Date of Award
8-31-2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dr. Kathy Grover
Second Advisor
Dr. Sherry DeVore
Third Advisor
Dr. Jason Anderson
Abstract
Educational choices provide unique learning opportunities for all children to have access to and allow parents to be the decision-makers for their child’s education (Valant & Lincove, 2018). Brown v. Board of Education (1954) of Topeka sparked the creation of choice programs in the United States to end the segregation of students and empower families to be direct stakeholders in their child’s education (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). This study focused on a school district in the Midwest region of the United States, which investigated the expansion of learning options available to the community. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were significant differences in academic achievement, attendance, and discipline incidents between two student groups who either attended a district choice program or a traditional school classroom. The population for this study consisted of all eligible fifth-grade students who attended the Midwestern district from 2013 to 2017. The literature reviewed for this study was analyzed to inform and support the findings of this study. The de-identified district data collected and analyzed revealed significant differences in summative assessment outcomes between the two groups. Results showed that students who attended a district choice program earned higher exam scores than students who attended a traditional classroom. The data also uncovered significant differences in average daily attendance and discipline incidents between the two groups of students.
Recommended Citation
Whitham, David, "The Effect of Choice Programs On Student Achievement" (2021). Dissertations. 667.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/dissertations/667
Rights
Copyright 2021