Date
11-2011
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Chair
Judy P. Shoemaker
Primary Subject Area
Education, Tests and Measurements; Education, Secondary; Education, Administration
Keywords
accountability, criterion-referenced test, high-stakes testing, secondary education, standardized assessment
Recommended Citation
Bruton, Venita Lee, "Georgia High-stakes Testing: The Correlation between Eighth Grade and Ninth Grade Achievement" (2011). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 476.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/476
Abstract
Standardized tests are an education reality and an important accountability consideration in most states and school systems. Most states require standardized assessments to meet requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Changes to curriculum and instruction and to the school culture frequently occur through a school improvement process, and standardized test data are often used to inform these decisions. The school improvement process and professional development should focus on student learning, but how administrators and teachers perceive standardized testing and the ensuing data analyses is an important consideration in understanding what needs improvement and the professional development that best supports student learning. Ultimately, standardized assessment results should inform changes to curriculum and instruction. However, who decides what change is needed or how to implement the change? In this study, the researcher seeks to understand the value of existing students' testing in middle school as it relates to and, perhaps, predicts their high school achievement in ninth grade.
