The effect of Student Response System on student academic achievement in mathematics

Abstract

Too often, low socioeconomic school districts are associated with low performing students. The NCLB Act of 2001 dictates closure of the achievement gap by year 2014. Twenty-first century education must include instructional practices that use technology to enhance student learning. The non-experimental quantitative causal-comparative research study examined archival data from a Northwestern Arizona school district which included two dependent variables—the spring AIMS assessment and the spring ATI assessment. The statistical analysis used descriptive statistics to determine the effect of SRS on student academic achievement in mathematics. The data derived from 7th and 8th grade students to examine the ratio of the students’ scores in the highest category named Above, that included students’ scores which performed in the higher performance scale ranges on both assessments comparing the ratio of students’ scores in the Below category, that included students’ scores which performed in the lowest performance ranges on both assessments. Since the school district did not purchase the SRS technology until the 2010-2011 school year, the archival data from 2010 spring tests when students did not utilize SRS in the classroom was compared to the archival data from 2011 spring tests when students utilized SRS in the classroom environment. The data was compared horizontally from one year to the other: 7th grade to 7th grade and 8th grade to 8th grade on each test. In addition, the data was compared vertically from one year to the other: 7th grade to 8th grade on each test. The results of the research study can be used and replicated to help close the achievement gap.