This dissertation work considers communication between people. I look at coordinating dyads (couples in relationships) and people in working relationships to develop an understanding of how people engage in high-stakes, or emotional communication via various communicative media. The approach for this research is to observe and measure people's behavior during interaction and subsequent reporting of that behavior and associated internal experiences. Qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. Quantitative data are analyzed using a range of statistical analyses, including correlations matrices, ANOVAs, and multivariate statistics. Two controlled laboratory experiments were conducted for this research. These experiments involved couples in relationships. Couples were brought into the lab and argued with each other across one of three technological media: face-to-face, telephone, and instant messaging (IM). In one set of couples' experiments, the couples argued for twenty minutes; in the subsequent couples' experiment, couples were encouraged to take as much time as they needed for their arguments. One of the main results from the first experiment is that couples did, indeed, argue when brought into a laboratory setting. One of the important findings for the second experiment is that time did not affect couples' tendency to reach closure during their arguments. This research is a contribution in that it examines how people engage in highly emotional communication using various technological media. In a society with ever-increasing communication needs that require technology, it becomes necessary to study its communicative affordances. Understanding the context of highly emotional interactions between members of couples gives insight into how technology meets (or fails to meet) these communication needs. / Ph. D.

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 purpose of this study was to investigate how online testing was implemented within a statewide high-stakes testing program in Virginia's public education system. Virginia's state assessments, known as the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, were first administered to public school students in 1998 as paper-and-pencil, multiple-choice tests where students used a paper test booklet, an optical scan paper answer document, and a #2 pencil to complete each test. In 2000, at the direction of the Governor and General Assembly of the Commonwealth, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) introduced a technology initiative where, upon successful implementation, students would be able to complete their required SOL tests electronically via the Internet. The researcher, an employee of the VDOE with direct involvement in the implementation of online testing, conducted a participant-observer case study and interviewed individuals closely associated with the Virginia Web-based Standards of Learning Technology Initiative. The interview transcripts, project documents, and experiences of the researcher as a participant-observer were used as the primary data sources. Glaser and Strauss's (1967) constant comparative method with suggested procedural additions from Lincoln and Guba (1985) and Maykut and Morehouse (1994), was applied in data analysis. The findings are presented as a monograph with the history and implementation of Virginia's Web-based Standards of Learning Technology Initiative detailed by the participant-observer researcher. The desired outcomes of the researcher's efforts are (a) informing others of Virginia's experiences, including its successes and failures, (b) sharing the lessons learned throughout the implementation of Virginia's Web-based SOL Technology Initiative, and (c) identifying best practices that could be transferable to other state or local organizations attempting similar large-scale initiatives. / Ed. D.

Over the last several decades, the field of education has the seen the introduction and normalization of high-stakes standardized testing as part of the educational routine. With this introduction, questions concerning how these standardized tests have altered the educational landscape for teachers remain. 'Teaching to the test' has become a household phrase, one that can have both positive and negative undertones. To better understand how teachers negotiate the influences over their curricular and instructional decisions requires the studying of both their planning and implementation processes as well as how they interact with the official curriculum. Guiding this investigation are two comprehensive questions. How does a veteran teacher's understanding of historical significance impact how they ascribe value to the purpose, nature and utility of history as a school discipline over time and space? How tightly aligned are a veteran teacher's conceptions and perceptions of the purpose, nature and utility of history as a school subject with their observed pedagogical practices? This study sought to investigate the various influences over a teachers' curricular and instructional decision-making by building on previous research. Through interviews, surveys, classroom observations, and collecting documents, I was able to capture the planning and implementation routines of a veteran teacher. Through these methods, it was discovered that the multitude of influences were much more fluid and intertwined than first thought. This study sheds light on the web of influences teachers have to operate in on a daily basis. / Ph. D. / Over the last several decades, the field of education has the seen the introduction and normalization of high-stakes standardized testing as part of the educational routine. With this introduction, questions concerning how these standardized tests have altered the educational landscape for teachers remain. “Teaching to the test” has become a household phrase, one that can have both positive and negative undertones. In an attempt to better understand how teachers determine what is important enough to teach, this study investigates the planning and implementation processes of a veteran teacher. More specifically, this study sought to investigate the various influences over a teachers’ curricular and instructional decision-making by building on previous research. Within a high-stakes testing environment, is it as simple as “teaching to the test?” Through interviews, surveys, classroom observations, and collecting documents, I was able to capture the planning and implementation routines of a veteran teacher. Through these methods, it was discovered that the multitude of influences were much more fluid and intertwined than first thought. This study sheds light on the web of influences teachers have to operate in on a daily basis.

This research analyzes the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the Florida A+ Plan, in an attempt to understand how people personally responded to the changes that occurred in a school setting as a result of the mandates of standardized testing. The focus will be on the reactions of the administration and the changes the administrative body of a high school was forced to make, and focus will be placed on teachers in regards to teacher focus, instruction, and their view of student perceptions of the testing, before during and after the test is administered. The focus of this research is Roberts High School, an inner-city high school that went from a failing school, with an "F" status for five consecutive years to that of a school with a "D" status-missing the "C" status by a mere five points. This dramatic change happened after the state of Florida took control of the operations of the school, as dictated by state mandates, due to the failing performance of the previous five years. This research is conducted in an attempt to understand what caused the significant gains as cited by the results of the testing, how teachers and administrators responded to and implemented these changes, and to see if the controversial standardized testing that is taking over the nation's schools is meeting the aim of No Child Left Behind-to close the achievement gap.

In order to illustrate, I begin this report with an account of some of my experiences as a bilingual teacher, instructing curriculum designed to elicit student reflections their language ideologies and engaging praxis. The data includes student responses to a writing prompt and interview which elicited their language ideologies. Some of the student comments were striking due to their recognition of the higher status of English. The student-collected data aided me in evaluating my curriculum and instruction and inform my future practice. My report ends with a proposal to investigate these issues more deeply by conducting a study on student language ideologies. / text

The present study investigated teacher motivation in a high-stakes accountability context. Specifically, this study examines elementary teachers' achievement goal orientations, self-efficacy for teaching, and perceptions of help-seeking in the context of high-stakes testing and school accountability under No Child Left Behind and an Elementary and Secondary Education Act waiver. Butler's (2007) teacher achievement goal orientation framework provided the theoretical basis of the present study; high-stakes tests and school accountability status were thought to impact teachers’ achievement goal orientations. Additionally, teachers' achievement goal orientations were thought to impact teaching self-efficacy and perceptions of help-seeking. The sample included 381 elementary school teachers. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and hierarchical multiple regression were used to examine the relationships between and among high-stakes testing and issues teachers perceive to be related to these tests, stress related to high-stakes tests, school accountability status, teachers’ achievement goal orientations, teaching self-efficacy, and perceptions of teacher help-seeking. Results suggest that, for this sample, dimensions of teachers’ achievement goal orientations differ from the dimensions characterized by Butler and colleagues (Butler, 2007; Butler & Shibaz, 2008; Nitsche et al., 2010; Cho & Shim, 2013; Shim et al., 2013). Specifically, teachers in this sample exhibited mastery and work-avoidance goals, as characterized by Butler (2007), but not performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Teachers here distinguished between personal performance orientation, or motivation driven by external factors (e.g., recognition from administrators) and using others as the referent to which they compared their own performance (e.g., colleagues). Additionally, class performance orientation emerged as a distinct dimension of teachers’ achievement goal orientations for this sample. Those who espoused this orientation sought for their classes to compare favorably with other classes and were motivated by external factors, such as their class scoring high on state-wide tests. Teacher achievement goal orientations were related to high-stakes testing, but school issues related to high-stakes testing and stress associated with these tests were more salient predictors of teachers’ achievement goal orientations than whether teachers taught in testing grades or not. Finally, teachers’ achievement goal orientations were significant predictors of self-efficacy for teaching and teachers’ perceptions of their own help-seeking.

An increasing number of parents are opting-out their children from high-stakes. Accountability systems in education have used students' test scores to measure student learning, teacher effectiveness, and school district performance. Students who are opted-out of high-stakes tests are not being evaluated by the state tests, making their level of achievement or proficiency unknown by the state government. The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the various reasons, factors, experiences, and personal events that led parents to opt-out their children from at least one 3rd through 8th grade high-stakes test. Data were collected using a researcher-designed semi-structured interview protocol developed using ecological approaches to systems theories and critical pedagogy theories. The study was set in New York and 10 participants were interviewed, all from different rural or small suburban school districts throughout the state. Five themes and 12 subthemes emerged from first and second cycle coding. Key findings indicated that parents decided to opt-out their children from high-stakes tests because they felt high-stakes were inappropriate and unfair. Further, parents were dissatisfied with current high-stakes testing practices. Previous 3rd through 8th grade testing procedures that allowed teachers to make and grade the state tests were seen as acceptable. Parents indicated no issue with testing. However, from a social change perspective they felt the current system of high stakes testing was used improperly to rate students, teachers, programs, and school districts, and that testing should be used to drive instruction and help struggling students. This study is beneficial for school personnel and policy makers because it provides different ways to assess student achievement.

The ability to read is highly valued in American society and important for social and economic advancement. One of the best strategies to prevent reading difficulties is to build basic literacy skills, thereby ensuring that all children are readers early in their educational careers. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between third-grade students' oral reading rate and scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The present study examined the relationship between the independent variables of Curriculum-Based Measurement Reading (R-CBM), ethnicity and socioeconomic status and the dependent variable of performance on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in 215 third-grade students. The data presented in this study were collected by the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) as part of a larger assessment battery across three school districts and nine elementary schools in Florida. Student demographic variables as well as performance on three different types of oral reading probes (generic, content, and FCAT passages) were investigated in relation to each student's performance on the reading portion of the FCAT. Results of the current study were similar to investigations in other states; the correlations among the R-CBM probes and between all R-CBM probes and FCAT scores were high and statistically significant. These results indicate that student performance on any or all R-CBM probe types can be used to predict FCAT score. Ethnicity and SES were not significant predictors of FCAT score above R-CBM score. Implications for educators and specifically school psychologists are discussed including opportunities for school psychologists to train educational personnel in the use of R-CBM. As evidenced by the current study, R-CBM may help identify students who are at-risk for reading failure and FCAT failure so that intensive interventions can be implemented early and student progress frequently monitored.

ABSTRACT SCHOOL SIZE, SCHOOL POVERTY AND SCHOOL-LEVEL MOBILITY: INTERACTIVE THREATS TO SCHOOL OUTCOMES by Sharon M. Thompson School-level mobility is the flow of students moving in and out of schools and has been defined as the rate of student entries and withdrawals per 100 students enrolled in a school during the year (Pike & Weisbender, 1988). Stakeholders report that school mobility disrupts the delivery, pace and effectiveness of classroom instruction, causes problems associated with classroom adjustment, and renders long-term negative effects on schools’ Adequate Yearly Progress rankings (Bruno & Isken, 1996; GAO, 2007; Kerbow, 1996; Lash & Kirkpatrick, 1990; Rhodes, 2005; Sanderson, 2003). Despite these findings very few studies have been conducted to determine the effects of mobility (particularly at the school level) and how it combines with other school-level factors such as school size and school poverty to create threats to positive school outcomes. Of the few relevant studies (e.g., Bourque, 2009; Rhodes, 2007), little attention has been given to understanding mobility’s relationships to achievement in the context of size of student enrollment, degree of poverty and longitudinal examination of achievement across multiple years. To address these gaps in the research literature, this study investigated the effects of school-level mobility on middle school reading achievement after controlling for the effects of school enrollment and poverty. Findings from regression analyses indicated significant relationships between school-level mobility and reading achievement over and beyond the relationships between school size or school-level poverty with achievement. A repeated measures procedure was used to analyze long-term effects on eighth grade reading achievement for Title I middle schools that focused on three, key variables: degree of school mobility (e.g., high versus low rate), size of student enrollment (e.g. big versus small school), test administration year(s) (e.g., 2006, 2007 and 2008) and interactions between these variables. There were significant main effects for school size, school-level mobility as well as for the year of test administration. Reading test scores rose significantly from one year to the next, big schools out-performed small schools , and highly mobile schools performed significantly lower than low mobile schools in reading achievement over a three-year period. No significant interaction effects were found. Results are discussed in terms of research and policy implications.