Short-term memory, associative learning and reading achievement of two groups of college freshmen

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Authors
Johnson, Jane Lewis, 1949-
Advisor
Harshbarger, Mary E.
Issue Date
1977
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Thesis (D. Ed.)
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the reading and mathematics achievement scores as measured by standardized achievement tests of seventh grade students participating in block time scheduling compared to the achievement scores of students enrolled in traditional scheduling in two junior high schools of the Fort Wayne Community School Corporation.Seventh grade students in two junior high schools in the Fort Wayne Community School Corporation in 197-5-76 were the population for the study. There were 219 seventh grade students enrolled in the control school. Students in the control school were scheduled into traditional fifty-five minute class periods with one teacher assigned to teach each subject. There were 241 seventh grade students enrolled in the experimental school. Students in the experimental school were enrolled in a block time schedule with four classes and an interdisciplinary team of four teachers scheduled into a three-hour block of time. Reading, English, social studies, and mathematics were the subject areas included within the three-hour block of time.The overall reading and mathematics achievement of students enrolled in the traditional and block time schedules was compared. Subgroups based on sex, mental ratings, and combinations of these three groups were also identified to further make comparisons between students enrolled in the two schedules.The California Reading Test, Junior High Level, Form W., and the mathematics section of the California Achievement Test, Level 4, Form A were the standardized tests used in the study. Pretests and post-tests in reading and mathematics were administered to students. The difference between the pretest and post-test grade equivalent scores in both reading and mathematics was computed for each student. The mean scores of these differences were used to compare the achievement of students in the traditional and block time schedules.Forty null hypotheses were developed to test the relationship in the reading and mathematics achievement of students enrolled in the two schedules. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was the set of computer programs used to perform the statistical analysis of the data. The t-test with a .10 significance level was used to analyze the data.Based on the difference in the mean reading achievement scores on a standardized test, students enrolled in the traditional schedule achieved better than students enrolled in a block time schedule. There was no significant difference in the reading achievement of the subgroups that included students with above average mental ratings and white male students with average mental ratings. The reading achievement scores of the other subgroups favored students enrolled in the traditional schedule.Based on the difference in the mean mathematics achievement scores on a standardized test, students enrolled in a block time schedule achieved as well as students enrolled in a traditional schedule. The mathematics achievement of subgroups that included the total group of black students and white female students with average mental ratings was better for students in the traditional schedule than for students in the block time schedule. There was no difference in the mathematics achievement of students enrolled in the two schedules when the other subgroups were compared.