STUDENT INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES IN MATH

FLORIDA COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT TEST:

A COMPARISON OF CRITICALLY LOW AND HIGH PERFORMING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Submitted in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for dissertation research

THE FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL UNIVERSITY

The Florida State Legislature initiated educational reform when they mandated the implementation of a standards-based curriculum to increase the academic performance of all students. The 2001 Accountability Report shows that a significant number of critically low performing schools have a high concentration of minority students. This study will examine instructional strategies in critically low and high performing elementary schools. Research will focus on student preparation, test-taking strategies, motivational strategies, and time spent on thinking skills, regarding preparation for the math portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. One-way ANOVA will be used to examine the quantitative data and qualitative data will be analyzed by the researcher.CHAPTER 1

The purpose of the study is to examine student preparation, test-taking strategies, motivational strategies, and amount of time spend on thinking skills with regard to preparation for the FCAT Math, comparing sele

. . .
eptual Framework Test-taking strategies can increase student scores on standardized tests (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1992). These strategies include how to guess efficiently on multiple-choice questions, and how much time to spend on questions when students do not know the answers. Furthermore, adequate student and teacher preparation can significantly raise student scores on standardized tests (Paris and Urban, 2000). Currently, according to the National Education Association (2000), 48 states administer statewide, standardized tests in which large numbers of students respond in the same or similar sets of questions under similar conditions. The difference between high performing and low performing schools may be related to the level of student exposure to the application of test-taking strategies. Since state mandated tests are usually a multiple-choice format, students can improve their test scores with adequate test preparation and the utilization of appropriate test-taking strategies. The best test preparation for high performance on standardized tests is a quality curriculum and instructional program (National Education Association, 2000). Under ideal circumstances, any test is a sample of what students know and are able to do.
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Education Association, FCAT Math, Department Education, McColskey McNunn, Mathematics Department, Accountability Program, Obiakur Patton, Montgomery Kate-Santman, Amrein Berliner, Sunshine Standards, standardized tests, critically low, test-taking strategies, elementary schools, test-taking skills, assessment test, florida comprehensive assessment, comprehensive assessment test, comprehensive assessment, florida comprehensive, national education, association 2000, national education association, education association 2000, low performing schools,
Approximate Word count = 9398
Approximate Pages = 38 (250 words per page)

More Essays on STUDENT INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES IN MATH