Young, Justin A.
Abstract:
Students in high school today undergo a higher level of stress than any studentshave in history. Students feel pressure to succeed and to engage in difficult, higher-levelclasses. This drive places an unfair expectation on students as they are vying forscholarship money and admission into their desired school. As this drive for achievementhas increased, school districts have implemented interventions to address the student'ssocio-emotional needs. This quasi-experimental study investigated the efficacy of anintervention, and the relationship of Power Hour to high school students' overall GPA,attendance rate, and the number of office referrals. This study was conducted in SchoolDistrict A which is a medium-large school district in a suburban setting. Archivalstudent-level data were obtained from the district which incorporated all students whowere enrolled in high school for the school year 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Theseschool years represent two years before the implementation of Power Hour and two yearsafter Power Hour was implemented. The findings of this study are varied based on thevariable. The findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between theimplementation of Power Hour and the overall GPA of students who have experienced it.The results further suggest that students who have experienced Power Hour have anegative relationship with regards to attendance. Lastly, the study identifies that there isnot a significant difference between the rate of discipline referrals of students whoexperienced Power Hour and those who did not. The results of this study suggest thatdistrict leaders will need to conduct further research to determine the long-term effects ofPower Hour.