Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Tolbert, Linda B.
Author's Email Address	Lbrous4@lsu.edu
URN	etd-0123103-194128
Title	The Impact of Louisiana's School and District Accountability System on Students' Performance on the State Mandated Criterion Referenced Test
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department	Educational Leadership, Research and Counseling
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Eugene Kennedy Committee Chair Earl Cheek Committee Member Janice Hinson Committee Member Louis Harrison, Jr. Committee Member David Culbert Dean's Representative
Keywords	elementary schools at risk accountability
Date of Defense	2002-11-05
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This study is aimed at determining the impact of Louisiana’s School and District Accountability System on students’ performance on the state mandated criterion-referenced test (LEAP 21). The study was designed to determine the extent to which teachers in Title I schools in a large urban district in southwest Louisiana have turned to instructionally unsound practices in response to a high-stakes accountability system. The specific objectives addressed in this study were to: 1) Explore if test scores have changed beyond what would be expected given the cohort design of the accountability model. 2) Explore if test scores have changed and determine why? 3) Determine where there has been improved learning and identify those practices teachers use to obtain the positive results. For the qualitative analyses, data were collected from interviews, surveys and observations with 4th grade teachers and principals in the selected school district. Specifically, this study attempted to determine if a measurable increase in student performance on the state-mandated test in grade 4 and determine to what sources the positive change could be attributed. The results of this study indicated that Louisiana’s accountability system has impacted each Title I school in various ways. There was not only a variation in how these schools perceived accountability, but also a variation in the perceptions of teachers and principals with regard to strategies that are being used to prepare students for high stakes testing.
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