Restructuring Schools because of Low Student Achievement

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

DECLARATION

This dissertation is my own work and is being submitted for educational purpose for the first time. The ideas and research work is my own except where indicated by references in the text and this dissertation has not been submitted for any other degree.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

Despite the federal mandate in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 commonly known as “No Child Left Behind” to restructure a school after it has been identified for program improvement for five years, there is little research that indicates restructuring has been successful. Several policy groups and corporate entities have showcased a handful of “cherry-picked” successful charter and turnaround schools as examples of how restructuring should work. However an analysis of literature on restructured schools does not produce substantial evidence of success. Reformers have had ten years under NCLB to design and implement effective strategies to improve “failing schools.” However, the increasing number of schools falling under the restructuring mandate or failing to exit restructuring demonstrate that draconian requirements like removing administration and staff fall short of producing more equitable education and higher student achievement, as defined by NCLB. The purpose of this project is to determine if contemporary school restructuring demonstrates consistent efficacy and to provide a guide to interventions for improving “failing schools” without the necessity of full restructuring. The researcher gathered and analyzed the API data for restructured schools to identify patterns of change in restructured schools. Data trends indicate that once a school has been identified for program improvement and has implemented corrections because of continued failure to meet all subgroup performance requirements, it will be identified for restructuring. Districts and schools have several choices of how to restructure. Unfortunately even restructuring models that replace the site leader and staff members identified as affecting the AYP, often fail to improve student achievement. This restructuring model automatically defines current administration and staff as unqualified, but typically simply moves them to a different school. Districts need to create communities of engagement, and implement effective leadership and accountability strategies for all schools without generating the programmatic and personal upheaval associated with full restructuring.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Purpose of the Project1

Statement of Purpose2

Definition of Terms2

Rationale3

Limitations3

Significance of the Project3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW4

Background and Laws4

Restructuring Schools7

Effects of restructuring in the literature11

What is the current federal education legislation and how does it mandate corrective action?16

Why is it necessary?22

What are the methods?23

Has restructuring improved student achievement?33

CHAPTER # 3: METHODOLOGY39

Research Design39

Setting39

Population40

Sample40

Data Collection and Analysis40

Limitation41

Analysis of Data41

Student Population41

Student Population Numbers including the Subgroups and ...