Date of Award
2002
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Susan A. Torbenson
Keywords
academic achievement, Chicago Public Schools, eighth grade students, grade equivalents, high school promotion, mathematics achievement, quasi-experimental research, reading achievement, remediation programs, standardized achievement tests, student promotion, Summer Bridge Program, summer school, t test, Test of Achievement and Proficiency
Abstract
The problem under investigation was that a large percentage of eighth grade students in the Chicago Public Schools System were unsuccessful in scoring the minimum required score of7.0 on their year-end standardized achievement tests. A new promotion policy with pre-established criteria for promotion, required students that failed to meet the minimum requirements to attend a summer remediation program. At the end of the summer program, test scores would determine if a student is promoted to high school. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a summer remediation program and to compare year-end grade equivalents of participants and non-participants of the Summer Bridge Program. The research question was: Do students participating in a remediation program score higher on standardized achievement tests at the end of their ninth grade term than those who were required to participate?
A quasi-experimental research design comparing the grade equivalents of 3 3 students required to participate in the Summer Bridge Program (treatment group) and 435 non-participants ( control group) was used in this study. The Test of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP) reports scores at or above the national norm, and as a percentile value on a scale of 1-99. A two-tailed test was used to compare the groups mean raw scores of participants and non-participates in the Summer Bridge Program. The results of the study were the comparison of two groups mean raw scores that produced a calculated t-value 0.3907 with a resultant p value equals 0.6962 in Mathematics. In Reading the p value was equal to 1.5500 with a resultant p-value equal to 0.1218. Based on the t-test results, the null hypotheses, stating there was no significant difference between the groups' mean raw score, was failed to be rejected at the p value (.05) level of significance.
The conclusion drawn from the results of the study included rejecting the Alternative Hypotheses, stating that there was a difference in the two groups' grade equivalents. The study results also suggested that the Summer Bridge Program had a positive effect on grade equivalents of those students who participated. Grade equivalents were the only factors used to determine the success of the program.
As a result of the investigation, it was recommended that all students completing the eighth grade requirements should be required to attend a summer remediation program prior to entering high school. It was also recommended that test preparation be an ongoing part of regular classroom instruction and integrated into all subject areas. It was also recommended that further research is needed to determine if summer remediation programs were effective and were a contributing factor in improving grade equivalents.