The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which alternative schools add value to the college readiness of their students, as well as to measure the capacity of alternative school students to successfully complete dual credit courses while enrolled at the alternative school. This mixed methods study utilized an exploratory approach with a descriptive research design to explore the extent to which alternative schools produce college-ready students. The Texas Success Initiative Assessment was used to measure participants' academic readiness levels in mathematics, reading, and writing. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to provide their own perspectives on their college readiness levels through a student survey and semi-structured face-to-face interview. The results of this study reveal that the college readiness levels of alternative high school students varied across academic areas. Of the tested participants, 41.1% were college ready in reading, 52.1% in writing, and 16.7% in mathematics. Additionally, the findings reveal that dual credit course participation was not a viable option because of course prerequisites and the amount of time needed to complete dual credit courses. Results of this study expand on the literature to provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of alternative school programs, the college readiness …

The problem of the study was determining the supportive conditions related to instructional rounds (rounds) to understand better what conditions may allow for sustained systemic improvement over time. Three Texas school districts were studied to understand the perceptions of district leaders, principals, teacher leaders, and teachers with regard to the sustainability of instructional rounds as a systemic improvement practice, the supportive conditions necessary for sustainability, the salient characteristics that differentiated rounds from other improvement practices, and the potential of rounds to build organizational capacity. Observation of network rounds visits and document analysis was conducted to determine alignment of perception with observation and documents. Findings include perceptions, themes, and critical factors for the sustainability of rounds as an effective systemic improvement practice. Supportive conditions emerged as the most significant perception expressed by the participants. Implications for action for school districts beginning or continuing implementation of instructional rounds are suggested based upon findings from participant perceptions and observation of networks. Suggestions for future research are shared. With supportive conditions in place, instructional rounds has the potential to serve as an effective systemic improvement practice.

This quantitative and qualitative case study examined the educators' perceptions of both the goals and unique aspects of the foundations for success (FFS) curriculum model. Specifically, this study was designed to explain the experiences of 55 early childhood educators and administrators who all had similar exposure to the FFS curriculum model. This study sought to understand the educators' perceptions of the specific goals of using pertinent curriculum and instruction terminology and the parallel process of content language, connecting the importance of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and learning standards and readiness for kindergarten. In the same way, the perceptions of the unique aspects of the value based curriculum, the use of reflective supervision and the use of design thinking were gathered and interpreted. This study looked closely into program successes, challenges and future implications of the FFS curriculum model. This study also considered the extent to which future implementations of the model could change the current interdependent relationship between early childhood education and the primary grades. The researcher analyzed the perceptions, utilizing the Likert-value survey instrument responses, the open-ended survey responses, along with the focus group responses to triangulate the findings. Common themes shared across all data collection were evaluated and …

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship (predicative capability) between selected variables, specifically, African American student enrollment, teacher ethnicity, and urban or rural district classification and the number of African American student placements in a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP). The study used a non-experimental ex post facto design. Archival data from the Texas Education Agency were used to identify Texas schools that sent African American students to a DAEP during the 2013-2014 school year. Archival data from the Texas Education Agency were also used to identify African American student enrollment and teacher ethnicity for the selected school districts. Finally, archival data from the Texas Department of Agriculture were used to identify district classifications of urban or rural. Participants in this study consisted of 187 school districts that placed African American students in a DAEP during the 2013-2014 school year. Based on the findings, teacher ethnicity and African American student enrollment are statistically significant contributions to African American student placement in a DAEP. Urban or rural district classification is not a statistically significant predictor in the same placements. Results of this study add to existing literature by confirming that there is an overrepresentation of African American student …

This study explores all due process hearings that occurred in Texas public school districts from 2010-2015. Special attention was paid to the reasons for the hearings within the legal reports addressed and their outcomes. The study was conducted using a quantitative approach involving a legal document content analysis of due process hearings to select the participants to be interviewed with a qualitative semi-structured interview protocol. Following this process, nine participants from one district were interviewed. Responses were then analyzed for themes and patterns using qualitative methods, and conclusions were drawn based on the data. The study found that campus and central office administrators believed socio-economic levels, lack of empathy shown to parents, and distrust contributed to parents' decisions to file due process complaints or litigation. They also believed that placement decisions influenced by student discipline, parent denial about the impact of the disability on children, and parent entitlement played a role. Lastly, the nine participants found that parent advocacy and communication were strong contributors to the amount of due process hearings held at Evergreen ISD.

Every year many immigrant families become members of United States communities. Among these are international graduate students whose lives and identities, as well as those of their families, are changed as they negotiate between cultures and experiences. In this study, three Saudi graduate students share their stories about culture, education and literacy. This research employs narrative inquiry to answer the following question: What stories do Saudi immigrant students tell regarding their educational beliefs and experiences, as well as the experiences of their children in the U.S. and in Saudi Arabia? The participants' interview texts are the main data source. The three-dimensional narrative inquiry spaces of temporality, sociality, and place help identify the funds of knowledge in place throughout these narratives. Data analysis uses funds of knowledge as a theoretical lens to make visible the critical events in each narrative. These events point to themes that support the creation of a third space in which the participants negotiate being in two cultures as well as their storying across time to understand their own experiences. Themes of facing challenges, problem solving, adaptation, and decision-making connect these stories and support the discussion of findings within the personal, practical, and social justifications for this …

This study investigated person-situation relations of professional preparation and job classification of secondary school athletic training positions with core job dimensions and affective outcomes within Hackman and Oldham's 1980 Job Characteristics Model. Research focused on which relations show increased affective outcomes; relationships between core job dimensions and affective outcomes; and characteristics of the core job dimensions of task identification, task significance, and skill variety of athletic trainer tasks as defined by the National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification, Inc. 1995 Role Delineation Study.

The purpose of this study was to examine district level financial data to assess equity across districts, to compare equity benchmarks established in the literature using selected functions from the state's financial database, and to determine the predictive value of those functions to the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) tests of 1997.

The purpose of this study was to examine curricular programs in private, public choice, and public attendance-zone schools to determine whether differences exist among curricular programs in the three types of schools. The findings from the student survey data indicated that private school students reported their curriculum to be more challenging than public school students, but no other significant differences were noted. Findings from the teacher survey showed more positive results for private schools in indicators of a challenging curriculum, expectations of students, school climate, and external support than public schools. This study showed that of the types of schools examined, Catholic schools exhibited the most consistent and well written curriculum that reflected the four research questions. Future research needs to be done to establish whether these indicators of a challenging curriculum result in higher student achievement.

This study examined the relationship between levels of implementation of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Curriculum and Evaluation Standards and 5th Grade Louisiana Educational Assessment Program Math Scores with the effects of race of students accounted for. Secondary areas of interest were the relationship between LEAP mathematics scores with the effects of race of students accounted for and the teacher characteristics of years experience and educational attainment and of the relationship between level of implementation of the Standards and teacher characteristics. The population, from which a sample size of 250 was randomly drawn, was comprised of 1994-95 Louisiana public school teachers who taught in a regular 5th grade or departmentalized math class. Survey research was used to place the responding teachers at one of the five levels of implementation. Hierarchical Multiple Regression was used to analyze the question of primary interest. Race of the students was found to have accounted for nearly 9% of the variance in LEAP mathematics scores. This figure was statistically significant. The independent variable Level of Implementation of the Standards produced ambiguous results. Students of Level 1 (non-implementers) teachers were found to have statistically significantly higher LEAP scores than did students of Level 2 …

The purpose of this study is to examine the four basic student assistance models and determine their distribution in Texas, describe the student assistance programs in place in public school districts in Texas including the program's goals, objectives and components, and explore the perceived effectiveness of student assistance programs as a viable means of drug and alcohol education for students enrolled in public school districts in Texas in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of selected characteristics on the outcomes of those special education due process hearings brought forth in the state of Texas from September 1, 1983, to September 1, 1992. A further purpose was to determine if district characteristics of size or location affect the likelihood of a district's becoming involved in a special education due process hearing. Data for the study was collected for all special education due process hearings conducted in the State of Texas from September 1, 1983, to September 1, 1992. A coding system was used to record the data for the study and the Chi-square test of independence was used to determine whether a relationship existed between the selected variable (hearing issue, disability classifications and restrictiveness of placement) and hearing outcome. The frequency of involvement in hearings for districts of various size and urban characteristics was displayed as a percentage.

Conflict is inevitable in school and in life. Many children lack skills necessary to resolve daily conflicts constructively. Without knowledge of positive ways to manage conflicts, violence may result. Limited research suggests that involvement in a peer mediation program may have a positive influence on children. This study assessed effects peer mediation training and mediation experience had on student mediators. The pretest-posttest, control-group, and quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of a year long peer mediation program implemented in a suburban elementary school.

This research grew from concerns relative to the mathematical performance of Spanish-speaking limited English proficient (LEP) public school students. This investigation studied the effects of the sheltered mathematics class on eighth-grade Spanish-speaking LEP students with regard to mathematical achievement, attitudes toward mathematics, the dropout rate, and the number of math credits earned in high school. The enrollment of a sheltered mathematics class was limited to LEP students. The purpose was to compare Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in sheltered mathematics classes with Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in regular mathematics classes. The research hypotheses were that achievement, mathematical attitudes, the dropout rate, and high school math credits earned would favor enrollment in sheltered mathematics classes. The data for achievement, dropout information, and mathematics course work completed were drawn from student records in the school district data bank. A mathematics attitude survey was given to a sample from the 1995-96 eighth-grade advanced level Spanish-speaking LEP students. The research hypotheses were not accepted. All of the populations did show an academic deficit. However, they did have more positive attitudes than negative attitudes toward mathematics. To improve achievement, staying in school, and a higher rate of inclusion in mathematics related careers the following recommendations were …

With the advent of the 21st century, technological innovations are transforming the face of education and the school library media center. One of these significant developments is the ability to communicate through the Internet. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of Texas public school library media specialists who are active Internet users about their utilization of the Internet, and how their efforts in implementing and supervising Internet access in their school library media centers impact the Texas public schools that they serve. A survey instrument of Likert items was developed that queried these public school library media specialists for their perceptions of Internet use in their schools. MANOVA was the chosen statistical measure for this study. An initial electronic mail-out to 1,232 Texas public school library media specialists (K-12) with Internet addresses were contacted to participate in this study. After a time frame of one month, 196 Texas school library media specialists e-mailed the researcher, confirming their willingness to be a survey participant. All respondents to this e-mail request participated in this study, and a second U.S. mail-out was sent containing the actual survey instrument. The researcher found that the use of the Internet by school …

The management style being used by school personnel in Texas and across the nation today is predominately that of a bureaucracy. This model was organized around the industrial revolution that was exercising authority at the turn of the century. Writers and researchers have pointed out that such a model is not capable of providing students the knowledge and skills they will need to enter an increasingly demanding society. One management style relatively new to the educational arena today is that of Total Quality Management. This study reports the results of the impact of the training in those principles by measurement of student test scores.

The purposes of this study were to (1) identify the recommendations of Curriculum Management Audits conducted in Texas Public School systems, (2) determine the degree to which each of the recommendations had been implemented, and (3) determine the perceptions of stakeholders as to the factors instrumental in the real and potential impact of the audit. The researcher conducted interviews with superintendents and key central office administrators with a working knowledge of the audit report in each of the eleven Texas school districts studied. Respondents were asked to rate recommendations written for their districts using the following descriptors: Implemented, In Progress, Plan to Implement, Recommendation Modified, No Implementation. The ranking of recommendation implementation revealed that 85% of the recommendations made in the 11 audit reports reviewed in this study had received action toward implementation to some degree. Respondents were also asked to cite factors which facilitated or impeded recommendation implementation. Significant factors facilitating the implementation of recommendations were reported to be time, organizational structure/personnel and planning. The analysis of the collective recommendations revealed that school board policies were not adequate to direct the design, delivery and monitoring of curriculum when measured against audit Standard One criteria. School districts in Texas rely …

The problem of this study was to determine whether differences exist between elementary and middle school campuses that participate in University Interscholastic League (UIL) academic activities and similar campuses that do not participate. The Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) furnished data from 1993 through 1997 for this ex post facto comparative research. Using all Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) scores for grades 3 through 8, economically disadvantaged population data, attendance rates and campus accountability ratings, 12 hypotheses and 4 research questions were addressed.

Standardized tests are being administered to young children in greater numbers in recent years than ever before. Many more important educational decisions about children are being based on the results of these tests. This practice continues to escalate despite early childhood professional organizations' calls for a ban of standardized testing for children eight years of age and younger. Many early childhood educators have become dissatisfied with multiple-choice testing as a measure of student learning and are increasingly using various forms of alternative assessment to replace the more traditional testing formats. Teachers seem to be caught in the middle of the controversy between standardized testing and alternative assessment. This research examined what early childhood educators in one north Texas school district believe about assessment of young children and what assessment methods they report using in their classrooms, as well as factors which influence those beliefs and practices. The sample for this study was 84 teachers who taught prekindergarten through third grade. An eight-page questionnaire provided quantitative data and interviews and the researcher's journal provided qualitative data.

This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of participation in a Supplemental Instruction (SI) program on student test performance in a second-level developmental mathematics class in a four-year university setting. This research deviated from past research on Supplemental Instruction in that it examined effects of the program at the end of each test block rather than at the end of the course only. The quasi-experimental design was precipitated by an inability to control factors of participation and limited sample size. Test data were analyzed using analysis of variance; final course grades were analyzed using chi-square.

Strategic planning practices and superintendents' opinions regarding the effectiveness of strategic planning are different among small, medium, and large Texas independent school districts. This study sought to find areas of agreement and areas of disagreement among school district superintendents relating to the practice and effectiveness of strategic planning. Strategic planning practices examined include the development of a mission statement, operating plan, and budget; involvement of stakeholders, and strategic planning logistics. A stratified random sample of 96 superintendents each from small, medium, and large school districts was selected from a population of 1,042 school districts. Data was also collected and reported from the 7 mega school districts. Questionnaires were sent to 295 superintendents and 246 (83.4%) were returned. The questionnaire contained nine questions relating to 19 strategic planning practices and a five-part question relating to the effectiveness of strategic planning. The data was analyzed using Crosstabs, Chi-square, and one-way ANOVA statistics. The level of significance was established a priori at .05. School district size was an independent variable for six strategic planning practices of small, medium, and large school districts. Significant differences were found regarding (a) whether outside consultants were employed to assist with the district's strategic planning, (b) whether central …

The problem addressed in this study was whether middle level schools have adopted currently held research findings with respect to organizational structure and decision making processes promoted by the work of the Carnegie Foundation and various state agencies. Purposes included determining the perceptions of principals in schools utilizing interdisciplinary teams of teachers regarding the roles of principals and teachers in decision making processes, differences in campus performance on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills and specific demographic variables in comparison to perceptions of principals in schools not utilizing interdisciplinary teams on these same questions.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether school-based decision making (SBDM) impacts student achievement. Specifically, the study involved determining if the degree of teacher involvement in SBDM across eight decision dimensions differed between schools that demonstrated the most and schools that demonstrated the least district improvement in student achievement. The population consisted of elementary schools in a large urban school district with more than ten years of SBDM implementation. Student achievement scores from 1993 to 1995 were examined for all 68 elementary schools. Based on degree of improvement for fourth grade scores over the three years, 15 schools from the 25% most improved and 15 schools from the 25% least improved were selected for study. Schools from the two extreme-groups sample were matched on five demographic variables. The Teacher Involvement Participation Scale—TIPS-2 (Russell,1992), an instrument for measuring the degree of SBDM in eight different decision dimensions, was given to all certified personnel at each school. A return of 575 surveys represented 63% of the sample schools' staff. Two short questionnaires were administered to principals and SBDM teams to collect descriptive data. Findings, using MANOVA followed by univariate tests, indicated significant differences between groups in six of the eight …

This dissertation study focused on three aspects of staff development in North Texas: 1) funding sources, 2) types of professional learning programs, and 3) teachers' views of the effectiveness of the funded programs. Qualitative data came from interviews with nine district administrators concerning funding sources and how those resources enhanced teacher skills. Quantitative data came from 1,277 responses from teachers regarding their background and perceptions about staff development. Data from interviews with district administrators were diagrammed to depict elements of funding staff development and to reveal how resources were used to plan, implement, and evaluate staff learning. An analysis of interview data revealed that availability of grants, property tax rates, and student enrollment affected how districts funded staff development. Administrators reported that districts funded professional learning that was planned according to academic initiatives, met the needs of adult learners, and adapted to the changing needs of school communities. Both administrators and practitioners reported that time was a lacking resource critical to developing staff knowledge. Practitioners reported that sufficient opportunity to collaborate with colleagues about learning initiatives was more valuable than teaching materials. Teacher questionnaires were analyzed for possible relationships between participant variables and responses concerning knowledge about funding constraints and …