The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different styles of teaching strategies used to try and increase Math achievement on the eighth grade Criterion Referenced Competency Test. Three different styles of teaching were used to help determine which style students responded to best.
Summarizing data derived from a study of the implementation of one standards-based middle school curriculum program, Mathematics in Context, this book demonstrates the challenges of conducting comparative longitudinal research in the reality of school life.
The purpose of this correlational study was to examine Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores of 8th grade students and End of Course Test (EOCT) scores of the same students as 9th graders in the areas of language arts and mathematics to test the theory that a relationship exists between the two tests. The study also examined the 8th grade CRCT scores as being predictors of the 9th grade EOCT scores. Three cycles, or classes, of 8th grade CRCT scores and corresponding EOCT scores were used. The study used data from a small semi-rural school district in northeast Georgia. The findings indicate that there is a strong relationship between the 8th grade CRCTs and the 9th grade EOCTs. Further, the CRCTs may be used as a predictor for the EOCT.
Educators are charged with reform efforts to improve student achievement. Most efforts focus on accountability reform. The learner-centered model for school reform is organized around the personal domain for systemic reform. How teachers work with students is greatly influenced by policy and what they believe about student learning and behavior. Subsequently, teacher behaviors, beliefs, and practices impact learning. This dissertation attempted to establish teacher beliefs and their effectiveness on student achievement on the eighth-grade End-of-Grade Mathematics Test in the State of North Carolina. -- This study was conducted within the Sandhills Regional Education Consortium located in the central part of North Carolina. As of the 2011 school year, 12 school districts made up the Sandhills Regional Education Consortium; 5 of the twelve districts participated in this research study. -- A non-experimental quantitative study design was used to examine teachers' beliefs about the learner, learning, and teaching as well as the impact of their beliefs on student mathematics achievement. The researcher collected data via the Teacher Beliefs Survey, a demographic questionnaire, and student achievement on the eighth-grade 2011 North Carolina End-of-Grade Mathematics Test for the purpose of this research. -- Data collected revealed that only 1 teacher met McCombs and Whisler's criteria for having learner-centered beliefs and 2 teachers were identified as non-learner-centered. There was no statistical significant difference between teacher beliefs and student achievement on the eighth-grade End-of-Grade Mathematics Test, but there was a difference in teachers' beliefs about non-learner-centered ideas in higher-performing districts than teachers' beliefs about non-learner-centered ideas in lower-performing districts, but not enough to be considered significant.
The purpose of this case study was to describe eighth-grade mathematics teachers' perception of teacher-efficacy and standards-based education within a 21st-century framework at a large suburban school district in North Carolina. Rotter's locus of control theory and Bandura's self-efficacy theory provide the guiding theoretical frameworks for this study. Both theories explain the personal characteristics of teacher qualities related to learning outcomes. This study addressed the following central research question: What is the perceived self-efficacy of eighth-grade mathematics teachers and standards-based education? I applied the extreme case sampling method to select the 12 unique participants and provide different perspectives. I collected data from documents, journal prompts, and interviews. Strategies for the data analysis consisted of confidential monitoring of the obtained data, memoing the key formulated ideas, codifying and identifying emerging themes. The study confirmed that districts must train teachers to develop high levels of teacher-efficacy as they research and use evidence-based instructional strategies to improve student performance.
