Dissertation
The impact of science curriculum on standardized test scores
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Phoenix
2009
Metrics
18 Record Views
Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative relational study was to examine if an association existed between the independent variables, instructional strategies, amount of class time used to teach science, frequency of science instruction, number of courses the teacher has taken in science method or content, and the dependent variable, a school’s API ranking. The intent of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (CCC, 2005) is to make all children grades K-12 proficient in math and English by 2014. The initiative narrowed the curriculum in elementary schools to focus on math and English language arts. Currently, 94% of an elementary school’s calculated API ranking is based on student achievement in math and English language arts from the state standardized test scores (EdSource, 2008; CDE, 2006). The target population of the study consisted of teachers from 16 elementary schools in the Jurupa Unified School District. The elementary school teachers participated in an online survey during the month of June in the 2007-2008 school year. The survey data was compared to state test results reported in October of 2008 for the 2007-2008 school year. Of the 20 independent variables measured in the research study, 10 of the independent variables showed a significant, positive association with the dependent variable of school API score. The Chi-square critical value was 12.59 when p was set at 0.05. The findings indicate that a significant relationship existed between the number of science demonstrations used by teachers, number of days using hands-on science instruction, and the number of minutes teaching science per week in relation to increasing a school’s API score.
Details
- Title
- The impact of science curriculum on standardized test scores
- Creators
- Jenelle Sue Benson - Southern Cross University, Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Awarding Institution
- University of Phoenix; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Theses
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Phoenix
- Identifiers
- 991013009498502368
- Copyright
- UMI ® Open Access Graduate Works Open access is a term used to describe content that a reader can access free of charge. With the UMI ® Open Access Publishing service, graduate students can publish their dissertations and theses with ProQuest on an open access basis.
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation