Mathematics achievement : the impact of America's choice in Kentucky's schools.

School reform;America's choice;Comprehensive school reform;Mathematics reform

Sonia James Upton

University:University of Louisville

Department:Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Human Resource Education

关键词: School reform;    America's choice;    Comprehensive school reform;    Mathematics reform;   

Others  :  https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2476&context=etd

美国|英语

来源: The Universite of Louisville's Institutional Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study examined student achievement scores in Kentucky elementaryschools to determine the relationship between implementing the America's Choicecomprehensive school reform model and student achievement in mathematics. Sixresearch questions guide this study; For the seven America's Choice schools for thirdgrade mathematics: (1) To what degree do the America's choice schools differ from thestatewide mean for math achievement at the beginning of the program, (2) To whatextent is the year of implementation related to math achievement, (3) To what extent aredifferences between schools related to math achievement, (4) To what extent is thebeginning year of the program related to math achievement, (5) What is the effect ofcontrolling for demographic factors on Research Questions 2-4, and (6) For the threeyears of the America's choice mathematics program (Year 1, Year 2, and Continuation1), how does the progress of the America's Choice schools compare to that statewidefor the same period? For this study, the researcher analyzed the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills(CTBS/5) Normal Curve Equivalency (NCE) mathematics scores for third grade/exitingprimary students in seven Kentucky schools implementing America's Choice in mathematics. Achievement data from the Kentucky Department of Education for theyears 2001-2005 were collected across four cohorts, including year prior toimplementation, two years of implementation, the following continuation year, andrelated demographic factors. Research Questions 2-5 utilized two multiple regressionmodels to study the relationships between math achievement, change model predictors(year of implementation, schools, beginning year), and demographics. One sample t testswere employed for RQs 1 and 6. All analyses were conducted using the StatisticalPackage for the Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program. Results of the study on the seven Kentucky elementary schools were inconclusive. While the statistical analysis indicated gains in mathematics achievement for some schools, others demonstrated declines during implementation years and continuation year. For demographic variables, size of school had the strongest correlation (r = .140) with NCE math scores. This research provides insights for schools considering adopting America's Choice as a reform model impacting mathematics achievement. Since this study wasspecific to Kentucky, future research is needed to expand to other states.