The intent of this study is to determine the effects on the reading and math scores
of females segregated into single-gender alternative classrooms that had the benefit of an
individualized, self-paced curriculum.
The Challenge Academy testing clerk, using the Kaufman Test of Educational
Achievement in the areas of reading and math, collected data on the students’ first and
last days of enrollment. Significant main effects for gender, time, educational status, age,
and ethnicity were probed using a general linear model of repeated measures. This
quantitative model was used because it provided more flexibility to describe the
relationship between a dependent variable and a set of independent variables,
manipulated one at a time. Comparisons of between-subject effects and within-subject
effects were made using a summary ANOVA followed by ad hoc testing when
significance was found when there were three factors being tested, such as school age
group and ethnicity. Significance was set at 0.025. Of the 500 students enrolled over the seven-year existence of the program, only
students who had been pre and post tested were included in this research. After removing
students who did not meet the criteria, a sample of 150 students remained. This resulted
in small and non-existent cell sample sizes, and adjustments were made to the original
intent of the study.
The findings observed in this body of research suggest that the gains achieved by
males in reading surpassed those of females. Both genders achieved equally in math.
A statistical comparison based on gender in special education, school age group, or
ethnicity could not be made due to small cell size.
Recommendations for further studies include: (1) a study using a larger sample
size allowing for greater numbers in each category; (2) longitudinal studies in
elementary, middle, and high schools using annual TAKS scores as the data source; (3) a
study considering the gender of the instructor; (4) a study comparing high schools whose
majority school population represented each of the three ethnic groups; (5) a study of
private schools with single-gender populations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2337 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Martin, Marilyn Ann |
| Contributors | Madsen, Jean |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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