Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference over time on standardized test scores for reading and math between fourth grade students attending Title I and Non-Title I schools in three select school systems within District 8 of North Alabama. In an effort to determine if Title I schools are successfully closing the achievement gap of Title I and Non-Title I schools, a quantitative and ex-post facto design was used to analyze the data. The study was limited to the aggregated longitudinal school data of fourth grade students on the Alabama Reading and Math Test (ARMT). Data used were collected from the Alabama State Department of Education. A Repeated Measures Analysis was conducted to gain an understanding of the effects federal Title I funding has on the achievement of low socioeconomic status students. The independent variable was the type of school the student attended (Title I School vs. Non-Title I School), and the repeated measure over time was the years that these students were tested (2004, 2008, and 2012). Gender and ethnicity were controlled variables. Dependent variables were math and reading achievement. Elementary schools served as the unit of analysis for the study. The results of the study revealed that during the years of 2004, 2008, and 2012, students who attended Non-Title I schools performed at a higher achievement level then their Title I peers. However, Title I schools decreased the achievement gap over time. White students had the highest performance in each year studied. Black students had the lowest performance in each year studied; however, of all the groups studied, Black students had the sharpest increase in performance between 2008 and 2012. While the performance for both Whites and Blacks improved over time, Whites outperformed Blacks in every year studied. In fact, Whites were the highest performing subgroup and Blacks were the lowest performing subgroup. Similarly, Whites outperformed Blacks regardless of the type of school they attended. Female students outperformed their male counterparts in all areas. Females outperformed males in every year studied regardless of the type of school they attended.
