The influences of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation on student achievement in Tennessee elementary and middle schools
Abstract
The present study investigated the influences of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation on student achievement. The purpose was to provide a current analysis of SACS in selected Tennessee schools and to provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of being accredited. The sample was a list of all Tennessee schools and a list of SACS accredited schools. The two lists were compared to derive a list of non-SACS accredited schools. The control group was comprised of seventy-five randomly selected schools that were not SACS accredited. The treatment group was comprised of seventy-five randomly selected schools that were SACS accredited as of the 2003–04 school year. Six hypotheses were tested. Hypotheses three and five were tested using unpaired t-tests. Hypotheses one, two and four were tested using the Mann-Whitney test. Hypotheses number six was tested using a two-way ANOVA. In the first four hypotheses, data revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in student achievement in language arts, mathematics, science and social studies from SACS accredited schools compared to non-SACS accredited schools. Data from hypothesis number five demonstrated that there was no statistically significant differences in achievement of SACS accredited Title I schools compared to non-SACS accredited Title I schools. The test from hypothesis number six revealed that there were no statistically significant differences on achievement from SACS accredited schools in the various minority categories compared to non-SACS accredited schools in the various minority categories. These results suggest that SACS accreditation has a limited influence on student achievement.
Subject Area
School administration|Elementary education|Secondary education
Recommended Citation
Talitha L Willard,
"The influences of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation on student achievement in Tennessee elementary and middle schools"
(2005).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3187603.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3187603