Abstract
The purpose of this research was to determine the short-term and long-term learning outcomes of students who attended traditional public high schools versus charter public high schools. Only traditional and charter high schools in the state of Florida were used in this project. For each charter high school selected, a cluster of four traditional high schools closest to that charter high school was created as a comparison group. The mean FCAT and SAT scores of the charter and traditional schools were selected for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010. A t-test: paired two sample for means was used to evaluate the data and test the null hypothesis that traditional public high schools and charter high schools have a mean difference of zero amongst their scores. The alternative hypothesis was that charter high schools performed worse than traditional high schools on both the FCAT and SAT. For each test and year examined, the null hypothesis was rejected every time; traditional high schools performed better. There may be intervening variables that create differences in performance levels; for example, student demographics, such as gender or age could be variables. It is recommended for this research to be modified, if completed again, to include analysis of demographics. The research can be expanded to include traditional public high schools and charter high schools in different states.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Jason Gershman, Dr. Sandra Trotman, Dr. Patrice Leblanc
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-4-2014 1:00 PM
End Date
4-4-2014 5:30 PM
Analyzing the Short-term and Long-term Learning Outcomes on State and National Assessments of Traditional Public High Schools and Charter High Schools in the State of Florida
Alvin Sherman Library
The purpose of this research was to determine the short-term and long-term learning outcomes of students who attended traditional public high schools versus charter public high schools. Only traditional and charter high schools in the state of Florida were used in this project. For each charter high school selected, a cluster of four traditional high schools closest to that charter high school was created as a comparison group. The mean FCAT and SAT scores of the charter and traditional schools were selected for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010. A t-test: paired two sample for means was used to evaluate the data and test the null hypothesis that traditional public high schools and charter high schools have a mean difference of zero amongst their scores. The alternative hypothesis was that charter high schools performed worse than traditional high schools on both the FCAT and SAT. For each test and year examined, the null hypothesis was rejected every time; traditional high schools performed better. There may be intervening variables that create differences in performance levels; for example, student demographics, such as gender or age could be variables. It is recommended for this research to be modified, if completed again, to include analysis of demographics. The research can be expanded to include traditional public high schools and charter high schools in different states.
