School Influences on Student Achievement

1. School Influences on Student Achievement Allison Vernon SPE 503 The University of Alabama

2. Factors in Schools that can Influence Student Achievement • Finances • Types of Schools • School Composition • Leadership • School Curriculum • Classroom Influences

3. Finances • Money in a system used toward instructional materials and retaining more experienced teachers is used to help better student achievement. • “Thus we can expect ‘ comparable and substantial increases in achievement if resources were targeted to selecting (or retaining) more educated or more experienced teachers’(Greenwald et al., 1996, p.380)’”(Hattie, 2009, p. 75).

4. Finances Teachers and administrators don’t necessarily need to pay attention to the question “does money make a difference?” They need to ask “how does money make a difference?” • When the money is used for the betterment of the students and their needed resources the money will be a factor in improving student achievement.

5. Types of Schools There are many different types of schools students can attend today. Where a student goes to school can in some was affect their achievement. • Charter schools • Religious schools • Summer schools • Public schools

6. Types of Schools • Charter Schools: publically funded school freed from some of the regulations and statutes that apply to other public schools Very little is currently known about the effect of charter schools on student achievement. • Religious Schools: privately funded and faith based learning Many have said that students in religious schools outperform their public school peers, mainly because of the increased attention to the teacher-student relationship, a greater fostering of parent-school interactions, shared values between families and school, the underlying philosophies of caring and commitment, and a higher work ethic (e.g., Coleman, 1992; Russo & Rogus, 1998).

7. Types of Schools • Summer schools: Summer schools were found to have a small affect on student achievement. There was a larger effect on achievement when the material was tailored to meet a specific need and used in conjunction with parent involvement. • Public schools: Publically funded schools where accountability is high for state set standards

8. School Composition School Composition consists of areas such as school size, summer vacation, mobility, and out-of-school experiences. • Students experience many different cultural exercises outside the home and typically bring those with them into the classroom. Such experiences are different based on the region students are in and can affect how students socially interact which can effect how they study which in turn effects student achievement.

9. Leadership • Hatti(2009) says it is school leaders who promote challenging goals, and then establish safe environments for teachers to critique, question, and support other teachers to reach these goals together that have most effect on student outcomes. • School leaders who focus on students’ achievement and instructional strategies are the most effective in a classroom and school setting (Connell, 1996; Henchey, 2001; Teddlie & Springfield, 1993).

10. School Curriculum and Classroom Composition • Classroom Compositional effects include class size, open versus traditional classes, ability grouping, multi-age classes, within-class grouping, small group learning, mainstreaming of special education students, and retention of students. Many have different effects on student achievement based on individual student needs and abilities. • School Curriculum deals with the structure of material for students who need acceleration and/or modifications. How these particular materials are structured can have a positive or negative effect on student achievement.

11. Finally… • “The most powerful effects of the school relate to features within schools, such as the climate of the classroom, peer influences, and the lack of disruptive students in the classroom. Other powerful effects include adapting curricula to be more appropriately challenging and having principals who see themselves as instructional leaders at the helm of schools. The influences that are close to zero include mainstreaming, ability grouping, class size, open versus traditional classrooms, multi-grade or age classes, and summer vacation courses. Among the more negative influences are retention, and student mobility across schools.”(Hatti, 2009, p. 107). • The bottom line to student achievement….EFFECTIVE TEACHERS!!!!!!!

12. Thoughts… • How can we become more effective teachers? • What types of supports are needed to improve student achievement from the school aspect? • How might a teacher encourage other teachers to become more effective in their teaching? • What influences is your school having on your student achievement?

13. References Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York NY: Routledge. Coleman, J. S. (1992). Some points on choice in education. Sociology of Education, 65(4), 260- 262. Russo, C. J., & Rogus, J. F. (1998). Catholic schools: Proud past, promising future. School Business Affairs, 64(6), 13-16.