State University Systems look to increase success as part of accountability to stakeholders, while at the same time competing for a decreasing college age population and declining annual state appropriations. Research has been limited on State University Systems and the examination of the institutional characteristics and their ability to assist…

Within a challenging environment of financial hardships and budget cuts, higher education institutions have been struggling to maintain the balance between quality and productivity using the available resources while answering to calls for more accountability and proof of effective and efficient institutional performance. This study explored the…

The NACDA Directors' Cup is a competition utilizing an unbiased scoring system that encourages a broad based athletic department as the standard for defining intercollegiate athletic success. Therefore, for NCAA DI athletic administrators the Directors' Cup should be the standard for defining intercollegiate athletic success. The purpose of this…

Education is pivotal to a better life for many individuals. Unfortunately, a large number of adolescents in poverty fail to complete high school; thereby limiting their opportunities for better employment options. However, there are adolescents who live in poverty and successfully complete high school, despite the adversities. This study, using…

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which teachers' academic and professional characteristics predict their classroom effectiveness, as measured by value-added indicators of their students' growth. Teachers' college transcripts, service records, and district records of classroom assignments are used to examine undergraduate…

This study explained Academic Progress Rate (APR) levels and differences in APR (DAPR) with team and institutional variables. Team variables included team gender, sport profile, and squad size. Institutional variables included individual variables aggregated to the institutional level. The data analyzed in this study was derived from the National…

Legislators have implemented an accountability system in an effort to increase school quality for all students. Policymakers assume that rewards and sanctions, based on results from high-stakes testing, can improve student achievement. The accountability system does not consider environmental factors that impact student outcomes. This study…

The purpose of the study was to compare the relationship between grade eight English language proficiency as measured by the ACCESS for ELL's assessment (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for English Language Learners) and achievement test outcomes on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, a state mandated…

The purpose of the study was to determine if there are differences among building administrators, guidance counselors, and special education directors on a perceived level of implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) at the secondary level. The study also examined whether or not RTI serves as a predictor of students identified in special…

The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to determine if and to what extent a difference existed in the percentage of African American students, percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and students' attendance rate in elementary schools that made adequate yearly progress (AYP) and those that did not make AYP in one…

This mixed-methods research examined the relationships between burnout, as measured by the Counselor Burnout Inventory (CBI), demographic and organizational variables as indicated by literature, and the assignment of non-counseling duties, as measured by the School Counselors Activity Rating Scale (SCARS) with a national sample of professional…

Based on current research and seminal theories on learning, quality, and academic persistence, this study sought to establish the core components of academic quality in higher education and to determine if these components can be used to predict students' intention to persist. This study also looked at differences between traditionally aged…

The growing attention given to intercollegiate athletics in recent years amid ongoing controversies highlights the importance of closely examining the implementation and impact of sports policy on college campuses. In an attempt to improve the academic performance and retention of student-athletes, the Academic Progress Rate (APR) was implemented…

The purpose of this research was to quantitatively examine the relationships among various school-level factors (school socioeconomic status, school size, average class size, and teacher effectiveness) and to determine which school-level factors predict Latino academic achievement and Adequate Yearly Progress. Measuring teacher effectiveness is at…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of demographic (indicators describing student characteristics), structural (indicators describing school characteristics), student (indicators of student academic achievement), and financial (indicators of instructional expenditures) factors to student mathematics achievement. A sample (n…