Browsing by Subject "School administrators--Texas--Attitudes"

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How high the stakes?: a critical ethnographic study of the changes in programs and instruction for low income children of color in a Texas elementary school
(2006) Guzmán, Sheila Bernal; Scribner, Jay D.
The purpose of this study is to identify parent and educator’s perceptions of reforms that were implemented within an elementary school to obtain higher test scores and the effects that these changes had on stakeholders, programs, and instruction. Currently, in a majority of states nationwide, students are being assessed using tests in the major content areas, based upon standards, to determine school effectiveness. This shift of emphasis from adequate resources and processes to assess student achievement and school effectiveness through the use of test driven assessment, coupled with sanctions, is a documented trend. The focus of this research is high stakes tests and accountability used for school reform and of the effects of these policy practices utilizing critical race theory. viii Three major questions were examined from a critical race theoretical perspective utilizing qualitative methods. The qualitative data was analyzed to discern the empowering or disabling consequences of these changes as perceived by members of the school community in a low income school for children of color. This study was undertaken utilizing a critical ethnographic strategy to record the events, processes, and policies that occurred in an elementary school setting within the environment of high stakes accountability. To complement the purpose of this study a single case study in one Texas school was undertaken to seek to “provide insight” regarding the consequences that an emphasis on high stakes test reform had on programmatic and instructional practices in an elementary school for low income students of color. Study participants provided compelling data sources through their interviews by presenting counternarrative accounts of events (Delgado & Stefanic, 2001). Thus, critical race theory was utilized as both an analytical, as well as a theoretical framework. The significance of this study is that provides practical and theoretical importance. This study presents analysis from a critical race theoretical perspective; one not commonly found in the literature. This investigation is also significant because high stakes testing is at the forefront of a current educational debate making additional research and discourse from the most affected stakeholders of vital relevance to policy makers and practitioners.
Implementing new mathematics content standards: do similarities exist between the perspectives of teachers, superintendents, principals, central office administrators, and state and regional leaders?
(2005) Moeller, Paula Steffen; Cantu, Norma V.
This research was designed to determine if there were variances in educator and administrator perceptions about the time, resources and support teachers need prior to implementing the revised secondary mathematics Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Academic content standards are directly tied to high stakes assessments in Texas, student performance and graduation depends on teachers’ ability to implement standards in a sound manner. Teachers must be given the time, resources and support to fully implement content standards prior to the standards being included on the state assessment (TAKS), a test that is used for campus and district accountability under state and federal policy. This study is significant because staff at the Texas Education Agency is responsible for the refinement and alignment of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills in mathematics. Mathematics was selected as the first content area to conduct standards revision prior to the textbook adoption cycle in 2006. These results informed the State Board of Education prior to establishing the content and timeline for TEKS implementation (19 TAC §74.1, Subchapter B and C), a mandate that will affect 1261 school districts in Texas. Other content area TEKS will be refined and aligned in subsequent years using this same revision model. This study employed a correlational research design. Two thousand six hundred forty-nine educators and administrators participated in the online, original survey. The researcher analyzed the data using PC-SAS. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, ANOVA, and MANOVA procedures were used to determine if differences in perception exist between educators, superintendents, principals, central office administrators, regional and state leaders. Findings indicate differences in perception between educators, superintendents, principals, and central office administrators, regional and state leaders that were statistically significant at or below the .05 level in response to questions related to staff development, support, resources and the time needed to prepare for assessment changes that result when changes are made to the state standards. These findings will assist administrators identifying resources, professional development, and time that teachers need to enact curricular change, and help ensure implementation of state standards that will be measured by state mandated assessments.