The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of the student who is most likely to fail one or more CLAST communication subtests two or more times. The study was limited in scope to an examination of the Chipola Junior College students who, through March of 1989, had failed one or more of the CLAST communication subtests two or more times, a total of eighteen students. / Information gathered included (1) demographics of the Chipola Junior College district; (2) the name, sex, race, high school, and high school graduation date for each student who failed one or more CLAST communication subtests two or more times; (3) high school transcript information on each of these students; (4) whether the student was in a writing enhancement program, college preparatory class, or Teacher Advisement Program; and (5) the college transcript information on each student. / The results of the study indicate that the Chipola Junior College student who is most likely to fail one or more CLAST communication subtests two or more times is a white male from a small town or rural high school within the five-county Chipola Junior College district. He took more terminal track than college track courses in high school, was not in a writing enhancement program in high school, did not take college preparatory courses in high school, did not participate in a Teacher Advisement Program in high school, had an overall high school GPA of 2.62, had a high school English GPA of 1.91, had an ACT English Usage Standard Score of 9.63 and had an ACT Composite Standard Score of 9.3. / At Chipola Junior College he took college preparatory writing, but not college preparatory reading. He made a C in English 1101 and a D in English 1102, but he did not take any additional writing courses. His overall Chipola GPA was 2.26, and he failed the reading and essay subtests the first time he took the CLAST. He passed the reading subtest on his second attempt, but not the essay. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-07, Section: A, page: 2253. / Major Professor: Dwight L. Burton. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 36-04, Section: A, page: 2111. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1975.

This research study was concerned with how a testwiseness training program impacts on students' test taking behaviors and reading comprehension subtest scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. The testwiseness training used test taking strategies independent of the test constructor (Millman et al., 1965) and a practice test, the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE). / The study sample was comprised of 104 subjects of diverse backgrounds who were enrolled in a community college educational setting. The testwiseness training program was the independent variable and the dependent variables were the subjects' test taking behaviors and posttest scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension and Rate subtest. / The control group was not given any formal test taking instruction. However, they were provided a practice-test experience identical to the experimental group. / Analysis of covariance was used to determine whether the mean scores of the experimental and control groups differed significantly on the posttest and to control for possible differences in the subjects' posttest scores by using the pretest and the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test as covariates. Keeping the alpha level at.05, the analysis of covariance did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect on the posttest scores of the experimental group, F (1,100) = 3.96. / Three methods were used to facilitate the measurement of the subjects' test taking behaviors: time used at the midpoint of the pre- and posttests, identification of guessed responses, and a survey about their test taking activities. / The experimental group demonstrated improvement in each of the fourteen test taking behaviors addressed in the study whereas the control group exhibited improvement on ten of the behaviors. The improvement in the experimental group's test taking behaviors varied from five to 59 percent on the posttest and the control group's ranged from two to 22 percent. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-10, Section: A, page: 3587. / Major Professor: Richard H. Kraft. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

Institutional effectiveness models are examined in two community colleges, judged to have exemplary institutional effectiveness systems in place. One community college is organized within the context of a state level governance system and one is organized under the authority of a local Board of Trustees. / The institutional effectiveness models are examined through an integrated framework of open systems theory and the concepts of effective planning and evaluation processes required by the criteria contained in Section III of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' accreditation criteria. / The research questions addressed in this study focus on: (a) the events and circumstances that impeded or encouraged the development of the institutional effectiveness model, (b) the elements and strategies of exemplary planning and evaluation practices in the selected institutions, (c) how planning and evaluation practices are integrated into the operational activities of the case institutions, (d) how the existing governance structure influences the institutional effectiveness process, and (e) the role the governing board plays in the utilization of evaluation data to improve institutional effectiveness in the case institutions. / Qualitative research data were collected through interviews, institutional documents, and observations. Triangulation of the data ensured the trustworthiness of the study. A narrative report was reviewed by the designated liaisons at the case institutions to verify interpretations of the data. / The results of the study suggested that presidential leadership was a major factor in the development of the institutional effectiveness systems. Other significant factors included regional accreditation criteria and state policies encouraging institutional effectiveness efforts. / Contextual factors such as the unique institutional culture, governance structure, administrative organizations, and institutional resource development played an integral role in the development of the institutional effectiveness systems. The findings revealed that planning and evaluation information was utilized to focus institutional energies and resources upon the achievement of quality educational experiences to support student success. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-03, Section: A, page: 0698. / Major Professor: Louis Bender. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

In this study a hierarchical linear model was applied to the analysis of data collected at the student level and the school level in an attempt to address the following issues: (1) The applicability of a two-level hierarchical linear model in assessing relative school effects on mathematics achievement of eighth graders using a large data set; (2) Within the context of a hierarchical linear model, to assess the importance of the effects of variables not under the control of the school on the outcome, to evaluate the effects of the schools on the outcome by analyzing the residuals and obtaining a ranking of the schools based on their effects, and to compare the sizes of the school effects to those of the predictors in the explicit model; (3) Compare the results obtained by the two-level analysis to those obtained by a conventional school-level analysis of the same data. / The study showed that about 11% of the total variance in the outcome scores was due to differences between the schools while 89% was due to differences within the schools. / Within the schools, about 70% of the variance was jointly explained by the students' sex, verbal ability, and minimum competency level. Virtually no variance could be related to race or ethnicity after controlling for the other variables. Between the schools, three school level variables had significant effects on mathematics achievement: The school's mean verbal ability (strong effect), the rate of disciplinary referral in the school, and the percentage of whites in the school (weak effect). / The HLM model and the traditional model explained approximately equal amounts of the between school variance in mathematics achievement. The two models also ranked schools in a fairly similar fashion on their residuals, although significant differences between the two sets of rankings did occur. However, the ranks yielded by the HLM model are based on more information than those yielded by the conventional model. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-03, Section: A, page: 0785. / Major Professor: Jacob G. Beard. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze four original Spanish literary books and their adapted versions (readers) to determine the primary changes that occur in the adaptation process. / The secondary purpose of this study was to determine the extent of agreement/disagreement between methods of classifying adapted texts to develop a generalization of "intermediateness" as a classification. / The data of this study were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. / Qualitative analysis was through a thorough analysis of lexical, syntactical and content factors of the eight literary works under study and quantitative analysis through the application of the Spaulding Readability Formula and the Vari-Cartier Readability Formula. / The significant findings of the study were that the Vari-Cartier formula tended to rely on the factor "syllables/100 words" as a component of the formula in determining the reading difficulty rating over the other component, "sentence/100 words" while the Spaulding formula tended to rely more on the factor word "density" as a component of the formula in determining the reading difficulty assigned to each Spanish prose rather than the other component "average sentence length". / The Vari-Cartier Readability Formula did not detect simplification in the Spanish readers under study while the Spaulding readability Formula did detect simplification in the Spanish readers under study. / Qualitatively it was determined that the original and adapted versions of the books in this study differed according to their lexical, syntactical and content factors while all the adapted readers had been simplified to different degrees in their lexicon, syntax and content. / It was also determined that the results of the qualitative analysis related far close with the Spaulding Readability Formula while the Vari-Cartier Readability Formula agreed little with the qualitative analysis. / "Intermediateness" in the adapted readers essentially was characterized by a simplification of the lexical, syntactical and content factors of the original versions. / This study implied that the reading difficulty assigned a reader is dramatically affected by the measure used to determine the reading difficulty and the components making up that measure. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-09, Section: A, page: 3208. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 31-09, Section: A, page: 4376. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1970.

Sensitivity of Value Added School Effect Estimates to Different Model Specifications and Outcome Measures

<p> The federal government, through NCLB legislation, has provided target proficiency goals schools will be accountable to meet. Missouri public elementary schools use these target goals to determine their success. The focus of this study was to examine the highly effective public elementary schools in Missouri that met or exceeded the 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets and determine the practices that contributed to their success. The overarching questions were: Can the actions, performance, and knowledge of schools achieving AYP assist other schools to improve their performance on AYP targets? Do Lezotte's correlates of effective schools provide a framework to view successful school performance? With these questions in mind, the purpose of the study was to explore the researched-based programs, characteristics, or reforms used by highly effective elementary schools in Missouri that mirror Lezotte's (2011) correlates of effective schools and comply with NCLB. It was determined that the principals' and teachers' high expectations for themselves and their students were a significant contributor to effective school results. The areas of school focus outlined in the correlates closely matches the goals and procedures effective schools are meeting to be successful. Principals and teachers reported communication arts programs were based on textbooks, with guided reading used to support reading instruction. The math program most used was also the adopted textbook series.</p>

<p> Archaeological education and outreach have become priorities in a discipline that struggles to make its research accessible and relevant to the diverse public. In recent years, researchers have begun to address this issue through the design and implementation of grade school lesson modules on various archaeological topics. Although these lesson modules are readily available, little has been done to assess the efficacy of such public education and outreach agendas. With stimulus and funding from the Blackfeet Tribe and the Montana Department of Transportation, respectively, this thesis addresses this gap by (1) designing archaeological lesson modules for middle school students, and (2) assessing the general efficacy of the lessons. Specifically, the study systematically analyzes four science units for their overall efficacy, general impact, and utility through pre-and-post assessments that measure student understanding and interest. The quantified analyses are then combined to attain an overall percentage of curriculum efficacy. As a public outreach strategy for archaeology, these modules emphasize a pluralistic, multivocal, inclusive, and pragmatic perspective of the past that both connects with a multifaceted, diverse public and avoids educational marginalization of a shared, collective past. Thus, Native perspectives are interwoven with scientific archaeological knowledge to, in essence, pluralize the past. The topical focus of the lessons is bison&mdash;a uniquely North American past and present species with which humans have interacted intimately at a multitude of levels but, also, a species that is not always accepted among contemporary ranchers and land users. The curriculum is aimed at middle school students, recognizing that these students, as the future decision-makers, are a key demographic to target. It is hypothesized that (1) the respectful incorporation of archaeological education in a pluralized, inclusive fashion allows the interdisciplinary potential of archaeology to be more fully realized, and (2) such a strategy allows the significance of bison to be better understood and more widely appreciated.</p>