Volume 4 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 24

22 Research Question 4 (RQ4) Hypothesis H31. The charter schools led by superintendents with a master’s degree ( M = 41.67, SD = 15.16) had significantly higher STAAR Domain 1: Performance component scores than charter schools led by superintendents with a doctoral degree ( M = 33.30; SD = 11.92); t (61) = 2.26, p < .05, d = .59. These results indicated that a master’s degree has an effect on STAAR Domain 1: Performance component scores. These findings from the current study suggest that schools that have superintendents with master’s degree score higher on STAAR Domain 1: Performance than schools that have superintendents with doctoral degrees. Hypothesis H32. The charter schools with a low SES ( M = 34.38, SD = 11.90) have significantly lower STAAR Domain 1: Performance component scores than charter schools with a high SES ( M = 48.60; SD = 13.60); t (60) = -4.20, p < .05, d = -1.14. These results indicated that low SES had an effect on STAAR Domain 1: Performance component scores. These findings suggest that there was a significant difference in STAAR Domain 1: Performance component scores between charter schools with a low SES and charter schools with a high SES. The results suggest that charter schools with low SES score significantly lower on STAAR Domain 1: Performance than charter schools with high SES. Research Question 6 (RQ6) Hypothesis H48. The charter schools with a low SES ( M = 38.84, SD = 32.07) had significantly lower STAAR Domain 3: Closing the Gaps component scores than the charter schools with a high SES ( M = 60.21; SD = 35.34); t (54) = -2.28, p < .05, d = -.64. These results indicated that low SES had an effect on STAAR Domain 3: Closing the Gaps component scores. These findings suggest there was a significant difference in STAAR Domain 3: Closing the Gaps component scores between charter schools with a low SES and charter schools with a high SES. The results indicate that the SES of a public charter school had a negative effect on student achievement. The results of the current study were that SES, the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced school lunch, predicted the STAAR Domain 1: Performance component scores and STAAR Domain 3: Closing the Gaps components scores. The results suggest that public charter schools with low SES have lower STAAR Domain 3 Closing the Gaps scores because SES has a negative effect on STAAR Performance scores and STAAR Closing the Gaps scores. A surprising result from the current study was that public charter school superintendents whose highest degree earned was a master’s degree outperformed public charter school superintendents whose highest degree earned was a doctoral degree. The other surprising results were charter school superintendent preparation paths are not correlated with student achievement. Implications The findings of the current study confirmed that SES has a negative correlation with student achievement and Of the 48 hypotheses, the null hypothesis was rejected five times. The five rejected hypotheses were H8, H24, H31, H32, and H48 as seen in Table 1. Table 1 Summary of Results Findings RQ Hypothesis Independent Variable Dependent Variable Significant RQ1 H8 Charter Schools SES STAAR Domain1: STAAR Performance p < .05 RQ3 H24 Charter Schools SES STAAR Domain 3: Closing the Gaps p < .05 RQ4 H31 Highest College Degree Held STAAR Domain1: STAAR Performance p < .05 RQ4 H32 Charter Schools SES STAAR Domain1: STAAR Performance p < .05 RQ6 H48 Charter Schools SES STAAR Domain 3: Closing the Gaps p < .05 esearch Question 1 (RQ1) Hypothesis H8. Because p < .05, this indicated there was a significant link between SES and STAAR Domain 1: Performance component scores for Texas public charter schools. The null hypothesis was rejected because there was a significant correlation between SES and STAAR Domain 1: Performance component scores. Research Question 3 (RQ3) Hypothesis H24. Because p < .05, this indicated that there was a significant link between SES and STAAR D main 3: Cl sing the Gaps component scores for Texas public charter schools. The null hypothesis was rejected be ause there was a s gnificant correlation between SES and STAAR Domain 3: Closing the Gap component scores. Table 1. Summary of Results Findings Brenton Paul deRenn White, EdD