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The focus of this research was to investigate and clarify the daily work lives of elementary reading coaches in central Florida by studying their background, academic and professional experiences. The beliefs and perceptions of the reading coaches on factors that influence reading achievement were examined. The responses from 96 participating elementary reading coaches were used to investigate (a) the relationship between demographic information, professional experiences, and academic background of the reading coach, (b) the percentage of time reading coaches engaged in specific coaching activities, and (c) the linkage between coaching activities and change in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test developmental scale scores. Data from a web-based survey and personal interviews were used to collect pertinent data to understand the daily work lives of the elementary reading coaches and bring awareness to perceptions, successes and hindrances to the role and the impact on reading achievement. Descriptive statistics were used to present demographic, professional and academic information about the reading coaches. Multiple regression analyses were performed using time allocated to coaching activities and the change in reading achievement to determine existing relationships. Developmental scale score change was examined from the baseline year to the third year. Qualitative analyses were used to determine reading coach themes from the survey responses. Participant profiles, calling on the tenets of case study methodology, were developed based on the triangulated data. Narrative descriptions of coaching data for the participant profiles were organized by years of teaching experience of the reading coach. ii The results of the study indicated that reading coaches perceived coach-teacher collaboration to be the most influential activity affecting reading achievement. This perception was not congruent with finding of time spent and change on reading achievement. Recommendations were presented including a formalized understanding of the daily work lives of reading coaches by school districts, administrators and the reading coaches themselves.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study investigated the relationship between school building conditions and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools. Research questions analyzed by step-wise multiple regression were: (a) Is there a relationship between overall school building conditions and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant?; (b) Is there a relationship between the cosmetic conditions of school facilities and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant?; and (c) Is there a relationship between the structural conditions of school facilities and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant? Two hundred and five randomly selected high schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were identified as the population for this study. Selected high school principals or principal designees were sent an on-line version of a modified Commonwealth Assessment of Physical Environment (CAPE) survey to ascertain information regarding the building conditions of their respective high schools. Student academic achievement data was measured by a three year scale score average of students' performance on the writing, reading and mathematics sections of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) exams. Socio-economic status (SES) was identified as the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. This factor was used as a covariant to control academic achievement variance related to SES. A step-wise regression analysis identified that a relationship exists between high school building conditions and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools. As the building conditions in the participant high schools surveyed improved, a corresponding increase in the academic achievement of its students was noted. It did not appear to matter if the improvement in a school buildings condition was cosmetic or structural; any improvement in a school buildings condition was associated with an increase in student academic achievement. This would seem to indicate that a relationship exists between student academic achievement and school building conditions in Pennsylvania high schools. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible relationships that exist between the overall, structural, and cosmetic school building conditions and student achievement and chronic absenteeism of students who attend urban high schools located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study utilized the Revised Commonwealth Appraisal of the Physical Environment (CAPE), for principals of high schools in urban school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, to assess the condition of their school buildings. The Revised CAPE survey measured the educational condition of the school building by accessing elements and features of a school building that research has shown to have an influence on the learning environment (Cash and Earthman, 2019). The school's student academic achievement data for English, mathematics, and science, along with chronic absenteeism data from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) was used to investigate if there was a relationship between school building conditions and student achievement and chronic absenteeism. This study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the relationship between the Achievement of All Students in English reading/writing and progress of English learners towards English language proficiency (English Combined Rate) on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessment and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 2. What is the relationship between the Achievement of All Students in mathematics on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 3. What is the relationship between the Achievement of All Students in Science on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 4. What is the relationship between chronic absenteeism and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? Research has shown that students who attend school in school buildings that are rated above standard, or standard outperform students in school buildings rated in poor condition (Earthman, 2018) and relationships have been found between poor school building condition and greater school absenteeism (Simon et al., 2010). An ANOVA statistical test was conducted to compare the percent of Schools' Academic Achievement of All Students on the SOL assessments for English, mathematics, and science and chronic absenteeism percentage rates in the schools identified as standard to schools identified as substandard. Findings from this study indicated that the condition of school buildings had a significant relationship with student achievement and chronic absenteeism. Associated implications for practitioners included a need to conduct facility and safety audits, train principals on the impact school building conditions have on student achievement and chronic absenteeism and ensure school buildings are equipped with sufficient safeguards to provide safe learning environments. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to examine the possible relationships that exist between the overall, structural, and cosmetic school building conditions and student achievement and chronic absenteeism of students who attend urban high schools located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Eighteen principals across the Commonwealth completed the Revised CAPE survey to assess the condition of their school buildings. The Revised CAPE survey measured the educational condition of the school building by accessing elements and features of a school building that research has shown to have an influence on the learning environment, (Cash and Earthman, 2019). The school's student academic achievement data for English, mathematics, and science, along with chronic absenteeism data from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) was used to examine if there was a relationship between school building conditions and student achievement and chronic absenteeism. This study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the relationship between the Academic Achievement of All Students in English reading/writing and progress of English learners towards English language proficiency (English Combined Rate) on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessment and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 2. What is the relationship between the Academic Achievement of All Students in mathematics on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 3. What is the relationship between the Academic Achievement of All Students in Science on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 4. What is the relationship between chronic absenteeism and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? Research has shown that students who attend school in school buildings that are rated above standard, or standard outperform students in school buildings rated in poor condition (Earthman, 2018) and relationships have been found between poor school building condition and greater school absenteeism (Simon et al., 2010). Findings from this study showed a significant relationship between the conditions of school buildings and student achievement and chronic absenteeism.

The issues regarding the lack of academic progress of African American boys prompted Garibaldi (2007) to declare that the African American male continues to fall behind all racial groups, even his female counterpart, on educational performance measures or assessments and in graduation rates. Davis (2009) stated that the literature regarding the academic experiences of elementary aged African American boys in an urban school setting is rather sparse. With the knowledge that the African American male is falling behind his female counterpart, what can we do to ensure that we begin to look at the factors that contribute to the success of those finding academic success, especially those at the elementary level? This qualitative study used an exploratory study approach to explore the school factors that contribute to the academic success of African American boys in urban elementary schools. The researcher employed two face-to-face interviews with each of the 11 fifth grade African American boys identified as academically successful. Data collection included a review of students' archival, academic, and attendance records to establish a framework of each child's overall academic performance beyond the sample summative Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments administered in grades three, four, and five at the elementary level. The results of this study indicated that the success of African American boys in an urban elementary school is impacted by peer influence, teacher attitudes, environmental suitability within the school, and personal accountability of the participants themselves. / Ed. D.

As a sixth grade teacher in Wolfin School, Amarillo, Texas the writer is interested in determining to what extent academic success my be predicted by the use of intelligence tests.

This meta-analytic synthesis of research studies is assembled upon the findings of research conducted within the last 40 years. With the understanding that students spend a considerable amount of time within school buildings, one can hypothesize that the condition of the school building influences student academic achievement. A community of researchers have worked to give credibility to this assumption by providing concrete data in support of this belief, however, some researchers have provided contrary results, thus stalling the progress towards a definitive statement. This study analyzed and compared 81 studies against a criteria for inclusion. Out of the 81 studies analyzed, 30 studies met the criteria and were included in this meta-analytic synthesis in order to answer two research questions. The two research questions investigated in this study are: 1) What are the characteristics of studies that investigated the relationship between school building condition and student achievement? 2) What does research inform educators about the relationship between the school building condition and student academic achievement? The studies included in this meta-analytic syntheses are unique in the methods they used to assess school buildings, how they chose to measure student academic achievement, to what level of education was the focus, how large or how small was the student/school population, what statistical measures were used, and what confounding variables were controlled. These specific characteristics were then separated into categories where the findings were reported quantitatively using percentages to draw conclusions. This study found patterns and trends that are noteworthy to future researchers and educational stakeholders. To a major degree, the assessment instrument used to measure school facilities and the people responsible for completing the assessments are important factors concerning the outcomes of studies. Additionally, the same can be said concerning the size of the student/school population used among studies. The purpose of this meta-analytic synthesis was to synthesize existing research in order to make a definitive statement on behalf of the research community. Following the completion of this analytic synthesis of studies and data gathering process, this study ultimately found that school facility condition positively influences student academic achievement. / EDD / This dissertation is a collection of findings from 30 studies which were conducted on the topic of school facility condition and student academic achievement. In all, 81 studies were located and were compared against a specific criteria. The 30 studies that met the criteria were: written in English, appeared in published or unpublished form after December 31, 1977, focused on public schools in the United States, and used an assessment instrument or survey to measure the overall condition of school facilities. The study was driven by two research questions. The first question asked about similarities and differences among the 30 studies that met the criteria. The characteristics which were investigated involved methodologies of studies, the school facility assessment instruments or surveys used, who administered the assessment instruments or surveys used, sizes of study populations, and the confounding variables used by researchers. The second question focused on the relationship between the condition of school facilities and student academic achievement and presents that information to educators. Findings extracted from all 30 studies were displayed in chart form along with percentages. The patterns and trends reported provides helpful information concerning the relationship between the condition of school facilities and student academic achievement. This study may be helpful to school administrators, school board members, parents, or community members interested in the topic of school facilities.