The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of teacher absences from the classroom on student achievement. The specific grade level researched was the third grade. Two school corporations, one in Indiana and one in Wyoming, participated in the research study. Changed scores on reading achievement were utilized to evaluate the impact of teacher absence on achievement.A review of the literature was conducted to identify previous studies on this subject. Several studies were found that examined teacher absences.Private sector research was also reviewed. These studies found employee absences to have a negative impact on productivity.Teacher absences were divided into three categories: 0-4, 4.5-11.0, and 11.5 days absent and above. The data on student achievement was compared to each attendance cell to determine a difference of significance existed. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills was used to determine student achievement. To measure growth in achievement, student scores obtained in the fall semester of the third grade experience were compared to scores obtained in the fall semester of the fourth grade.Data collected supported the following conclusions:1. Teacher attendance did have a significant impact on student achievement.2. Students enrolled in classes where teachers had absences of 4.5 days or more did not score as well on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills achievement tests as students with teachers having less than 4.5 days of absence.3. Fringe benefits used to pay for absences will encourage employees to miss work unnecessarily.4. Teachers having absences between 0-4.0, regardless of principal ratings, had students that scored better on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills achievement tests than teachers with absences in excess of 4.0.5. Teacher days absent and overall ratings by principals are independent of each other. The data suggest principals do not consider absences when evaluating teachers.6. Teachers' application of current educational research to the classroom demonstrated a significant impact on grade equivalency gain.7. Teacher knowledge of subject matter taught had a significant impact on percentile gain by students.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/182105 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Woods, Robert C. |
| Contributors | Wagner, Ivan D. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vii, 94, [3] leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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