Improvement and closing the achievement gap report 2003-2004 include Essay

†¢ Strong parental involvement †¢ Community and church support †¢ Various reform models aligned to state curriculum †¢ Dedicated teachers †¢ Structured teaching †¢ Thinking maps †¢ Stable staff †¢ Comprehensive systems to monitor student progress †¢ Aligned curriculum, assessment, and instruction †¢ Peer coaches †¢ Instructional time that is increased (2004) As the reader will notice, the majority of these strategies incorporate relationships between the school and outside sources for example parental and community involvement. These strategies were created by schools in Mississippi demonstrating high student achievement. Finally, the researcher will also examine the effects of global resources, that is, per pupil expenditure (PPE), on the impact of performance. In their review of production function research, Verstegen and King cite Hedges, Laine, and Greenwald’s assertion (1994) that â€Å"Global resource variables such as PPE, show positive, strong, and consistent relations with achievement† (1995, 57-58). However, other studies fail to yield significant results (Chubb and Moe 1990; Okpala 2002). Tajalli, in his examination of the wealth equalization or â€Å"Robin Hood† program in Texas, found that the transfer of nearly $3. 4 billion of dollars to poor school districts did not have a significant impact on the improvement of performance in these districts (Tajalli, 2003). It may be that expenditures in general have an indirect effect that is not apparent when using PPE as a direct measure. In his study of school spending Wenglinsky (1997) develops a â€Å"path† in which he concludes a school’s economic resources are associated with academic achievement. He posits that per-pupil expenditures on instruction and central office administration are positively related to class size, i. e. , more spending on smaller classes. Smaller teacher/student ratios contribute to a cohesive school environment, which enhances achievement. Chapter Three Description of Methodology This study is a comparative analysis of eight Mississippi elementary schools from seven school districts; two K-2, two K-3 and four K-5. Factors analyzed were the students to teacher ratio (FTE), socioeconomic status (SES), and student ethnicity, and comparison MCT scores. At first a total of twenty schools were randomly chosen from different districts. The researcher then chose eight schools of conflicting SES percentages. It is a comparative study using the case analysis method; since it attempts to compare school factors influencing student performance. Using the Mississippi Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) data, the researcher will examine these variables to determine the elements that can impact success or failure of public school campuses. The measure of performance is the standardized test given in 2005 to students in Mississippi public schools, the MCT. The researcher focused the study on Mississippi elementary schools that are predominantly populated by students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The socioeconomic status was based on the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. The teaching theory used as a basis for this study is the Measurement Theory, this theory represents teaching and achievement based on standardized tests and results. Validity and Reliability The MCT scores are provided by the Mississippi Department of Education, and the demographics of each school were provided by the NCES found on the greatschools. com database. Twenty schools were chosen by random; then eight were chosen for analysis based on conflicting SES factors in order to get realistic insight as to the influence of student success factors on each school size. This study has limitations due to the fact that it is based on MCT scores which can be deceiving. These tests have been criticized by researchers because they do not portray a student’s overall understanding of a subject and do not allow for different learning abilities and styles. It is because of this limitation that further study should be conducted on the achievement levels of students based on different approaches to classroom learning.