Rowan University Rowan Digital Works Theses and Dissertations 5-31-2005 What effect might the No Child Left Behind Act have on administrators' and teachers' decisions to promote or retain the low achieving student in the elementary grades? April M. Maska Rowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd Part of the Elementary Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Maska, April M., "What effect might the No Child Left Behind Act have on administrators' and teachers' decisions to promote or retain the low achieving student in the elementary grades?" (2005). Theses and Dissertations. 1040. https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1040 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHAT EFFECT MIGHT THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT HAVE ON ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS' DECISIONS TO PROMOTE OR RETAIN THE LOW ACHIEVING STUDENT IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES By April M. Maska A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts Degree of The Graduate School at Rowan University May 005 Approved by Date Approved _/h / / , " Abstract April M. Maska "What effect might the No Child Left Behind Act have on Administrators and Teachers' decisions to promote or retain the low achieving student in the Elementary Grades" 2005 Dr Louis Molinari Elementary Education This study attempts to determine how this Act impacts professional educators in their decisions regarding promotion or retention of the low achieving student. Regular Educators in the West Deptford School District were asked to participate to show whether NCLB impacts the professional educators within this district when deciding whether to promote or retain the low achieving student. A Likert survey was designed and'distributed to 51 professional educators within the district. Of the educators asked, 21 responded. The survey results were graphed and analyzed. The scores of the West Deptford School District participants were compared to a hypothetical school district of professional experts. Comparison of the groups measured by the results of this survey showed a significant difference existed between the experts and educators resulting in the rejection of the Null Hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference between professional educators and experts decisions to promote or retain the low achieving student when factoring in the No Child Left Behind Act. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The researcher would like to thank the Administrators and Teachers of the West Deptford School District who took the time out of their busy schedules to assist me in my project and complete the research survey. Without their professional input and opinions, this research project would not have been possible. I would like to acknowledge the kindness, guidance and advice of Dr. Louis Molinari. This research project would not exist without his patience and professional leadership. To my husband and daughter who have supported me throughout this research project. Your patience, assistance and unconditional love are greatly appreciated. Table of Contents I. Chapters Chapter One - The Problem....................................................1 Significance of the Study.............................................. Summary ................................................................... 4 Purpose of the Study...................................................5 Specific Hypothesis...................................................... Method of Study..........................................................6 D esign ... ...................................... ......................... .6 Instrumentation............................................ ................ Limitation of the Study................................. ............ 7 Definition of Terms Used...............................................7 Organization of Thesis.................................................8 Chapter Two - Review of the Literature...................................... 10 Introduction .................. ............... ................... 10 No Child Left Behind Act .............................................. 10 Teachers' Opinion of No Child Left Behind.......................... 17 Retention.............................................. ......... ........ 21 Summary ................... ..................... ........... ........... 25 Chapter Three - Design of the Study............................................27 Introduction.............................................................27 Setting ......................................... ........ ......... ............... 27 Description of Instrument Used.................................. 27 Validity and Reliability................................................. 28 Relationship of the Instrument to the Null Hypothesis .............. 28 Procedure.............................................................. ... 29 Time Period for Data Collection.................................... 29 Chapter Four - Analysis of the Data.............................................31 Description and Analysis of the Data......................................31 Data Presentation .... ............................................... ......... 32 Data Analysis...........................................................49 Summary of the Findings.................... ... .................... 52 Chapter Five - Summary, Conclusion and Implication....................... 53 Introduction............................................................... 53 Summary of the Problem ................................. .......... 53 Summary of Procedures and Results................................54 Conclusions and Implications........................................55 Recommendations for Future Study..................................55 II. References...............................................................................57 III. Appendix A: Thesis Project Revised Survey ...................... ............. 64 Appendix B: Thesis Project Original Survey..................................... 69 Charts and Tables Table 1 - Sub hypothesis one results on participants' knowledge of of the No Child Left Behind Act, its implications on the West Deptford School District and whether the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act can be attained...................................... ............ 34 Table 1A -Survey results on 6 questions or statements on Sub Hypothesis of participants' knowledge of No Child Left Behind Act, its Implications on West Deptford School District and whether the goals of N CLB can be attained.................................................................... 35 t-test for Independent Samples - Survey results from the group of professional experts test results of group one compared to West Deptford School District test results of group two............................................36 Table 2 - Sub hypothesis two results on participants' response to the implications the No Child Left Behind Act may have on the teachers of West Deptford School District and their decisions made in the classroom ......... ....................................... ............................ 41 Table 2A - Survey results on 11 questions or statements on Sub Hypothesis pertaining to participants' opinions pertaining to the implications the No Child Left Behind Act may have on the teachers of West Deptford School District and their decisions made in the classroom ..................................... ................... ........ ......... 42 t-test for Independent Samples - Survey results from professional experts test results of group one compared to West Deptford School District test results of group two.................................................43 Table 3 - Sub hypothesis three results on participants' opinions on how the No Child Left Behind Act may influence their decision to promote or retain the low achieving student............................................45 Table 3A - Survey results on the three statements or questions pertaining to how participants felt the No Child Left Behind Act influences their decisions to promote or retain the low achieving student..........................47 t-test for Independent Sample -Survey results from professional experts test results of group one compared to West Deptford School District test results of group two...................................................... 48 Table 4A - Survey results on the 20 questions of the hypothesis of the study................................................... ........................... 50 t-test for Independent Sample - Survey results from professional experts' test results of group one compared to West Deptford School Districts test results of group two..............................................51 Chapter 1 - The Problem Significance of the study "The No Child Left Behind Act is potentially the most important education reform since the nation embraced mandatory schooling" (How to Rescue Education, 2004). Signed into law on January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush has developed the most dramatic educational changes since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was approved by Congress in 1965. The No Child Left Behind Act "contains the President's four basic education reform principles: stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control,