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School Building Condition and Student Achievement and Chronic Absenteeism in Urban High Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia

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.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/112958
Date28 June 2021
CreatorsTrigueiro, Amy Theresa
ContributorsCounselor Education, Cash, Carol S., Price, Ted S., Cook, Michael A., Bailey, John Allen
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation
FormatETD, application/pdf
CoverageVirginia, United States
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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