IMPACT OF HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS CURRICULA ON THE

MATHEMATICS TAKS EXIT-LEVEL PERFORMANCE OF AFRICAN

AMERICAN STUDENTS

Presented By

Clarence JohnsonSeptember, 2007

Dissertation Chair: William Allan Kritsonis,PhD

Dissertation Proposal Defense

Committee Members

William A. Kritsonis, Ph.D. (Dissertation Chair)Douglas Hermond, Ph.D. (Member)David Herrington, Ph.D. (Member)Pamela Barber-Freeman, Ph.D. (Member)Veda Brown, Ph.D.(Outside Member)

Proposal Defense Outline

I. The ProblemII. Purpose of StudyIII. Research QuestionsIV. HypothesesV. Importance of StudyVI. Review of LiteratureVII. Research Design

The Problem

In the United States, remedial mathematics classrooms contain large number of African American students; however, advanced mathematics classes mainly served White students (Snipes & Waters, 2005).

Luebienski (2001) reported that, in both 1990 and 1996, White students in the lowest socioeconomic subgroup scored equal to or higher than African American students in the highest socioeconomic subgroup.

The Problem

In a summary of four national surveys reported between 1969 and 1987, Horn (1990) found that Asians earned twice the number of mathematics and science credits than did Whites, and Whites earned twice the number of credits for those subjects than did African Americans or Hispanics.

The Problem

Forty-three percent of African American high school students failed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test in 2005. Current documentation indicates the failure rate is higher among African American students than any other ethnic groups (TEA Accountability System State Data Table, 2005).

New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework

High Expectations in

Mathematics for All Students

The Significance

of Mathematics

Core Curriculum

Content Standards

Identifying Equity

Concerns in Districts and

Schools

Challenging All Students to Maximize

Their Achievement

Overcoming Barriers to

Equity

New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework

Investigate Core Curriculum Content

Standards

Investigate High Expectations in Mathematics for

All Students

Identify 6 High Schools

Mathematics TAKS Exit-Level

Passing and Failure Rates of

African American Students

Survey 27 Counselors for Mathematics

Placement of 8th and 9th Grades

African American Students

Purpose of the Study

Investigate the relationship of high school mathematics curricula on the mathematics TAKS Exit-Level performance of African American students using the New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework.

Purpose of the Study

Investigate high expectations in mathematics for all students using the New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework.

Research Questions

Quantitative 1. What is the impact of the decision of

African American students to enroll in track one or track two in the eighth and ninth grades mathematics and the pass/fail status on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test?

Research Questions

Quantitative 2. What is the impact of African

American eighth and ninth grade mathematics students’ pass/fail status on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test among six high school campuses within a large urban school district?

Research Questions

Quantitative 3. What is the impact of African

American eighth and ninth grade students enrolled in track 1 or track 2 mathematics and advancing in mathematics learning by entering in chemistry, physics, pre-calculus, AP Physics, or AP Calculus in the eleventh and twelfth grades?

Research Questions

Quantitative 4. What factors do counselors

identify as influential on African American students placement in track 1 or track 2 in eighth and ninth grades mathematics?

Hypotheses

Ho1 – There is no statistically significant relationship between the decision to enroll in track 1 or track 2 in the eighth and ninth grades mathematics and pass/fail status of African American students on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test.

Hypotheses

Ho2 – There is no statistically significant relationship between African American eighth and ninth grades mathematics students’ pass/fail status on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test among six high school campuses within a large urban school district .

Hypotheses

Ho3 – There is no statistically significant relationship between the African American eighth and ninth grade students enrolled in track 1 or track 2 mathematics and advancing in mathematics learning by entering in chemistry, physics, pre-calculus, AP Physics, or AP Calculus in the eleventh and twelfth grades.

Importance of Study

Results of the study could provide a learning foundation for educational leadership in areas where the increased success of African American students on the mathematics exit-level tests has been identified.

Review of Literature

No Child Left Behind

On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law to begin educational reform designed to improve student achievement and change American school culture (Jones & Hancock, 2005).

Review of Literature

Eighth-Grade Mathematics as the Gate-keeper to Advanced Mathematics Learning

In 1996, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed that for Grade 4, 8, and 12, less than one third of U.S. students were proficient or above in mathematics and science (Glenn, 2000).

Review of Literature

African American Students in Advanced Mathematics Courses

Unfortunately, African American students in education today often experience a low-level, watered-down curriculum, negative perceptions about their ability, and low expectations regarding their achievement (Russell, 2005).

Review of Literature

Middle School Course Selection Patterns In their analysis of American students’

achievement in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, William Schmidt and his colleagues (1999) noticed how tracking creates differences in students’ opportunities to study mathematics and how reduced opportunities result in lower achievement.

Review of Literature

Disparities in Mathematics Achievement and Instruction

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data suggest that most African American students are not experiencing instructional practices consistent with the recommendations suggested by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), whereas more white students are experiencing NCTM standards-based instruction (Lubienski, 2001).

Review of Literature

Minority Gap in Mathematics According to a 2004 report from the California

Teacher Association (CTA), the widening achievement gap in California’s public schools raises many questions about educational equality.

The report further indicated that in 1990, there was a 33 point gap between the scores of Black and White students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) mathematics test at the eighth grade level as compared to 2000 scores, the gap had grown to a 39 point gap.

Review of Literature

Impact of the Mathematics Curricula on the Success of African American Students

As Warren Simmons of the Casey Foundation observed, the nation entered the 1990s with twin goals for education reform. One of the goals was to create curricula and instructional approaches that would help all students attain world-class levels of achievement (Futrell & Brown, 2000).

Research Design The research design for this study is in

two phases. Phase one is a correlational study based on post hoc data. The Pearson’s r statistic will be used to determine whether various factors are related to academic success in mathematics as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Exit-Level Mathematics Test. Phase two is a survey of 27 counselors to determine factors for mathematics placement of African American students in the eighth and ninth grade. These data will be reported as descriptive data.

Subjects of the Study

Participants for the study will include 262 African American eleventh grade students and 27 eighth grade counselors. The students will be identified from the population of 827 eleventh grade students enrolled in mathematics courses in six high schools in a large urban school district.

Simple Random Sampling

The targeted population of 827 African American eleventh grade students enrolled in the eleventh grade in 2006-2007 will be involved in the random sample.

Krejcie and Morgan in 1970 generated a model of appropriate sample size (Barlett, Kotrick, & Higgins, 2001).

Instruments In the study the dependent variables, exit-level

tests achievement, will be measured by the mathematics portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test scores. Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skill (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test has been found valid and reliable in the Texas Education Agency. The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Test is also a criterion-referenced test, and was found to be reliable and valid for measuring the achievement in the mathematics courses as outlined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum.

Instruments

A survey containing 15 questions will be given to 27 eighth grade counselors. The 15 questions on the counselors’ survey will be field tested. The dependent variables, documentation of the counselors’ survey will be reported as descriptive data.

Data Collection

Quantitative A letter from the superintendent of schools will be

requested for an approval of retrieving students’ data. School district archived data that include student identification number, demographic data, course requirements, course selections, program participation, and at-risk identification will be collected and kept under locked files by the investigator.

A master-schedule from 2003-2004 will be printed, and the classes will be counted. Students’ records will be accessed through Schools Administrative Student Information Systems (SASIxp). These records will be used to track student progress from eighth grade to high school.

Data Analysis

Independent Variables

Dependent Variables

Statistic

Eighth and Ninth Grades Students enrolled in track 1 or track 2

TAKS Raw Scores

Correlational Method using Post Hoc Data

Data Analysis

School master schedules will be utilized to match the eighth grade and ninth grades students enrolled in track 1 or track 2 with the respective TAKS Exit-Level raw scores.

Data Analysis

1. State the null hypothesis: There is no statistically significant relationship between the decision to enroll in track 1 or track 2 in the eighth and ninth grades mathematics and pass/fail status of African American students on the eleventh grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit-Level Mathematics Test.

2. Use Correlational Method; Use Pearson’s r

Data Analysis

3. Use the Alpha Level P < 0.05. 4. Compute statistic using SPSS. 5. Apply the rejection rule: P < 0.05

reject the null hypothesis Analyze your Descriptive Statistics

Table and your Correlations Table.

Data Analysis

Independent Variables

Dependent Variables

Statistic

Survey Questions

Counselors’ Responses

Descriptive Documentation

Data Analysis Develop matrix for data gathering. Develop protocol Arrange a meeting with each counselor to

meet for 60 minutes to retrieve responses. Meet with 27 counselors and deliver

instructions on the process of responding to the 15 questions on the survey.

Document all responses by the 27 counselors.