Identifier

etd-0123103-194128

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership, Research and Counseling

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

This study is aimed at determining the impact of Louisiana’s School and District Accountability System on students’ performance on the state mandated criterion-referenced test (LEAP 21). The study was designed to determine the extent to which teachers in Title I schools in a large urban district in southwest Louisiana have turned to instructionally unsound practices in response to a high-stakes accountability system. The specific objectives addressed in this study were to: 1) Explore if test scores have changed beyond what would be expected given the cohort design of the accountability model. 2) Explore if test scores have changed and determine why? 3) Determine where there has been improved learning and identify those practices teachers use to obtain the positive results. For the qualitative analyses, data were collected from interviews, surveys and observations with 4th grade teachers and principals in the selected school district. Specifically, this study attempted to determine if a measurable increase in student performance on the state-mandated test in grade 4 and determine to what sources the positive change could be attributed. The results of this study indicated that Louisiana’s accountability system has impacted each Title I school in various ways. There was not only a variation in how these schools perceived accountability, but also a variation in the perceptions of teachers and principals with regard to strategies that are being used to prepare students for high stakes testing.

Date

2003

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Eugene Kennedy

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1127

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