Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2009. / Vita: p. 117. Thesis director: Gary Galluzzo. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Oct. 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 110-116). Also issued in print.

This was a causal-comparative study the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program on middle school student academic achievement and attendance. There were two major research questions, which were presented. They were as follows: Is there a statistically significant interaction among gender (males, females), race/ethnicity (blacks, whites), and group membership (Talented and Gifted, AVID) with respect to Stanford 9-TA Partial Battery Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) achievement total scores after controlling for initial differences in socioeconomic status and, Is there a statistically significant interaction among gender (males, females), race/ethnicity (blacks, whites), and group membership (Talented and Gifted, AVID) with respect to attendance after controlling for initial differences in socioeconomic status? These questions were analyzed using two three way ANCOVAS with 2 x 2 x 2 factorial designs, with a .05 alpha level employed to test for statistical significance. The researcher analyzed standardized testing and attendance data collected on the 1996-1997 eighth-grade student cohort within one mid-sized socioeconomic diverse urban school district. Data were collected on 398 students beginning with the 1994-1995 school year and concluding with the 1996-1997 school year. Data for eighth grade students not enrolled in the Gifted and Talented, or AVID programs for that length of time, neither were used. The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, 1995). Threats to the internal and external validity of this study may be that students have relocated or were not present during test administrations and their Stanford 9-TA Partial Battery Achievement Test data were not available. Test data for students neither blacks or whites, or in AVID or the Talented and Gifted programs for the indicated three-year span were not analyzed. Students missing attendance data were also not included. The creators of AVID, profess that students participating in the AVID program will attend school and achieve academically as well as other groups of children. The researcher's analyses of the data does not substantiate this claim. The data yielded that AVID students produced lower achievement scores on the Partial Battery of the Stanford 9-TA Achievement Test in all areas. It was also found that gender, race/ethnicity and group membership were significant factors. / Ed. D.

With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools and school districts have come under increased pressure to demonstrate student proficiency and success at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Each state is required to use standardized test data as evidence of student proficiency. The data is collected by each state and reported to the federal government to demonstrate progress. In Florida, the exam used to record proficiency is the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). At all three levels, the FCAT is administered annually and the results are used to create school grades ranging from A-F. Florida high schools fall in the lowest 10% in the nation for graduation rates, graduating less than 60% of high school students. The pressure created by these high stakes tests have led to a growth in Florida secondary schools implementing the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. AVID seeks to offer a rigorous curriculum with additional support to underserved students. However, some literature demonstrates that schools with AVID improve the success of not only AVID students, but the overall population as well. This is commonly referred to as the "AVIDization" of a school. This study used an independent t-test to compare middle schools in eleven Florida county school districts with AVID to non-AVID schools in the 2007-2008 school year in six main areas; a) FCAT Math scores, b) FCAT Reading scores, C) overall FCAT scores, d) frequency of disciplinary incidences, e) attendance rates, and f) overall FCAT scores with controlled data. In this study, 85 middle schools had AVID and 179 middle schools were non-AVID. In comparing AVID to non-AVID students in the six areas, the t-test demonstrated that schools with the AVID program did not outperform non-AVID schools in the three FCAT tested areas. Also, the data shows that AVID schools were more likely to have higher reported rates of disciplinary incidences then non-AVID schools.

The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program was implemented to prepare students from groups traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education for eligibility, acceptance, and success in 4-year colleges and universities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of AVID on course taking patterns, weighted cumulative grade point averages, and achievement level of twelfth grade high school students. This is the first study that will provide school districts in the southeast with information on the effects of middle school and high school participation. The investigation included 7-year AVID participants (AVID-7), 3-year AVID participants (AVID-3), and non-AVID participants (AVID-0). The three research questions were: (1) Is there a difference in group membership with respect to course selection as measured by the combined number of honors and advanced standing courses; (2) is there a difference in group membership with respect to weighted cumulative grade point average; (3) is there a difference among group membership with respect to achievement as measured by scaled scores on the English: Reading/Literature and Research Standards of Learning (SOL) Test scaled scores? Descriptive statistics were used to determine the mean, standard deviation, median and mode for the groups in the study. Three one-way Analysis of Variances (ANOVAs) were used to determine whether the group means differ significantly from each other. The Dunnett C post hoc procedure was used to determine where the difference occurred in the pairs of variables. The results of the study indicated that statistically (p <.05), AVID-7 students earned more combined honors and advanced standing courses than AVID-3 or AVID-0 students and AVID-3 students earned more combined honors and advanced standing courses than AVID-0 students. There were three major findings revealed in this study. The first finding indicated that students who participated in AVID take more rigorous courses than non-AVID participants. Secondly, the length of time a student participated in AVID has an effect on the number of honors and advanced standing courses students are likely to earn. The third finding of the study indicated that students who remained in the AVID program for seven years (during middle and high school) earned a significantly higher (p <.05) weighted cumulative grade point average than non-AVID students. There were no statistically significant differences in the weighted cumulative grade point average of the AVID-3 groups. The final finding of the study indicated that there was no statistically significant difference noted in the mean English: Reading/Literature and Research SOL Test scaled scores for any group in this study. However, it must be noted that the means for the three groups differed numerically, but not statistically. For example, the AVID-7 group had a mean scaled score of 476, the AVID-3 group had a mean scaled score of 455, and the AVID-0 group had a mean scaled score of 450. These scaled scores were different, but not statistically different (p >.05). It appears that participation in AVID does affect the course selection and the weighted cumulative grade point average of students who participate in the AVID program from grades 6 through 12. These results indicate that AVID-7 students take more rigorous courses and perform well in them. Students in the program only during middle school enroll in more rigorous courses than non-AVID (AVID-0) students but their weighted cumulative grade point average is statistically the same as non-AVID participants. Even though AVID-7 and AVID-3 students earned higher mean English: Reading SOL scaled scores than AVID-0 students, after performing the analysis of variance (ANOVA), there was no statistically significant difference in the scores(p >.05). In this era of accountability, school districts are searching for viable programs that affect the academic performance of students. The AVID program appears to make a positive impact on students who participate in the program from grades 6 through 12. These students enroll in more rigorous courses and perform better academically in those courses as evidenced by their weighted cumulative grade point average. However, the evidence is not as conclusive for students who participate in the program during middle school (grades 6 through 8). These students appear to make gains in their course selections, but their achievement in these courses is not impacted. If school districts are to receive the full benefit of the AVID program, they should consider implementing the program from grades 6 through 12. It is apparent that AVID middle school students who remain in the AVID program during high school realized higher academic achievement than non-AVID students. Educational leaders in school districts should consider these findings before implementing the AVID program. / Ed. D.

Often considered the gateway to the middle class in the United States, community colleges are struggling to find ways to support all students in career planning and preparation. Unfortunately, increasing numbers of first generation students who enter community colleges through the door of open access, place into developmental education (remedial) courses and must satisfactorily complete this often-rigid sequence before beginning college level classes. For many first-generation, under-prepared, underresourced students, this is a frustrating and often insurmountable barrier, causing many students to abort their postsecondary training. Creating intentional conditions and instructional strategies that support student learning is essential in increasing the number of first-generation, under-prepared and under-resourced students who enter and complete postsecondary training and degrees. Advancement via Individual Determination Higher Education (AVID HE) is one identified holistic support strategy showing positive trends in supporting this student population on one community college campus. This study used a mixed methods approach which included both a statistical analysis of a treatment group in a combined reading/writing course called WR91 Mt Hood Community College AVID HE Learning Communities and two stand-alone reading/writing courses called RD90/WR90 courses, along with a case study qualitative methodology to investigate how AVID HE supports pre-college developmental education students to develop sufficient social capital to transition from non-credit (pre-college) to credited courses and programs.

This study examined AVID’s effects on the metacognitive development of students taking the AVID Elective during their 9 th grade year. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in metacognitive development between AVID and non-AVID students in two high schools during their 9 th grade year. Metacognition was operationally defined as an individual’s thinking about how they are thinking, called ownership of learning, and the application of skills, called learning techniques, that students utilize to accomplish a task. Additionally, GPAs were compared to determine potential differences in cognitive development. The quantitative study used a pre-test, post-test design, utilizing a validated test called the LASSI-HS™, which measures a student’s level of metacognition. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine whether there were differences on eight metacognitive measures of attitude, motivation, anxiety, time management, self-testing, study aids, test strategies, and collaboration. A Chi-square test for independence was used to examine differences between taking at least one advanced course during 10 th grade for both AVID and non-AVID students. Lastly, a two sample t-test was used to examine potential differences between 9 th grade GPAs between AVID and non-AVID students. The framework was based on Flavell’s theory of “Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring” and Conley’s Key Learning Skills and Techniques. The findings of this study indicate that there was a significant difference between AVID and non-AVID students in the use of study aids and advanced coursework in the 10 th grade. Additional consideration was given to the metacognitive measures of anxiety, motivation, and self-testing. Lastly, the findings indicate that AVID may provide students with long-lasting benefits, such as college acceptance and increased college persistence.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (February 16, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 38-42)

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-94)

While college completion rates have increased over time for all students, low-income students and students of color remain underrepresented among degree holders. The research presented here explores the role that family, peer, and contextual social capital play in perpetuating unequal representation in college, and whether AVID can increase the social capital resources available to students. Using multilevel models and data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), results indicated a positive, significant relationship between social capital and rigorous course taking, high school credential attainment, and college-going, with the relationship with family social capital being the strongest. The analyses revealed no direct relationship between AVID participation and academic outcomes, but results did offer modest evidence that some sources of social capital increase more for AVID students over time than non-AVID students with similar characteristics. These findings suggest that educational reform efforts aimed at building social capital are worth supporting. Keywords: social capital; AVID; HSLS:09 dataset; college access; first-generation students; noncognitive skills; cultural capital; neighborhoods; habitus

The focus of this study was to examine the relationship of student participation in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program and student academic performance. More specifically, this study was conducted to determine if there was a mean difference in student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in mathematics, reading, and writing between students who participated in the AVID program during their first two years of high school and students who had similar demographics (e.g., ethnicity, gender, and economic status) but did not participate in the AVID program for 2007-2009. The population for this study consisted of students from six high schools with certified AVID programs during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years in two central Florida school districts. Students participating in the AVID program were matched with non-AVID participants for each school site by ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and tenth grade mathematics or English course. The results of this study did not indicate statistically significant differences in the FCAT mathematics and reading developmental scale score gains between the AVID and non-AVID students. However, the non-AVID students performed significantly higher on the tenth grade writing component of the FCAT. Participation in the AVID program produced no statistically significant findings for the factors of gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status for FCAT mathematics, reading, or writing. The findings indicated that AVID and non-AVID students could not be differentiated by FCAT performance measures in the mathematics and reading domains.