Teacher Factors and Student Achievement as Measured by the ACT Assessment and Subsequent Teacher Perceptions of Those Factors

• Main Author: Weaver, Jessica
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2019
• Subjects: Educator Experience; Professional Development; Performance Factors; School Improvement; School Reform; Student Performance; Teacher Education; Educational Leadership
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3540; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5002&context=etd

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate educator factors that have an impact on student achievement and overall school performance as indicated in the American College Test (ACT) scores from the district and the individual schools. Educators from a moderate-sized public school district participated in an anonymous online survey. According to the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) Report Card, the district ACT composite is a 20.1 (TDOE, 2018e). Two of the district’s schools’ results are higher than the district composite, while the other five are consistent with or below the district composite. Participants of this study shared their number of years of experience, amount of professional development, and education level obtained, as well as their perceptions of these factors. All data were collected through an online survey distributed to 9th-12th teachers by email from school principals. The analysis of data was based on the responses of 67 teachers from this school district. For this study, non-experimental quantitative research was used with a comparative and correlational design. As indicated in the findings of this study, teacher experience, teacher professional development hours, teacher education level, and teachers’ perceptions of these factors did not play a significant role on student performance on nationally standardized tests, specifically the ACT.