected to participate in the study. A dependent t-test found that CAI participants increased their ACCUPLACER mean scores significantly over time by 22.74 points or 72.6%. A frequency count found that retention rates were slightly higher for the Traditional group (82.3%) in comparison to the CAI group (76.6%), however, chi-square tests did not reveal a statistical significance. Chi-squares found significant increase in success rates for the CAI group as 86% passed their initial course, in comparison to 59.8% of students taught in the Traditional format. CAI participants were found to have greater success (74.1%) in subsequent classes than students taught via the Traditional instructional method (51.9%)., In addition, a straightforward comparison of expense totals between the two groups was conducted to estimate the differences in cost between the groups. The Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) model used, indicated that CAI is less expensive and more effective than Traditional instruction. The cost per credit analysis projected 54.6% savings if CAI is used as the alternative instructional modality.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3322520
- Subject Headings
- Computer-assisted instruction, Evaluation, Academic achievement, Educational tests and measurements, School improvement programs, Student assistance programs, Educational accountability
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The elementary principal's role in promoting reading improvement.
- Creator
- Hillard, Lurana Case., Florida Atlantic University, Guglielmino, Lucy M.
- Abstract/Description
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The primary purpose of this study was to determine if there were commonalities in the approaches of ten elementary school principals in the state of Florida identified as "success stories" in leading reading improvement in their schools in 2002 shortly after enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act at the national level and the Just Read, Florida! initiative at the state level. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between the elementary school...
Show moreThe primary purpose of this study was to determine if there were commonalities in the approaches of ten elementary school principals in the state of Florida identified as "success stories" in leading reading improvement in their schools in 2002 shortly after enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act at the national level and the Just Read, Florida! initiative at the state level. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between the elementary school principals' reported success in leading reading improvement at their schools and reported level of agreement with the Survey Form for Elementary Principals , (Hillard, 2005), the Instructional Leadership Behavior Checklist (McEwen, 1997), and the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (Guglielmino, 1977/78). In a qualitative analysis of selected interview questions, five major themes emerged: Philosophical Framework, Human Resources, Programs/Strategies, Use of Data, and Use of Federal and State Initiatives and Information. The principals had initiated reading improvement before the Just Read, Florida! initiative had begun. When analyzing the Survey Form for Elementary Principals and the Instructional Leadership Behavior Checklist (McEwen, 1997), a pattern of high agreement emerged with a majority of the statements that earned average scores in the range of 4.0 to 5.0. On the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (Guglielmino, 1977/78), the principals' scores were exceptionally high, comparable with those of the top entrepreneurs in the United States. The overarching conclusion of the study centers on the identification of these exemplar principals as "educational entrepreneurs" who employ innovation, teacher empowerment, shared leadership, and reliance upon data to lead reading improvement in their schools.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12156
- Subject Headings
- Reading (Elementary), Reading (Elementary)--Florida, Educational innovations--Florida, School improvement programs--Florida, School principals--Florida, Elementary school administration--Florida--Evaluation
- Format
- Document (PDF)