Session Information
09 SES 06 B, Transitions in the Education System: Conditions and Consequences
Paper Session
Contribution
Educational Transitions refer to that students progress from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school in an educational system. Educational transitions often bring challenges to students as they develop more demanding (higher level) skills in order to survive in a new learning environment (see National High School Center, 2008). As a result, student academic performance tends to fluctuate during educational transitions (see National Research Council, 2004). To many educational authorities, school academic performance (as a whole) is just as important as student academic performance (as an individual) during educational transitions. A good understanding of the patterns of school performance in relation to educational transitions is critical for educational authorities to develop strategies to help schools (students) succeed in educational transitions. These patterns are particularly important at the state (province) level (National High School Center, 2008). Many states (provinces) monitor their school performance for various reasons such as accountability and these patterns are part of their monitoring efforts. This research attempts to discern state (province) patterns of school performance as a result of educational transitions.
The theoretical framework for this research emphasizes the often highlighted variation of school effects (see Teddie & Reynolds, 2000). Applied to the current research topic, some educational systems are more successful than other educational systems in helping schools (students) during educational transitions. This theoretical framework is operationalized by computing school aggregated performance, either increase or decrease, from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school in an educational system. Research questions include:
- What are the predominant patterns of school performance from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school in core content areas (reading, mathematics, and science) respectively?
- What are the predominant patterns of school performance across core content areas (reading, mathematics, and science) from elementary school to middle school (i.e., increased performance in three subjects, increased performance in two subjects, increased performance in one subject, increased performance in none subject)?
- What are the predominant patterns of school performance across core content areas (reading, mathematics, and science) from middle school to high school?
This type of research is critical for educational policymaking to overcome difficulties that schools (students) face during educational transitions.
Data aggregation creates a synthesis approach to examine school performance from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school. The objective of this research is to test the synthesis approach with the educational system of Kentucky, United States as a special case. Specifically, this research uses data from Kentucky’s Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) (2008) to explore Kentucky (state) patterns of school performance in relation to educational transitions.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
National High School Center. (2008). Easing the transition to high school: Research and best practices designed to support high school learning. Washington, DC: Author. National Research Council. (2004). Engaging schools: Fostering high school students’ motivation to learn. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Teddlie, C., & Reynolds, D. (Eds.). (2000). The international handbook of school effectiveness research. London: Falmer.
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