Graduate Program

School Psychology

Degree Name

Specialist in School Psychology

Semester of Degree Completion

2007

Thesis Director

Assege HaileMariam

Thesis Committee Member

Ronan Bernas

Thesis Committee Member

Mike Havey

Abstract

Little is known about how a modified school calendar influences student achievement in reading. The present study investigated how students performed on the ISAT reading test after the district switched to a year-round calendar when compared to scores when the district was using a traditional school calendar. In other words, this longitudinal study attempted to answer if performance on the ISAT is related to the type of calendar, gender, grade level, and receiving special education services. Participants were 900 students in the third and eighth grades of one Illinois school district that transitioned from traditional school calendar to Year Round Education in 2000-2001 academic year. A four-way analysis of variance was conducted on ISAT Reading Scale Scores. Type of calendar, student's grade level, gender, and IEP status were used as the predictors, and results indicated that there were no significant four-way or three-way interactions. The theory that YRE increases student achievement was not supported by the results of this study. Longitudinally, only the two-way interaction of grade and IEP status was found to be significant, indicating students with an IEP in third grade scored higher than students with an IEP in eighth grade. However, students with no IEP in third grade had reading scores that were comparable with non-IEP students in the eighth grade, maintaining their reading skills over time. Results from the present study add to the growing research literature that suggests that placement in special education results in a growing gap in student reading achievement. Regardless of placement, regular or special education, the primary implication of this study is that currently there is no strong support for YRE for improving student achievement in reading; and it may be prudent for schools to invest in strategies that have research support for increasing student achievement.

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