Date of Award

1-1-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education

First Advisor

Kent Seidel, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Douglas Allen

Third Advisor

Susan Korach

Fourth Advisor

Maggie Lopez

Keywords

Achievement via individual determination, AVID, Colorado State Assessment Program, Mathematics, Middle School, Achievement, Individual determination

Abstract

Improving student achievement in mathematics in secondary schools remains a priority for public education in our country. With continued federal and state mandates to improve overall student achievement in mathematics, as well as to close the achievement gap, many school districts have sought programs, such as Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), to assist in improving student performance. The mission of AVID is to improve the academic achievement of students who are often in the "middle" or "average" and who are typically minorities and are economically disadvantaged. AVID seeks to support these students by providing them with the strategies that successful students often use, including honing their understanding of writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading, and developing techniques to improve their organization and critical thinking skills, so they stand a greater chance of entrance into a four-year college or university upon graduation from high school.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the impact of the AVID program on seventh and eighth grade student achievement in mathematics as measured by the Colorado State Assessment Program (CSAP). This study, conducted in a middle class suburban middle school of a large school district, compared matched pairs of AVID elective students, AVID team students, and non-AVID students from their 2008 overall CSAP results in mathematics and in the sub-content areas of number sense and geometry with their 2009 overall CSAP results in mathematics and in the sub-content areas of number sense and geometry.

The results of this study were mixed. Students who participated in the AVID elective class showed statistically significant improvement in their mathematical achievement as measured by CSAP; however, no significance was found when comparing student achievement of AVID elective students with AVID team students or non-AVID students. The AVID program, therefore, may have an overall positive impact on student achievement for those students who are able to participate in classes with AVID trained teachers.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

David J. Peak

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

101 p.

Discipline

Curriculum development

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