Effects of School Restructuring on the Achievement and Engagement of Middle-grade Students

Abstract

This study examined the impact of attending restructured schools on the achievement and engagement of young adolescents. The restructuring movement is placed within the conceptual framework that favors the development of more communally organized schools, as opposed to the largely bureaucratic model of most American schools. Using a subsample of data from the base year of the National Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), including 8,845 eighth graders in 377 public, Catholic, and independent middle-grade schools, the effects of school restructuring on student achievement, engagement with academic work, and the extent of at-risk behaviors are examined. The construct of restructuring is captured as less departmentalization, more heterogeneous grouping, rlre team teaching, and a composite index of restructuring. The study makes use of multilevel analytic models and includes statistical controls for characteristics of students and schools. Findings indicate that restructuring has modest but positive effects on both achievement and engagement and contributes to a more equitable distribution of these outcomes among students from different social backgrounds. Students attending schools with fewer eighth-grade peers also demonstrate more academic engagement and a more equitable distribution of achievement. Eight tables and 18 technical notes are included. Appendices include tables of hierarchical linear models. (98 references) (LMI) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

The Intersection between 1:1 Laptop Implementation and the Characteristics of Effective Middle Level Schools

“…Students in schools demonstrating fidelity to the middle school concept, for example, were found to academically outperform and exhibit fewer behavior problems than their peers in schools not implementing the middle school concept (Felner et al, 1997). Lee and Smith (1993) also found certain aspects of the middle school concept to be positively associated with students' academic achievement and engagement, and the Center for Prevention Research and Development's research suggested that implementing the middle school concept could positively impact student achievement (Mertens & Flowers, 2006;Mertens, Flowers, & Mulhall, 2002).…”

Quantitative Methods for Studying Social Context in Multilevels and through Interpersonal Relations

“…25-31, for a discussion of centering). Simi larly, ß 1; captures the unique relationship between socioeconomic status and gain in achievement in school/ Socioeconomic status, affecting the child's context in the home, has consistently been shown to affect outcomes associated with school ing such as students' aspirations, interest in school, and achievement (Apple, 1979;Bowles & Gintis, 1976;Eder, 1981;Gamoran, 1996;Hollingshead, 1949;Lee & Bryk, 1989;Lee & Smith, 1993). Finally, the student-level model includes a unique error term for student i in school j, r ip indicating that each student's gain in achievement will not be perfectly predicted by the regression equation in his or her school.…”

“…Coming from the student level, students' characteristics are formed on the basis of their interactions with others and their backgrounds (Apple, 1979;Bowles & Gintis, 1976;Eder, 1981;Gamoran, 1996;Hollingshead, 1949;Lee & Bryk, 1989;Lee & Smith, 1993). Much of the effect of background, such as that associated with socioeconomic status, can be considered an institutionalized aspect of the student's culture.…”

Assessing Behavioral Engagement in Flipped and Non-Flipped Mathematics Classrooms: Teacher Abilities and Other Potential Factors

“…There is growing evidence that student engagement, a multi-dimensional construct that Astin (1984, p. 297) defines as "total amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience," is directly related to student achievement (Carini, Kuh, & Klein, 2006;Furlong & Christenson, 2008;Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016;Lee & Smith, 1993;Willingham, Pollack, & Lewis, 2002). It is for that reason that student engagement is, itself, becoming an objective of classroom instruction.…”