Student Achievement in High Poverty Schools

An atmosphere of accountability and standardization
exists within public schools in the United States.
The politically powerful have created a schooling
environment where curriculum, pedagogy and assessment
are exceedingly homogeneous. The logic that
underpins this movement is framed in rhetoric that
acknowledges that many children have been
historically left behind within public education.
The intent of this research project was to analyze
achievement tests results from schools located in
high poverty communities. The first goal was to
quantify the number of high poverty schools that
found success on achievement tests. The second
purpose was to develop a grounded theory that offered
insights as to how success was attained. A third, and
equally important focus of this research was to
better understand how teachers and principals
interpreted student success on achievement tests.
What did success on achievement tests mean for
students and their opportunity to realize the
American Dream? By utilizing social theory to ground
this research, the intent was to offer insights into
social phenomena related to democracy, social justice
and student learning.

Autorentext
Professor at Miami University, Ohio. ursocj@muohio.edu

Klappentext
An atmosphere of accountability and standardization exists within public schools in the United States. The politically powerful have created a schooling environment where curriculum, pedagogy and assessment are exceedingly homogeneous. The logic that underpins this movement is framed in rhetoric that acknowledges that many children have been historically left behind within public education. The intent of this research project was to analyze achievement tests results from schools located in high poverty communities. The first goal was to quantify the number of high poverty schools that found success on achievement tests. The second purpose was to develop a grounded theory that offered insights as to how success was attained. A third, and equally important focus of this research was to better understand how teachers and principals interpreted student success on achievement tests. What did success on achievement tests mean for students and their opportunity to realize the American Dream? By utilizing social theory to ground this research, the intent was to offer insights into social phenomena related to democracy, social justice and student learning.