A Critique of the Studies
Introduction
The topic I have chosen to research and review is related to my group’s research project problem about school/class size and student achievement. I have compiled several studies which showcase different data to generally support that there is some sort of relationship, be it positive or negative, between school/class size and student achievement.
APA Reference
Archibald, S. (2006). Narrowing in on Educational Resources that Do Affect Student Achievement. Peabody Journal of Education, 81(4), 23-42. http://search.ebscohost.com
Abstracts
In an era dominated by issues of school finance adequacy, it seems particularly important to provide evidence that, despite a number of claims to the contrary, educational resources are indeed positively related to improved student achievement. One of the hypotheses of this article is that expenditures per pupil must be disaggregated into more meaningful categories to discern the relationship between resources and student achievement. To explore this question, this article uses data from the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada, which reports its school expenditures using a program called InSite. This program disaggregates expenditures into 4 categories: instruction, instructional support, leadership, and operations and maintenance. This school-level variable is the primary explanatory variable in this covariate adjustment model using a 3-level hierarchical linear modeling analysis of students (approximately 7,000) nested in classrooms (approximately 420) nested in schools (approximately 55). This model also includes a number of contextual and school compositional factors that research tells us affect student achievement, including student demographic characteristics and pretest score; teacher experience, education, and a measure of his or her instructional practice; and school size, school-level poverty, and expenditures broken out into 4 categories: instruction, instructional support, leadership, and operations and maintenance. The results show that expenditures for instruction and instructional support were positively related and statistically significant for the reading achievement of 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in the 2002–03 school year.
1.0 Research Problem
1.1 Yes
1.2 Yes- practical
1.3 Yes
1.4 Yes
1.5 Yes
2.0 Review of the Literature
2.1 Yes. Yes.
2.2 Yes
2.3 Yes
2.4 Yes
2.5 Yes
2.6 Yes
2.7 Yes
2.8 Yes
2.9 Yes
3.0 Research Hypothesis
3.1 Yes
3.2 Yes
3.3 Yes
3.4 Yes
3.5 Yes
4.0 Selection of Subjects
4.1 Yes- a cluster sample of data from an entire county in NV
4.2 Yes
4.3 Yes
4.4 Yes- disproportional
4.5 N/A
4.6 No
4.7 Yes
5.0 Instrumentation
5.1 No. Yes.
5.2 No. N/A
5.3 Yes
5.4 No
5.5 Maybe- it is difficult to tell as this is done ex post facto
5.6 N/A
5.7 N/A
6.0 Design
6.1 Nonexperimental
6.1a No
6.1b Yes
6.1c No
6.1d No
6.1e No. The groups are very comparable because of the strict limitations set during the sampling.
7.0 Results and Analysis
7.1 Yes
7.2 No
7.3 No
7.4 Yes
7.5 Yes
7.6 The results are clearly presented in tables and described in the results section of the study.
7.7 Yes
8.0 Discussion and Conclusions
8.1 No
8.2 Yes. The results are discussed in relation to the research problem and previous research.
8.3 Yes
8.4 Yes
8.5 N/A
8.6 Yes
8.7 Yes
Summary
The study uses a covariate adjustment model with three nested levels of data, students nested in classrooms, nested in schools. The authors use descriptive statistics and created dummy variables to make for their study. They also conducted the analysis using a three-level HLM model developed by Bryk and Raudenbush. The conclusions had validity and followed the results but results could have been better if the variables had not been standardized. The study had different measures/instruments for each grade level tested so this takes away from the reliability of the information. Overall, the study is good however could be stronger with more focus on two research questions instead of three.
Introduction
The topic I have chosen to research and review is related to my group’s research project problem about school/class size and student achievement. I have compiled several studies which showcase different data to generally support that there is some sort of relationship, be it positive or negative, between school/class size and student achievement.
APA Reference
Koth, C., Bradshaw, C., & Leaf, P. (2008). A Multilevel Study of Predictors of Student Perceptions of School Climate: The Effect of Classroom-Level Factors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(1), 96-104. http://search.ebscohost.com
Abstract
A positive school climate is an important component of successful and effective schools and thus is often an aim of schoolwide initiatives. Climate has traditionally been conceptualized as a school-level factor and is often assumed to be related to other school-level factors (e.g., school size). The current study examines variation in perceptions of climate based on individual-, classroom-, and school-level factors to determine the influence of predictors at multiple levels. Data come from 2,468 5th graders from 37 public elementary schools. Two aspects of students’ perception of school climate, order and discipline, and achievement motivation are examined. Multilevel analyses in hierarchical linear modeling indicate that individual-level factors (race and sex) accounted for the largest proportion of variance in perceptions of school climate. School-level factors (e.g., school size and faculty turnover) and several classroom-level factors (e.g., characteristics of the teacher, class size, and the concentration of students with behavior problems) were also significant predictors of perceptions of climate. These findings suggest that characteristics of the classroom environment are important to consider when aiming to improve school climate.
1.0 Research Problem
1.1 Yes
1.2 Yes. Yes
1.3 Yes
1.4 Yes. Descriptive
1.5 Yes
2.0 Review of the Literature
2.1 Yes
2.2 Yes
2.3 Yes
2.4 Yes
2.5 Yes
2.6 Yes
2.7 N/A
2.8 Yes
2.9 Yes
3.0 Research Hypothesis
3.1 Yes
3.2 Yes
3.3 Yes
3.4 Yes
3.5 Yes
4.0 Selection of Subjects
4.1 Yes
4.2 Yes
4.3 Yes
4.4 Yes. Disproportional
4.5 N/A
4.6 No
4.7 Yes
5.0 Instrumentation
5.1 Yes. Yes
5.2 Yes
5.3 Yes
5.4 No
5.5 No
5.6 N/A
5.7 N/A
6.0 Design
6.1 Nonexperimental
6.1a Yes
6.1b No
6.1c No
6.1d N/A
6.1e N/A
7.0 Results and Analysis
7.1 Yes
7.2 No
7.3 No
7.4 Yes
7.5 Yes
7.6 The results are presented in multiple tables.
7.7 Yes
8.0 Discussion and Conclusions
8.1 Yes
8.2 No
8.3 Yes
8.4 Yes
8.5 Yes
8.6 Yes
8.7 Yes
Summary
This study included multilevel analyses in hierarchical linear modeling around factors influencing school climate. The authors conducted a straightforward survey of their sample to complete their study. The survey was short and lacked internal reliability because it did not have enough questions; the authors did not appear to address this fact. They also had a significant type 1 error rate which could have been higher without nesting their students. The researchers were able to draw conclusions based on their hypothesis and offer suggestions for improvement in similar future studies.
Introduction
The topic I have chosen to research and review is related to my group’s research project problem about school/class size and student achievement. I have compiled several studies which showcase different data to generally support that there is some sort of relationship, be it positive or negative, between school/class size and student achievement.
APA Reference
Coladarci, T. (2006). School Size, Student Achievement, and the “Power Rating” of Poverty: Substantive Finding or Statistical Artifact?. Online Submission, http://search.ebscohost.com
Abstract
The proportion of variance in student achievement that is explained by student SES—“poverty’s power rating,” as some dub it—tends to be lower among smaller schools than among larger schools. Small schools, many claim, are able to somehow disrupt the seemingly axiomatic association between SES and student achievement. Using eighth-grade data for 215 public schools in Maine, I explored the hypothesis that this in part is a statistical artifact of the greater volatility (lower reliability) of school-aggregated student achievement in smaller schools. This hypothesis was supported when the dependent variable was mathematics achievement. In contrast, this hypothesis received no support when reading achievement served as the dependent variable. Implications for subsequent research are discussed.
1.0 Research Problem
1.1 Yes
1.2 Yes. Yes
1.3 Yes
1.4 Yes, the problem is descriptive.
1.5 Yes
2.0 Review of the Literature
2.1 Yes
2.2 Yes
2.3 Yes
2.4 No
2.5 Yes
2.6 Yes
2.7 Yes
2.8 Yes
2.9 Yes
3.0 Research Hypothesis
3.1 Yes
3.2 Yes
3.3 Yes
3.4 Yes
3.5 No
4.0 Selection of Subjects
4.1 Yes
4.2 Yes
4.3 Yes
4.4 No
4.5 N/A
4.6 N/A
4.7 Yes
5.0 Instrumentation
5.1 No. I assume the instrument is appropriate.
5.2 No
5.3 Yes
5.4 No
5.5 No
5.6 N/A
5.7 N/A
6.0 Design
6.1 Nonexperimental
6.1a Yes
6.1b Yes. Yes
6.1c No
6.1d No
6.1e No
7.0 Results and Analysis
7.1 Yes
7.2 Yes
7.3 No
7.4 Yes
7.5 Yes
7.6 The results are presented somewhat clearly. The tables are at the end of the text instead of throughout the text near the pertinent discussions about them.
7.7 Yes
8.0 Discussion and Conclusions
8.1 Yes
8.2 Yes
8.3 Yes
8.4 Yes
8.5 Yes
8.6 Yes
8.7 Yes
Summary
The author aims to prove if certain specific information from previous studies about school size and achievement are statistical artifacts or not. I think the study is strong because it is refining an area of research that has already begun to be explored, therefore has some established reliability and validity already. The study is not as strong in my opinion because the place where the sampling for the study was conducted may not have offered as wide of a range of subjects for good data. I think that doing the study in Maine was limiting as well as the short range of time the study was conducted within. More variables and more data would have provided for more reliable conclusions.
