The purpose of this study was to determine what relationship, if any, existed between student participation in the C.L.A.S.S. Project and student achievement as measured by the ISTEP testing program. This study was designed to provide statistical data for teachers, administrators, and other educators looking for instructional methods to provide students with increased learning opportunities to improve education.There were two groups of subjects in this study. The experimental group consisted of schools who had been participating in the C.L.A.S.S. Project for a minimum of two years. Thirty-seven Indiana schools made up this group. Thirty-seven schools were selected for a control group. They were randomly selected as not significantly different from schools in the experimental group by using performance based leagues determined by a statistical formula and provided by the Indiana Department of Education.Data collected regarding the schools in the study included rank and league placement as determined by the Indiana Department of Education and ISTEP scores provided by the Indiana Department of Education. ISTEP scores were used for grades two and three in the subject areas of Reading, Language Arts, Math, and Total Battery.The primary hypothesis of this study, stated in null form, is that the C.L.A.S.S. Project has no effect on student achievement as measured by the ISTEP testing program. Alternate null hypotheses were stated regarding the results of the individual subject areas: Reading, Language Arts, and Math.The results of this study failed to find significant differences between the schools using the C.L.A.S.S. Project and those in the control group. Analyses of variance were conducted on the experimental and control groups' data from test scores achieved on 1993 ISTEP test. Multivariate analysis (MANOVA) and univariate analyses (ANOVAs) were conducted to determine if the C.L.A.S.S. Project had any significant effect on isolated subject areas as tested on ISTEP and to see if the C.L.A.S.S. Project had any significant effect on anticipated achievement compared to actual achievement. The .05 alpha level was used to test the level of significance in this study. / Department of Educational Leadership

By 2014, Indiana public schools are required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and Public Law 221, the state's K-12 comprehensive accountability system, to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) by assuring that all students achieve proficiency in mathematics and language arts, demonstrate high attendance and graduation rates, and under the direction of a broad-based school/community steering committee submit an improvement plan to the Indiana Department of Education and a state-approved accrediting agency. According to various school improvement models, the school/community steering committee should include all stakeholder groups: administrators, licensed and non-instructional staff, parents, community members, and when appropriate students. However, non-instruction staff members are many times excluded or under-represented in the school's efforts to improve. This descriptive study was conducted to investigate the extent to which non-instructional public school employees are included in school improvement efforts. A survey was emailed to randomly selected public elementary, middle, and high school principals in Indiana. The researcher sought to understand the degree to which non-instructional staff participate in school improvement groups and activities, the tasks assigned and completed by non-instructional staff that participate, factors that limit participation in school improvement activities, and principals' perceptions regarding the value added by non-instructional staff to school improvement efforts. Responses from the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The researcher found few studies in the current literature that investigated the role non-instructional staff play in school improvement. The findings from this study were discussed and used to establish new understanding in the area of stakeholder involvement, specifically with non-instructional employees, in the school improvement process. Recommendations were made to administrators and school improvement teams for ways to include non-instructional staff in efforts to achieve the school's goals as well as a recommendation for additional research in this area. / Department of Educational Leadership