Dissertations

Date of Award

7-2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

Advisor

Dr. Diana Julian

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if any predictive effects exist between lunch status, grade point average, Arkansas state mandated accountability exams, and academic achievement measured by the ACT. Although literature supported the predictive effects of grade point average and lunch status on ACT, there was inadequate data to determine which predictor played a more significant role.

A quantitative, regression strategy was used to analyze students’ academic achievement in four southwest Arkansas schools, all belonging to the same educational cooperative. All students in these districts who had taken the ACT during the school years of 2006-2010 and took the Arkansas accountability exams from September of 2006 to May of 2010 comprised the participants for this study. The population for this study included 1,696 students that took the ACT, 4,919 students’ that took state mandated assessments, and 5,867 students’ that had student data records.

Lunch Status, Arkansas End of Course Algebra I scores, Arkansas End of Course Geometry scores, Arkansas End of Course Biology scores, Arkansas Eighth Grade Benchmark Exam, Arkansas End of Level Literacy scores, and overall grade point vii average served as predictor or independent variables. Academic achievement was measured by the ACT composite, ACT mathematics, and ACT science test results. Although the overall model was statistically significant, student lunch status was the least significant predictor, and grade point average had one of the strongest variable correlations. All state mandated testing that were examined in this study showed a highly predictive effect on ACT.

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