This study examined how Math-Curriculum Based Measurement (M-CBM) benchmark assessment scores predict fifth grade math Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment scores.  Three school districts participated in the study by providing student data on math benchmark assessments and fifth grade math SOL assessment scores. Scores were organized and analyzed to determine the level of prediction between the two data sets. The results of the study indicated that M-CBM benchmark assessments were good predictors of fifth grade math SOL assessment scores. A second purpose of the study was to measure the differences in the capacity of three different M-CBM benchmark assessments in predicting fifth grade math SOL assessment scores. The three school districts used M-CBM benchmark assessments that varied in the method of creation and the type (commercial, teacher created, released test item) to develop the assessments. The findings show the M-CBM benchmark assessments created by teachers were better predictors of student scores on the fifth grade math SOL assessment followed by released test items and the commercially developed assessments. The third goal of the research study was to determine if there were differences in costs associated with three different M-CBM benchmark assessments. The reported costs for each of the three assessment types were analyzed but the gross cost per student did not accurately reflect the total costs involved in creating, operating, and/or maintaining the M-CBM benchmark assessment systems in any of the three districts. A literature review identified contributions in the field in the areas of assessment, Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM), and predicting student performance. The research design was quantitative and the school district data collected was over the 2009-2010 school year.  Recommendation for future research was to focus on the implementation methods and utilization of M-CBM benchmark assessments by teachers to modify instruction. Possible research on how the benchmark data can be utilized or converted into a practical classroom predictor of SOL assessment outcomes was recommended also. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the practices of elementary, middle, and high school principals that are associated with the Standards of Learning accreditation status of schools in Virginia. A number of factors that discriminate between Accredited with Warning and Fully Accredited schools were investigated. Questionnaires were administered to 142 principals and 567 teachers. Items in the questionnaires were associated with sub-domains that affect the accreditation status of schools. Characteristics of principals, teachers, and schools were collected in a demographic section of each questionnaire. A principal components analysis was applied to reduce the number of sub-domains to a smaller set of meaningful measures. A combination of predictor variables was used in the final analysis. They are factors derived from the characteristics of principals'principal's years of experience, principal's years of experience in his or her current position, gender of the principal, principal's highest degree (master's or less or more than master's); and principal's school level assignment (elementary, middle, or high); characteristics of schools' percentage of children receiving free or reduced-price lunches and school setting (urban, suburban, or rural); and principal practices--providing instructional assistance and support, establishing infrastructure, implementing the curriculum, and being sensitive to students. The overall Wilks' lambda (λ=.69) was significant (p<.00) indicating that the predictors discriminated between the two groups. Discriminant function analysis indicated that the best predictors of accreditation status were percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches, school setting urban v. other (suburban and rural), principal assignment middle v. other (elementary and high), and principal assignment elementary v. other (middle and high). When classification analysis was applied, 79.5 percent of the cases for Accredited with Warning and Fully Accredited schools were correctly classified. Schools Accredited with Warning had higher mean scores on the percentage of children receiving free or reduced-price lunches. These schools were more likely to be in urban settings than suburban or rural settings, and they were more likely to be middle schools than elementary or high schools. Fully Accredited schools were more likely to be elementary schools than middle or high schools. None of the principals' practices--providing instructional assistance and support, establishing infrastructure, implementing the curriculum, and being sensitive to students--discriminated between the two levels of accreditation status of the schools. / Ed. D.

The research study investigated the history of the curriculum standards movement in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the context of the national standards movement in order to explain how and why the Commonwealth of Virginia arrived at the decision not to adopt the Common Core State Standards based on descriptive evidence. The study utilized a qualitative methodology with a two-phase data collection process. First, documents from the Virginia Board of Education and the Virginia Department of Education were collected and analyzed using the constant comparative method (Maykut and Morehouse, 1994). Second, data were collected from major figures in the history of Virginia public education over the last 20 years, including former Superintendents of Public Instruction, through in-person interviews. Data from the interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method (Maykut and Morehouse, 1994). An interview protocol was developed, tested for content validity, and piloted prior to conducting the interviews. Categories that emerged from the data analysis for both research questions were identified and descriptive evidence was presented related to both research questions. Three major conclusions from the study were identified and discussed that appeared to influence Virginia's decision not to participate in the Common Core State Standards: the Virginia Standards of Learning are an institutionalized system; the Virginia Standards of Learning had bipartisan political support; and confidence in the Standards of Learning outweighed confidence in the Common Core State Standards. / Ed. D.

How well students perform in mathematics and sciences continues to be a measure of a country's worth (Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences [CBMS], 2012). Nations that want an educated citizenry have consistently studied ways in which to improve performance in mathematics (Claessens and Engel, 2013; Dearing et al., 2012; Draper and Siebert, 2004). More and more researchers have examined the relationship reading has on mathematics performance (Grimm, 2008; Halaar, Kovas, Dale, Petrill, and Plomin, 2012). This study was an effort to contribute to this growing body of knowledge. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine what relationship exists between reading and mathematics and whether early reading performance could predict subsequent mathematics performance as measured by the Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments. Using a sample of students from a Virginia high school, this quantitative study utilized Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests as instruments and Chi-square Test of Association as the analysis to address the research questions: 1. What is the relationship between Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) reading performance and SOL mathematics performance at each grade level in Grade 3 through Grade 8? 2. What is the relationship between SOL reading performance in Grade 3 and subsequent performance on Virginia SOL End-of-Course Algebra I assessment? 3. To what extent does SOL reading performance in Grade 3 predict subsequent performance on Virginia SOL End-of-Course Algebra I assessment? Virginia SOL reading performance was found to be associated with mathematics performance at each grade level. Reading performance at Grade 3 was not found to be associated with Algebra I EOC performance. Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8 reading performance were all found to be associated with Algebra I EOC performance. As a limitation, this study utilized data from assessments designed to assess the 2001 Virginia SOL standards, which have since been updated. Therefore should be replicated using the current standards. The results of this study could be used to assist teacher leaders, principals, division leaders, and teacher preparation program leaders with working with teachers to address reading and mathematics deficiencies in a different way. / Ed. D.

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.

Students with disabilities have historically underperformed on achievement tests in comparison to their non-disabled peers (Eckes and Swando, 2009; Hurt, 2012). This qualitative study explored parents' perceptions of school factors that contribute to and hinder the academic success of students with disabilities. The researcher collected data by interviewing a purposeful sample of parents of students with disabilities and gathered and reviewed their child's academic information. This qualitative research study utilized a phenomenological design approach that allowed the researcher to gain insights into parents' perceptions of students' lived experiences. Participants included a sample of parents of fifth-grade students with disabilities attending an intermediate school in southeastern Virginia. The researcher collected data for this study in the spring of 2017. Interviews were administered in one session, allowing the researcher to ascertain from responses to the 22 interview questions which school factors parents perceive as contributing to and hindering academic progress. The results of this study indicated that the success of students with disabilities was impacted by staff members' understanding of multi-modality learning, needs of students with disabilities, and the level of support needed by students. The findings also indicated large class size and the physical and cosmetic characteristics of a classroom had an impact on achievement. Parents recommended mentoring programs, restructuring the classroom environment, improving parent-teacher communication, and meeting the unique needs of students with disabilities as areas of improvement. / Ed. D. / Students with disabilities have historically performed lower on tests than students without disabilities (Eckes & Swando, 2009; Hurt, 2012). This study explored parents’ perceptions of school factors that contribute to and hinder the success of students with disabilities. The researcher collected data by interviewing parents of students with disabilities and gathered and reviewed their child’s academic information. Participants included a sample of parents of fifth-grade students with disabilities attending an grades 3-5 school in southeastern Virginia. The researcher collected data for this study in the spring of 2017. Interviews were administered in one session, allowing the researcher to ascertain from responses to the 22 interview questions which school factors parents perceive as contributing to and hindering academic progress. The results of this study indicated that the success of students with disabilities was impacted by staff members’ understanding of multimodality learning, needs of students with disabilities, and the level of support needed by students. The findings also indicated large class size and the physical and cosmetic characteristics of a classroom had an impact on achievement. Parents recommended mentoring programs, restructuring the classroom environment, improving parent-teacher communication, and meeting the unique needs of students with disabilities as areas of improvement.

Since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was passed in 2001, museum educators have faced new challenges in designing programming that incorporates state standards of education while remaining faithful to the integrity of the museum’s collection and mission. Some museums have created programs that address these educational standards and can be used in school classrooms. This project is a case study of how one Virginia museum, Preservation Virginia, created a classroom program that addresses the state mandated Standards of Learning (SOLs). The report of this project includes discussion of the current debates that surround NCLB and its relationship to museum education. It also describes the five lesson plans included in the John Marshall House Trunk and explains why additions to those lesson plans have recently been created in order to incorporate inquiry-based teaching methods endorsed within museum education literature.

The primary purpose of this research was to validate psychometric integrity of the Speed DIAL screening instrument by establishing its predictive validity. The validation process included determining what, if any, associations existed between the predictor variable, Speed DIAL and the outcome variable, the Virginia Standards of Learning third-grade math and total English tests. Gender and age were factors in the study. Finally, certain intervening variables, those occurring after the predictor variable, but before the outcome variable, were included in the study. These interventions were supplementary programs or placements provided students in the hopes of positively influencing students' academic performance. The documented interventions were: retention status, special education status, number of years participating in Title I math, number of years participating in Title I reading, and number of years participating in the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) program. Based on the findings, Speed DIAL does possess predictive qualities. There was a moderate correlation between Speed DIAL scores and Virginia Standards of Learning third-grade math and total English test scores. Speed DIAL's overall effectiveness rating exceeded 75%. Females scored higher than males on the Speed DIAL, and there was a negative association between Speed DIAL and the documented intervening variables. Using the Elaboration Paradigm, these intervening variables validated the positive association between Speed DIAL scores and scores on the Virginia Standards of Learning third-grade tests.

This study examines the relationship between student attendance and student test scores on a criterion-referenced test, using test scores of all 5th graders in Virginia who participated in the 2005-2006 Standards of Learning tests in reading and mathematics. Data collection for this study was performed with the cooperation of the Virginia Department of Education using a state database of student testing information. Pearson correlation coefficients were determined for the overall student population and for the subgroups of economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, limited English proficient, white, black, and Hispanic. The results of this study indicate that there is a significant positive correlation (p<.01) between student attendance, as measured by the number of days present, and student performance on the Virginia SOL test, a criterion-referenced test. Positive correlations were found between student attendance and student test scores for all subgroups. The correlation between student attendance and student performance on the SOL mathematics test was higher than the correlation for the same variables on the English test. The correlation for the overall student population on the English SOL test was higher than the correlation for any subgroup on the English SOL test. Only the LEP and Hispanic subgroups had higher correlations on the mathematics test than the overall student population. This study will contribute to a growing body of research resulting from the enactment of the No Child Left Behind legislation and the national attention that this legislation has focused on student attendance and student performance on standardized tests.

Theatre is the passport to the creation of a balanced educational system in the United States (US), while standardized testing is the downfall of the ideology behind ‘No Child Left Behind’ (NCLB). As an educator, I was greatly influenced by Howard Gardner, theorist of Multiple Intelligences and Neil Fleming theorist of learning modalities. This work has carried over into my work in theatre as a director. Theatre does not have to didactically serve formal education, which emphasizes mathematics and reading/writing, nor does it have to be merely a spectacle. Theatre can be experimental, artistic, cathartic, foster social and intrapersonal skills and increase intelligences in all areas for children and adults. The adaptation of the children’s book The End by David LaRochelle into a play for children demonstrates the potential that lies within the art of theatre to be more than just entertainment. Furthermore, my work on the adaptation of The End was greatly influenced by my research and participation in the production of Pinocchio with Ohio Valley Summer Theatre in the fall of 2008. From this production, I gained considerable knowledge on the topic of Commedia Del’ Arte which impacted my work on my own production The End.