The relationships among middle school student and staff perceptions of school effectiveness and student achievement

Stakeholders are increasingly dissatisfied with public education in America. Mandated laws demand positive changes in public education. The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) has jostled many public school administrators into seeking ways to effectively increase student achievement and meet adequate yearly progress. This study addressed four research questions about the relationships of effective school variables, as measured by student and staff perceptions, and student achievement in mathematics and reading. Middle school students and staff members completed versions of the More Effective School Surveys and the Duval County School District Climate Surveys. The results of both surveys were correlated with each other and student mathematic and reading achievement scores on standardized test. Results from the More Effective Schools staff surveys yielded one negative statistically significant finding. This finding was surprising and did not seem logical. Results from the Duval County School Climate staff surveys indicated statistically significant correlations between staff responses and mathematic and reading achievement. Both instruments yielded statistically significant correlations between student mathematic and reading achievement. In addition, while results obtained using both instruments yielded no statistically significant correlations between student and staff responses, students and staff members differed in their perceptions of school climate. Although the inferential statistical results of this study were inconclusive, the value of this study is in the descriptive statistics that can be useful to local administrators and provide information to future researchers.