Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
William Thayer
Committee Member
Virginia Gittleman
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
academic achievement, academic standards, administration, America’s Choice School Design, assessments, attendance, Campbella, classroom observations, communication, community services and support, curriculum standards, data collection, diagnostic information, disaggregated data, eighth graders, educational reform, GEPA, grades, high performance and management, HMS, instructional strategies, interviews, learning communities, mathematics, math model classroom, middle schools, New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Education, parent and public engagement, parent involvement, parental involvement, professional development, proficiency assessment, proficiency scores, school culture, stakeholder participation, student achievement, student mastery, student placement, student progress, student surveys, study groups, suspensions, teacher meetings, teacher surveys, test scores, whole school reform model
Abstract
The Applied Dissertation report reveals the results of the research done on strategies to increase the math proficiency scores on the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA). The eighth graders residing in the Campbella school district in the state of New Jersey have continuously failed to demonstrate proficiency in the area of mathematics and thereby not meeting the academic standards set by the New Jersey Department of Education and the City of Campbella. There were some mutable and not mutable variables identified by the researcher. Excessive absenteeism, suspensions, and the lack of effective parental involvement were mutable factors addressed by the researcher in this study.
Data were collected through multiple methods. Teacher and student surveys, interviews, archival data (grades and test scores), and classroom observations were involved. Disaggregated data were used to determine student placement and instructional strategies to be used. Checkpoint tests were used every nine weeks to provide diagnostic information used to determine student mastery and progress. Report card grades were analyzed and compared over several years o determine the trend of progress and the impact of the America’s Choice School Design (ACSD) Math Model Classroom. Study groups, teacher meetings, and professional development were a part of the HMS teacher indoctrination program. Parents were also exposed to professional development and the opportunities make decisions impacting upon their children’s education at HMS.
HMS used components of the ACSD to improve the school culture and student achievement. The five design tasks, which represent the nucleus of the whole school reform model were implemented by the HMS administration, staff, students, and parents. The five tasks were: (1) Curriculum Standards; (2) Learning Communities; (3) Community Services and Support; (4) Parent and Public Engagement; and (5) High Performance and Management. The proper implementation of the five tasks led to an improved student achievement and a positive and productive school culture. Scores and grades in mathematics did increase.
Consistent communication of the shared vision of the school community by the administration assured the researcher that the mission of HMS, to improve student achievement, was being heard by each of the stakeholders. The participation of the HMS school community in the school’s endeavors to reach this goal provided evidence of the high support level needed to make the vision materialize.