University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2010 The Influence Of High School Dramatic Arts Classes On Remedial Readers On The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Michelle Backel University of Central Florida Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.edu This Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact STARS@ucf. STARS Citation Backel, Michelle, "The Influence Of High School Dramatic Arts Classes On Remedial Readers On The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test" (2010).
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019.edu/etd/4250 THE INFLUENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL DRAMATIC ARTS CLASSES ON REMEDIAL READERS ON THE FLORIDA COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT TEST by MICHELLE BACKEL B. Florida State University, 1989 M.T Stetson University, 1991 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Research, Technology and Leadership in the College of Education at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Summer Term 2010 Major Professors: Walter J. Murray ©2010 Michelle Backel ii ABSTRACT This is the age of accountability in public schools. The public wants to know that the schools are producing high achieving students who are ready for the future.
With this push for accountability the rise in standardized testing should not be surprising. However, it is difficult to test an abstract course such as the arts. With the increase of standardized testing and the recent tough economic times, it is no wonder that performing arts classes in our public schools are often the first to be pared down or dissolved (Mendels, 2008). It is the presiding feeling that these courses, while nice and fun for the students, do not offer any tangible, real, or marketable skills.
―…imparting knowledge about the arts typically has not been a priority goal in our nation‘s schools‖ (Ward, 1983, ¶ 2). This study explored the benefits that students can achieve through their participation in the dramatic arts courses including, but not limited to, enhancement of reading and verbal scores. This study was designed to illustrate that the arts are a natural and necessary part of the high school educational experience and can play an instrumental part of learning even in a distressed economy, and/or in a regulated testing arena. Students who were freshmen or sophomores in 2008-2009 and scored a Level 1 or 2 (below average) score on the reading portion of the state test, the FCAT, and were from Orange and Seminole Counties in Florida became the sample set.
These students were disaggregated into categories of students who took a dramatic arts course or not, by gender, by race, and by socioeconomic iii status to determine if participation in a dramatic arts course in high school would help raise a remedial reading score on the required state test. Although the data did not show a statistical significance, it did show a positive trend in a few of the tested areas. Suggestions for why the data appear to show only a trend and not significance are discussed further in Chapter 5. iv I would like to dedicate this work of labor and art to my husband, Rich, and children, Tyler and Alison, who waited patiently for me to finish.
I am now able to play on the boat and join the gym as I promised. Thanks to my friend, Jessica Webb, for the mandatory study sessions and the never ending supply of desserts. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge my family for their unending tolerance of the many late hours and missed family time. My appreciation goes to Dr.
Walter Doherty for his patience and humor. ―Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man‘s growth without destroying his roots‖ said Frank Clark. Doherty, you have nourished so kindheartedly that I will be a much stronger leader from working under your guidance. Barbara Murray, thank you for taking me under your wing.
I am grateful that you stepped in when you did. Elayne Reiss, without your amazing statistical guidance I would be lost in a sea of data. I would be remiss if I did not mention my wonderful committee who consisted of Dr. Martha Lue Stewart, Dr.
Janet McGee, and the invincible and fellow South Carolinian, Dr. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES. x LIST OF TABLES .xi LIST OF ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS. xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.
1 Statement of the Problem. 1 Significance of the Study. 2 Purpose of the Study. 3 Research Questions and Hypotheses.
6 Delimitations of the Study. 7 Limitations of the Study. 8 Definition of Terms. 14 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.
15 Benefits to Students with Low Reading or Verbal Scores on Standardized Testing. 17 Benefits based on gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. 26 Benefits to Attendance Rates. 31 Other benefits of Dramatic Arts courses.
37 vii Dramatic Arts and the Affective Domain. 53 Statement of the Problem. 53 Research Questions and Hypotheses. 60 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF DATA.
61 Definition of Variables. 64 Research Question 1 and Hypothesis. 64 Research Question 2 and Hypothesis. 68 Research Question 3 and Hypothesis.
71 Research Question 4 and Hypothesis. 74 Research Question 5 and Hypothesis. 82 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 83 Summary and Discussion of Findings.
83 Research Question 1 and Hypothesis. 83 Research Question 2 and Hypothesis. 84 Research Question 3 and Hypothesis. 86 Research Question 4 and Hypothesis.
88 Research Question 5 and Hypothesis. 92 Recommendations for Future Research. 94 APPENDIX A: PERMISSION FROM SEMINOLE COUNTY SCHOOLS TO USE FCAT DATA FOR ANALYSIS. 96 APPENDIX B: PERMISSION FROM ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOLS TO USE FCAT DATA.
98 APPENDIX C: UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD CONSENT. 100 LIST OF REFERENCES. 102 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: SAT Verbal score comparison of performing arts students to non performing arts students, 2007. 22 Figure 2: Low Socioeconomic Group: Cumulative Grade Point Average from Florida Art Education Association, 2010.
27 Figure 3: Low Socioeconomic Group: Percentage taking the SAT from Florida Art Education Association, 2010. 28 Figure 4: Percentage of Students Failing to Graduate with Cohort from Florida Art Education Association, 2010. 35 Figure 5: Diagram comparing affective domain vs. Image by Karen Kirk, SERC-Carleton College, 2010.
48 Figure 6: Krathwohl's affective domain. Image by Karen Kirk, SERC-Carleton College, 2010. 49 x LIST OF TABLES Table 1: SDQ-I (Self-Concept, abbreviated S-C) Scores Compared to the Number of Years of In-School Arts. 45 Table 2: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, All Students (N = 15,895).
67 Table 3: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, Female Students (N = 7,643). 69 Table 4: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, Male Students (N = 8,252). 70 Table 5: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, Economically Non-Disadvantaged Students (N = 8,140). 72 Table 6: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, Economically Disadvantaged Students (N = 7,755).
73 Table 7: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, Black (N= 5,447), Hispanic (N= 5,541) and White (N=4003) Students. 75 Table 8: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, Black Students (N = 5,447). 77 Table 9: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, Hispanic Students (N = 5,541). 78 xi Table 10: Counts and Chi-Square Analysis for Dramatic Arts Status and FCAT Performance, White Students (N = 4,003).
79 xii LIST OF ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 1. FCAT: The Florida Department of Education administers the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) to public school students in grades 3 through 11 by the Florida Department of Education. It is designed to measure skills represented in the Sunshine State Standards in reading, mathematics, science and writing. Student progress is reported individually through yearly learning gains.
FRL: Free and Reduced Lunch: (FRL) is defined by the Florida Department of Education as The National School Lunch Program, established in 1946 under the National School Lunch Act, provides free and reduced-price lunches to schoolchildren from economically disadvantaged families. The program operates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in Guam, Puerto Rico, the U. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense schools. Each year, the United States Department of Agriculture (www.gov) publishes income guidelines for program eligibility that factor household income and size in relation to federal poverty guidelines.
In 2009-10, for instance, a student from a four-person household in Florida with annual household income less than $28,665 is eligible for free lunches (Florida Department of Education, 2010). NELS: the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) of 1988 a data set that are referred to in many studies. Socioeconomic Status : (SES) is ―a combined measure of an individual's or family‘s economic and social position relative to others, based on income, education, and occupation. When analyzing a family‘s SES, the mother's and father‘s education and occupation are examined, as well as combined income, versus with an individual, when their own attributes are assessed.
Socioeconomic status is typically broken into three categories, high SES, middle SES, and low SES to describe the three areas a family or an individual may fall into. When placing a family or individual into one of these categories, all variables are assessed. SAT: The Scholastic Aptitude Test is administered by the College Board. ―The SAT is a globally recognized college admission test that lets you show colleges what you know and how well you can apply that knowledge.
It tests your knowledge of reading, writing and math — subjects that are taught every day in high school classrooms. Most students take the SAT during their junior or senior year of high school, and almost all colleges and universities use the SAT to make admission decisions‖ (College Board, 2010). English Language Learners: (ELL) English Language Learners is defined as, "Where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national origin-minority group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must xiv take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open its instructional program to these students" (U. Department of Education, 2010).
xv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ―President Kennedy said that ‗when the dust of centuries has passed over our cities we, too, will be remembered, not for victories or defeats in battles or politics but rather for our contributions to the human spirit.‘ It is this sentiment that motivates us to produce and present the best of the performing arts and to play a major role in educating and enlightening the nation‘s children. We believe these programs play a vital role in supplementing the academic experiences of the young people we reach‖ (Kaiser, 2007, ¶ 2). In tough economic times, performing arts classes in our public schools are often the first to be pared down or dissolved (Mendels, 2008). It is the presiding feeling that these courses, while nice and fun for the students, do not offer any tangible, real, or marketable skills.
―…imparting knowledge about the arts typically has not been a priority goal in our nation‘s schools‖ (Ward, 1983, ¶ 2). This study explored the benefits that students can achieve through their participation in the dramatic arts courses including, but not limited to, enhancement of reading and verbal scores. Statement of the Problem According to No Child Left Behind, the arts are considered a part of the ―core‖ curriculum. However, according to Florida State Law 1008.