The Effect of Professional Development on Student Mathematics Achievement by Gender, Socioeconomic, and Individual Education Plan Status

Abstract

This study was conducted using the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP)mathematics assessment percentages of third, fourth, and fifth-grade students achieving atthe proficient category to address three main purposes. The first purpose was todetermine if district-provided professional development led to a significant change whencompared to student scores in later consecutive school years. The second purpose was todetermine if there was a difference in the change in the percentage of students from theyear prior to mathematics professional development to the years after mathematicsprofessional development between School District A and the state of Missouri. The thirdpurpose was to determine the effect that gender, socioeconomic status, or the presence ofan Individualized Education Plan (IEP) had on the change in the percentage of students inthe proficent or not proficient categories. The results of the hypothesis testing, using chisquare tests of independence, indicated there was evidence to suggest that professionaldevelopment was effective in changing the percentage of third, fourth, and fifth-gradestudents who achieved at the proficient category on the matheamatics MissouriAssessment Program. When gender was added to the analysis, more female studentstended to score in the proficient category in the second year of the professionaldevelopment cycle. When socioeconomic status was added to the analysis, a change inthe number of students scoring in the proficient category was not evident. WhenIndividualized Education Plan (IEP) status was added to the analysis, students with anIEP tended to score in the proficient category the first year of the professional development cycle, and students without an IEP tended to score in the proficient categorythe second year of the professional development cycle.