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The purpose of the research study was to determine if placing students in a 2-yearfourth and fifth grade looping program had any impact on (a) reading achievementscores, (b) self-concept, and (c) school related anxiety when compared to students placedin the traditional classroom setting. To examine the practice of looping, the fifth gradestudents completing a 2-year looping program were compared to fifth grade studentsplaced in a traditional classroom placement setting. The study was designed to determineif providing an additional school year with one classroom teacher and the sameclassmates positively influenced reading achievement, self-concept, and school relatedanxiety for students.The research study took place at English Landing Elementary School, one of thenine elementary schools in the Park Hill School District located in Kansas City, Missouri.The researcher examined two fourth and fifth grade looping cycles and two fifth gradetraditional classroom placement settings. The first looping cycle began during the 2005-2006 school year and concluded at the end of the 2006-2007 school year. The secondlooping cycle began during the 2006-2007 school year and concluded at the end of the2007-2008 school year. The researcher compared the reading achievement scores, selfconcept, and school related anxiety with 39 students (Group 1) completing the twolooping cycles and 42 fifth grade students (Group 2) placed in a traditional classroomplacement setting. The research findings used a quasi-experimental design to examinethe reading achievement scores, self-concept, and school related anxiety of the loopingplacement through the analysis of student data gathered from the Scholastic Reading Inventory, Self-Perception Profile for Children, and State Trait Anxiety Inventory forChildren.The reading achievement results of the research study were determined afteradministering the Scholastic Reading Inventory. The t test for independent meansindicate a significant difference in gains made in SRI Lexile scale scores betweenstudents participating in a 2-year looping program and students participating in atraditional classroom placement (t=-2.388, df=79, p=.019). The students in thetraditional classroom setting made greater SRI Lexile scale score gains during the fifthgrade year. However, the fifth grade students participating in the 2 year looping programhad higher average SRI Lexile scale scores (979.74) in the fall semester of the fifth gradeschool year when compared to fifth grade students in the traditional classroomplacement(908.40).The self-concept results of the research study were determined after administeringthe Self-Perception Profile for Children. The t tests for independent means indicated nosignificant difference on self-concept scores as measured by the Self-Perception Profilefor Children between students participating in a 2-year looping program and studentsparticipating in a traditional classroom placement(t = -1.188, df = 79, p = .239).The school related state anxiety and school related trait anxiety scores weredetermined after administering the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Theresults of the t tests for independent means indicated no significant difference on schoolrelated state anxiety scores (t = -.330, df = 79, p = .742) and school related trait anxietyscores (t = -.983, df = 79, p = .329) as measured by the STAIC between students participating in a 2-year looping program and students participating in a traditionalclassroom placement. |
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