Analysis of Factors Significant to Vocational Student MCAS Performance

1
Analysis of Factors Significant to Vocational
Student MCAS Performance

• Sponsor Senator Robert Antonioni
• Liaison Sylvia Smith
• Team Members
• Bonnie Jean Boettcher, Jessica Fayard, and
  Giancarlo Vivenzio

2
Goals for the Project

• Assess the MCAS scores from 1998 to 2000 for
  vocational schools
• Identify factors that influence vocational
  student MCAS performance
• Propose improvement techniques for student
  performance
• Suggest topics for further research

3
 
   
4
Presentation Outline

• Background research done prior to the beginning
  of the project
• Methods used for data collection and analysis
• Results obtained from vocational school research
• Analysis of the results
• Conclusions for the project, recommendations for
  further research

5
Vocational Schools

• Mission of Vocational Schools
• Categories of Vocational Schools
• Regional, Agricultural, City Town, and Charter
• Structure of Vocational Schools

6
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

• Formation of MCAS
• Education Reform Act of 1993
• Core Concepts and Curriculum Frameworks
• Academic Subjects and Grades Tested
• Question Categories
• Scoring Scale
• 200 Lowest Possible Score
• 220 Passing
• 280 Highest Possible Score

7
Research and Analysis Methodology

• Analysis of the MCAS Scores for 1998, 1999, and
  2000
• Analysis of 43 vocational and comprehensive
  school scores
• Vocational trends separated by subject and year
• Comparison between vocational and comprehensive
  high school average scores

8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Research and Analysis Methodology

• Identification of Factors Significant to MCAS
  Performance for Vocational Students
• Statistical Analysis for 26 Regional Vocational
  Schools
• Visit to Assabet Valley Regional Vocational
• Phone Interviews of Superintendents

11
Regional Vocational Districts
12
Statistical Analysis

• Analysis completed with twenty-six regional
  vocational schools
• Economic Factors
• teacher salaries, free lunch eligibility, and per
  pupil expenditures.
• Demographic Factor
• minority student populations
• Educational Factors
• student to teacher ratio, post graduation plans
  for students.

13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
Interviews

• Visit to Assabet Valley Regional Vocational High
  School
• Superintendent Eugene Carlo
• Phone Interviews with Superintendents
• Eleven out of Twenty-six
• Interview with David Cronin, Executive Director
  of the Massachusetts Association of Vocational
  Administrators

17
Factors Discovered through Interviews

• Student Learning Styles
• Vocational students are practical learners
• Very effective and efficient when matched with a
  vocational school learning environment
• Students who elect to enter the work force after
  graduation have extremely high marketability
• Job placement rate is 95-100

18
Factors Discovered through Interviews

• Time on Learning
• State requirement for time in class per year is
  990 hours
• Comprehensive schools 990-1000 hours
• Vocational schools 1000-1080 hours
• 540 hours on Academic study
• 540 hours on Vocational study
• Students are coming to vocational schools very
  far behind academically
• English Language Arts 2 ½ - 5 years behind

19
Recommendations for Performance Improvement

• Improvement of reporting time of scores to
  schools
• Schools should align their curricula to the
  curriculum frameworks
• Reading incentive programs
• Preparing students to use abstract approaches to
  problems rather than practical

20
Recommendations for Further Research

• Compare English curricula of vocational to
  comprehensive schools
• Examine the exam format further to determine what
  type of learning and thought processes the MCAS
  questions target
• Track vocational students from 4th to 10th grade

21
4th Grade MCAS Scores 2000
22
The MCAS team would like to thank the following
people

• Senator Robert Antonioni, sponsor of the
  project, and liaison Sylvia Smith for being so
  helpful throughout the project,
• Fabio Carrera and James Hanlan, project
  advisors, for guiding us through the project,
• Sam Rothman, contact at the Massachusetts
  Department of Education, for providing useful
  research information from the Department of
  Education

23
We are happy to answer any questions you have at
this time