School Configuration for Sixth Grade and Resulting Academic Achievement
Author : Shirley F. Hunter
Publisher :
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 37,78 MB
Release : 2011
Category : Education, Elementary
ISBN :
Author : Shirley F. Hunter
Publisher :
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 37,78 MB
Release : 2011
Category : Education, Elementary
ISBN :
Author : Karen L. Schafer
Publisher :
Page : 159 pages
File Size : 31,81 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Academic achievement
ISBN :
This study examined the impact of grade span configuration on the academic achievement of sixth grade students in Florida public schools. Grade configuration (PK-6, PK-8, and 6-8) was the independent variable. Academic achievement, the dependent variable, was measured using 2009 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Reading and Mathematics mean scale scores and the percentage of students making annual learning gains from 2008 to 2009. School socioeconomic status (SES) was used as a covariate to equalize the effect of poverty on achievement. Random samples of schools were drawn from the population of all Florida public schools with sixth grades in 2009, and from Florida's 2009 Academically High Performing School Districts. Findings showed that there was a statistically significant difference in achievement based on grade level configuration in reading and mathematics for all schools and for schools in Academically High Performing Districts. In all cases, the PK-6 configuration was statistically significantly higher than 6-8, with varied significance between PK-6 and PK-8, and PK-8 and 6-8. The strongest practical significance for all schools was found for learning gains in mathematics, with 26% of the variance in mean learning gain percentages accounted for by grade configuration when controlling for SES. Recommendations were made that future studies address differentiating grade configurations by instructional models and other factors that could impact achievement. The degree and the fidelity to which the middle school concept is implemented in 6-8 schools should be accounted for before making conclusions about the impact of configuration on academic achievement of students in that configuration.
Author : Rachelle M. Waters
Publisher :
Page : 112 pages
File Size : 25,15 MB
Release : 2016
Category :
ISBN :
Author : Tawayna L. Bell
Publisher :
Page : 316 pages
File Size : 49,7 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Grading and marking (Students)
ISBN :
When school districts determine grade configurations of their schools, traditionally academic achievement is not their focus. Instead, most grade configurations are based on student growth, existing facility capacity, and transportation requirements. Since school ratings are based on students' academic achievement, districts should be aware if they are minimizing their students' achievement by placing them in schools with ineffective grade configurations. This study evaluates the affect grade configuration has on fifth and sixth grade reading and mathematics achievement. State assessment results for schools of various grade configurations containing fifth and sixth grade levels were analyzed. Data were collected from years 2005 and 2006. The results between the two years varied. In 2005, there was a significant difference in mathematics achievement but not reading achievement. In 2006, there was a significant difference in reading achievement but not mathematics achievement. Further research is needed to determine the cause of the variance.
Author : Julie C. Roseboom
Publisher :
Page : 109 pages
File Size : 21,19 MB
Release : 2016
Category :
ISBN :
This study offers insight into what grade configuration is more likely to positively impact student achievement during the middle grades and supports students remaining in an elementary setting with fewer transitions during the middle grades to most benefit reading and mathematics achievement. Findings are useful to school boards, superintendents, and school district administrators interested in educational policy development and research on transition especially when restructuring school grade configurations and building new school sites.
Author : Holly Edds
Publisher :
Page : 138 pages
File Size : 38,48 MB
Release : 2006
Category :
ISBN : 9780542573439
This study examines the relationship between grade configuration in rural schools in California and student achievement using persistence measures (attendance, suspension/expulsion, and drop-out rates) and standardized test scores for grade six. Data was collected and analyzed by hand as well as statistically using a regression analysis from a random sample of fifteen rural California schools. The data analysis indicated an educational trend for sixth grade students attending K--8 schools, they had higher student achievement and lower suspension rates than sixth grade students attending K--6 and 6--8 schools. The data also indicated sixth grade students attending 6--8 schools had lower student achievement than either K--8 or K--6 schools. The findings from this study suggest grade configuration does have an impact on both student achievement and student persistence and merits future study on a larger scale.
Author : Rolinda E. Ford
Publisher :
Page : 127 pages
File Size : 28,19 MB
Release : 2015
Category :
ISBN :
Author : Martha Casas
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 380 pages
File Size : 32,54 MB
Release : 2010-09-13
Category : Education
ISBN : 1136938958
A comprehensive introduction to middle school teaching, this textbook focuses explicitly on instructional strategies that encourage adolescents to become active participants in their own learning within a world of accountability and standardized testing. The author, an experienced middle school teacher and teacher educator, takes a constructivist approach to teaching that considers the whole child, including the emotional, psychological, social, and cultural variables uniquely associated with adolescence. The text examines the full range of middle school topics, from the development and diversity of middle school learners, to the structures, curriculum, and management of the classroom itself. Special features include: "Empowering Middle School Students to Take Ownership of their Learning," "Teaching Scenario," "Key Points," and "Creating an Anti-Oppressive Atmosphere in Your Classroom" textboxes help teachers gain a clearer understanding of content presented and encourage them to become reflective practitioners. Callouts throughout explicitly link chapter content to NMSA standards. Discussion of the unique challenges of actively engaging bilingual students, special needs students, and students exhibiting antisocial behavior. Accounts about middle school students illustrate the ways adolescents think about school and learning. A chapter that focuses on ways teachers can apply the general teaching strategies to specific subject areas. Sample Lesson Plans, Focus Questions, Chapter Summaries, Journal Entries, and Student Activities/Assignments are included throughout to encourage readers to actively participate with the text.
Author : Stacy Lancaster Starks
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 19,74 MB
Release : 2016
Category :
ISBN :
The purpose of this study was to determine if transitioning from elementary school to middle school has an effect on value added scores of sixth graders versus those with no transition. Additionally, the effect of school size on student gains was examined. Data for this study was from the 2012-2013 school year for 442 Tennessee public schools. There were 203 schools with transition and 239 with no transition. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Significant interaction was seen between transition and percent minority (p = 0.002). These findings suggest transition had an effect on value added scores depending on whether or not the school had a high percentage of minority students. There was a significant interaction effect of low percent minority and high percent minority where transition was concerned on mathematics, with those schools with a high percentage of minority that did not transition scoring significantly higher than all other combinations. There was also a significant interaction effect between low percent minority and high percent minority where transition was concerned on reading, with those schools with a high percentage of minority that did not transition scoring higher than all other combinations. These results suggest that students in schools with high percentages of minorities perform better when there is no transition than their transitioning counterparts. It lends support to the body of research that suggests K-8, or at least a transition after 6th grade, may be a better model where student achievement is concerned. School size was not significantly related to achievement gains. The middle school concept has the potential to address the academic and emotional concerns of middle school aged children when it is implemented in its full form (Weiss & Kipnes, 2006). However, since the middle school concept is just that, a concept, it would seem that the best combination for student achievement may be to implement the middle school concept into the K-8 environment, giving students more of a sense of community, self-esteem, and ownership of their school and grades. This could also potentially lessen the White to Black gap in math and reading achievement.
Author : Dana L. Kriznar
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 38,12 MB
Release : 2011
Category :
ISBN :
ABSTRACT: Before investing a large amount of human and financial resources in grade configuration redesign, urban school administrators need to understand whether it is the large structural changes, like grade configuration redesign, or whether it is the practices implemented within those larger structures that make the biggest impact on student achievement. In this study, 32 K-8 configured schools in the southeast United States are paired with 32 6-8 configured schools with comparable SES and minority rates within the same urban school district. This research uses the results from 192 educator surveys to determine the implementation level of established model practices, including interdisciplinary teaming, common teacher planning, heterogeneous grouping, advisory periods, exploratory courses, and looping. In addition, the reading and math achievement gain scores from the Florida Comprehensive Test of 12,727 sixth grade students are used to determine if there is a relationship between any of the practices, the grade level configuration of the school and student achievement in an urban setting. There were differences in student achievement by grade configuration, with the students in K-8 schools making significantly greater gains in both reading and math; however, that increase may well be due to other factors such as grade level size or socioeconomic differences rather than the configuration of the school. Of the model practices examined, interdisciplinary teaming was the only model practice that had a significant difference in level of implementation, which was higher in the K-8 configured schools. When achievement gains were compared to the level of implementation of each of the six model practices, no significant relationships were found. Finally, there was no difference in combined effects of grade configuration and implementation of model level practices with gains in student achievement in reading or mathematics.