Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2006

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Robert Boyd

Second Advisor

Gregory Ulm

Third Advisor

Steve Yager

Abstract

As school districts across our nation are making changes in curriculum and instruction to comply with the mandates of No Child Left Behind (No Child Left Behind, 2002), new reports to parents about student achievement are emerging. These reports are standards-based and clearly communicate to stakeholders what the student knows and is able to do based on the state standards. This qualitative case study, analyzing data collected in the 2005-2006 school year, describes principals', teachers', and parents' beliefs about the use of a standards-based report card. Through the use of individual interviews, insight was gained about the views and opinions of stakeholders' on a standards-based reporting system that was begun in the district's two elementary schools in the 2004-2005 school year. Some themes that emerged from the data concerning teachers were the difficulty of changing to a standards-based report card and confusion with a new number system of grading. In addition, changing to a standards-based report card stimulated a change in classroom instruction by teachers becoming more focused on standards and developing a deeper understanding of students' strengths and weaknesses. Also, parents in the district had difficulty understanding the concept of a standards-based reporting system. Finally, there was concern from all stakeholders about the standards-based report card not being used district wide.

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