This ethnographic study was undertaken in order to examine the problem of many of our E.S.L. students' slowed academic progress in high school. The study found culture shock and culture conflict, low self-esteem and poor motivation, established learning styles and unsuitable teaching techniques, personal and societal identity confusion to be factors preventing such students from achieving their full potential.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the differences and changes in integrated and segregated white students' self-concepts, racial attitudes, and academic achievements.

The role of community colleges is to provide educational opportunities to all segments of a population regardless of academic proficiency or economic ability. This openess admissions policy is meant to allow equal admission to academic and career-technical programs for all students. Due to openess admissions, economically disadvantaged community college students find themselves being admissible to community colleges with uncertain financial ability to pay for community college even though it is at a lower cost than 4-year institutions. Community college students historically face more financial and social barriers than 4-year students in attaining higher education and thus have a greater need for federal financial aid assistance. Students attending community colleges participate in federal grant-in-aid and student loan programs at a higher rate than any other type of institution. With this greater need for financial aid assistance, community college students are still held to the same federal financial aid academic standards. Students receiving federal financial aid must meet the same grade-point average, completion rate, and eligibility limit requirements as their university counterparts. These standards impact students at the community college level at an even higher rate than those at the university. The purpose of this study was to determine if students who do not meet federal financial aid academic standards and are placed on financial aid probation can be retained at the community college level using an online intervention course. The knowledge obtained from the course could facilitate the selection of optimal and cost-effective intervention strategies. Determination is necessary in order to eliminate current online intervention, adapt the intervention methods, or continue supporting intervention through allocating resources to the program that may allow for expansion and outcome inference to future student populations. This study specifically explored the retention of students who do not meet corresponding Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) indicators through the inclusion of an online intervention course. Student data were obtained from online course outcomes over multiple semesters from a community college in the Southern Region of the United States, yielding quantitative data for analysis. Educational opportunities tend to be viewed in a dramaturgical or symbolic perspective and viewed as successful based on student outcomes. It was assumed that student outcomes are tangible, and the link between means and ends are clear, meaning student outcome attainment equals employment and life success. In this instance, a return on investment study is not intended, but rather program effectiveness in influencing student outcomes. This program can be considered effective as it provides causation for increased performance, subsequent retention, and positive impact on financial aid status. The addition of an online intervention course supports causation linkage. It also supports the correlation of predicting post-semester cumulative grade point average (GPA), and the performance within the course provides inference to the participant’s future status.

The problem of this study was the effect of social mobility of teachers on the anxiety and academic progress of lower socioeconomic boys in spelling and arithmetic skills.

We evaluated the effects of one year of schoolwide cluster grouping on the academic achievement growth of gifted and non-identified elementary students using a piecewise multilevel growth model. Scores from 186 non-identified and 68 gifted students' Measures of Academic Progress Reading and Math scores were examined over three school years. In 2008-2009 within-class ability grouping was used. In 2009-2010 schoolwide cluster grouping was implemented. In 2010-2011 students once again were grouped only within classrooms by ability and students identified as gifted were spread across all classrooms at each grade level. Results suggest that schoolwide cluster grouping influenced student performance in the year following its implementation, but only for mathematics and not the area of reading.

We evaluated the effects of one year of schoolwide cluster grouping on the academic achievement growth of gifted and non-identified elementary students using a piecewise multilevel growth model. Scores from 186 non-identified and 68 gifted students' Measures of Academic Progress Reading and Math scores were examined over three school years. In 2008-2009 within-class ability grouping was used. In 2009-2010 schoolwide cluster grouping was implemented. In 2010-2011 students once again were grouped only within classrooms by ability and students identified as gifted were spread across all classrooms at each grade level. Results suggest that schoolwide cluster grouping influenced student performance in the year following its implementation, but only for mathematics and not the area of reading.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / This study was about the change of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) administration system from a decentralised to a centralised one. The aim was to investigate the shift of the NSFAS administration system and its effect on the students' academic progress and overall well-being in the learning process at a historically Black university in the Western Cape Province. The study had three objectives. Firstly, to examine the efficacy of the NSFAS centralised application process. Secondly, to determine the impact of the process on the students' academic progress and overall well-being in the learning process. Lastly, to propose recommendations for the streamlining of the application process so that the negative impact on the students' academic performance be minimised or prevented.

This dissertation focused on the new performance-based teacher evaluation system implemented in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Eight school districts were granted an implementation waiver for one year making the 2013-2014 school year the implementation year for those school districts. A mixed methodology study was designed to understand teacher perceptions in one waiver school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The purposes of this study were to collect empirical evidence on the implementation of the new performance-based teacher evaluation system by comparing teachers' and principals' perceptions at three elementary schools to teachers' perceptions in the school district, identified as District Z and were to add to the research base on policy implementation theories and teacher evaluation. Findings and analysis of research questions were based on the responses of 357 teacher participants, two district directors, and three principals. Policy implementation research suggested access to resources and support along with an alignment of beliefs and values resulted in more effective implementation practices. Conclusions of this study, while limited to the district studied, suggested professional development on the new performance-based teacher evaluation system, including the Uniform Performance Standards and SMART goals, would provide teachers and principals with the increased knowledge to use as a resource during new implementation phases. Additionally, involvement in the design and modification of the teacher evaluation system would encourage participation and provide opportunities for teachers and principals to develop shared values regarding aspects of the evaluation system. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the incidence of retardation or non-promotion and the relationship of various characteristics of the retarded children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades of Sunset School.

This quantitative study examined seventh-grade reading scores to determine the extent to which certain demographic variables (race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status) explain and MAP reading scores predict reading scores on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) in a selected northeast Texas public school. Standardized assessments only compare the relative performance of an individual student to other groups of students using scaled scores, which can vary from year to year and from state to state. With the advent of computer adaptive testing, this study provides information on the predictive validity of benchmark assessments. Specifically, this study looked for predictive evidence that indicates how accurately test data can predict criterion scores. Findings revealed, through a multiple regression analysis, that the fall MAP Rasch Unit (RIT) scores predicted the STAAR scale scores. Using SPSS version 22, the data were entered and analyzed in a multiple regression model to determine the presence of a statistical trend or lack thereof. Demographic data and MAP scores were entered into the regression model to examine the predictive validity of the MAP assessment in determining student performance on the STAAR seventh-grade state-mandated reading assessment. The statistical analysis revealed that MAP RIT scores explain a significant variance related to seventh-grade STAAR reading scale scores. There is a vital need for tools that improve a student's academic development and MAP assessments have been found to predict performance on state-mandated assessments.