| Scope of study. The purpose of this study was to investigate variables which are perceived to have an effect on the outcome of student performance on standardized tests. The specific focus of this study was on principals' perceptions of those variables which most affect student performance on the Metropolitan Achievement Test 6th Addition (MAT-6).;The population selected for this study consisted of all building principals of the 3A, 4A, and 5A high schools in the State of Oklahoma. These included the 128 largest high schools in the state.;Findings and conclusions. Principals from each group differed in opinion on the 30-question survey which included 7 demographic questions and 23 factors which had been known to affect student achievement test scores according to the literature. The demographic data indicated that schools located in suburban settings with the highest levels of per capita income per family reported the highest MAT-6 scores. Principals were asked to respond to the other 23 items using a Likert-type response. Principals perceived that parents' education level, economic status of the community, principal/teacher awareness of and sensitivity to achievement test scores, and whether parents had white-collar occupations were factors that "frequently" or "always" resulted in students having higher scores on the MAT-6. On the other end of the continuum, principals perceived that principals using an autocratic style of leadership, having a larger school, having new facilities, and being located in a metropolitan area were factors that "seldom" or "never" affected student MAT-6 scores. |
