The overarching goal of this quantitative study was to determine if there were significant differences in the Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP 2025) achievement scores of Algebra I students before and after attending summer remediation. The sample size consisted of 581 freshman students from the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and its implications of being a curricular and pedagogical intervention in terms of narrowing the achievement gap in science education for Children of Color. In using the explanatory mixed methods design, standardized test data and one-on-one interviews were…

The purpose of this quantitative, ex post facto study was to determine the difference in students' LEAP ELA achievement scores in grades 3-5 based on the teacher's level of dyslexia knowledge. This study used the Phonological Deficit Theory (PDT) and the Criterion Referenced Assessment Theory (CRT) as its foundation. PDT describes the levels of…

The nature of federal and state policies regarding accountability testing narrows the taught curriculum to content tested, thereby changing what is officially valued as student learning. The over-emphasis on standardized test scores has narrowed the curriculum to content that is tested (Amrein&Berliner, 2002; Baker, 2008; Herman, 2008;…

America spends $115,000 per-pupil on education, one of the highest in the world. Even with high funding being provided for the educational budget, standardized state assessment scores are not reflecting the aim for higher quality of education that NCLB is trying to accomplish. Teachers use an assortment of assessments to gauge student's mastery…

Predictive validity was explored between vocabulary matching (VM) probe scores and the "integrated" Louisiana Education Assessment Program (iLEAP) social studies standardized subtest score for 224 sixth-grade students across demographic categories from one rural southeastern Louisiana school district. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR)…

The purpose of this program evaluation was to evaluate the first year of an acceleration program that allowed students who were retained a grade level for not performing on academic level in early elementary school an opportunity to rejoin their age appropriate class. The primary focus of the evaluation was to evaluate the effectiveness of an…

This quantitative ex post facto study examined how race and gender, as elements of culture, influence the development of common misconceptions among STEM students. Primary data came from a standardized test: the Digital Logic Concept Inventory (DLCI) developed by Drs. Geoffrey L. Herman, Michael C. Louis, and Craig Zilles from the University of…

May 14, 2013 marked the 10 year anniversary of the creation of the Louisiana Recovery School District (RSD), the turnaround intervention for low performing public schools. Since 2003, the RSD has grown to include over 80 schools across the state. The purpose of this multilevel longitudinal study was to examine the relationship of the Louisiana…

This study is to examine if implementation of the universal level of PBS is related to student achievement on the LEAP and iLEAP examinations administered as part of the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program. A second purpose is to examine whether identified student/school characteristics contribute to any difference in academic performance. To…

I use Marimba Ani's Asili concept as defined in "Yurugu" to examine the school accountability model. By school accountability model, I mean the school model that consists of privately managed "public schools" regulated by state testing programs. I argue that school accountability is essentially oppressive and its success…

One important outcome of the restructuring of the New Orleans school system post-Hurricane Katrina, and the subsequent performance of students, was an awareness that some fundamental premises in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) should be revisited. An examination of student performance in the restructured school system, for example, raised questions…

Using historical test data from the standardized testing program (LEAP, iLEAP) in the state of Louisiana, this sequential mixed methods study utilized hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and a logistic regression method to test alternate measures of school performance (student achievement model, growth model, and transition to 9th grade) applied to…

Federal and state initiatives (No Child Left Behind, 2001) require schools and districts to set high standards for student growth and achievement. Currently, student growth and progress are measured in Louisiana via statewide achievement tests. In 4th and 8th grades these assessments are considered to be 'high-stakes', as promotion and retention…

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the academic achievement, as measured by scores on the English and math portions of the Graduate Exit Examination (GEE), of public high school students in Louisiana by whether or not they were identified as business education students. The GEE is a high-stakes test that is administered to high…