THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROJECT RISE IN RAISING ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS OF PUPILS IN MILWAUKEE PUBLIC SCHOOLS INNER-CITY SCHOOLS (WISCONSIN)
Abstract
This study focused upon the problem of determining whether the effective schools correlates, as described in the literature, were directly related to increased pupil academic achievement in the Milwaukee Public Schools' inner-city Project RISE schools. In addition, this study attempted to described the planning process as well as to investigate the relationships thought to be most crucial to the development of effective schools. Teacher perceptions of the emphasis on effective schools correlates (basic skills, administrative leadership, positive school atmosphere, ongoing monitoring and evaluation, and high expectations of pupil achievement) were surveyed in all 18 Project RISE elementary schools. Thirteen of the schools were designated improving and five nonimproving on the basis of reading and mathematics results on the Metropolitan Achievement Test, over a two-year time period. All teachers who had worked in their respective RISE schools for at least two years were included in the survey. A total of 257 of the 413 teachers surveyed responded, for a return rate of 62.2%. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the study data. The major statistical procedure utilized was the t-test for determining the significance between means of independent samples. In addition, factor analysis and synthesis of narrative comments were utilized. All five null hypotheses were rejected, displaying significant differences in favor of the improving schools in teachers' perceptions of the presence of the effective schools correlates. This finding showed a strong positive relationship between the utilization of the correlates and pupil academic achievement. Examination of the individual questionnaire items showed that the results of 44 of the 52 items were significant in favor of the improving schools. These items dealt mainly with RISE teachers' perceptions of attitudes and performance of staff members and pupils. The findings of this study indicate that efficient planning, a sense of project ownership by staff, and a strong emphasis on the utilization of the correlates seem to be serving as the foundation for the apparent success of many Project RISE schools.
This paper has been withdrawn.