Research: High School and Student Achievement

THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL FACILITIES ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT,
ATTENDANCE, BEHAVIOR, COMPLETION RATE AND TEACHER
TURNOVER RATE IN SELECTED TEXAS HIGH SCHOOLS
A Dissertation by ROBERT SCOTT MCGOWEN
Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
December 2007
Major Subject: Educational Administration THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL FACILITIES ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT,
ATTENDANCE, BEHAVIOR, COMPLETION RATE AND TEACHER
TURNOVER RATE IN SELECTED TEXAS HIGH SCHOOLS
A Dissertation by ROBERT SCOTT MCGOWEN
Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of
Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Approved by:
Chair of Committee, Luana Zellner
Committee Members, Virginia Collier Robert Hall Ben Welch
Head of Department Jim Scheurich
December 2007
Major Subject: Educational Administrationiii
ABSTRACT
The Impact of School Facilities on Student Achievement, Attendance,
Behavior, Completion Rate and Teacher Turnover Rate at Selected Texas
High Schools. (December 2007)
Robert Scott McGowen, B.S., Texas A&M University;
M.S., University of Houston, Clear Lake
Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Luana Zellner
The purpose of this study was to explore the possible relationship between school facility conditions and school outcomes such as student academic achievement, attendance, discipline, completion rate and teacher turnover rate.
School facility condition for the participating schools was determined by the
Total Learning Environment Assessment (TLEA) as completed by the principal or principal’s designee on high school campuses in Texas with enrollments between 1,000 and 2000 and economically disadvantaged enrollments less than 40%. Each school in the study population was organized by grades nine through twelve. Data for achievement, attendance, discipline, completion rate and teacher turnover rate were

References: INTRODUCTION The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) is the latest federal approach in the dollars in expenses to remediate high school graduates (Fiske, 1991). In economic terms, the improvement of American schools would seem beneficial to our colleges and officials is that of school facilities. It is estimated that more than $127 billion would be required to meet the national need for new or renovated academic space (Kerr, 2003). factors of the schoolhouse such as lighting and indoor air quality (Blair & Pollard, 1998). This dissertation follows the style and format of the Journal of Educational Research. 2 scores (Glickman, 2004) do the numbers of children in American schools. The average school where these students are in attendance is 42 years old (Rowand, 1999) surrounding the learner and the educator (Gregory & Smith, 1987). large windows or well-designed skylights performed 19 to 26 percent better than their peers in classrooms without these features (Hale, 2002) quality has on the attendance and achievement rate of students (De Patta, 2002). Even the impact of furnishings in educational settings has been addressed furniture that stands up to the rugged treatment it receives from daily student use” (Kennedy, 2003d). core of design priorities, there is a significant likelihood that the facility will positively influence performance (Blair, 1998) facility design and learning. Chan (1996) clarifies that poor learning facilities can foster negative attitudes just as exceptional designs may bolster achievement brain-based research has provided a shot in the arm for facility design studies. Caine and Caine (1990) make the point that brain-based research is not an independent movement physical surroundings (Chan & Petrie, 1998).