Martin, Marilyn Ann (2009-05). The effect of individualized self-paced single-gender classrooms on reading and math scores at the mclennan county challenge academy in Waco, Texas. Doctoral Dissertation.
Thesis
The intent of this study is to determine the effects on the reading and math scores of females segregated into single-gender alternative classrooms that had the benefit of an individualized, self-paced curriculum. The Challenge Academy testing clerk, using the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement in the areas of reading and math, collected data on the students' first and last days of enrollment. Significant main effects for gender, time, educational status, age, and ethnicity were probed using a general linear model of repeated measures. This quantitative model was used because it provided more flexibility to describe the relationship between a dependent variable and a set of independent variables, manipulated one at a time. Comparisons of between-subject effects and within-subject effects were made using a summary ANOVA followed by ad hoc testing when significance was found when there were three factors being tested, such as school age group and ethnicity. Significance was set at 0.025. Of the 500 students enrolled over the seven-year existence of the program, only students who had been pre and post tested were included in this research. After removing students who did not meet the criteria, a sample of 150 students remained. This resulted in small and non-existent cell sample sizes, and adjustments were made to the original intent of the study. The findings observed in this body of research suggest that the gains achieved by males in reading surpassed those of females. Both genders achieved equally in math. A statistical comparison based on gender in special education, school age group, or ethnicity could not be made due to small cell size. Recommendations for further studies include: (1) a study using a larger sample size allowing for greater numbers in each category; (2) longitudinal studies in elementary, middle, and high schools using annual TAKS scores as the data source; (3) a study considering the gender of the instructor; (4) a study comparing high schools whose majority school population represented each of the three ethnic groups; (5) a study of private schools with single-gender populations.
