Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2017 The ffecE t of Common Core Standards on Elementary Students' Learning Christine Arner MacDougall Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University COLLEGE OF EDUCATION This is to certify that the doctoral study by Christine Arner MacDougall has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Glenn Richard Penny, Committee Chairperson, Education Faculty Dr. Christopher Godat, Committee Member, Education Faculty Dr. Ann Jablonski, University Reviewer, Education Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2017 Abstract The Effect of Common Core Standards on Elementary Students’ Learning by Christine Arner MacDougall MA, Keller University, 2006 BS, DeVry University, 2004 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University June 2017 Abstract After implementing the Common Core Standards in 2012, local school districts faced additional costs in their annual budgets to train staff how to teach using these standards. One of the problems that faced the school district under study was whether to retain the Common Core Standards and to continue to fund the expense of training teachers . The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of the Common Core Standards on student achievement in a local Pennsylvania school district using scores from the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSA) for Grades 3 through 8. The research question addressed whether there were differences in the students’ learning as measured by the PSSAs for the years before and after implementation of the Common Core Standards. The theoretical framework of the study was based on Piaget’s constructivist theory of knowing, which explains how students know what they have learned in the active process of learning. A causal–comparative design was used for this study with extant test data drawn from 2 years before and 2 years after implementation. The total sample size was 27,605. A MANOVA was used for all grades’ scale and raw scores to discern if a main effect could detect student achievement measured after the implementation of the Common Core Standards was lower than that reported before implementation and the standards had a mixed influence on student learning. This study has an implication for positive change. If educators have a better understanding of the effect of the Common Core Standards on student learning than they would be able to justify additional training. Dedication This study is dedicated to the true love of my life–my son William. He is my true reason for living. I would also like to dedicate my work to my father and my mother, Bill and Dorothy Arner, for their unconditional love and support. I could never have come this far without them. I am also grateful to my brothers Billy and Matt along with their families. My faith and my family are the two things in my life that keep me alive. Finally I thank in loving memory my dear friend Cheryl Kress who had shown me through her short life – how to be a strong woman and an amazing friend to everyone. In memory of my friend Victoria Ferrara – who showed me how to be the best mom possible. And to all of my family and friends who supported this amazing journey – Thank You! Acknowledgments This study would not have been possible without the support of my dear friends: Sarah Livesay and Celeste Hickman who have traveled this journey with Walden with me from the beginning. Thank you for the guidance of Dr. Cody Arvidson. This study would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my Walden professor and friend, Dr. Glenn ‘Richard’ Penny. Table of Contents Section 1: The Problem ........................................................................................................1 Definition of the Problem ........................................................................................5 Rationale ..................................................................................................................8 Definitions..............................................................................................................13 Significance............................................................................................................14 Guiding/Research Questions ..................................................................................15 Section 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................17 Elements of Theoretical Framework ......................................................................18 Goals and Development of the Common Core Standards .....................................28 Concerns and Possibilities Surrounding the Common Core ..................................30 Implications............................................................................................................32 Summary ................................................................................................................33 Section 3: Methodology .....................................................................................................34 Research Questions ................................................................................................35 Research Design.....................................................................................................36 Population and Sample ..........................................................................................37 Measures Taken for the Protection of Participant Rights ......................................38 Data Collection Instruments ..................................................................................38 Data Collection Methods .......................................................................................40 Types of Data Collected.........................................................................................41 i Data Collection and Analysis.................................................................................41 Assumptions ...........................................................................................................43 Limitations .............................................................................................................43 Scope ......................................................................................................................45 Delimitations ..........................................................................................................45 Section 4: Results ...............................................................................................................47 Null Hypothesis Results from MANOVA .............................................................47 Follow-up Test Results for Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 ..........................................51 Summary ................................................................................................................69 Section 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations .............................................70 Discussion of the Findings .....................................................................................71 Implications............................................................................................................73 Future Research Recommendations .......................................................................75 References ..........................................................................................................................82 ii List of Tables Table 1. Measures of Central Tendency for Dependent Variables Before and After Common Core ....................................................................................... 48 Table 2. Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances ................................................. 49 Table 3. Tests for Subjects Effects for the MANOVA ................................................. 51 Table 4. Descriptive Statistics for Grade 3 PSSAs ....................................................... 52 Table 5. Levene’s Tests of Equality of Variances for Grade 3 PSSAs ......................... 53 Table 6. T-tests for Grade 3 PSSAs .............................................................................. 53 Table 7. Descriptive Statistics for Grade 4 PSSAs- ...................................................... 54 Table 8. Levene’s Tests of Equality of Variances for Grade 4 PSSAs ......................... 55 Table 9. T-tests for Grade 4 PSSAs .............................................................................. 56 Table 10. Descriptive Statistics for Grade 5 PSSAs ....................................................... 57 Table 11. Levene’s Tests of Equality of Variances for Grade 5 PSSAs ......................... 57 Table 12. T-tests