Is Less More? Subject-Area Specialization and Outcomes in Elementary Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-382
Author(s):  
Kevin C. Bastian ◽  
C. Kevin Fortner

Whereas subject-area specialization is common practice in secondary grades, little is known about its incidence and impact in elementary schools. In this study we use data from North Carolina elementary schools to assess which teachers specialize and estimate whether specialization is associated with teacher effectiveness and school achievement. We find that specialization is prevalent in upper-elementary grades—approximately 25 percent of fourth-grade teachers and 37 percent of fifth-grade teachers specialize—and schools assign relatively more effective teachers to specialize. Analyses indicate that specialization is not leading to its theorized benefits in mathematics and reading. Teachers are less effective than they were before specializing and school-level achievement is not associated with more specialization. However, science results suggest benefits to subject-area specialization. These findings question the use of specialization in elementary grades but invite continued research to more fully assess its impact.

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-265
Author(s):  
Kalie VanMeveren ◽  
David Hulac ◽  
Sarah Wollersheim-Shervey

Reading screening assessments help educators identify students who are at risk of reading and determine the need for intervention and supports. However, some schools screen and assess students more often than needed, and the additional information does not improve the accuracy of decisions. This may be especially true for students at the upper elementary grades who have already taken high-stakes tests. This exploratory study evaluated how accurately a variety of screening measures predicted performance on a high-stakes end of year test for fourth- and fifth-grade students. Results of this study indicated that previous scores on the statewide assessment and computer-adaptive assessment best predicted student performance on a high-stakes reading test (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment—Third Edition). When comparing screening models, a two-gate approach appeared to be the best method for identifying student risk.


1978 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilbur B. Brookover ◽  
John H. Schweitzer ◽  
Jeffrey M. Schneider ◽  
Charles H. Beady ◽  
Patricia K. Flood ◽  
...  

The present study investigates the relationships among a variety of school-level climate variables and mean school achievement in a random, sample of Michigan elementary schools. School-level SES, racial composition and climate were each highly related to mean school achievement; only a small proportion of the between-school variance in achievement is explained by SES and racial composition after the effect of school climate is removed. The climate variable we have called Student Sense of Academic Futility had the largest correlation with achievement. An observational study of four schools with similar SES and racial composition but different achievement tended to support the more analytical findings and suggest the processes by which climate affects achievement.


2002 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna E. Alvermann

This article, written for a general audience, focuses on the importance of keeping adolescents' interests and needs foremost in mind when designing literacy instruction at the middle and high school level. It is a slightly revised version of a position paper that the Board of Directors of the National Reading Conference (NRC) commissioned this past year to underscore the need to continue literacy instruction beyond the elementary grades. Posted originally to NRC's web page ( http://nrc.oakland.edu ), the paper argues that adolescent literacy instruction, if it is to be effective, must address issues of self-efficacy and student engagement with a variety of texts (e.g., textbooks, hypermedia texts, digital texts) in diverse settings. It must also attend to the literacy demands of subject area classes, to struggling readers, to issues of critical literacy, and to participatory instructional approaches that actively engage adolescents in their own learning.


Author(s):  
Hannan Hannan ◽  
Pratiwi Wikaningtyas ◽  
I Ketut Adnyana

Cases of illegal drugs and drug abuse in the elementary school community in Indonesia is increasingly massive and alarming. An innovation to protect elementary school students from that situation is through the colaboration of academics from Bandung Institute of Technology with FDA in Palu in the form education of  anti-drug abuse for elementary school students through quartet card media. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the education on anti-drug abuse knowledge in fifth grade students in Palu City. The research method used pre-experimental design with the design of one group pretest-posttest on three elementary schools which were representatives of three ranks namely; good, quite good and not good based on the results of the Smart-Accurate Quiz FDA in Palu for elementary school level in 2017. The sampling technique used purposive sampling. Observation of knowledge of elementary students using questionnaires that have been tested for validity and reliability had been carried out. The pretest and posttest were conducted before and after education. The comparison of pretest and posttest data in each elementary school was analyzed using paired T test whereas for all elementary school data analyzed using the Wilcoxon test with hypotheses. There was an influence of anti-drug abuse education through quartet card media on anti-drug abuse knowledge in fifth grade students in Palu City. The results showed that there was an influence of education on anti-drug abuse knowledge in fifth grade students from elementary school representatives “good and quite good ranking” with p values of 0.005 and p ≤ 0.001, while in elementary schools representatives “not good ranking”, the education did not influence their knowledge with a p value of 0.149. Analysis of the Wilcoxon test in all elementary schools showed a p value p ≤ 0,001, which meant that education had an influence on the knowledge of fifth grade students in elementary schools in Palu City.


1981 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald L. McCanna ◽  
Giacinto DeLapa

This report reviews 27 cases of children exhibiting functional hearing loss. The study reveals that most students were in the upper elementary grades and were predominantly females. These subjects were functioning below their ability level in school and were usually in conflict with school, home, or peers. Tests used were selected on the basis of their helping to provide early identification. The subjects' oral and behavioral responses are presented, as well as ways of resolving the hearing problem. Some helpful counseling techniques are also presented.


Author(s):  
Dea Sinta Maharani ◽  
Otang Kurniaman

Linguistic intelligence is one of eight multiple intelligences that currently attracts attention in the world of education. Linguistic intelligence is a person's ability to speak both verbally and in writing, besides that people who have linguistic intelligence also master the components of linguistic intelligence which consists of phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The type of research used is research and development (R & D) with a 4D model. The subjects in this study were experts as validators, fifth grade students for trials and homeroom teachers in elementary schools. Data collection is done by giving a questionnaire to the validator. In this study the researchers concluded that the product of the developed linguistic intelligence assessment instrument was declared feasible to be used based on the results of validation of 86% with very feasible categories. The obstacle in developing the product of this instrument of linguistic intelligence assessment is the lack of knowledge of the school about the importance of linguistic intelligence for students in elementary schools. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 336
Author(s):  
Ni Pt Rasni Karwati ◽  
Km Ngurah Wiyasa ◽  
I Kt Ardana

This research aims to determine the significance of the difference in science learning results between the group of fifth-grade students in Gugus I Elementary Schools, North Kuta District, in the school year of 2017/2018, that take lessons with the multimedia-assisted probing-prompting learning model and the group of students that take lessons with the conventional learning. The design of this research is a quasi-experimental research with the nonequivalent control group design. The population of this research are all the fifth-grade students of Gugus I Elementary Schools in North Kuta District that still implement the KTSP, which consists of 10 classes with a total of 339 students. The sampling is conducted using the random sampling technique. The sample in this research are the students of class VB in SD (Elementary School) No.7 Dalung, with 36 students as the experiment group and the students of class VB in SD No.4 Dalung with 28 students as the control group. The data collection is conducted using the test method in the form of the multiple choice objective test. The science learning results are analyzed using the t-test. Based on the average the experiment groups =80,89 > the control group =72,85, which means that the multimedia-assisted probing-prompting learning model has an influence on the science learning result. Based on the hypothesis test, tvalues =4,517> ttable =2,000, with dk=62 and a significance level of 5%. Based on the test criteria, H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted. Thus, it can be interpreted there is a significant difference the science learning result between the group of students that were taught using the multimedia-assisted probing-prompting learning model and the students that were taught using the conventional learning. It can be concluded that the the multimedia-assisted probing-prompting learning model has an influence on the science learning result of the fifth-grade students in Gugus I Elementary School, North Kuta District, in the school year of 2017/2018. Keywords : probing prompting, multimedia, science learning result


2021 ◽  
pp. 155545892098233
Author(s):  
Connor J. Fewell ◽  
Michael E. Hess ◽  
Charles Lowery ◽  
Madeleine Gervason ◽  
Sarah Ahrendt ◽  
...  

This case explores the complexities of how consolidation perpetuates stereotypes among different social classes in a rural Appalachian school setting. Examined are the experiences at the intersection of social class in rural U.S. school districts when two communities—one affluent and one underresourced—are consolidated. We present a nuanced critical incident that focuses on how school leaders perceive and address students’ experiences with tracking and stereotyping—particularly at a middle school level where elementary schools from diverse backgrounds attend school together for the first time.


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