dr. william allan kritsonis, dissertation chair - proposal, clarence johnson
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Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Chair - Proposal, Clarence JohnsonTRANSCRIPT
IMPACT OF HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS CURRICULA ON THE
MATHEMATICS TAKS EXIT-LEVEL PERFORMANCE OF AFRICAN
AMERICAN STUDENTS
Presented By
Clarence JohnsonSeptember, 2007
Dissertation Chair: William Allan Kritsonis,PhD
Dissertation Proposal Defense
Committee Members
William A. Kritsonis, Ph.D. (Dissertation Chair)Douglas Hermond, Ph.D. (Member)David Herrington, Ph.D. (Member)Pamela Barber-Freeman, Ph.D. (Member)Veda Brown, Ph.D.(Outside Member)
Proposal Defense Outline
I. The ProblemII. Purpose of StudyIII. Research QuestionsIV. HypothesesV. Importance of StudyVI. Review of LiteratureVII. Research Design
The Problem
In the United States, remedial mathematics classrooms contain large number of African American students; however, advanced mathematics classes mainly served White students (Snipes & Waters, 2005).
Luebienski (2001) reported that, in both 1990 and 1996, White students in the lowest socioeconomic subgroup scored equal to or higher than African American students in the highest socioeconomic subgroup.
The Problem
In a summary of four national surveys reported between 1969 and 1987, Horn (1990) found that Asians earned twice the number of mathematics and science credits than did Whites, and Whites earned twice the number of credits for those subjects than did African Americans or Hispanics.
The Problem
Forty-three percent of African American high school students failed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test in 2005. Current documentation indicates the failure rate is higher among African American students than any other ethnic groups (TEA Accountability System State Data Table, 2005).
New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework
High Expectations in
Mathematics for All Students
The Significance
of Mathematics
Core Curriculum
Content Standards
Identifying Equity
Concerns in Districts and
Schools
Challenging All Students to Maximize
Their Achievement
Overcoming Barriers to
Equity
New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework
Investigate Core Curriculum Content
Standards
Investigate High Expectations in Mathematics for
All Students
Identify 6 High Schools
Mathematics TAKS Exit-Level
Passing and Failure Rates of
African American Students
Survey 27 Counselors for Mathematics
Placement of 8th and 9th Grades
African American Students
Purpose of the Study
Investigate the relationship of high school mathematics curricula on the mathematics TAKS Exit-Level performance of African American students using the New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework.
Purpose of the Study
Investigate high expectations in mathematics for all students using the New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework.
Research Questions
Quantitative 1. What is the impact of the decision of
African American students to enroll in track one or track two in the eighth and ninth grades mathematics and the pass/fail status on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test?
Research Questions
Quantitative 2. What is the impact of African
American eighth and ninth grade mathematics students’ pass/fail status on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test among six high school campuses within a large urban school district?
Research Questions
Quantitative 3. What is the impact of African
American eighth and ninth grade students enrolled in track 1 or track 2 mathematics and advancing in mathematics learning by entering in chemistry, physics, pre-calculus, AP Physics, or AP Calculus in the eleventh and twelfth grades?
Research Questions
Quantitative 4. What factors do counselors
identify as influential on African American students placement in track 1 or track 2 in eighth and ninth grades mathematics?
Hypotheses
Ho1 – There is no statistically significant relationship between the decision to enroll in track 1 or track 2 in the eighth and ninth grades mathematics and pass/fail status of African American students on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test.
Hypotheses
Ho2 – There is no statistically significant relationship between African American eighth and ninth grades mathematics students’ pass/fail status on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test among six high school campuses within a large urban school district .
Hypotheses
Ho3 – There is no statistically significant relationship between the African American eighth and ninth grade students enrolled in track 1 or track 2 mathematics and advancing in mathematics learning by entering in chemistry, physics, pre-calculus, AP Physics, or AP Calculus in the eleventh and twelfth grades.
Importance of Study
Results of the study could provide a learning foundation for educational leadership in areas where the increased success of African American students on the mathematics exit-level tests has been identified.
Review of Literature
No Child Left Behind
On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law to begin educational reform designed to improve student achievement and change American school culture (Jones & Hancock, 2005).
Review of Literature
Eighth-Grade Mathematics as the Gate-keeper to Advanced Mathematics Learning
In 1996, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed that for Grade 4, 8, and 12, less than one third of U.S. students were proficient or above in mathematics and science (Glenn, 2000).
Review of Literature
African American Students in Advanced Mathematics Courses
Unfortunately, African American students in education today often experience a low-level, watered-down curriculum, negative perceptions about their ability, and low expectations regarding their achievement (Russell, 2005).
Review of Literature
Middle School Course Selection Patterns In their analysis of American students’
achievement in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, William Schmidt and his colleagues (1999) noticed how tracking creates differences in students’ opportunities to study mathematics and how reduced opportunities result in lower achievement.
Review of Literature
Disparities in Mathematics Achievement and Instruction
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data suggest that most African American students are not experiencing instructional practices consistent with the recommendations suggested by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), whereas more white students are experiencing NCTM standards-based instruction (Lubienski, 2001).
Review of Literature
Minority Gap in Mathematics According to a 2004 report from the California
Teacher Association (CTA), the widening achievement gap in California’s public schools raises many questions about educational equality.
The report further indicated that in 1990, there was a 33 point gap between the scores of Black and White students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) mathematics test at the eighth grade level as compared to 2000 scores, the gap had grown to a 39 point gap.
Review of Literature
Impact of the Mathematics Curricula on the Success of African American Students
As Warren Simmons of the Casey Foundation observed, the nation entered the 1990s with twin goals for education reform. One of the goals was to create curricula and instructional approaches that would help all students attain world-class levels of achievement (Futrell & Brown, 2000).
Research Design The research design for this study is in
two phases. Phase one is a correlational study based on post hoc data. The Pearson’s r statistic will be used to determine whether various factors are related to academic success in mathematics as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Exit-Level Mathematics Test. Phase two is a survey of 27 counselors to determine factors for mathematics placement of African American students in the eighth and ninth grade. These data will be reported as descriptive data.
Subjects of the Study
Participants for the study will include 262 African American eleventh grade students and 27 eighth grade counselors. The students will be identified from the population of 827 eleventh grade students enrolled in mathematics courses in six high schools in a large urban school district.
Simple Random Sampling
The targeted population of 827 African American eleventh grade students enrolled in the eleventh grade in 2006-2007 will be involved in the random sample.
Krejcie and Morgan in 1970 generated a model of appropriate sample size (Barlett, Kotrick, & Higgins, 2001).
Instruments In the study the dependent variables, exit-level
tests achievement, will be measured by the mathematics portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test scores. Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skill (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test has been found valid and reliable in the Texas Education Agency. The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Test is also a criterion-referenced test, and was found to be reliable and valid for measuring the achievement in the mathematics courses as outlined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum.
Instruments
A survey containing 15 questions will be given to 27 eighth grade counselors. The 15 questions on the counselors’ survey will be field tested. The dependent variables, documentation of the counselors’ survey will be reported as descriptive data.
Data Collection
Quantitative A letter from the superintendent of schools will be
requested for an approval of retrieving students’ data. School district archived data that include student identification number, demographic data, course requirements, course selections, program participation, and at-risk identification will be collected and kept under locked files by the investigator.
A master-schedule from 2003-2004 will be printed, and the classes will be counted. Students’ records will be accessed through Schools Administrative Student Information Systems (SASIxp). These records will be used to track student progress from eighth grade to high school.
Data Analysis
Independent Variables
Dependent Variables
Statistic
Eighth and Ninth Grades Students enrolled in track 1 or track 2
TAKS Raw Scores
Correlational Method using Post Hoc Data
Data Analysis
School master schedules will be utilized to match the eighth grade and ninth grades students enrolled in track 1 or track 2 with the respective TAKS Exit-Level raw scores.
Data Analysis
1. State the null hypothesis: There is no statistically significant relationship between the decision to enroll in track 1 or track 2 in the eighth and ninth grades mathematics and pass/fail status of African American students on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test.
2. Use Correlational Method; Use Pearson’s r
Data Analysis
3. Use the Alpha Level P < 0.05. 4. Compute statistic using SPSS. 5. Apply the rejection rule: P < 0.05
reject the null hypothesis Analyze your Descriptive Statistics
Table and your Correlations Table.
Data Analysis
Independent Variables
Dependent Variables
Statistic
Survey Questions
Counselors’ Responses
Descriptive Documentation
Data Analysis Develop matrix for data gathering. Develop protocol Arrange a meeting with each counselor to
meet for 60 minutes to retrieve responses. Meet with 27 counselors and deliver
instructions on the process of responding to the 15 questions on the survey.
Document all responses by the 27 counselors.