The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences existed in principals’ perceptions of their school’s capacity to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements between principals whose schools failed to meet AYP requirements for one year compared to principals whose schools failed to meet AYP requirements for two to four consecutive years. Additionally, responses of the principals were analyzed based on the level of school, the location of the school, and if the school was or was not a Title I campus. A total of 2,040 schools met the criteria of the study and a finite population sampling method was utilized where the entire population of eligible principals was invited to participate in the study. A quantitative online survey was distributed to principals of eligible schools. A total of 183 principals responded, for a participation rate of nearly 10%. The study utilized two statistical methods for analyzing discrete data. Independent-t tests were conducted to determine if there were statistically significant differences in principals’ perceptions of their school’s capacity between principals of schools that failed to meet AYP requirements for one year, and those that failed to meet AYP requirements for two to four consecutive years. It was found that there were not statistically significant differences in principals’ perceptions of their school’s capacity. The second method of analyzing data was to conduct two-way ANOVAs to test for statistically significant differences in perceptions of principals based on level of school, type of school, and Title I status. It was found that there were not any statistically significant differences in principals’ perceptions of their school’s capacity. The absence of statistically significant differences in principals’ perceptions of their school’s capacity to meet AYP requirements regardless of the number of years the school missed the requirements, location of the school, type of school, or Title I status of the school could reasonably lead to the conclusion that capacity domains of schools fail to predict success of schools. This however, would contradict most literature that has previously been written about school capacity. Other more reasonable conclusions, as well as future research are presented in this study.

The purpose of this research was to determine if the variables included in the Mississippi Report Card 2003-2004 utilized for the calculation of AYP can be used to predict with accuracy greater than that which can be attributed to chance, whether or not Mississippi LEAs will attain adequate yearly progress in reading and math using the logistic regression technique. An additional goal of this study is to identify whether the inclusion of a variable representing the proportion of teachers in each Mississippi LEA with a one-year teaching certificate can notably enhance the explanatory power of the logistic regression models. This study addressed two research questions: Research Question 1: Can variables (included in the Mississippi Report Card 2003-2004) required for the calculation of adequate yearly progress be used to successfully predict Adequate Yearly Progress using the Logistic Regression technique with an accuracy greater than that which can be attributed to chance? Research Question 2: Could the addition of another predictor variable (Percentage of Teachers with One-Year Educator Licenses) notably add to the predictive accuracy of the model? This study demonstrated that using the variables utilized for the calculation of AYP, a predictive model can be successfully utilized to classify Mississippi LEAs that will and will not attain AYP in reading and math with an accuracy greater than that which can be attributed to chance. This study also established that the inclusion of a variable corresponding to the percentage of teachers in a LEA with one-year educator licenses does not add to the predictive accuracy of the model.

Increased accountability has led to increased pressure on administrators to meet AYP. By identifying strengths that are present in successful administrators, superintendents will be better equipped to make well-informed selections and administrators can target specific areas for professional growth. This study used a self-assessment created from the Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment to analyze the strengths of principals and the commonalities in those strengths based on (a) percentage of adequate yearly progress (AYP) achieved, (b) grade levels served (middle school or high school) and (c) community served (urban or suburban). It is important to note that community served is not meant to indicate the socio-economic status of a school, but instead whether schools reside within census defined urban areas. It was found that there was a statistically significant difference in the ranking of principal strength of input based on the adequate yearly progress achievement of the school. There was also a statistically significant difference between the principals' ranking of both the strengths of communication and harmony based on grade level served and strengths of achiever and responsibility based on community served. While other strengths did not show statistically significant differences among various groups, their overall rankings are provided and discussed.

This case study examined the extent to which the No Child Left Behind mandate has contributed to principal stress, specifically in middle schools who have achieved annual yearly progress through the use of confidence intervals when measuring sub-groups. A secondary question relating to how principals were coping with the law from an academic/personal point of view was also addressed. The primary data source were interviews with ten principals from urban, suburban and rural school districts surrounding the Philadelphia area. Review of data sources provided by the principals, use of educational databases as well as observations were used to study this phenomenon. The NCLB statute and it's myriad of consequences for schools that do not make AYP have created a more stressful, testing -driven environment for all stakeholders. Principals, teachers, parents, and most importantly, students have all been affected by this statute. Schools that are classified as corrective action 1 and 2 because of low sub-group scores continue to rise in Southeastern Pennsylvania; nowhere is this more dramatic than at the secondary schools level. Principals in these buildings face stiff pressure from internal and external forces. Nationally, recent research has borne out an increase in principal turnover across the country in the last 5 years. According to the statute, every student that attends public school in the United States will be proficient in math and reading, regardless of sub-group, by 2014. The purpose of this qualitative study was to illuminate an area of research pertaining to principals of schools whose subgroups achieved AYP through the use of a confidence interval, and to collect effective instructional data (interventions ) that could theoretically help student sub-groups achieve AYP. There is also an understanding among principals that if they do not meet the AYP goal each year, eventually they can be removed from the leadership positions at their schools. This punitive sanction does not take into effect a school's overall score, but is reflective of all its' subgroups. Results from this study show that principals, although aware of the law and its' sanctions, chose to focus on designing positive interventions that help all students achieve, while at the same time offering instructional supports to their respective staffs. The principals agreed that the NCLB law was good for public education, but stated that sub-group inclusion is unfair to the students it was designed to protect. All principals reported a moderate level of stress connected with the implementation of the statute, but not enough for them to consider leaving their jobs for another occupation. The premise that principals worried about losing their jobs as a result of AYP failure was refuted in this study. All principals reported major changes at their schools in curriculum delivery, interventions for sub-groups, and the use of data assessment systems to drive instruction. An emerging theme from this study is the concept that the NCLB statute over the past five years has become the " great equalizer" between urban and suburban school districts. As more suburban schools fall under NCLB sanctions, they no longer can dismiss AYP failures as a purely urban phenomenon, but actually look to partner with urban schools in order to create effective instructional programs for their students. The research about the impact of the NCLB law on principal stress remains inconclusive. As the law continues to move toward 2014, barring any dramatic changes all public schools in the United States will be under some type of corrective action. There is a large research gap about how principals will survive in this particular environment. This study has started to address that gap by focusing on what schools do when they are an under-performing sub-group away from NCLB sanctions. This study also begins to document the changes that have been occurring in schools as a result of NCLB, along with principal perceptions of stress since the law's advent in 2002. / Educational Administration

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare high school graduation rates between Career and Technical Education (CTE) concentrators and non-CTE concentrators. School systems in the state of Tennessee that offered CTE courses for the 2007-2008 (120 systems) or 2008-2009 (118 systems) school years were used in this study. Fifteen northeast Tennessee systems were also examined to compare the graduation rates of CTE concentrators and non-CTE concentrators. The graduation rates of male and female CTE concentrators was also compared. Research supported the notion that CTE concentrators could improve overall graduation rates for school systems, and female CTE concentrators on average graduate at a higher rate than male CTE concentrators. Five research questions guided this study, and data were analyzed using independent-samples t tests and one-samples t tests. Results indicated that 12th-grade CTE concentrators had a higher graduation rate than non-CTE concentrators. The study further revealed that female CTE concentrators graduated at a significantly higher rate than male CTE concentrators. Findings suggested that CTE concentrators generally improved a school system's overall graduation rate.

This mixed methods study examined relationships between third, fourth, and fifth grade teacher attendance as well as teacher and administrator perceptions of teacher attendance during the 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08 school years. Third, fourth, and fifth grade student test scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement test given in the spring of 2006, 2007, and 2008 were also examined. TCAP score data for this study were gathered electronically, with published data from the Tennessee Department of Education. Teacher attendance records were collected using Siesta, a teacher attendance tracking program. Teacher and administrator perceptions were gathered through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The population for this study included five K-5 schools and two K-8 schools in a small, rural, public school system in Tennessee. All students in grades 3 through 8 take the TCAP test each spring. Students must take a total of 4 subtests. Quantitative variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics including t tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann Whitney U, and Pearson correlations. Qualitative data including interviews, focus groups, surveys, documents, handbooks, and school calendars were analyzed to better understand teacher and administrator perceptions about teacher absences. The results of this study were mixed. Teachers and administrators who participated in this study agreed that teacher absences do affect student test scores, but the quantitative data did not support this. The null hypotheses were retained in all courses and grades except third grade Math. This means there was no relationship between teacher absences and student test scores.