Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Lucille Beisner
Committee Member
Karen Kimball
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
accountability, academic achievement, assessment, assessments, below level results, Communication Arts, district-wide survey, Elementary and Secondary Education, guardians, guardianship, interviews, learning process, literature review, low achievement, MAP, Missouri, Missouri Assessment Program, professional learning, random survey, reading, Schoolwide Plan, staff development, student achievement, students, teacher accountability, teaching process, testing instrument
Abstract
Although the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education developed scales that measured variables of assessments, the state of Missouri failed to identify probable causes for the below level results. The purpose of this applied dissertation was to systematically inquire into detail factors which might have an effect on the teaching and learning process. These factors could explain the below level assessment results. The reading discipline was chosen from the Communication Arts component of the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP). This was the state’s testing instrument. Reading was a necessary skill in all tested areas and a criterion that gauged academic achievement; therefore, success in the discipline was crucial.
After reviewing pertinent literature, interviews were held with designated staff. Results from a random district-wide survey of students and guardians also assisted in determining some probable causes for low achievement.
Appropriate interventions focusing on teacher, student, and guardianship accountabilities were put in place through professional learning activities as gleaned from the interviews, survey, and literature review. The outcomes from the study were not to the level of expectation, but they did provide a basis for a long-term goal to be facilitated in the 2004-2007 Schoolwide Plan.