Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine how placement, professional development, and the years of experience of special education teachers impacted the standardized test scores of special education students. This was done by comparing the type of placement of students, mainstream (80+% of the day), co-teaching, separate classroom (100%) and resource (40–60% of the day) in the state of Indiana. A survey was sent out to all public and private elementary and middle level special education teachers in the state of Indiana as of Summer 2022. Data were collected from the individuals that responded to the surveys. Teachers responded with their years of experience, the primary means of instruction in their school buildings, and the hours of professional development that general education and special education teachers received on work with special education students. Inferential statistics data were used to determine if there was a significant difference on ELA and Math standardized test scores. Null 1 and 2 were tested using an independent sample t -test to determine if there was a significant difference in the dependent variable among two independent variables with two levels. Null 3 utilized a simple linear regression model to determine if the number of years of experience would predict ILEARN performance. As a result of the data analysis, the nulls were retained, and there was no significant difference found in ELA or Math standardized test scores based on the placement of special education students, professional development provided to teachers, or years of experience in the special education classroom.

Download

Share

COinS