The Relationship Between School Administrator and Teacher Ratings of Classroom Practices and Student Achievement in High-Poverty Schools

Abstract

This study examined the relationship of school administrator and teacher self-ratings of instructional and behavioral management practices to student growth on statewide achievement tests (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career [PARCC]). The study included 78 teachers and 1,594 students from fourth through eighth grades in nine high-poverty charter schools. Observation scores completed by school administrator and teacher self-ratings were collected on the Classroom Strategies Assessment System (CSAS), an observational assessment that reports outcomes as discrepancy scores: differences between recommended frequency and observed frequency of specific instructional and behavior management strategies for teachers. Correlations revealed negative relations between both informants’ discrepancy scores and PARCC growth scores, demonstrating that teachers with lower discrepancy scores tended to have students with greater PARCC growth scores. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed school administrator and teacher CSAS total discrepancy scores were related to student performance on PARCC mathematics, but not English Language Arts (ELA), and teachers’ CSAS Total discrepancy scores explained an additional 4.8% of variance in PARCC mathematics. Implications of findings for professional development and research are offered.