Student achievement

The purpose of this multi-site study is to gain an understanding of what practices principals are employing that are impacting the effectiveness of the instructional coaches, as measured by student achievement on end of year state assessments. This study looked at three Tier 3 schools in Miami Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) that showed significant improvement in student achievement as measured by the statewide assessments. Tier 3 schools are schools in MDCPS that have been identified by the Florida Department of Education as consistently underperforming. This dissertation sought to understand what practices were implemented by the principals in these schools that the instructional coaches considered supportive of their instructional coaching.
The study participants consisted of 3 principals, 3 assistant principals, 3 coaches, and 3 teachers, for a total of 12 participants. The assistant principals were interviewed because they are tasked with supervising various content areas and as such work directly with the coaches. The teachers were interviewed because the role of coaches is to work directly with the teachers, therefore the teachers have insight into their effectives. The participants were asked to reflect on their experience either as an instructional coach or working with the instructional coach. They participated in a 30-to-45-minute interview. Additionally, the school improvement plans, and coaching logs were analyzed.

Ever since No Child Left Behind in 2001 to the present, school accountability reform initiatives have concentrated on raising achievement. Critical to figuring out the relationship between instructional practice and student achievement is forming an awareness of the relationship from the perspective of school leaders—both principals and teachers—charged with improving student achievement. The study, a quantitative quasiexperimental design using the School Survey of Practices Associated with High Performance, representing instructional practices associated with improving student performance, collected survey data via social media from teachers, principals and other school leaders in Florida public schools.
The SSPAHP grouped instructional practices into five domains: effective leadership, curriculum, professional development, school culture, and ongoing use of data for school improvement, which served as the predictor variables. Achievement data from the Florida Standards Assessment for the schools mentioned by participants in the survey functioned as the criterion variable. While 130 surveys were collected, only 84 of the responses reflected schools that took part in the FSA and met the criteria for data analysis.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Florida Senate Bill 1720 on student performance in Mathematics. Prior to its enactment, placement testing was mandatory in the State of Florida. The results determined if a student was required to enroll in any developmental courses prior to enrolling in college-level Mathematics courses. For many students, particularly those at the State College level, this extended the number of required courses, lengthening the path to completion for a volume of students. The results over time proved a costly burden on institutions that serve populations of students not prepared to perform at the college-level, as well as a major obstacle for student degree completion.

Improving student performance in America’s chronically underperforming
schools has been a challenge for many decades. Despite various school reforms, little to
no progress has been shown. Schools have continued to fail, and achievement gaps have
widened. The current state of schools has called for a drastic intervention. School
turnaround has emerged as the country’s response to improving persistently-low
performing schools.
This study was designed to determine if the turnaround models outlined in the
federal school improvement grant (SIG) were effective in improving student performance
in low-performing schools in Florida. Specifically, this study investigated the impact of
the transformation and turnaround intervention models on student achievement. This
study also sought to determine if size (school enrollment), socioeconomic status (FRL),
minority enrollment rates (Black and Hispanic), as well as principal gender, race, and
years of experience moderate the relationship between the intervention model used and student achievement. The ultimate objective was to determine if turnaround intervention
models improved student performance in low-performing schools in Florida.
A quantitative method, including three statistical analyses, was employed to
respond to three research questions and test nine corresponding null hypotheses.
Florida’s 69 SIG Cohort I schools were identified for data collection and analysis. A t
test analysis revealed there was not a significant difference in the performance of the
transformation and turnaround model schools as measured by percent of points earned
towards school grade. Further, chi square analysis revealed there was not a relationship
between the model (transformation or turnaround) and school grade. Additionally,
multiple regression analysis revealed none of the moderator variables were statistically
significant. A discussion of the findings, implications for policy and practice, and
recommendations for turnaround are explained in detailed, followed by suggestions for
future research.

The extant literature on school leadership is bifurcated around the question: Are
leaders important, or, is leadership important? Many who think leaders are important, do
so because they believe the school’s tone, values, and aspirations start with “a” leader,
the principal. However, there are those who believe leadership is not really about a
single leader, but about a collective practice among people who work together, with a
focus on accomplishing a shared goal. While leadership teams have been studied in a
variety of contexts, little research is available on the cumulative effect of a school team’s
ability to think collectively to raise student performance. Noteworthy however, is that
this study makes the assumption that the sum total of individual agility as measure by
instruments designed to assess individual agility equates to an accurate measure of team
agility. This study was designed to better understand the relationship between a school
leadership team’s cognitive and behavioral agility, school climate, and student
achievement in a population of middle schools in Broward County, Florida. Theoretically, the study provides a model in support of the collective leadership
approach in moving schools toward improved student achievement. A non-experimental,
quantitative research design was utilized and The Strategic Thinking Questionnaire
(STQ) and Strategic Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ) were used to assess cognitive and
behavioral agility, respectively. Climate data, analyzed as a mediator, was extracted from
the schools’ Annual Customer Survey. Student achievement was measured as overall
school performance on standardized assessments as part of the State of Florida school
accountability system. The STQ and SLQ were administered by way of a survey and
descriptive statistics, correlation and mediation analysis were used to analyze data.
The research did not point to any statistically significant correlations between
school leadership teams’ cognitive and behavior agility as they relate to predicting
student achievement; even with school climate acting as a mediator. This may be due in
part to the assumption that agility data captured is an accurate reflection of team
functioning. The study provides opportunities for additional research on the efficacy of
leadership teams in K-12 education.