Comparing credit recovery among special education and general education high school students participating in the E2020 program

The objective of this study was to determine the differences that existed in the accumulation of credits by general and special education students who participated in the E2020 program. A secondary objective of this study was to determine teacher-facilitators' perceptions of the implementation of the program and possible areas for improvement. The design of the study was causal-comparative. The researcher made comparisons between the number of credits earned by members of two pre-established groups, general and special education students. The researcher used cross-sectional survey research to investigate teacher-facilitator perceptions of the E2020 program. The researcher collected data from the administrative tools in the E2020 program and the Web-based grade-book program for the 2009--2010 school year and the fall semester of the 2010--2011 school year to determine the number of credits eligible students earned in all three semesters. The researcher made comparisons between the number of credits earned by special education students in the general education, Back on Track (BOT), and small group settings. Surveys were distributed to teacher-facilitators, and data were collected at the end of the 2010--2011 fall semester. Once participants returned the surveys, the researcher tabulated responses and reported percentages for each item. For free-response items, the researcher coded answers to determine the percentage of responses. No significant difference was found in the number of credits earned among general and special education students taking math E2020 courses. However, a significant difference was found in the number of credits earned among special education students when compared to general education students taking non-math E2020 courses. Special education students earned more credits than general education students when enrolled in non-math courses. Special education students earned more credits when placed in a small group special education setting/BOT setting to work on a course. They exhibited a significant difference in the number of credits earned when compared to special education students in all other settings. Teacher-facilitator's perceptions were predominantly positive about the E2020 program's implementation. Although they had an overall positive view of the program, teachers would like more training and offered several suggestions for improvement of the implementation of the E2020 program.