Racially restrictive housing covenants, their diffusion, and the motivations of those who created them in the northern cities of America in the early 20th century are thoroughly covered within the discipline of political science. Despite the existing literature about racially restrictive covenants, there is very little existing literature or research that covers outcomes (education, political participation, power distribution, income disparities, etc.) in relation to racially restrictive covenants. This thesis investigates how the legacy of racially restrictive housing covenants impacted modern educational outcomes, specifically graduation rates, in the city of Chicago. The methodological approach includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis of historical maps, population demographic distribution, court cases, housing policy, and high-school graduation rates (from 1999–2014). Based on historical background and data analysis, the racially restrictive housing covenants in the city of Chicago led to pervasive patterns of neighborhood segregation that contribute to the racialization of educational outcomes. These findings help to provide quantitative evidence that the legacy and impact of racially restrictive housing covenant policy still impact modern living conditions and outcomes in education and possibly beyond.

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In 2002, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation (U.S. Department of Education, 2002) was signed into law to help children in the United States receive quality education and learn the basic skills needed to be successful (Chadd & Drage, 2006). The central focus of this legislation is the core academic subjects, which are identified in the legislation as English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history and geography. Career and technical education (CTE) is not specifically mentioned in the legislation, which suggests that NCLB and the high-stakes testing associated with the accountability benchmarks could impact the future of CTE. Even though the primary expectation of high-stakes testing is to increase academic achievement in specific areas, many worthwhile school programs could suffer from unintended consequences of this high-stakes testing initiative. One of the strategies that many school districts are using to improve student performance in the core subject areas mentioned in the NCLB legislation is to devote more instructional time to the tested content subjects, such as reading, mathematics, social studies and science. Hence, the development of an unintended consequence of narrowing the curriculum offered to secondary students. As a result more CTE courses may be dropped from high school master schedules, which make the topic of specific concern for educational leaders (Gordon et al., 2007). School administrators and school leaders are concerned about school accreditation and student performance on state mandated tests. Therefore, examining career and technical education student performance on Virginia's Standards of Learning assessments and the graduation rates of CTE students would help to determine the impact of CTE enrollment on student achievement. As such, the impact of CTE on high-stakes testing in the Commonwealth of Virginia was the impetus for this topic of study. This purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the academic performance of CTE completers and non-CTE completers in the Commonwealth of Virginia on the Standards of Learning English and mathematics assessments, as well as cohort graduation rates. This quantitative study used descriptive statistics, such as mean and standard deviation, to determine if their pass rates and graduation rates differ during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 school years. A t-test was used to determine if they differ significantly from each other. Findings indicate that statistically (p<.05), CTE completers had higher mathematics and Grade 11 English reading pass rates from those of non-CTE completers. The CTE completers in this study also demonstrated higher cohort graduation rates. It appears that a concentration of career and technical education makes a positive impact the pass rates of students on the Standards of Learning assessments and cohort graduation rates. / Doctor of Education

The educational plight of the urban student athlete is often associated with academic underachievement. This study researched the effects of minimum academic standards on athletes to increase their academic success, attendance rates, reduce discipline infractions and subsequently, increase graduation rates. Vidal- Fernandez (2011) conducted a study on the effect minimum academic requirements to participate in sports had on high school graduation. Students who were involved in a sport had significantly higher grade point averages during their sport season compared to their grade point averages when the students were not in season. Schools invest large amounts of resources into sports activities under the well-supported assumption that these activities increase levels of student outcomes. If engagement in athletics significantly improves the likelihood of academic success, then school leaders should choose to target resources and efforts at increasing participation, especially for at-risk and failing students (Vidal-Fernandez, 2011). In this quantitative study to determine what impact athletics have on the student's academic performance, the researcher collected existing data on the high school football teams for two semesters prior to a system wide 2.0 GPA policy to play and two semesters after the implementation of the 2.0 GPA play policy. Independent variables (attendance, discipline and GPA) and dependent variables (participation in football, academic coach or no academic coach, and athletic coach) were collected, and these variables were then measured and analyzed using relevant statistical procedures. Many of the student athletes in this study increased their accountability for their academic achievement in order to achieve higher GPAs in order to participate in athletics. Although not statistically significant, the data showed there was an increase in the overall district GPA for football players in the division after the implementation of the 2.0 GPA rule. Another important finding, student mobility (transiency) was notable at each high school during the three-year span of the study. While the present study only analyzed a district sample of athletes, the results could assist parents, coaches, and school administrators in monitoring the academic success of the school system's athletes. / Ed. D.

This mixed methods research study used a QUAN-QUAL Model to examine the impact that various factors have on student persistence to graduation in postsecondary education. A documentary research approach was used to collect secondary or existing data from the student information system for first-time full-time freshmen in the Fall 2008 Cohort who graduated within six years. The size of the sample for the quantitative inquiry was 211. A correlational research design was employed to determine if a significant relationship existed between the dependent variables—Persistence to Graduation within Six Years (YEAR) and Final GPA at Time of Degree Completion (FIN GPA)—and the independent variables, Financial Aid Awarded (FINAID), High School GPA (HSGPA), ACT Composite Score (ACT COMP), SAT Combined Score (SAT COMB), First-Year First-Semester GPA (FYFS GPA), First-Year Cumulative GPA (FY GPA), Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), and On-Campus or Off-Campus Housing (ON-OFF CAMP). Descriptive statistical analyses were used to describe, summarize, and interpret the data collected. A case study research approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding into the real-life experiences of a small group of students who did not graduate within six years and who were still persisting toward degree attainment. The Graduation: Survey of Undergraduate Persistence questionnaire was distributed to the participants to gain a holistic understanding of the impact that family, faculty, peers, financial resources, and other environmental influences had on their experiences while persisting toward a college degree. Four questionnaires were completed and returned, followed by three in-depth interviews. The findings from the survey and interviews on the role of financial aid supported the quantitative findings on the relationship between financial aid awarded and persistence to graduation. In the quantitative data analysis, persistence to graduation within six years was significant and positively related to the number of occurrences of financial aid awarded. As the number of financial aid occurrences decreased, the number of years to graduate decreased. Alternatively, an increase in the number of financial aid occurrences resulted in an increase in years to graduate. Postsecondary educational leaders and P-12 educational leaders can utilize the study in forming partnerships to foster collaboration and a “move to action” in preparing students to do college-level course work upon graduating from high school.

Reducing student dropout is of extreme importance to the United States. The loss in revenue as well as in human terms is huge. Several problems exist concerning students placed at-risk for dropping out. These include no agreed upon method of calculating drop out rates, differing opinions on the causes of school dropout, and a body of literature that is sparse concerning educational approaches for keeping students placed at-risk in school. This study examined the impact of the Samantha Academy of Creative Education (SACE) on the students placed at-risk and the teacher perceptions of the SACE program by the teachers working in the program at a suburban high school of Southwest Texas. The population of this mixed-methods study consisted of secondary general education students from a large suburban high school in Southwest Texas who had been placed at-risk. One of these groups consisted of students that participated in the SACE program while the other group consisted of a similar group of students not participating in SACE. Statistical tests were conducted to determine if a difference existed between the two groups with regard to graduation rate, attendance rate, and core grade average. Perceptions of the SACE program by the teachers that worked within the SACE program were gathered. Results indicate that student placed at-risk who participated in the SACE program had higher core grade averages, higher rates of graduation, and higher rates of attendance compared to students placed at-risk within the same high school who did not participate in SACE. Teachers perceived that the SACE program was efficacious for students placed at risk because of three broad themes. This study further demonstrated that effective programs aimed at helping students placed at-risk can be developed within the context of a regular high school setting. Recommendations for further research and implications for practice were provided.

Technology enhancements of the past two decades have not successfully overcome the problem of low motivation in Kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12). Motivation and math achievement have been identified as major factors contributing to the high school dropout problem (30-50% in traditional/online programs). The impact of extrinsic rewards on achievement and the dropout problem, however, remains a subject of debate. This dissertation seeks first to address this debate, through an investigation of reward system effectiveness in the blended learning environment, on at-risk students with varied intrinsic motivation factor scores. Next, the dissertation explores the importance of fit between students' reward perceptions and reward values when motivating student progress. To this end, the author has developed a new 6-factor motivation orientation model for students in blended learning environments, and a learner-configurable progress-based reward system (PBR) for Learner Content Management Systems (LCMS) based on this model. The hypothesized model was tested for fit with a sample of 353 at-risk high school math students in Miami, Florida. The PBR was developed based upon the findings from interviews with subject matter experts and students, factor and regression analyses used to test hypotheses about learner motivation and predict learner progress. Conclusions from the study informed the design of an integrated PBR. A 6-factor motivation orientation model was found to explain more of the variance (74%) in student motivation than earlier models. Contrary to Deci et al. (1999), hypothesis test results did not confirm adversarial extrinsic rewards/intrinsic motivation relationships. Furthermore, consistent with person-environment fit theory, learners demonstrated superior progress and achievement when extrinsic reward perceptions and values were well aligned. With critical input from flexible learning theorists, teachers, and students, the emerging PBR design may ultimately be integrated through mobile learning applications and social media, within LCMS solutions such as Blackboard, and systems commonly used in K-12, such as Apex. Although beyond the scope of the dissertation, the emerging Web-based design promises to play an important role in engaging a K-12 Community of Practice (CoP), consisting of telecommunications partners, game developers, retailers, and education stakeholders sharing a significant interest in future innovations that address the dropout problem.

Abstract Improving the academic success and graduation rates of African-American males has been a major focus of both scholars and practitioners in the United States. Locally, African-American males at an urban Title 1 school were experiencing the lowest grade point averages, American College Test scores, and graduation rates in the district. In response to these academic declines, this study focused on the tenets of Bechtol's sports participation theory, which holds that students who play sports experience greater academic achievement and adult success in life. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between total hours of high school athletics participation and earned GPAs for African-American male students at the school under study for 1 academic year and across each term (4) of the school year. A correlational research design was used to identify if a relationship existed between hours of sports participation and the GPAs of African-American male student-athletes from the 2012 ' 2013 school year (N = 36). The results of the 5 Pearson correlation analyses indicated no statistically significant relationship between the total hours African-American male student-athletes spent participating in sports and their GPAs. The sample size was a limitation of the study design, therefore it was recommended to conduct the investigation with a larger sample size. The results of the study prompted the design of a professional development program for local administrators, faculty, and staff called Championing Higher Achievement Matriculation, Preparation, and Success for Student Athletes (CHAMPS). The CHAMPS program prepares school personnel to more effectively mentor, coach, tutor, and teach African-American male student-athletes. The program can improve the quality of education that can serve as the stimulus for social change through improved educational outcomes for African-American male student athletes.