Total school cluster grouping model: An investigation of student achievement and identification and teachers' classroom practices

Jillian C Gates, Purdue University

Abstract

This study involved the investigation of the effects of the Total Cluster Grouping Model on the achievement and identification of urban, elementary students and to learn about the classroom practices of and perceptions classroom teachers had of their students’ ability levels over the course of the study. Proportionality of representation in clusters by ethnicity and socio-economic status was also investigated. Students from graduation years 2014 through 2017 were followed for three years from second through sixth grade. Achievement test scores in reading and mathematics were collected to assess changes in achievement between the treatment and comparison schools. Scores were analyzed by socio-economic status and ethnicity to evaluate whether this was a factor in achievement. Teachers of high-achieving clusters and other clusters were interviewed to assess their practice and perceptions of their students’ ability. Students in the treatment school outperformed their comparison peers in both reading and mathematics by a small margin. Ethnicity and socio-economic status were not factors in student achievement, but were an issue when proportionality was investigated. However, the longer the students were in the program the less likely proportionality was an issue. Teacher practices influenced the overall success of model implementation. High-achieving cluster teachers were the only teachers who received professional development in gifted education pedagogy. These teachers did not feel that the TSCG influenced their use of differentiation, but did make some changes in their practice. Other cluster teachers believed that the TSCG model enabled them to identify those who needed remediation and aided in the cross-grade grouping that occurred in reading. Identification became an issue during the study as high-achieving teachers believed that students were erroneously identified as high- achieving. This resulted in a change in the identification process, which in turn may have influenced the final wave of achievement score.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Gentry, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Gifted Education|Instructional Design|Pedagogy|Special education

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