Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Karen Kimball
Committee Member
Lucille Beisner
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
boys, gender differences, gender-appropriate instruction, girls, Indiana, language arts, middle schools, professional development, reading comprehension, reading curriculum, reading improvement, standardized tests, student achievement, student surveys, teacher collaboration, teacher study groups, test scores, Switzerland County Middle School, sixth grade, student progress monitoring, student retention, student success
Abstract
When the Indiana state-mandated test scores were released in January 2002, Switzerland County Middle School students ranked in the bottom one third of the state in language arts. The administrators and teachers looked closely at the results of the state-mandated test. The rate of retention by gender was also tracked over a 3-year period. As the standardized test scores and retention data were reviewed, it was apparent that middle school boys were less successful in language arts and reading than girls in the same class. In order to address the problem in a manageable situation, the sixth-grade data were selected.
Planned solution strategies included (a) gendering two sixth-grade language arts and reading blocks; (b) selecting reading curriculum that was gender-appropriate and appealing to the students; (c) providing meaningful, gender-appropriate instruction, and (c) frequently monitoring student progress. In addition to student-centered strategies, emphasis was placed on teacher professional development. Teachers were placed in study groups for the purposes of encouraging collegiality and discussions of current professional literature and best practices.
Pre- and posttest results, semester grades, observations, and student surveys indicated that the applied dissertation intervention improved the reading success of both genders. A comparison of the pre- and posttests showed an average reading comprehension improvement of one grade level in one semester for the boys. Comparing semester grades indicated gains by both and girls in reading. There was a 47% increase in the semester reading grades for the boys and a 35% increase for the girls. The program has been expanded to include seventh-grade language arts/reading and sixth-grade science, social studies, and mathematics.