Date

10-2020

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (EdD)

Chair

Rebecca Lunde

Keywords

Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), Title I Elementary School, Lottery for Education Afterschool Programs (LEAPs), Geographic Location, Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)

Disciplines

Education | Elementary Education

Abstract

The purpose of this predictive, correlational study was to determine how accurately Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) English Language Arts (ELA) achievement scores can be predicted from a linear combination of Lottery for Education Afterschool Programs (LEAPs) participation, geographic location, and Community Eligibility Participation (CEP) at Title I elementary schools in Tennessee: A quantitative research method using a linear multiple regression analysis was used to assess these variables. Data was gathered from publicly available records. For the sample, 100 Title I elementary schools participated in LEAPs and 100 Title I elementary schools did not participate in LEAPs. One hundred and one have adopted CEP, and 99 have not adopted CEP. Additionally, in regards to geographic location, 55 were city, 26 were suburb, 17 were town, and 102 were rural. The results of this regression indicated that the model explained 15.6% of the variance, and the model was a significant predictor of CEP participation. Past research on the significance of after school programs has been equivocal, and Title I students do not achieve to their full potential due to their low socioeconomic status. Perhaps, more research that evaluates socioeconomic status or poverty percentages in schools are worth investigating because it seems as if they may serve as key indicators of what schools may be struggling the most in regards to lack of meeting students’ needs. Educators will need to continue to research and evaluate ways to address these challenges in hopes to remedify the achievement gap in low-achieving schools.

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