Date of Conferral

1-1-2011

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Don Jones

Abstract

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates that students be measured yearly on standardized state tests, rather than on classwork, to show adequate academic growth. During the 2007--2008 school year, 38% of eighth graders in one state failed the math portion of the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The purpose of this quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest control-group study was to determine if there was a significant difference in CRCT scores between at-risk eighth-grade math students receiving instruction in (a) the Remedial Education Program (REP) and in (b) the regular program. The theoretical base for this study included Piaget's concrete operational theory, constructivist theory, and behaviorist theory. In this causal-comparative experimental design, analysis of covariance was used to assess differences in eighth grade CRCT scores, controlling for seventh-grade test scores. Of the 50 students in this study, 25 received instruction in the REP model and 25 in the traditional model. Results indicated that the group that received the REP program instruction had significantly higher eighth-grade CRCT scores than the regular instruction group. Implications for positive social change include better understanding the most effective type of math instruction for at-risk students that can result in increased math achievement.

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