In the article Literacy Achievement in Small Grade 1 Classes in
High-Poverty Environments, researchers,  Margaret Haughey
Fern Snart and, Jose da Costa, “explored the influence of three interventions on the literacy achievement of grade-1 students in 10 schools in high poverty environments: small class size, a focus on literacy,and teachers’ continuing professional development.” (Haughey, Snart, and Costa 2001, 301).The researchers conducted the study in order to, examine ways in which  to enhance academic
achievement, most importantly in literacy development, for students coming from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. The researchers specifically examined the impact of three
interventions. The interventions included the following: small class size, a focus on literacy,  and continuing professional development – on the growth and achievement of grade-1 students in 10 Edmonton public schools in high-poverty, and high-transiency
environments. The study, lasted from January to June 2000, started with small classes of 15 or fewer students at the grade 1 level in 10 schools,

In order to conduct the study the researchers asked the following questions: Did small classes enhance students’ literacy achievement? How important was teachers’ continuing professional development in enhancing students’ literacy achievement? What was the influence of small classes on teachers’ classroom practices? In order to answer the research question, Haughey, Snart, and Costa used test results, individual interviews with
teachers in their classrooms, and monthly group sessions with the teachers. In order to obtain test scores the researchers pulled from writing tests, which the district annually administers. The tests consists of two measures, a writing component and
a reading comprehension test. The tests are given to every students using what it
calls the Highest Level of Achievement Tests (HLAT).

The researchers analyzed the data by analyzing the interviews,
observations, group meetings, case studies, and instructional  materials. The team then coded and then categorized the transcribed audiotaped data.

The research conducted by this group of researchers will help with the current study by providing the insight from teachers. Teachers are spending the most time with their students and are able to share the experiences they have with each students learning processes and achievement levels.

In the article Raising Achievement Test Scores of Early Elementary School Students Through Comprehensive School Counseling Programs, Christopher Sink makes the argument that, “, elementary and secondary schools have not been immune to the accelerating pace of societal evolution (e.g., socio-technological  advances or
changes in the family structure)”. There fore in this study he seeks out to answer the following broad research question: Does school counselors’ work in elementary schools with well established  CSCPs promote  higher  academic achievement in students? Because the question is rather broad the research created a list of alternative hypotheses to respond to the question posed. The hypotheses are as followed: (1) After accounting for SES differences, third and fourth grade students enrolled in elementary schools with a CSCP will significantly out perform those  children who were attending schools with no systemic guidance and counseling program on various formal measures of academic achievement ; (2) After accounting  for  SES differences,  third  and fourth grade students enrolled continuously in elementary schools with at least  5 years of CSCP implementation will significantly  out perform those children who were attending schools with no systemic guidance and counseling program on various formal measures of academic achievement; (3) After accounting for student differences in SES, there are significant  gender differences  across achievement domains in  schools with or without a well-established CSCP.

Sink was able to answer his research question by telephone surveying 150 randomly selected public schools in Washington State. Of the total population of the school 39% of students enrolled were eligible for U.S. Government financial assistance. Thirty one of the school surveyed did not have a educated counselor on staff.

Once the surveys were conducted they were coded and tabulated. Once data was coded the numerical data was analyzed for normality’s. Sink’s hypotheses were tested using a general linear model. The independent variables used consisted of length of enrollment, groups, and gender. Student ITBS, and WASL achievement test scores were used for dependent variable.

This study is helpful for the current study at hand, because it offers perspective and work done towards having sources within the school for students who may be struggling. Hence I found this article to be very beneficial, and offered great insight in the results section.

In the article Assessing perceptions of the environment in elementary classrooms: the link with achievement  researcher Michelle LaRocque studies the perceptions students have towards the environment of their classrooms, and links those perceptions to possible effects on math and reading achievement levels. Participants in the study were elementary aged students attending school in a large urban school district. In order to gauge student achievement LaRocque pulled from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Student perception was ranked based off of scores provided by students through My Classroom Inventory (MCI).

LaRocque states the purpose of her study was to, “examines students’ perceptions of their classroom environment as well as whether their perceptions impacted their achievement in math and reading” (LaRocque 2008, 291). For the purpose of her study the researcher asked the following questions: Is there a significant difference in perceptions of the environment based on the gender of the student? Is there a significant difference in perceptions of the environment based on the grade level of the student? Is the gender difference in perceptions of the environment, if it exists, influenced by the grade level of the student? Are perceptions of the environment related to achievement in math and reading?

In order to answer these questions students were asked to complete when the MCI individually. In order to answer the first three research questions a MNOVA was conducted. Follow up ANOVAs were completed when the MNOVA showed to be statistically significant. LaRocque used gender, and grade level as independent variables, and student perceptions on the MCI as dependent variables. When the data was completed it was analyzed for normality using methods of skewness, and kurtosis.

The research conducted was clearly laid out, easy to read, and understand. I enjoyed how the researcher made clear of certain terms, especially in the methods, and procedures section.

As college students we may often find ourselves going through the motions of reading assignments, and at times may not be conceptualizing the material that we are reading. This is an issue that research David Arias a high school science teacher began to notice in his students. Arias argues, that many students are not capable of accessing content through their reading material. In his past classes he noticed his students did not have the knowledge of how to search through a book, however they knew how to decipher good information for the junk.

In his research titled, Action Research Proposal: The effect of conceptual change and literacy strategies on students in high school science classes, California State University, Northridge. In his research Arias was curious to explore the idea of conceptual change, and to find out how students who are consistently being exposed to ideas, and concepts, are still unable to grasp the information. In his proposal Arias states the purpose of his paper is to, “determine how conceptual change that uses literacy strategies affects students’ achievement in a science class. ” In order to receive the data Arias asks the following research questions: Which strategies help students access the content in a biology class or integrated coordinated science class? Can conceptual change affect students’ success in a biology class? Which literacy strategies in conjunction with conceptual change affect students’ prior knowledge? For the purpose of the study conceptual change refers to a teaching strategy that requires students to reorganize the conceptual framework in order to learn something.

The potential participant in the study will be Arias’ current students for the upcoming school year. Arias would potentially be observing three biology classes (38, 10th grade), as well as two integrated coordinated classes (40, 9th grade). The potential participants backgrounds is stated to be diverse, ranging from mixed socioeconomic statuses, race, and gender, with a wide variety of abilities. Class period run for and hour and fifty minutes, except for Tuesdays.

The proposed research will take part over 16 weeks. Arias states in his proposal that the data collection will be scaffold dependent on the data. for each unit studied the students will be given a pre and post test. Questions on the test would vary from true/false, multiple choice, and free response. Survey’s will also be a part of the study, and collected on a bi-weekly basis.

Data collected for the study will be analyzed with regards to the data collected. The students survey results will be coded and reviewed for factors. Inferential statistics will be used only if Arias’ class schedule changes in the upcoming school semester. Any field notes made by Arias will be coded.

Arias’ proposed research seems to be clearly laid out, and he seems to have a good understanding of how his students minds work, and is looking for a way to help them better understand the material. Reading through the proposal he clearly stated his methods, as well as questions he hoped to answer at the end of his study.

In the article, Student Mobility: A negligible and confounded influence on student achievement, researcher Dan Wright, “examined the effect of student mobility on achievement test scores” (Wright 1999, 347). Risk factors such as low family income, and ethnic minority status were reviewed and were found to have a great influence on the factors of mobility being tested. Wright perceived the effects of student mobility had, “broad implications beyond student achievement (Wright 1999, 348).

Participants for the study were third and fourth grade students in a total of 33 elementary schools, all of which were located in a large urban school district in the Midwest. All 33 of the schools have completed state and national standardized tests prior to the study. The student demographic included, 68% ethnic minority status, and 71% were eligible for free or reduced lunch programs.

Wrights objective in conducting the study was to, “examine and compare the influences of two distinct aspects of mobility; moving either into or out of the district (location mobility), and moving either before or after the spring assessments (temporal mobility) (Wright 1999, 348). The two types of mobilities being assessed were associated with different types of research question. In order to answer the first Wright conducted, “a series of univariate, two factor analyses of variance (ANOVA’s)” (Wright 1999, 349). He used location and temporal mobility as independent variables, and the four achievement measures were used as dependent variables.

I found the group of participants used in the study to be very beneficial. The age range Wright chose (third and fourth graders) was helpful to the study because in my mind these would be the students who would have been most affected by a change in mobility. They are at the age where they are old enough to realize what is going on and can easily be affected by a change. Especially a change in their schooling.

In the article, Effects of Teachers on Minority and Disadvantaged Students’ Achievement by Early Grade researcher, Spyros Konstantopoulos conducted a study, which investigated the effects of teachers on female minority and low-socioeconomic-status (SES) (Konstantopoulos 2009, 92). In the study students and teachers were randomly assigned to classrooms. The sample size was enormously large with nearly 11,000 students all in a total of 79 schools. The data took over four years to produce. All participants of the study were students in Tennessee schools.

Data for the study was entered into “Project Star.” Information recorded included; student outcome (i.e. Stanford Achievement test scores), and student demographics (i.e. gender, race, ethnicity, and socio economic status).  Konstantopoulos also explored whether teacher effects were more pronounced in schools with high proportions of minority or female students. Results showed that all students benefited from having effective teachers. The differential teacher effects on female, minority, and low-SES students’ achievement, however, were insignificant. There were some evidence in mathematics that teacher effects are more distinct in high-minority schools. Finally, teacher effects seem to be consistent within and between schools.

The researcher used multilevel models in order to better determine the teacher’s interaction effectiveness with student gender, race, and SES. Konstantopoulos, also used, “similar methods to explore whether teacher effects were pronounced in high poverty schools.” The effects the teachers made towards the students living in low socio economic statuses were measured as a residual variability in achievement among classrooms within the schools whom participated in the study. Konstantopoulos states, “The distribution of teacher effectiveness consisted of deviation scores that demonstrated the difference in achievement between a specific teacher (classroom) and the average effective teacher in the sample (Konstantopoulos 2009, 98).

I believe this research has and will remain current for years to come. We will also face the issue of poverty, and being able to better understand effective ways in which to better suit students living in low SES conditions can only be beneficial for them in many ways.

DOI: 10.1086/598845

Researcher Mehmet Şükrü Belliba of Adıyaman University researched the topic of student success based off of their socio-economic status, and the student’s home lives. The article written is titled. Who are the Most Disadvantaged? Factors Associated with the Achievement of Students with Low SocioEconomic Backgrounds. In the study Mehmet investigated a variety of applicable students, households, and school factors all aspects which were associated with the performance of students with distinct socio economic status (SES) backgrounds in Turkey. The study was designed to compare the most disadvantaged students with the most advantaged ones. The students were compared in the subjects of reading, mathematics, and science. Mehmet evaluated the students in both economic status in the above areas to check their achievement.

Mehmet posed the following research question; What is the achievement gap between low-SES and high-SES students in Turkey, controlling for various student and school factors, as well as for student characteristics? To answer this question a multiple regression was used. Students’ scores in each subject (reading, math, and science) were set as a dependent variable, SES levels (low-SES and high-SES), as well as other variables such as, gender, language, mothers education, perseverance, home educational resources, quality of school educational resources and physical infrastructures, class size, and total school enrolment, were used as independent variables.

The data for research originates from the most current PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), which was taken by the International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2012. PISA intentions for the study were to assess 15-year-old students’ skills in three dominate school subjects—mathematics, science, and reading.

For the study, Mehmet used a quantitative method in which he applied inferential statistics. Inferential statistics is described by Mehmet as “a part of general linear model and includes several methods, such as t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and regression.” The research article goes on to state that for this research, multiple regression model were used. Simply meaning the section, “starts with an articulation of the data sources and the sample used in the study. It then introduces dependent and independent variables. Lastly, it lays out details concerning the analysis of the data” (Mehmet 2015, 696).

The research study seems to be well though and laid out. Some of the terminology was foreign to me, however Mehmet did a good job of going into detail about certain terms that not every reader may have understood. I found those portions of the article to be very beneficial.

In reading the article I thought many of the terms used would come up during later class instructions, and being able to read ahead and have been given explanation as to what the terms meant will benefit me in the future, and possibly my classmates as well.

DOI:

10.12738/estp.2016.2.0257

In the article, Difference in Student Achievement by Grade Span Configuration for Students Who Where Economically Disadvantaged researchers Carolyn F. Fiaschetti, and John R. Slate professors at Sam Houston State University investigated reading achievement amongst fifth and sixth graders both of which were economically disadvantaged. The schools researched were made of multiple grade levels (K-8), which were compared to single grade levels (K-5). The researchers were curious to find out if students living in both economically disadvantaged areas, and who were also required to make more transitions throughout their educational careers would suffer educationally.

The researchers posed the following research questions: (a) What is the effect of grade span configuration on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Reading test passing rates for students in Grade 5 who were economically disadvantaged in the 2010-2011 school year?; and (b) What is the effect of grade span configuration on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Reading test passing rates for students in Grade 6 who were economically disadvantaged in the 2010-2011 school year?

Participants of the study were students, all of whom were enrolled in either PREK-6^th grade (elementary schools) or who were enrolled in single or double grade (Grades 4-5, 5 only, or 5-6) schools. The schools used in the study and therefore whose data was obtained and analyzed were all grade level public schools in Texas. Archival data for each of the schools were accessed through the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System. All of the data analyzed in this investigation was intended for students whom identified as being economically disadvantaged. Groupings were created amongst the grade level, and were downloaded as Excel files, and then converted into SPSS data files. The independent variable used in this investigation was grade span configuration grouping and the dependent variables were the passing rates in reading for Grade 5 and for Grade 6 students who were economically disadvantaged.

Once the research was complete the study showed students in the multigrade level schools had higher reading passing rates, almost 2% higher, than those enrolled in single grade level campuses.

I found this information to be very beneficial. It is eye-opening to realize that students living in economically disadvantaged areas are already facing enough stress, and constant change in their lives. To also incorporate a great deal of adjustment, and moving in their schooling will only create higher rates of stresses therefore leading to a decrease in their educational success.

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on multiple vs. single grade schooling. Which did you attend? And do you think it helped or hindered your educational success?