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A Study of Elementary Student Course Completion and Achievement in Virtual and Traditional Format Courses within the Volusia County School District

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Date Issued:
2013
Abstract/Description:
The focus of this research study was to determine how elementary students enrolled in virtual education classes performed on state assessments and final report card grades in Reading and Mathematics as compared with students enrolled in traditional classes, and to examine whether there was a difference in the successful course completion rates between the two groups. Five research questions guided this study concerning the relationship of successful course completion, final grades, and FCAT 2.0 achievement level scores and the variables of virtual and traditional education in the School District of Volusia County. This study is significant, as the movement of virtual learning is driven by economic factors and learning outcomes need to be considered in making instructional delivery decisions.Chi-square analysis suggested no statistical significant difference existed in either Reading or Mathematics successful course completion of students in virtual and traditional settings. Chi-square analyses and a one-sample t-test suggested there was no statistical significant difference in performance of virtual and traditional students on FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics achievement levels. Although the Chi-square analyses showed no statistical significance in performance of virtual and traditional students on final report card grades in Reading and Mathematics, the one-sample t-tests suggested there was a statistically significant difference. When interpreting these results, caution should be taken as the virtual student population was extremely disproportionate to the traditional student population. Implications for practice and recommendations for future study are suggested in this study.
Title: A Study of Elementary Student Course Completion and Achievement in Virtual and Traditional Format Courses within the Volusia County School District.
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Name(s): Garzia, Janet, Author
Murray, Kenneth, Committee Chair
Doherty, Walter, Committee Member
Baldwin, Gordon, Committee Member
Murray, Barbara, Committee Member
Kennedy, Mary, Committee Member
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2013
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: The focus of this research study was to determine how elementary students enrolled in virtual education classes performed on state assessments and final report card grades in Reading and Mathematics as compared with students enrolled in traditional classes, and to examine whether there was a difference in the successful course completion rates between the two groups. Five research questions guided this study concerning the relationship of successful course completion, final grades, and FCAT 2.0 achievement level scores and the variables of virtual and traditional education in the School District of Volusia County. This study is significant, as the movement of virtual learning is driven by economic factors and learning outcomes need to be considered in making instructional delivery decisions.Chi-square analysis suggested no statistical significant difference existed in either Reading or Mathematics successful course completion of students in virtual and traditional settings. Chi-square analyses and a one-sample t-test suggested there was no statistical significant difference in performance of virtual and traditional students on FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics achievement levels. Although the Chi-square analyses showed no statistical significance in performance of virtual and traditional students on final report card grades in Reading and Mathematics, the one-sample t-tests suggested there was a statistically significant difference. When interpreting these results, caution should be taken as the virtual student population was extremely disproportionate to the traditional student population. Implications for practice and recommendations for future study are suggested in this study.
Identifier: CFE0004848 (IID), ucf:49713 (fedora)
Note(s): 2013-08-01
Ed.D.
Education, Teaching, Learning and Leadership
Doctoral
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): virtual education -- online learning -- successful course completion -- student achievement
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004848
Restrictions on Access: public 2013-08-15
Host Institution: UCF

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