Award Date

5-2011

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Executive Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

Department

Educational Leadership

First Committee Member

Robert McCord, Chair

Second Committee Member

James Crawford

Third Committee Member

James Hager

Graduate Faculty Representative

Porter Troutman

Number of Pages

86

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to discover whether a relationship exists between participation in extracurricular activities and meeting Utah proficiency assessment standards. This study took place in a suburban school district in the state of Utah.

Throughout the history of public education, economic hardships have wreaked havoc on school systems that depend on public sources of income. Schools today are managing these budget restraints by reducing or eliminating extracurricular programs.

The relationship between academic success and participating in extracurricular activities is found concretely in the research data. However, schools must make budget decisions which place activities and academics in competition for those funds. This study is to learn if extracurricular activities are a support to academic success.

Numerous studies have focused on utilizing the grade point average as an indicator of academic success or failure of a student. The grade point average is a convenient barometer to utilize when using an immediate measure for academic eligibility for extracurricular participants. The Utah Criterion Reference Test (UCRT), on the other hand, is a standardized measurement in determining academic success. This study employed the UCRT along with the grade point average to clarify academic viability.

The participants in this study were 10th grade students in the districts‘ five high schools. The data was divided into participants in extracurricular activities and non-participants. Determining the participants‘ extracurricular activity was obtained through the Utah High School Activities Association eligibility rosters. Gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, attendance percentage, grade point average, and the Utah Criterion Reference Test scaled scores was gathered from the Student Information System database in the district. The information was analyzed through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

As schools cope with budgetary constraints, administrators and boards of education must consider the potential advantages and disadvantages of retaining or eliminating extracurricular activities in the school.

The results, of this study, indicated that students who participated in extracurricular activities scored higher in attendance, grade point average, and the Utah Criterion Reference Test than students who did not participate in extracurricular activities. A moderately strong correlation was also found in the grade point average and the Utah Criterion Reference Test.

Keywords

Academic achievement; District case study; Education; Educational tests and measurements; Extracurricular activities; Proficiency assessments; Student activities; Suburban; Suburban high schools; Suburban school district; Utah

Disciplines

Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Psychology | Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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