Chapter Three: Methods

Chapter Three : Methods

This section is divided into six parts , namely of methodology , study design , sample and population , validity and reliability , implementation and data analysis

of methodology

Two types of studies were carried out . These included a review of pertinent literature on the subject matter and a comparative study of selected schools . With the literature review , a publications were consulted . The publications included journal s books , policy briefs , press releases , monograph , and online resources In the comparative study , eight elementary schools from seven selected districts in the State of Mississippi [banner_entry_middle]

were used . The schools were made up of two K 2 schools , two K 3 schools and four K 5 schools . These schools were randomly chosen from the 149 school districts in the State of Mississippi . Initially , a chosen for the study . However , this figure was scaled down to eight to make up for schools with conflicting SES percentages . The principal attributes used for the comparison were FTE , SES , Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT ) scores , student ethnicity , teacher qualifications and the average salary for elementary school teacher in the district . The data used for the comparative study were largely drawn from the Mississippi Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS . The afore-mentioned variables were examined from these data to determine the elements that impact the success or otherwise of public school campuses

The key measure of performance of a school is the standardized test given to students in Mississippi public schools known as the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT . The study focused primarily on elementary schools in Mississippi predominantly populated by students from poor socio-economic backgrounds . The principal indicator used to gauge the school was the percentage of its students eligible for free or reduced price lunches

The underlying theory for this study is the Theory into Practice (TIP monograph which represents the effort to identify classroom practices that research has shown to result in higher student achievement (Language Arts Cadre 95 , 1997 . This theory focuses on the efforts to improve classroom instruction and effective teaching and learning This theory is in line with what this study titled Elementary Education Effectiveness in Mississippi : Elementary Student Achievement among Low Socio-Economic Students ‘ is seeking to unearth . Specifically the study is seeking to provide answers to the following research questions

Is there consistent and reliable research demonstrating a link between the social economic status of Mississippi school districts and the achievement gaps found in the State of Mississippi

What are the contributing factors found in Mississippi schools that are demonstrating low reading scores among economically disadvantaged students

Are there high-poverty schools in Mississippi which demonstrate positive improvements in reading scores ? What are the strategies used

How does implementing Theory into Practice (Language Arts Cadre 95 1997

encourage positive student achievement in disadvantaged schools

Study Design

The study was designed to use descriptive statistics such as percentages , averages and test scores to compare selected schools . The test scores such as the Mississippi Curriculum Test , SES and FTE are standardized ways of measuring the performance of a… [banner_entry_footer]