The effectiveness of the balanced calendar in Maury County, Tennessee
Abstract
This study examined the effectiveness of the balanced calendar in Maury County, Tennessee, in regard to improved standardized achievement test scores, improved student attendance, and the opinions and perceptions of the balanced calendar by elementary school teachers. The Balanced Calendar is a form of Year-Round Education and was adopted by the Maury County School Board for students in grades K-12 beginning with the school year 2003-2004. Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program scores (N = 7,488) were obtained from the State of Tennessee website and consisted of sixth grade students (N = 695) with a 3-year record of scores. Attendance records for the nine elementary schools were obtained from the Maury County Attendance Office for the same 3-year period as test scores. A survey was conducted with full time elementary school teachers (N = 333) in nine elementary schools. Two hundred forty-nine teachers responded to 18 items on a Likert scale that were associated with benefits of the balanced calendar. A repeated measure ANOVA was used to quantify the improvement of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program scores and to analyze the 3-year attendance record for elementary school students. The frequency procedure was used to categorize the summary statistics such as mean and standard deviation upon collection of the survey data. Questions in the survey were analyzed using the T-test. The results of the study were used to determine if the balanced calendar had been effective in Maury County, Tennessee. Findings were as follows: (a) There were statistically significant differences found in reading/language arts, math, science, and social studies areas on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program standardized test. (b) There were no significant differences in attendance records over the 3-year period. (c) Respondents (N = 95.2) to the survey supported the balanced calendar implementation.
Subject Area
Educational administration|Educational tests & measurements|Educational evaluation
Recommended Citation
Melinda Warren Marks,
"The effectiveness of the balanced calendar in Maury County, Tennessee"
(2006).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3211916.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3211916