Since 2002, the rules and regulations of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act have dictated state and local education policy, influenced state and local reform efforts, and led to significant investments in building the capacity of state and local education agencies to meet its mandates. Using a nationally comprehensive data set on school- and student subgroup-level NCLB outcomes, these three studies are the first national studies exploring the ways in which state officials’ interpretations of NCLB policy led to significant cross-state variation in school and subgroup outcomes across the country. I also investigate the extent to which NCLB accountability pressures and incentive structures led state and local officials to use school closure as a remedy for schools’ persistence poor performance. I conduct the latter analysis for all U.S. public schools and separately for a subset of U.S. public schools, all U.S. charters schools, in order to account for the idiosyncrasies of charter school governance and oversight. I find that significant cross-state variation in the share of schools identified as “failing” according to NCLB rules can largely be explained by variation in states’ NCLB implementation decisions, and that schools determined to have “failed” according to NCLB rules are more likely to close than schools that never “failed.” For all public schools and for charter schools only, a school determined to have “failed” according to NCLB rules is significantly more likely to close than a school determined to have never “failed.” Combined, these studies provide insight into the ways in which states’ NCLB implementation decisions had significant and lasting impact on school outcomes and state and local reforms.

This study examined the degree of perceived teacher self-efficacy between early childhood preservice teachers and elementary education pre-service teachers. There were 88 participants: 44 elementary education pre-service teachers and 40 early childhood pre-service teachers. Participants were mostly white, female pre-service teachers enrolled at East Tennessee State University. Using Bandura's 30-item "Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale" pre-service teachers rated their perceived self-efficacy on 7 subscales: decision-making, influence on school resources, instructional efficacy, disciplinary efficacy, enlisting parent involvement, enlisting community involvement, and creating a positive school climate. Significant differences were found between groups for 3 of the 7 subscales. Early childhood education pre-service teachers reflected higher levels of efficacy in influencing decision making, t(86)=3.36, p<.001; enlisting parental involvement, t(86)= 2.14, p < .05; and creating a positive school climate, t(86) = 3.01, p < .01. No significant differences between groups were found in overall perceived teacher self-efficacy, t(86)=1.44, n.s.

Examining teacher attitudes about the impact of Standards-Based Reform (SBR) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on current teaching practices in kindergarten classrooms was the focus of this mixed-methods study. The investigation was designed to survey classroom teachers concerning activities and opinions about enactment of governmental policy, One hundred-nine kindergarten teachers responded to a questionnaire about beliefs, educational level, years of kindergarten teaching, and classroom practices. Follow-up semi-structured interviews were carried out with ten teachers to gather information on attitudes, beliefs, and implementation of policy. Quantitative analysis was used on practices and subject changes. Qualitative analysis was used to report attitude, procedural changes, and predictions concerning SBR and NCLB. Triangulation strengthened the study by examination of classroom practices and teacher reporting through plan book inspection.The quantitative research was conducted to measure changes through chi-square analysis to the questionnaire responses, Developmental teaching practices and subject changes were examined. Outcomes demonstrated that teaching practices had become more "blended" but more developmental than teacher-directed. Significant differences were noted in subject changes, confirming that language arts dominates the curriculum. Subjects not tested for NCLB were presented less,Ten teachers who had taught prior to initiation of SBR in Indiana (2000) were interviewed and their plan books were examined. Along with an open-ended question from the questionnaire, these responses provided the qualitative methodology. Analysis created six categories concerning the impact of SBR and NCLB on the child, the classroom, the family, the teacher and profession, and the future of education. Theories were developed that addressed the conflict educators feel between the Structure of legislation and the Humanistic components of teaching. This personal balance that teachers have created between Structure and Humanistic was influenced by a sense of independence garnered by support of principals. Teachers who taught in schools with structured, embedded programs aimed at raising test scores exhibited the most stress and lack of autonomy.This study resulted in five recommendations. They were: encourage developmental practices that support the individual child, increase the role of the parent in the educational partnership process, to support teacher inclusion in decision making to foster autonomy, and the need for professional organizations and teacher preparation programs to heed current teaching practices while supporting the developmental needs of the child. / Department of Elementary Education

This thesis explores the political economy aspects of the provision of local public goods by higher levels of government. Chapter 1 focuses on local public goods as instruments for special interest politics at the supra-local level, with an emphasis on public infrastructure. To capture the implications of long-run relationships between political parties and their loyal supporters, I set out a dynamic probabilistic voting model which predicts that the geographic pattern of spending depends on the way the government balances long-run `machine politics' considerations with the more immediate concern to win over swing voters. To assess the empirical relevance of both forces, I analyse rich data on road spending from a panel of electoral districts in Québec. Empirical results exploiting the province's linguistic fragmentation provide robust evidence that partisan loyalty is a key driver of the geographic allocation of spending. Chapter 2 proposes a theoretical framework to analyse the coexistence of multiple tiers of government in local public good provision. I study the effects of such partial decentralization on accountability using a two-period political agency model, in which two levels of government are involved in public good provision and voters are imperfectly informed about each government's contribution to the public good. The model predicts that the net effect of a departure from complete centralization (or decentralization) balances the benefits of vertical complementarity against the loss of accountability following from imperfect information and detrimental vertical interactions. Chapter 3 investigates the impact of partial decentralization on local electoral accountability in the context of California's school finance system. I exploit the peculiarities California's school finance system and the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to estimate the extent to which politicians are punished or rewarded for observed policy outcomes, and how this channel is affected by the degree of centralization. Results show that voters are responsive to differences in dropout rates and pupil-teacher ratios, and that incumbents are less likely to be reelected when a district's degree of centralization is high. Increased federal involvement after 2001 is associated with sharper local electoral accountability.

This thesis explores the political economy aspects of the provision of local public goods by higher levels of government. Chapter 1 focuses on local public goods as instruments for special interest politics at the supra-local level, with an emphasis on public infrastructure. To capture the implications of long-run relationships between political parties and their loyal supporters, I set out a dynamic probabilistic voting model which predicts that the geographic pattern of spending depends on the way the government balances long-run `machine politics' considerations with the more immediate concern to win over swing voters. To assess the empirical relevance of both forces, I analyse rich data on road spending from a panel of electoral districts in Québec. Empirical results exploiting the province's linguistic fragmentation provide robust evidence that partisan loyalty is a key driver of the geographic allocation of spending. Chapter 2 proposes a theoretical framework to analyse the coexistence of multiple tiers of government in local public good provision. I study the effects of such partial decentralization on accountability using a two-period political agency model, in which two levels of government are involved in public good provision and voters are imperfectly informed about each government's contribution to the public good. The model predicts that the net effect of a departure from complete centralization (or decentralization) balances the benefits of vertical complementarity against the loss of accountability following from imperfect information and detrimental vertical interactions. Chapter 3 investigates the impact of partial decentralization on local electoral accountability in the context of California's school finance system. I exploit the peculiarities California's school finance system and the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to estimate the extent to which politicians are punished or rewarded for observed policy outcomes, and how this channel is affected by the degree of centralization. Results show that voters are responsive to differences in dropout rates and pupil-teacher ratios, and that incumbents are less likely to be reelected when a district's degree of centralization is high. Increased federal involvement after 2001 is associated with sharper local electoral accountability.

Public school choice education policy attempts to create an education marketplace. Although school choice research has focused on the parent role in the school choice process, little is known about parents served by low-performing schools. Following market theory, students attending low-performing schools should be the primary students attempting to use school choice policy to access high performing schools rather than moving to a better school. However, students remain in these low-performing schools. This study took place in Miami-Dade County, which offers a wide variety of school choice options through charter schools, magnet schools, and open-choice schools. This dissertation utilized a mixed-methods design to examine the decision-making process and school choice options utilized by the parents of students served by low-performing elementary schools in Miami-Dade County. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with the parents of students served by low-performing schools. Binary logistic regression models were fitted to the data to compare the demographic characteristics, academic achievement and distance from alternative schooling options between transfers and non-transfers. Multinomial logistic regression models were fitted to the data to evaluate how demographic characteristics, distance to transfer school, and transfer school grade influenced the type of school a transfer student chose. A geographic analysis was conducted to determine how many miles students lived from alternative schooling options and the miles transfer students lived away from their transfer school. The findings of the interview data illustrated that parents’ perceived needs are not being adequately addressed by state policy and county programs. The statistical analysis found that students from higher socioeconomic social groups were not more likely to transfer than students from lower socioeconomic social groups. Additionally, students who did transfer were not likely to end up at a high achieving school. The findings of the binary logistic regression demonstrated that transfer students were significantly more likely to live near alternative school options.

Peer tutoring as an instructional strategy has been used by school personnel to increase academic achievement in the classroom setting. Traditionally, the peer tutoring concept relies on student partnerships linking higher achieving students with lower achieving students for structured reading sessions. Recently, new studies have focused on linking students with comparable reading achievements or cross-age peer tutors. Research suggests that using peer tutors may promote higher reading fluency in at-risk students as compared to teacher instruction. A potential reason for this phenomenon includes students’ comfort level with peers allowing for a more easy development of reading growth. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness, efficiency, and scalability of cross-age peer tutoring on reading fluency and reading comprehension. The study involved 7 fifth grade struggling readers as tutors to 7 third grade struggling readers. Reading to Read was used as the intervention protocol. The dyads met for 5 weeks with progress monitoring conducted at the beginning of each week. Results indicated consistent benefit in improving reading fluency in 13 of the 14 participants. Several implications to the study can be identified. Peer assisted learning can benefit both participants in reading fluency. Participating in the peer assisted learning process improves the attitudes toward reading of below grade level readers. Further implications, limitations, and future research relating to the results of this study are also discussed.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the Direct Instruction program Corrective Reading on standardized achievement test scores specifically of reading scaled score gains in grade levels three through six in a selected school system in East Tennessee. The causal-comparative quantitative approach was the foundation for this study. Reading scaled score gains from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) achievement test Terra Nova given in the years 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 were analyzed by grade level using ANOVA and t tests to determine if the implementation of Corrective Reading had an impact on students' achievement. No statistically significant results (p = .05) were found between the year before implementation and the year after implementation with the exception of one grade level. Furthermore, no significant differences were found at any grade level between students participating in Corrective Reading and students not participating in Corrective Reading on the 2003-2004 TCAP Terra Nova test. In addition, gender, Title I status, Special Education status, and teacher status were analyzed for interaction between groups and Corrective Reading. Only one grade level, by gender, showed a significant difference in scaled score gains. There was a significant difference by Title I status at two grade levels. Special Education students had significant reading scaled score gains at two of the four grade levels with Special Education students who received special accommodations showing significant gains at two grade levels. Students who were taught Corrective Reading by a certified teacher showed significant reading scaled score gains at one grade level, whereas the other grade levels had no significant difference.

Teachers continue to experience an increased sense of responsibility as it relates to job performance while still being required to produce at the same level with relation to student performance. This can cause an increase in personal stress and result in lowered feelings of self- worth, having a negative impact on service delivery to children and overall job performance. Bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as a judgment of one's ability to organize and execute given types of performances. Furthermore, he suggests that the outcomes people anticipate depend largely upon their judgments of how well they will be able to perform in given situations. The same can be said for teachers in relation to their beliefs and attitudes toward their students' overall performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether a relationship exists between teachers' feeling of self-efficacy and their students' overall achievement with respect to North Carolina Reading and Math End-Of-Grade tests. Surveys were administered to teachers in grades three through eight, in eight Pre-K through 8th grade schools. Data collected focused on teachers' feeling of self-efficacy. This study employed qualitative data gathered from participant surveys. Participating teachers in this study are in high performing schools as defined by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Their students have good academic records, coupled with high parental involvement (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2010). Six of the 14 comparisons within this study did not reveal a significant relationship between perceived teacher self-efficacy and North Carolina End-of-Grade reading and math test scores. However a relationship between perceived self-efficacy within gender did reveal that female participants tended to have higher perceived self-efficacy than that of the male participants. Male teacher participants tended to have higher North Carolina End-of-Grade reading test scores than those of female teacher participants. It was also discovered that each of the respondents, regardless of perceived self-efficacy score, had test results in both reading and math that were significantly higher than the state average. Finally it was also discovered that a relationship existed between teacher respondents with lower perceived self-efficacy scores and North Carolina math test scores.