The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant relationship existed between teacher attrition and student success in middle school reading by conducting a quantitative analysis. Additionally, the inclusion of school demographic characteristics were included in the model to consider previous findings referencing the challenges schools face in attracting and retaining teachers in low performing urban schools with high populations of economically disadvantaged and minority students. In this analysis, the relationship between teacher attrition and student achievement in middle school as measured by the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) for reading among middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8, as reported on the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR), were examined. The regression models used to analyze the three research questions addressed in the study include an examination of teacher attrition on campus pass rates, and grade level pass rates for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades as measured by the STAAR Reading assessment. The data utilized in this study were collected from seven North Texas middle schools in a fast growth school district together with their comparable campuses as identified by the Texas Education Agency for the school years 2013-2014 through 2015-2016. The results of the analysis indicate teacher attrition accounts for a significant variance in STAAR Reading pass rates among middle school students. Additionally, the school demographic characteristics defined as percentage economically disadvantaged, percentage English language learners, mobility rates, and percentage white students account for 83.4% of the variance in the average campus pass rates for STAAR Reading when combined.

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Public concern with respect to declining traditional values, character, and family structure in the midst of increased crime, violence, and drug use have brought American education into the political arena and under intense scrutiny. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not differences exist in the values fostered in private schools, public choice schools and public attendance-zone schools and whether or not there are differences in the values that are identified by students as compared with teachers. The theoretical framework for the study is based upon the beliefs that values form the foundation of human behavior and that schools influence the values of societies in which they exist.