EDLD 5326 - Update on my action research project

Action Research Project Title:  Student Readiness vs. Student Success

Blog URL: http://coachhurst.blogspot.com/

Number of AR Project Documented Hours: About 50

AR Project Summary (at least 250 words):

My action research project is looking at the high school freshmen who were promoted from the eighth grade even though they failed one or more STAAR tests.  These students would not have been promoted under the SSI (Student Success Initiative) with the old form of state testing (TAKS).  Out of nearly 700 freshmen who were on campus this status applies to 74 (non-modified) students, and they are the focus of my research.

Under the old TAKS system these students would not have been promoted to high school without a unanimous vote form all of their teachers and counselors.  With the new state system of assessment STAAR not having such a protocol, I wanted to follow these students and see if they could be successful in high school despite not achieving on the test. 

After pulling all testing data and determining which students would be part of the research, all grade data was compiled for the full freshmen year of these students.  And all core subject teachers were then given a survey to help determine if the students were, in their opinion, actually academically ready and just didn’t have appropriate study habits or if they in fact had large gaps that needed to be addressed.

Currently all data is being processed to determine how successful these 74 students were, and unfortunately this step is taking a little longer than was expected as the system needed to pull grades was updated over the summer and I lost all of that time to work.  The next step will then be to pull the freshmen year STAAR test scores for these kids and see if there was an increase in performance or if there are still struggles.

I feel that the project is moving along nicely for the most part, and am in hopes that we will get some great insight into how good an indicator of student performance these high stakes standardized tests are. 

Details, Details, Details

This week as brought out the old adage of the devil is in the details….when setting up an Action Research Project if you ignore the small details your whole project can suffer down the road.  While drafting my plan one thing that really stood out to me was the need to be very careful to check for biases.  This is something that I believe we can get easily interfere with our research if we are not careful.  I believe everyone has their own way of thinking, and likes to do things the way they feel is best, and data can be used to support that.  We must be sure our data within projects such as these does not become skewed to support what we want, but to support the true results.  With an Action Research Project there are an abundant opportunities to focus on details, have more checks and balances, and more validity of data gathered.  I will definitely put this new knowledge to good use.

Week 3 - Action Research Plan

As part of the week 3 assignment, we were to generate our action research plan. My action research topic addresses the academic readiness of students who failed the 8th grade STAAR tests (Math or Reading) for advancement into the 9th grade.

Tool 7.1 - Action Planning Template
Goal:   To determine if current freshmen who would not have been promoted grade levels under the SSI - Student Success Initiative (students who failed 8th grade Math or Reading TAKS tests) were academically ready for their promotion despite failing either the Math or Reading STAAR tests.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Pull & Analyze 8th grade STAAR results of all current year Freshmen at Shepton High School	Chad Hurst	March 2013	SAS data program, Excel Spreadsheet of Collected Data	Determine which Students only achieved Level I rankings
Create list of students who will be the subject of the study	Chad Hurst	March 2013	Excel Spreadsheet	N/A
Survey the teachers of these students, searching for their opinions on students ability, readiness, effort, and attitude	Chad Hurst	May 2013	Survey	Spreadsheet of answers/results for each answer set
Collect all grades earned throughout the full school year for each student on the list	Chad Hurst	June 2013	PISD Pinnacle Gradebook, Excel	Create sortable spreadsheet of data
Analyze all data to determine the success of these students through the year	Chad Hurst	July – August 2013	All Created Spreadsheets	Look at STAAR results as compared to teacher opinions and class success
Pull these students 2013 STAAR results	Chad Hurst	August – September 2013	SAS data program, Excel Spreadsheet of Collected Data	Determine which Students only achieved Level I rankings
Compare the students data and see how they fared from one year to the next on the STAAR tests	Chad Hurst	September 2013	Excel Spreadsheets	Report Findings

 

Week 2 - Reflections

This week was an eye opening week to the importance and uses of Action Research.  Hearing how a few others have used action research to improve their situations and then seeing all of the examples in Chapter Two of the Dana test (The Passions That Drive Your Journey), I have realized that action research is all around us.  There are a wide range of issues that can be covered and with the right research you can really improve your school.  From staffing concerns and development, to student performance and discipline, and even community culture and social issues; action research can provide clarity in all sorts of issues.

In looking at all of the different ideas that my Lamar classmates have chosen for their Action Research projects, it just furthers my realization that Action Research is limited simply by your imagination.  Basically if you can think of a problem or concern and are willing to put in the time and work, then you can research and find your best solution.

Patience and diligence is are key to Action Research AND are also a very important tool for a successful Administrator. 

The Principal's BLOG

For a principal a blog can be a very effective tool create and keep a school community.  By putting out school happenings, agendas, schedules, or ideas the principal can alert everyone to what is going on with the school, and can accept feedback on the success of an event.  A blog is a good way for a principal to be more reachable and more in touch with the students and their families, while still being professional and fulfilling their duty to their school.  A way for the community to stay connected and be connected.

The blog is a valuable tool of the 21st century principal.

Week 1 - What have I learned about Action Research?

      What have I learned about Action Research?  Well, through my first week in EDLD 5301, I have discovered that action research is far different from traditional research.  Action research is more systematic and focused on a more specific problem than traditional research typically is.  Additionally, action research is done primarily by stakeholders who are involved, rather than outside “experts”.  Action research in education is set to help a specific school or district with their specific problems rather than area or state-wide concerns.

     The definition of administrative inquiry or action research, as defined by Dana (2009), is a systematic examination of one’s own professional practice with the intent of bringing about a change.  This type of inquiry is useful both to principals and teachers because it compels them to examine their practices, collect and analyze data regarding said practice and then act upon the findings.  By following a systematic approach you can focus on each step in solving the problem, and you can include all stakeholders in order to create a lasting solution to any problem.

    

      Action research is different from traditional educational research because it is focused on inquiry and solution finding for a problem identified by campus personal.  Whereas, traditional educational research is generated from outside experts who have a more broad scope than just one district or school.  The focus of action research is school improvement rather than some broad reform or prediction.  According to Dana (2009) School improvement is driven from the inside out, rather than the outside in.  

      In order to have the best long lasting solution to a discovered problem and not just a “Band-Aid” you should include all stakeholders in the process so that everyone can become part of the solution and can take ownership in the project.   Stakeholders need to develop a shared vision and understand that the need for inquiry is an essential component in order to establish a firm foundation for school improvement (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010).  Action research is designed to bring reflection and change for the development of the educational community.