Term Paper on "Impact of Doubling Class Time for Low Achieving Students in English and Math"

Term Paper 20 pages (5800 words) Sources: 25 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Delimitations and Definitions

Theoretical Background

Related Research

Data Gathering Methods

Sampling Procedures

f. Data Analysis Procedures

The re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2002, commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), increased the accountability of public schools throughout the United States, holding them individually responsible for the education levels attained by their students as measured by high stakes tests developed and administered at the state level. Administrators responded by developing programs targeted at increasing students' test scores. One program considered by administrators is the doubling of class time in math and English for students that are at risk of not succeeding. This paper studies the viability of such a program as adopted in an urban Northern New Jersey high school. In 2004-2005 the school increased math and English class time from 42 minutes to 88 minutes for low achieving students. This ex post facto study analyzes the impact of the school doubling class time based upon the results of the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) required under NCLB for all first time 11th graders. Analysis of variance and effect size are used to determine the success of the program. The period of time covered in the analyses are school years 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007 in order to cover the transition year as well as the next three years during which time the program had become fully implemented for all students. Test scores for the non-low achievers that did not receive the treatment are also analyzed over the same time period to ensure consistency of the test.

Low Achievers Benefit from Double Class Times in Math and Language Arts: Fact or Fiction

Introduction

The re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2002, commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), raised the bar and increased accountability for public schools throughout the United States. According to Nichols (2005) NCLB has renewed the interest in methods that utilize class time more efficiently. Nichols further provides "Despite renewed interest in experimental and innovative scheduling structures, only limited empirical research explores the impact of block-scheduling structures on potential student academic achievement" (2005, p. 299).

Accountability is provided by means of high stakes standardized tests prescribed at various grade levels. Schools are held accountable for students in these prescribed grades to attain minimum established proficiency levels. Students are tested when they are in the prescribed grade, and the percentage of students required to achieve minimum proficiency each year is defined by NCLB as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The specific level of proficiency, as well as the test instrument that is prescribed, are established by each individual state respectively based upon the requirements of NCLB. Schools that do not make AYP generally struggle to find the magic formula that will improve student performance. Schools that are successful in meeting or exceeding AYP generally seek to develop strategies that ratchet up performance in anticipation of more stringent requirements.

According to Nichols (2005), the NCLB has renewed interest in methods that utilize class time more efficiently. One such method is the doubling-up of class time in critical subjects for students that are most at risk of not achieving proficient scores (low achievers). Mowen and Mowen (2004, p. 4), identify this "modified block" option as a potential strategy for specific subject areas in need of improvement. This is based upon the generally accepted wisdom that increased "time on task" will result in increased student comprehension and skills. For example, if students taking one period of math consisting of 42 minutes and one period of English consisting of 42 minutes did not score proficient in either or both of math and language arts and the school did not make AYP, perhaps increasing instructional time to 84 minutes or more would improve student performance. Nichols further provides "Despite renewed interest in experimental and innovative scheduling structures, only limited empirical research explores the impact of block-scheduling structures on potential student academic achievement" (2005, p. 299).

The literature review indicates conflicting results of research in this area. This study seeks to satisfy the need for more research on modified block scheduling. To this end, this paper studies the proficiency levels attained by first time 11th grade students who were administered the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). The HSPA is the standardized test adopted by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) in response to the NCLB. It is administered to all first time 11th graders during the first full week of March in the school year, such that the 2004 HSPA was administered in March of the 2003-2004 school year, the base year for this study. It is stipulated that all New Jersey high school students are to score proficient or above as a graduation requirement, however, the State provides an alternative route to graduation for students that never pass the HSPA.

The students used in the study are the first time 11th graders of a diverse medium-size regional high school serving approximately 800 students from three communities that are in close proximity to the urban center of Paterson New Jersey. The school reflects the combined demographics of the communities such that it is approximately 45% Hispanic, 15% African-American, and 40% Caucasian at a lower-middle income level. Of the three communities, one is low income, one is working class, and one is a professional community. Fifty percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch, representing a significant low-income population.

Results of the HSPA for the years of 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 will be used for the study. It has been customary at this school that 11th graders, at some point in the last two years, had been enrolled in algebra I, geometry, ninth grade English, and 10th grade English. These subjects had been taught in single 42 minute periods, five days per week throughout the school year of 180 days until the 2004-2005 school year.

Seeking to improve test results, in school year 2004-2005, administration decided to provide an extra contiguous period of algebra I, geometry, and English for students that were identified as low achievers. The term "low achievers" is used herein to identify those students who entered high school without having passed the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment, which New Jersey required test for eighth grade students under NCLB. The additional 42 minutes of class time would be added to the original 42 minutes of class time and would consume the 4-minute passing period for a total new class time of 88 minutes devoted to the targeted math and English classes. (By school year 2006-2007, an additional one minute of class time would be added to every class, increasing double period classes from 88 minutes to 90 minutes.)

Statement of the Problem

What is the impact on the standardized test scores of low achieving students when they are provided double contiguous periods or twice the instructional time of mathematics and language arts?

The purpose of this paper is to determine if there is a significant impact on the learning of low achieving students as a result of having doubled instructional time in English and math as measured by their outcomes on the HSPA. Due to the high percentage of minority and low-income students in the population, this paper will also conduct a secondary analysis by demographic. The impact will be measured by the percent of students scoring proficient or better on the HSPA. The percentage of students scoring proficient or better is the dependent variable. The independent variable is the doubling of class time. Doubling instructional time in this case is also similar to adopting a modification of a student schedule design commonly known as Block Scheduling. This will be discussed further in the literary review portion of the paper.

Hypotheses

This paper seeks to test the following null hypotheses:

Null hypothesis 1 is that the means of the HSPA math proficiencies are equal from year to year.

Null hypothesis 2 is that the means of the HSPA language arts proficiencies are equal from year to year.

Delimitations and Definitions

This study will examine the doubling of math and English class times for low achieving students in an effort to improve performance on state mandated tests required under NCLB. Due to the fact that these tests are specifically designed to be taken at a specific point in one's education, the test is administered to a different cohort group passing through the same grade each year. Therefore, the analysis will incorporate a between-subjects design. In order to ensure minimal risk to the internal validity of a between-subjects design, this study uses a population limited to a specific public high school in New Jersey that adopted the modified block concept identified by Mowen and Mowen (2004) as a recommended approach to improving scores of low-achievers in academic areas. The utilization of a specific public high school that adopted this strategy ensures that the populations studied in a between-subjects design are highly similar populations that have also received instruction… READ MORE

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