School Effectiveness Characteristics and Student Achievement: A Study of Relationships in Georgia Middle Schools

Abstract

This study focused on the relationship of seven characteristics of effective schools (instructional leadership, environment, expectations for student achievement, schoolwide instructional goals and objectives, classroom practices, monitoring of student progress, and home-school relations); six demographic variables (school size, student socioeconomic status, student race, school location, tenure of principal, and sex of principal) and student achievement. Teachers in 70 out of 131 middle schools in Georgia completed the Connecticut School Effectiveness Questionnaire (CSEQ). Principals in these 70 schools supplied the demographic information. Student achievement was measured by the eighth grade Georgia Criterion Referenced Test (GCRT). The Pearson r was calculated using the scores of each of the seven variables and then the total mean score on the CSEQ. A Pearson r was also used to determine any relationship between demographic data and the GCRT. This procedure was followed by stepwise multiple regression analyses to determine the relationship of various combinations of these variables and the interaction of both the school effectiveness and demographic variables. Results indicate that a number of effective school and demographic variables are correlated with the three academic areas of the GCRT (reading, mathematics, total score). Findings suggest that schools can act to improve student achievement. (Author/JAM)