Educator perceptions: The relationship between student achievement, professional development, and instructional practices in a suburban secondary mathematics program

The United States has determined that there is an urgent need for an increase in student achievement in the area of mathematics. This grounded theory case study began with a conversation considering the fluctuating scores on the Pennsylvania System of State Assessment (PSSA) mathematics test for eleventh grade students within an eastern Pennsylvania suburban school district. The results of this study included the identification of three concepts; collaboration, assessments, and time management as critical links to the complex relationships between student achievement, professional development, and instructional practices through the perceptions of educators. Information was gathered through content analysis, surveys, interviews, and focus groups and was triangulated through a two-level triangulation process. Level one, the analysis of documents, interviews, and focus group discussions, uncovered the educational practices that were intended to be utilized within the secondary mathematics program while level two, the analysis of surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions uncovered the educational practices that were implemented within the school district. The results of this study will assist this eastern Pennsylvania suburban school district as they consider the issues and engage in continued conversation and sustainable change associated with successful reform in secondary mathematics education.