A formula for low achievement: using multi-level models to understand the impact of individual level effects and school level effects on mathematics achievement (original) (raw)
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have had a profound effect on me; Also, all of my running friends and my colleagues in Freehold who have given me their patience and support, as well as my good friend and colleague Richard Katz, who endured the doctoral program with me. It is without a doubt that the completion of the doctoral program and this dissertation would not have been possible without the acceptance, support, and love of my parents, Raelene and Larry (LT), my brothers Bill and Chris, and their families, my Aunt Margaret, and my late grandparents, Damiano and Anna. Over the years, they have felt the wrath of this doctoral student and if not for their influence, I might have walked away from this project. And, I am particularly gracious to my two best friends: my wife Heather and son Nicholas. Both Heather and Nicholas' continued motivation and understanding of the relentless work associated with being a doctoral student has provided me the opportunity to finish my degree.
2014
This body of work is dedicated to the loving memory of my mother, Mrs. Emmie Jones Cochran, and to Mrs. Claudette Simon, two very extraordinarily wonderful women. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The list of people whom I must thank for helping me to achieve this great honor is tremendously long and I know that someone will inadvertently be left off. First and foremost to my family, Jerome Jackson and Devin Cochran, I love you both very much and would not have been able to accomplish this without your daily presence. To my committee chair, Dr. Heying Jenny Zhan, you truly are a consummate professional, and an angel sent from heaven. Thank you for the herculean effort of working tirelessly with me to finish this. The many hours you spent in the office, in your home, and on the telephone talking and texting back and forth with me will never be forgotten. To my committee, Dr. Adia Harvey Wingfield, thank you very much for your expertise and knowledge. Thank you for selflessly sharing this with me to assure the delivery of a substantive work. To Dr. Tomeka M. Davis, I sincerely thank you for all of the sources you sent to me. I could have never fleshed out the proposal without your input. It is tremendously appreciated. To Dr. Don Reitzes, thank you for your guidance through the years. I appreciate the times you sat with me to discuss matters relating to teaching, and strategies to finish. Thanks to Dr. Lesley Reid for supporting the SREB scholarship, and for helping me with graduation details. To Dr. Mary Ball, thank you for giving me the opportunity to conduct authentic research and for your continued support down through the years. To Drs. Elisabeth O. Burgess, thank you for helping me transition from administrator to researcher. Without your support, I would have never fully launched. Thanks to Dr. Dawn M. Baunach for making statistics both relevant and fun. Thanks to Dr. Mindy Stombler, for sharing your expertise in teaching sociology. Your lectures and resources in pedagogy and methods have been very helpful in shaping my career and I am grateful. Thank you to Dr. Ansley Abraham, Tammy Wright and Nicole Schimmel for the SREB Dissertation Fellowship Award, without it I would never have been able to finish vi writing this dissertation. To Dr. Lynn T., thank you for your love, support and encouragement, when things got really tough. Dr. Mark Sweatman, thank you for your love and support. I still have very fond memories of our four-hour meeting in Chiles when you helped with advanced Excel to help me pass the eleven-day qualifying exams. The many conversations we had commiserating our dissertation journey have bonded us as family. To Mrs. Jennifer Simon Denbow, we too have become family in this long journey and I love you like a sister. Thank you to Charlie Denbow for helping me operate my calculator, to pass statistics! You are my brother and I look forward to seeing you and Jenny soon. To Anne Kronberg, thank you for the six months we spent together preparing for the qualifying exams. I will never forget the lessons you taught me. And to Dr. Derrick Brooms, thank you for your professional experience, strength and hope. I hope to follow your lead in providing attention, support and remedy to the issues that impede the progress of young Black males in our community.
On Student Achievement and Engagement
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encouragement throughout the writing of my thesis. Thank you for encouraging me to continue with my education and striving for excellence, for being so willing to help me at every turn of my thesis, and for showing me how to use SPSS. I appreciate your faith in me and your guidance in ensuring everything I did was to the best of my ability. I would also like to thank Dr. Hurbertus von Bremen and Dr. John Rock. I appreciate the patience and willingness the two of you showed me during office hours as I took your challenging courses. I would like to thank you for being so caring and inspiring. I thank you both for serving as member of my thesis committee and for being such excellent models of excellent mathematics professors. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for their continued love and support. I would like to thank my parents, Ruben and Alice Ortiz, for their time and sacrifice to ensure I had the best opportunity to achieve my dreams and goals. I would like to tha...
ProQuest LLC eBooks, 2017
Without his keen wisdom and kind guidance in each step, my doctoral dissertation would not have been possible. Dr. Widaman's unwavering support has been my core motivation to stay strong in order to finish my lifelong greatest academic challengecompleting dissertation. He is a rare scholar who values students' own research interests, and his doors are always open to all, even to non-education-major students. He listens to students' struggles patiently, explains data related issues very thoroughly, and guides us and pushes us to the next level; the best advisor that any grad student can hope for. I can honestly say that it has been a tremendous honor to learn Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) from Dr. Widaman because of his enviable ability to analyze data and explain SEM issues in a simple manner. I thank you so much, Dr. Widaman, for allowing me to use your own-rich-library of booksyour generosity can never be expressed enough in words. I have tried to pay your generosity forward to my students in my own way… My other special thanks go to many other remarkable professors-(1) Dr. Thomas Smith (helped me and believed in my study, and sharped my thinking to grow academically), (2) Dr. Robert Rosenthal, and (3) Dr. Soojin Park who made invaluable contributions to improve the quality of this project. Dr. Rosenthal-I admire your brilliant mind. You have believed in me and expected the best out of me and always treated me like a young scholar; so, I have been thinking like one, acting like one, and perhaps, will become one. You are the living evidence of what positive expectation is all about-so, thank you… v My utmost honor, respect, and thanks goes to my parents who sacrificed themselves so much for my brother, my sisters, and me; their unconditional love became a true inspiration in my life, and will never be forgotten. Their deep-rooted belief/trust in me has always been my true inner-fuel to do well beyond the academic realm. Yes, father, I became a teacher, too-I am sure you are proud of what I have become. And yes, mother, anything's possible-not perfect, but you read now! I thank you so much that you taught me the joy of giving... Furthermore, I thank the Lord, Jesus Christ, for my precious family (Deron, John, & Christy). Their endless love, support, and, of course, lots of prayers have helped me to endure and cherish many ups and downs during my graduate school years. Thank you for making me laugh when I needed to the most. I know I am far from perfectthank you for loving me no matter what. For the past 5 years, Deron, a strong believer in me as doctoral material-you have been a dad and a mom for our kids; I thank God for our 20+ years together! Hey Christy, my precious girl, you are beautiful inside and out, and smart, I thank God for you every day; I appreciate your maturity and understanding. Hey John, my young man who is kind, intelligent, God-fearing, and sweet-hearted, I thank God for you daily; I can never tell you enough how much you both mean to me! My own blood and flesh, you both are truly miracles from GODincredibly awesome; and I know for sure you will surpass me and I will be delighted! And I also thank God for my many friends from schools, bowling leagues, and churches (too many to name them all) for their countless prayers and, definitely, many laughs, cries, and talks, which include my frequent monologues about stats. I am super vi grateful for Yeonhee and Hyunju-our priceless friendships (countless international calls & text messages in the middle of the many-nights which brought me tears and sometimes made me laugh insanely), and for our cell-group members, Korean Riverside Baptist Churchlots of prayers, loves, and delicious foods. Thank you for praying for me to be strong, so that I could focus on completing this enormous-worthy project; thank you for listening to me, being truly happy for my academic success, and empathizing with my struggles without being judgmental so that I could grow in Christ. Thank you, Jesus, for saving my soul, forgiving my sins, and for bringing me up
2019
for his undying love, support, and belief in me throughout this ubiquitous endeavor. I offer my sincerest appreciation for your continuous understanding, patience and inspiration. You gave me the confidence to persist in reaching my goal. To my daughter, Amber, and my son, Justin, thank you for all your love, support, and encouragement during my doctoral journey. You both have inspired me with your determination, desire, and strength to continue to pursue your own goals. To my parents, Donald H. and Micaela McAllister, my heartfelt thanks for your unconditional love and support. I am ever grateful for the many lessons you taught me during my youth, and for instilling in me the belief that I can achieve anything I want through hard work and determination. I would also like to thank my sister, Mary M. Parsons, who provided me with the inspiration and impetus to become an educator in the first place. I would never have headed down this road without your unwavering belief and support. I also would like to express my sincerest appreciation to my dear friend, Sandra Verdugo, who planted the seed for this doctoral journey just after completing our Masters degree. To all my extended family and friends who have endured my absences at all the family gatherings and special occasions, I am grateful for your compassion and understanding. To the Brandman University staff, I offer my sincerest gratitude for the many challenges placed before me during my coursework that led to great personal v growth in understanding and practical leadership skill. To my cohort members, you are all awesome and an inspiration to me! I never would have made it through this journey without your support! To Dr. Katherine Frazier, my cohort mentor, I want to acknowledge in a special way the sincerely appreciated guidance and leadership you gave me. I only wish you could have seen me finally finish. Finally, I'd like to convey my sincerest appreciation to my dissertation committee. Dr. Walt Buster, it has been an honor to work with you on this dissertation. Your guidance and support turned this faroff, unattainable dream of mine into a reality. Your passion and desire to help others achieve their goals is truly inspiring. I have been truly blessed by you. I sincerely hope that, one day, I can do the same for others. Dr. Jim Cox, you have grounded me with your sense of humor, constant encouragement and unconditional support. I'm so grateful for all the pushes and nudges you gave to keep me moving forward. You truly helped me keep my eye on the hat! Dr. Jody Graf, you have inspired and encouraged me with your enthusiasm for my topic. Our very first conversation resonates as a source of light at the end of the tunnel along this dissertation journey. I cannot express enough my sincerest gratitude to all of you for sticking with me to the very end.