The purpose of the study was to measure student attitudes toward Clay Middle School and selected components of the school in South Bend, Indiana, and to compare the results of student achievement, attendance, and dropout rate from the two years prior to the implementation of the intermediate school program with the results of student achievement, attendance, and dropout rate three years following the implementation of the intermediate school program. The study was limited to include all students in grades 7-9 in the Clay attendance district from 1970-75 and to a sample of all Clay Middle School certified staff members with school-wide responsibility.Two questionnaires, together with computer scored standardized tests, computer-generated attendance data, and a tally form for recording dropouts were used to collect the data. The first questionnaire was administered to the sample of Clay Middle School staff and was used to establish the credibility of the Clay Middle School program as a middle school. The second questionnaire was administered to Clay Middle School students in grades 7-9 from 1972-75 to collect data on attitudes toward school. The standardized tests were the Cooperative School and College Ability Tests and the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress from Educational Testing Service and were administered to seventh and ninth grade students in the Clay attendance district to evaluate any change in student achievement. The attendance data and ninth grade dropout data were collected for all students in grades 7-9 from the Clay attendance district from 1970-75 and were used to determine any change in student attendance and ninth grade student dropout rate.The data collected throughout the study indicated:The following basic middle school principles were implemented to a high degree in the Clay middle School program: student services, exploratory and enrichment programs, continuous progress, auxiliary staffing, team teaching, use of multimedia, and physical experiences. The following basic middle school principles were implemented to a low degree in the Clay Middle School program: student security factors, flexible schedule, intramural activity, and planned gradualism.Most students held positive attitudes toward the open concept intermediate school program as implemented at Clay Middle School.Almost all of the Clay Middle School students were able to become well-adjusted and effectively oriented toward Clay Middle School.Most Clay Middle School students considered the course offerings at Clay Middle School adequate.A sizeable minority of Clay Middle School students was dissatisfied in regard to certain aspects of the courses offered in the open classroom areas and suggested more teacher involvement in student learning problems.Nearly one-half of the Clay Middle School students considered the faculty and staff at Clay Middle School unresponsive and unavailable.A majority of the Clay Middle School students had an overall positive feeling toward the school. The physical layout of the Clay Middle School building was serviceable to the basic needs of students.The changes in student achievement as measured by the standardized tests at Clay Middle School from two years prior to the implementation of the intermediate school program to three years following the implementation of the intermediate school program were minor and could not be attributed to the Clay Middle School Program.The changes in student attendance in the Clay attendance district from two years prior to the implementation of the intermediate school program to three years following the implementation of the intermediate school program were minor and could not be attributed to the Clay Middle School program.12. The percentage of ninth grade dropouts in the Clay attendance district decreased as a result of the ninth grade being a part of the intermediate school unit.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181088 |
| Date | January 1976 |
| Creators | Sriver, Monte Roe |
| Contributors | Lyon, Don O. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | x, 209 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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