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This study evaluated after school program participation on student academic achievement as a way of helping schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act. After school programs were divided into academic after school programs and traditional after school programs. Student achievement was measured through Criterion Referenced Tests in Language Arts and Mathematics. This study took place in a small urban school district located in the Intermountain West. Students in after school programs were matched with students not participating in the programs on several background characteristics including socioeconomic status, English language proficiency status, school area, race, gender, and guardianship. Hierarchical cross-classified modeling was then used to assess the impact of participation in an after school program on student test scores. This study found that participation in an after school program was associated with a decrease in Language Arts test scores and found no difference on Mathematics test scores. As well, academic after school program participants test scores were not considerably different from traditional program participants. This study shows that after school programs are not an effective way at raising student achievement and thus helping schools to meet AYP.

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions that central Florida public high school principals had regarding the Florida School Indicators Report (FSIR) and its usefulness. The FSIR, published by the Florida Education, was designed to be a comprehensive, single source document for parents, lawmakers, and school administrators to compare key performance indicators to similar schools or districts state wide. It provided information on 74 different indicators of school or district performance. A total of 70 public high school principals from 13 central Florida school districts responded to a postal survey and provided their perceptions regarding the importance of indicators in the FSIR, how they used the FSIR at their schools, and what barriers they felt affected the ability of their administrative staffs to collect and analyze data on the FSIR indicators. Eighteen of the 70 principals participated in follow-up telephone interviews. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the postal surveys and interviews revealed the principals perceived FSIR indicators related to Florida's mandated Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) as the most important indictors in the FSIR. The indicators FCAT Results and FCAT Writes were ranked first and second respectively in priority by the participating principals. This finding demonstrated the importance that principals placed on the state's high-stakes test. Other categories of FSIR indicators are were also ranked in the findings reported in this study, along with how the principals used the FSIR at their schools. The data collected from the postal survey revealed there was a statistically significant relationship between the priority principals assigned to the FSIR indicators and their ability to collect and analyze data related to them. In addition, survey data allowed development of multiple regression models that could be used to predict the priority principals assigned to several FSIR categories of indicators based on the ability to collect and analyze data. The study findings indicated that principals perceived lack of time for data analysis as the biggest barrier they faced when evaluating the FSIR indicators. After the lack of time, principals rated lack of administrator training in data analysis as the second biggest obstacle to using the FSIR. The findings indicated that principals felt the availability of data and technology were not significant barriers to their staff's ability to conduct data analysis on the FSIR. The conclusions drawn from the study were that central Florida high school principals perceived the results on the state's mandated Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) to be the most important indicators in the FSIR. In addition, the research identified that the lack of time was the single greatest barrier principals encountered when it came to collecting and analyzing data on the FSIR. A lack of training programs in data collection and analysis for administrators was also noted in the findings.

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Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT claim to predict students' success in college. Colleges and universities place a considerable emphasis on these test scores when reviewing and deciding on applicants. However, over the years, institutional leaders and academic researchers have questioned whether the SAT/ACT tests truly measure the skills needed for success in college and throughout life. This study uses non-cognitive variables to focus to what students with strong high-school grade point averages (HSGPAs), low SAT/ACT test scores (under 1000 on the 1600 point scale for the SAT, or 21 or lower on the ACT), and who completed college in four years with an overall 3.5 or higher college GPA, attributed or perceived their abilities for college success. The study also investigated these students' perceptions and beliefs about these tests (have they hindered their abilities or potential for college success), and how these students thought non-cognitive factors should be considered in the admission's process. In addition, the study compares this group of students to the rest of the incoming freshman class. / Educational Administration

This study examines the relationships among student socioeconomic status, school district enrollment, minority enrollment, district expenditure per pupil, and the teaching experience of faculty as these variables influence the achievement scores of secondary students in Texas. Data from a total of 1,061 Texas school districts were used to determine the effects of the indicated district-level predictor variables on three criterion variables: reading, mathematics, and writing scores for the 11th-grade Texas Education Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS). The study led to the following conclusions: 1. Low socioeconomic status of students in Texas, as in the rest of the United States, insures that test scores will be lower if all other variables are held constant. 2. Large minority populations are strong predictors of low test scores, especially in mathematics and reading. 3. Students in districts whose faculty had a high average of years of teaching experience also scored high in achievement tests, especially in mathematics and writing. 4. High average district expenditure per pupil predicts high test scores, especially in reading. 5. School district size or enrollment has low predictive value of test scores. Among several specific recommendations, this study advises that further study be done concerning the most effective ways to educate minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged student populations. The study also recommends that better ways be found to retain experienced teachers in the classroom, including monetary compensation, extra allowances for staff development, and additional resources. The study cautions against simply adding money to a district's budget to increase student achievement scores, asserting that districts should make thorough studies before higher expenditures per pupil are alone used to increase test scores.

Large-scale assessment results for schools, school boards/districts, and entire provinces or states are commonly reported as the percentage of students achieving a standard – that is, the percentage of students scoring above the cut score that defines the standard on the assessment scale. Recent research has shown that this method of reporting is sensitive to small changes in the cut score, especially when comparing results across years or between groups. This study extends that work by investigating the effects of reporting group size on the stability of results. For each of ten group sizes, 1000 samples with replacement were drawn from the May 2009 Ontario Grade 6 Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics. The results showed that for small group sizes – analogous to small schools – there is little confidence and that extreme caution must be taken when interpreting differences observed between years or groups.

Large-scale assessment results for schools, school boards/districts, and entire provinces or states are commonly reported as the percentage of students achieving a standard – that is, the percentage of students scoring above the cut score that defines the standard on the assessment scale. Recent research has shown that this method of reporting is sensitive to small changes in the cut score, especially when comparing results across years or between groups. This study extends that work by investigating the effects of reporting group size on the stability of results. For each of ten group sizes, 1000 samples with replacement were drawn from the May 2009 Ontario Grade 6 Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics. The results showed that for small group sizes – analogous to small schools – there is little confidence and that extreme caution must be taken when interpreting differences observed between years or groups.

In this research, an analysis of policies and implementation processes of testinghigh school students in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico is presented. The objectiveis aimed at understanding how these practices guide or outline the dynamics ofschools, teachers and priorities of student work. The information was collectedthrough interviews, focus groups and observation records. The results indicatethat the approach that has made the assessment reinforces a school culture thatfavors the numerical results over the educational processes, competitivenessand individual success is exalted above solidarity and empathy. The evaluationapproach embodied in the curriculum and assessment practices in classrooms iscontradicted. / En esta investigación se presenta un análisis de las políticas y procesos de aplicación de pruebas a estudiantes de escuelas secundarias en el Estado de Chihuahua, México. El objetivo está encaminado a comprender de qué manera estas prácticas guían o perfilan la dinámica de las escuelas, las prioridades del profesorado y el trabajo de los estudiantes. La información se recabó a través de entrevistas, grupos de enfoque y registros de observación. Los resultados señalan que el enfoque con el que se ha realizado la evaluación refuerza una cultura escolar que privilegia los resultados numéricos sobre los procesos formativos, se exalta la competitividad y el éxito individual por encima de la solidaridad y la empatía. Se contradice el enfoque de la evaluación plasmado en el currículo y las prácticas de evaluación en los salones de clase. / Nesta pesquisa é apresentado uma análise das políticas e processos deimplementação de testes de alunos do ensino médio no Estado de Chihuahua,México. O objectivo visa a compreensão de como essas práticas orientar ou delinear a dinâmica de escolas, professores e prioridades de trabalho do aluno.As informações foram coletadas por meio de entrevistas, grupos focais e registrosde observação. Os resultados indicam que a abordagem que tem feito a avaliaçãoreforça uma cultura escolar que privilegia os resultados numéricos sobre osprocessos educativos, a competitividade eo sucesso individual é exaltado acimade solidariedade e empatia. A abordagem de avaliação incorporado nas práticascurriculares e de avaliação em salas de aula é contrariada.