The effect of Tennessee's Gateway examinations on high school graduation rate
Abstract
This study examined to what degree there was a statistically significant difference in the type of diploma earned by students in a rural school district in northern middle Tennessee before and after the implementation of Gateway exams, the required graduation tests for Tennessee's high school students. Demographic information was collected and disaggregated of the students' gender, race, ELL (English Language Learner status), and special education status. The null hypotheses were treated with the Chi-Square Analyses to determine whether they should be retained or rejected. The data was collected and coded as categorical. Chi-Square Analyses was selected to make comparisons between two or more samples using categorical variables. The .05 level of significance is the most widely accepted value by researchers to determine a statistically significant outcome. The analysis of the data indicated no statistically significant difference in type of diploma earned based on gender, ethnicity, ELL status, and special education students in the school years 1999 and 2000, prior to Gateway, compared to 2005 and 2006, two most recent years after the implementation of Gateway exams. Therefore, the null hypotheses were accepted because the p -value <.05 was less than the level of significance indicated by the Chi-Square Analyses. The data indicated a statistically significant difference (p = .046) in an increase of regular diplomas earned by regular education students in 2005 and 2006 compared to 1999 and 2000. Of the four high schools in the study, School C indicated a statistically significant difference (p = .008) in type of diplomas earned by students in 2005 and 2006 compared to 1999 and 2000. The null hypothesis for school C was rejected based on the level of significance.
Subject Area
Educational tests & measurements|Educational administration|Secondary education
Recommended Citation
Kathryn E Osborne,
"The effect of Tennessee's Gateway examinations on high school graduation rate"
(2008).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3307990.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3307990