Developing an Action Research Plan- Week Three

Goals and Objectives/Outcomes:

The goal of my action research project is to see if student performance increases because students are involved in extra-curricular activities (football athletes) as compared to students who are not involved in extra-curricular activities. I will look at data that includes the student grades and STAR testing results for those students involved in extra-curricular activities as compared to those that don’t participate.  I will look at student grades on a weekly basis using the skyward program that tells coaches when students are failing or missing assignments in the classes.  This tool is important in keeping up with student performance and keeping an open communication between coaches, students and teachers.  I will also look at the AYP indicators and PEIMS data to help me develop a plan for my research on whether extra-curricular activities lead to increased performance.  The core subjects of Math, Science, English, and History will be studied because the students have to pass STAR testing for these subjects for graduation.  As a coach I’m concerned that athletic periods will be cut, budgets reduced, and extra-curricular activities phased out in our schools.  With the data studied above I hope to show our administration that extra-curricular activities only increase performance in our schools.  I will also look at the surveys completed by the athletes and put together a chart of how the kids feel about extra-curricular activities.

 

Activities:

The first step is to target which groups we will be comparing in the study.  The first group is the students that are involved in extra-curricular activities particularly football players.  The second group will be the students that are not involved in extra-curricular activities in our school.  The next step would be to get with the counselors and PEIMS clerk to get all the information on grades, testing, and attendance for the students we will be studying.  The final step would be to look at the data and decide how we interpret the data as we compare the two groups in our study.  I would also like to develop a survey for the football players and ask them questions about how they feel extra-curricular activities have helped them not only on the field, but in the classroom.  As a coach I’m concerned that athletic periods will be cut, budgets reduced, and extra-curricular activities phased out in our schools.  With the data studied above I hope to show our administration that extra-curricular activities only increase performance in our schools.  I will also look at the surveys completed by the athletes and put together a chart of how the kids feel about extra-curricular activities.

 

Data Gathering:

I will look at data that includes

1.    Extra-Curricular Athletes Grades/Non Extra-curricular grades

2.    STAR testing results

3.    Sharyland Skyward for Students- I can check attendance, behavior, and grades of every football player on our roster. (250 total athletes)

4.    PEIMS Data

5.    AYP in the core subjects of Math, Science, Language Arts/Reading

6.    Graduation Rates of Athletes

7.    “No Pass No Play” Law from UIL

 

 

Timeline: May 2013-May 2014

I would like to study the data for about one year to compare the students and their progress on grades and testing.  We will look at the data from the above groups and determine whether student performance increases with the involvement of extra-curricular activities.

 

Persons Responsible:

 I will be conducting the action research plan with the help of my site supervisor, counselors, athletic director, athletic coordinator, PEIMS clerk, and Testing Coordinator throughout my study.

 

Monitoring Achievement Goals and Objectives:

The process for monitoring the goals and objectives of my research project will come from the PEIMS data, AYP data, and data from the testing coordinator for the STAR test.  The results from this data will help me understand the correlation between testing scores and grades between extra-curricular students and non-extra-curricular students in our school.  The data obtained and analyzed will provide information for administration that shows the value of extra-curricular activities on our campus and the role it plays in motivating our students to perform better in the classroom.  The survey that we put on survey monkey will also help us with data to show the importance of extra-curricular activities.

 

Assessment Instruments for Evaluation of Action Research Project:

The assessment instrument for evaluation of my action research project will be the comparison between extra-curricular kids and non-extra-curricular students on overall performance in the classroom.  The final study will be using overall grades and STAR testing results to see if the outcomes are validated for increased student improvement in extra-curricular activities in our school.