Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
EdD Program for Educational Leaders
Advisor
Charles Amuso
Committee Member
Eugene Costa
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Claudia Santin
Keywords
analysis, classroom teachers, comprehensive writing program, Delaware State Testing Program, DST-friendlyP, elementary education, family involvement, family materials, grade 3, grade 5, high poverty schools, intervention programs, poverty programs, school improvement, student achievement, teacher training, Title I, Title I itinerant writing teachers, writing activities, writing assessment, writing evaluation, writing instruction, writing rubrics, writing scores, writing standard, writing strategies, writing teachers
Abstract
This report describes an intervention to improve writing scores of the 180 third and fifth grade students in six high poverty schools. These schools received Title I service in grades three and five. The Delaware State Testing Program (DSTP) identified these schools as schools in school improvement for 2000-2001, under review for 2001- 2002 or both. There was a 35% difference within these schools between the students described as high poverty and those who were not who met the writing standard.
The planned solution strategy was the development of a comprehensive writing program. Two Title I Itinerant Writing Teachers coordinated this program at the six identified schools. They taught 180 identified third and fifth grade students at the six schools one or two times per week. Additional responsibilities of the Title I Itinerant Writing Teachers included: coordinating training in the writing for 68 third and fifth grade teachers, collecting and analyzing data from the authorized DSTP access site, developing family friendly materials to explain the writing rubrics, and developing a calendar of writing activities for families and classroom teachers to do a month prior to the DSTP. The program was implemented on November 20, 2001.
These interventions helped to increase the percentage of third and fifth grade students who met the standard in writing in four of the six schools by more than 3.5%. This increase is based on the writing section of the DSTP administered in March 2002. This intervention lasted from November 2001 until May 2002. Analysis of the DSTP data determined that the objective of this practicum was met in four of the six schools.