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Initiatives implemented by urban high school principals that increase and sustain achievement in algebra for African American students

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Initiatives implemented by urban high school principals that increase and sustain achievement in algebra for African American students

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Content Running head: PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON ALGEBRA I ACHIEVEMENT 1
INITIATIVES IMPLEMENTED BY URBAN HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS THAT INCREASE AND
SUSTAIN ACHIEVEMENT IN ALGEBRA FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS

by

Brenda A. Green

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2016

Copyright 2016 Brenda A. Green
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 2
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my wonderful and very supportive
husband, Ron, as well as my daughter Samira, and son Bryson. Without your support I
would have never had the drive to finish this dissertation. I also want to dedicate this
dissertation to my parents Claude and Brenda Patterson, I have seen you work so hard my
entire life. My drive and perseverance to complete challenging endeavors were learned by
how you modeled being great parents to me.
Lastly I would like to thank my siblings, Marlena Campbell, Claude Patterson IV may
you rest in peace, Christina Ross, and Matthew Patterson.

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 3
Acknowledgements
I want to thank my dissertations chairs Dr. Pedro Garcia and Dr. Rudy Castruita,
without your guidance and support I would have never envisioned that I could take on the
challenge of completing this dissertation.
I also would like to acknowledge that 10 years ago Dr. Sunday Abbott had this bright
idea to get her doctorate, and it was because of her I was inspired to do so as well. Thank
you for being such an inspiration not only to me but everyone that crosses your path.
Lastly, I would like to thank my USC colleagues who have supported me throughout
this journey. I wish you all luck in your future endeavors.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 4
Table of Contents
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 6
Abstract 8
Chapter One: Overview Of The Study 9
Statement of the Problem 10
Purpose of the Study 11
Significance of the Study 12
Assumptions 12
Limitations and Delimitations 13
Definition of Terms 13
Organization of the Study 15
Chapter Two: Literature Review 17
African American Students’ Algebra I Achievement 18
Factors Influencing Algebra I Achievement in African American Students’ Exposure to
Highly Qualified Teachers 20
Access to Technology 22
No Child Left Behind 23
Instructional Leadership 24
Figure 1. Hallinger’s Principal’s Instructional Leadership Model (1989) 25
The New Instructional Leader 27
Building Capacity 28
Principal’s Role in Building Capacity 29
Teacher’s Perception of Instructional Leadership 30
Effective Instructional Leadership 31
Initiatives Implemented by Principals to Support Mathematics Achievement 33
Sustainability 35
Conclusion 36
Chapter Three: Methodology 38
Statement of the Problem 38
Purpose of the Study 39
Research Questions 39
Rationale for Mixed-Methods Study Design 39
Research Design 40
Sample Population 41
Instrumentation 41
Quantitative Instrumentation 41
Qualitative Instrumentation 42
Credibility and Trustworthiness 43
Data Collection Protocols 43
Quantitative Data Collection 44
Qualitative Data Collection 44
Data Analysis Procedures 45
Quantitative Data Analysis 45
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 5
Qualitative Data Analysis 46
Summary 47
Chapter Four: Results 48
Quantitative Phase 49
Academic Performance Index 50
Enrollment 50
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Enrollment 51
Survey Participants 52
Qualitative Phase 52
Results 53
Results for Research Question One 53
Summary of Results 57
Results for Research Question Two 57
Summary of Results 66
Results for Research Question Three 66
Summary of Results 71
Research Question Four 72
Discussion 74
Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusions, and Implications 77
Summary of Findings 78
Implications for Practice 80
Recommendations Future Research 82
Conclusion 83
References 85
Appendix A Teacher Questionnaire 92
Appendix B Principal Interview Protocol 93
Appendix C Information/Facts Sheet 94
Appendix D Consent Form 96
Appendix E Teacher Participation Letter 97
Appendix F Principal Participation Letter 98
Appendix G Survey Results 99

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 6
List of Tables
Table 1: Algebra I California Standards Percent Proficient and Above for 9th Grade
African American Students by Year 49
Table 2: Academic Performance Index 50
Table 3: Enrollment 51
Table 4: Socioeconomically Disadvantaged by Subgroup 52
Table 5: Demographics of Survey Participants 52
Table 6: Demographics of Interview Participants 53
Table 7: There Was a Consistent Use of Formative Assessments to Guide Algebra I
Instruction 60
Table 8: Algebra I Teachers Used Data From Common Assessments to Evaluate
Algebra I Instruction 60
Table 9: Algebra I Teachers Used District Benchmark Data to Identify Algebra I
Achievement Gaps 61
Table 10: Horizontal Articulation Occurred Across All Algebra I Teachers Regarding
Implementation of Algebra I Curriculum 63
Table 11: Vertical Articulation Regarding Algebra I Occurred Across Middle School
Through High School 64
Table 12: Ongoing Training On Strategies to Implement Algebra I Curriculum for
Algebra I Teachers 68
Table 13: Specialized Algebra I Professional Development for Teachers of Students
who are not Achieving Algebra I Content Standards 69
Table 14: Opportunities for Formative Feedback 71
Table A: There Is Consistent Focus On Algebra I Achievement at Your School 99
Table B: There Was Ongoing Training on Strategies Used to Implement Algebra I
Curriculum Provided to Algebra I Teachers 99
Table C: There Was Specialized Algebra I Professional Development Provided to
Teachers Serving Students That are NOT Achieving Algebra I Content Standards 100
Table D: Algebra I Instruction Focused on Conceptual Understanding 100
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 7
Table E: Vertical Articulation Regarding Algebra I Occurred Across Middle School
Through High School 101
Table F: Horizontal Articulation Occurred Across All Algebra I Teachers Regarding
Implementation of Algebra I Curriculum 101
Table G: There Was a Consistent Use Of Formative Assessments To Guide Algebra I
Instruction 102
Table H: Algebra I Teachers Used Data From Common Assessments to Evaluate
Algebra I Instruction 102
Table I: Algebra I Teachers Used District Benchmark Data to Identify Algebra I
Achievement Gaps 102
Table J: Algebra I Teachers Leveraged the Support of the District Curriculum Leader
to Address Identified Achievement Gaps 103
Table K: Math Instructional Coaches Were Utilized to Support Algebra I Instruction
in the Classrooms 103
Table L: Algebra I Achievement Data Was Used to Drive the Professional Development
of Algebra I Teacher 104
Table M: The Principal Provided Opportunities for Algebra I Teachers to Receive
Formative Feedback On Their Overall Strengths and Areas of Growth Regarding
Delivery of Algebra I Instruction 104

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 8
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify initiatives implemented by urban high
school principals to increase and sustain Algebra I achievement among African American
students’. Additionally, this study examined how urban high school principals build
capacity within teachers to implement initiatives targeted to increase and sustain African
American students’ Algebra I achievement.
This study used a convergent parallel mixed-method approach in which four
principals participated in a semi-structured interview, thirteen surveys were completed by
their corresponding Algebra I teachers, and relevant documents were gathered from the
California Department of Education’s website and analyzed as part of the document review.
Through the process of triangulation, results indicate that all principals included the use of
various achievement data to inform their decisions on creating initiatives that support
Algebra I achievement. It was also found that principals created organizational structures
that allow teachers to analyze various types of data, such as common assessments,
formative assessments, state assessments, and district assessments and the feedback from
this analysis was used to build initiatives that promote Algebra I achievement but also
promote the school’s learning environment through teacher collaboration. Next, principals
provided various opportunities for teachers to build capacity to implement Algebra I
curriculum and receive feedback that addressed their areas of growth with students
requiring additional support to obtain proficiency in Algebra I. Lastly, principals relied on
feedback from the professional learning communities and classroom observation to
evaluate and monitor initiatives focused on increasing and sustaining Algebra I
achievement for African American students.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 9
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Historically, African American students have lower performance on standardized
tests and are less likely to graduate high school when compared to White students (Carter,
Hawkins, & Natesan, 2008). Prior to the 1950s, however, the achievement gap between
White and non-White students was of no concern. It was assumed that non-White students
would not perform at the same academic level as White students for reasons assumed to be
hereditary, genetic or due to parenting style or family rearing (Brown-Jeffy, 2008).
Acknowledging equality issues related to the educational experiences of African American
students, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision shifted the focus
regarding the achievement gap to a lack of educational opportunities (Brown-Jeffy, 2008).
In this larger context of the educational achievement gap, the educational experiences that
African American students face in the mathematics classroom are an ongoing problem.
However, very little research was done prior to the 1980s to address this issue (Snipes &
Waters, 2005).
By 1973, the achievement gap between Blacks and Whites received national
recognition. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reported long-term
data trends in mathematics and addressed the achievement gap between Blacks and
Whites. Furthermore, the 2012 NAEP long-term trend data shows that the mathematics
achievement gap between Whites and Blacks still exists.
In response to the achievement gap between White and minority students, the
federal government in 2002 enacted the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to address this
concern (Snipes & Waters, 2005). NCLB addresses the achievement gap in math, in part, by
creating mathematics and science partnerships, enhancing education through technology,
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 10
and improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged (United States Department
of Education, 2013). However, it will take several years to determine the impact NCLB will
have on achievement (Snipes & Waters, 2005).
Currently, as the school composition of African American students continues to
grow in K-12 populations, standards-based reform initiatives such as NCLB do not address
this phenomenon. Based on the objective reporting of standardized test scores, it is
implied that African American intellectual inferiority is perpetuated and taken for granted
by members within our society (Foster, 2005).
The essential question guiding this study sought initiatives that urban high school
principals implemented to address mathematics achievement among African American
students. While principals are required to fill a multitude of roles within their organization,
their primary responsibility is to facilitate effective teaching and learning to enhance
student achievement (O’Donnell & White, 2005). In particular, this study sought to find
practical implementation of principal-led initiatives that increase and sustain African
American students’ mathematics achievement and, in tandem, build capacity within
teachers who work directly with African American students.
Statement of the Problem
Despite half a century of desegregation in America’s schools mandated by Brown v.
Board of Education, the educational experiences of African American students in U.S.
schools remains problematic and more troubled than in pre-civil rights days. Furthermore,
increasingly disturbing trends and statistics challenge the ability of leadership within U.S.
schools to provide a fair and equitable playing field while educating African American
students (Foster, 2005).
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 11
Instructional leadership provided by the principal is identified as a factor
contributing to increased student achievement (O’Donnell & White, 2005). Although some
literature supports the selected leadership practices of high school principals that have an
indirect/direct effect on mathematics achievement for all students, there are few empirical
studies that explain how these leadership practices, in particular, meet the Algebra I needs
of African American students. Furthermore, few studies were conducted within an
environment politically driven by the current assessment-based educational system. The
mandates of NCLB to staff schools with highly qualified teachers and to produce high levels
of student achievement may be the most challenging duty educational leaders faced in the
history of education (O’Donnell & White, 2005). This study focused on how urban high
school principals target their initiatives to address African American students’ Algebra I
achievement and what levers are used to build capacity among teachers who serve African
American students. Additionally, more research needs to be conducted on how high school
principals build capacity among their teachers to implement initiatives targeted to increase
and sustain Algebra I achievement in African American students at the school level.
Purpose of the Study
The study pursued the initiatives implemented by urban high school principals to
increase and sustain Algebra I achievement among African American students’. The
accountability demands associated with closing the achievement gaps among various
subgroups of students provide the foundation for this study. Additionally, this study
examined how urban high school principals build capacity among their teachers to
implement initiatives targeted to increase and sustain African American students’ Algebra I
achievement.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 12
Research Questions
Four research questions guide this study:
1. What informs an urban high school principal’s decision-making process when
implementing initiatives that address Algebra I achievement?
2. How are these initiatives implemented to have an impact on and sustain African
American students’ Algebra I achievement?
3. How do urban high school principals build capacity within Algebra I teachers
serving African American students?
4. How do urban high school principals evaluate and sustain initiatives that increase
African American students’ Algebra I achievement?
Significance of the Study
This study adds to the limited body of knowledge regarding initiatives implemented
by urban high school principals to respond to African American students’ Algebra I
achievement. Identifying these principal-led initiatives provides existing and future
leaders a framework that could be replicated within the context of their organizations.
Additionally, the findings from the study could be used to support teachers, counselors, and
all stakeholders involved in supporting African American students’ Algebra I achievement.
Assumptions
Four assumptions are made in this study. First, the instructional leadership capacity
of the principal is key to improving and sustaining student achievement. Second, the
principal identified a framework for supporting African American students’ achievement.
Third, responses submitted by urban high school principals are true and accurate of their
views and experiences with supporting African American students’ mathematics education.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 13
Fourth, the range of school districts and principals selected is representative of urban high
school principals in California.
Limitations and Delimitations
The study includes several limitations and delimitations. The validity of the data
included in this study is limited to the reliability of the data collection instruments of
measurement. Also, the study was limited to urban high school principals within California,
and, therefore, the purposeful sampling of urban high school principals may decrease the
generalizability of findings. Furthermore, the study is limited to participants who
responded to the survey and who were interviewed.
Selected respondents were urban high school principals whose student populations
consist of at least 5% African American students. They also demonstrate success in
increasing and sustaining African American students’ mathematics achievement as
measured by the California Standards Test.
Definition of Terms
The terms below were used in this study.
Academic Performance Index (API): The API represents the measurement of performance
and progress of each school and district in California.
Accountability: An agreement between a director and provider.
Achievement Gap: Disparity in achievement among African American students and Whites
at the same grade level.
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): A federal measure used to determine if students meet or
exceed proficiency on mandated yearly-standardized tests in English Languages Arts and
mathematics.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 14
Brown vs. Board of Education: A landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled segregation
among Blacks and Whites in public schools is unconstitutional.
California Standards Test: A standardized test given to all students in grades 2
nd
through
11
th
that measures their progress in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social
Science. The results of this exam are used to calculate the API and AYP for each individual
school and district.
Capacity Building: Creating the conditions, opportunities and experiences for collaboration
and mutual learning and the collective competency of the organization to bring about
change (Jacobson, 2011). For the purpose of this study, capacity building will also include
the development of individuals within the organization to meet student achievement goals.
Initiative: A plan or program that includes processes and procedures intended to bring
about change and improvement.
Instructional Leader: An individual who fosters collaboration within the organization
focused on improving, analyzing, and evaluating teaching and learning.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): A nationwide assessment tool used to
measure student performance in various subject areas.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB): The most recent reauthorization of the
Elementary and Secondary Act that established frameworks for standards, testing, and
accountability to close the achievement gap among the various subgroups.
Principal-led initiative: An initiative led by a principal that may or may not be an original in
concept when implemented on the intended group of students, teachers, or individuals
within the organization.
Standardized Test: A tool used to measure student achievement.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 15
Standards-based Reform Initiative: A systematic way a state responds to the push for high
standards and accountability (Chatterji, 2002).
Stakeholders: Individuals and groups who have formal or informal roles within an
organization.
Student Achievement: Measurable growth in student achievement as measured by
standardized tests.
Urban High School Principal: A principal who serves a population of ninth through twelfth
grade students where a minimum of 5% of the student population that is classified as
African American.
Sustainability: A reform or initiative that remains in effect and continues to increase the
value within the organization at least 3 years following the tenure of the principal who
initiated it.
Organization of the Study
This study is organized in five chapters. Chapter One provides a historical overview
of the educational experiences of African American students in the United States. In
particular, the focus is on the achievement gap in mathematics achievement resulting from
these experiences in relation to students who are classified as White. The educational
problem is framed as the challenge of U.S. school leaders to provide a fair and equitable
playing field for African Americans’ academic achievement rooted in their prior
experiences and coupled with a politically driven assessment-based system. Chapter One
also includes the significance of the study, assumptions, limitations, delimitations, and
definitions of terms used. Chapter Two provides a historical context for instructional
leaders to understand African Americans’ Algebra I achievement. There is also a focus on
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 16
the role of the instructional leader in addressing African American students’ Algebra I
achievement. Finally, the literature review concludes with what is known about how
principals sustain initiatives that have a positive impact on African American students’
Algebra I achievement. Chapter Three discusses the methodology, populations, data
collection and analysis procedures used in this study. Chapter Four presents the findings of
this study, including a descriptive and statistical analysis of data collected. Chapter Five
summarizes the findings, implications, and recommendations for current and aspiring
urban high school principals, school districts, and other stakeholders engaging in activities
that support African American students’ Algebra I achievement.

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 17
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
According to Ntiri (2001), the educational gap between Whites and African
Americans will continue into the foreseeable future. However, existing differences are
ultimately the product of unequal access and opportunities for higher education for the
poor and for racial/ethnic minorities. Several socioeconomic and political factors
determine whether a student gains access to college and possesses the resources to
graduate. In addition, there are other obstacles that African Americans may face related to
college access. These obstacles can be summarized as lower socioeconomic status, high
rates of poverty, unfavorable school climate and urban demographic realities, and a lack of
resource equity related to educational cost (Ntire, 2001).
The problem of low achievement in mathematics among African American students
is important to address because this performance may limit their access to upper-level
mathematics courses, decrease their career options, and decrease their chances of meeting
the eligibility requirements needed to be granted admission to a 4-year college or
university.
A review of the literature provides a historical context for instructional leaders to
understand African American students’ Algebra I achievement focusing on issues related to
meeting the minimum 4-year college or university eligibility requirements. There is also a
focus on the role of the instructional leader in addressing African American students’
mathematics achievement. The literature review is presented in six sections. The first
section provides an overview of African American students’ Algebra I achievement. The
second section discusses the factors influencing this achievement. This section focuses on
organizational factors such as the lack of resources affecting the quality of mathematics
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 18
instruction received by African American students. To understand the instructional
leader’s role in the current context of public education within the United States, the policy
framework referenced in this study is NCLB (2002). Therefore, the third section includes a
brief summary of the NCLB (2002), a policy which has an impact on how instructional
leaders are held accountable for student achievement. The fourth section discusses the
definition and evolving role of the instructional leader. The instructional leadership
framework primarily used for this study is that of Hallinger and Murphy (1985), the
dominant school leadership framework used in the United States for the past 30 years
(Townsend, Acker-Hocevar, Ballenger, & Place, 2013). This section discusses the tenets of
instructional leadership that support teaching and learning that leads to increased and
sustainable student achievement outcomes. The fifth section includes initiatives that have
been implemented to address African American students’ Algebra I achievement. The last
section presents what is known about how to sustain initiatives that support Algebra I
achievement.
African American Students’ Algebra I Achievement
In California, the A through G 4-year college eligibility requirements call for students
to complete three college-preparatory math courses. Course progression in mathematics at
the secondary level is generally Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II (Finkelstein & Fong,
2008). A fourth-year mathematics course is recommended but not required (California
Department of Education, 2013). Finkelstein and Fong (2008) found that 63% of African
Americans enrolled in Algebra I or higher in 9th grade do not meet the A through G
requirements by the twelfth grade. The authors also found that 95% of African American
students who did not take Algebra I or higher in the ninth grade did not meet the minimum
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 19
eligibility requirements. Historically, algebra is a student’s first experience with
mathematics at an abstract level. Developing algebra skills allows students to manipulate
symbolic procedures to consider mathematical relationships, variable quantities, and real-
life situations in which change occurs. Competence in algebra is recognized as a critical
milestone and central in the discipline of mathematics. Unfortunately, students’ difficulty
in algebra is well supported by the data provided by national and international
assessments and is considered the “gate keeper” course (Rittle-Johnson & Star, 2009). Only
27% of African Americans meet the Algebra I requirement in the ninth grade. Students
who successfully complete Algebra I in the ninth grade are more likely to complete a
college-preparatory program and attend a California State University or University of
California institution than a two-year community college. College preparation begins in
ninth grade, and making up missed academic content such as algebra puts students at risk
when it is completed later in their high school careers (Finkelstein & Fong, 2008).
Addressing the problem of ninth grade achievement in Algebra I not only increases a
student’s chances of meeting the eligibility requirements for a 4-year college but also
allows room for more career choices. Among the skills needed to compete in the global
workforce are critical thinking skills required to solve complex problems (Fadel & Trilling,
2009). Students who successfully develop their algebra skills can apply these in problem
solving.
Ultimately, educational leaders and teachers prepare students to be competitive in a
global society, and individuals expecting to succeed in America’s society should be
equipped with 21
st
century skills. In particular, the workplace requires that workers think
better and faster with less emphasis on rote memorization (Ntiri, 2001). This also implies
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 20
that successful individuals will have to engage in a continual process of learning and
growth.
Factors Influencing Algebra I Achievement in African American Students’ Exposure
to Highly Qualified Teachers
According to Darling-Hammond (2007), increasing numbers of unqualified teachers
have been hired since the late 1980s as a result of a high demand for teachers and declining
resources. The disparities in access to well-qualified teachers continue to grow. In 2001,
segregated minority schools in California were more than five times more likely to have
uncertified teachers when compared to predominately White schools. Based on the
qualification regarding certification, subject matter background, pedagogical training, and
experience, less-qualified teachers are found in schools serving large numbers of low-
income minority students. The author also found that more than 20% of the teachers were
uncertified in 20% of the schools primarily serving students of color. Moreover,
nationwide, in schools serving predominately minority students, these students had less
than a 50% chance of being taught math by teachers who held a degree or license in the
field of mathematics.
The single most important measurable predictor of student achievement gains is
teacher expertise. Teacher expertise is measured by experience, performance on
certification exams and master’s degrees (Darling-Hammond, 2007). The achievement of
Black students would be comparable to that of Whites if qualified teachers were assigned
equally among these groups. Students’ access to well-qualified teachers is a major factor to
consider as it relates to students promoting to the next grade based on state exams,
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 21
placement in academically challenging classes, and graduation from high school (Darling-
Hammond, 2007).
In addition to minimal access to qualified teachers, students of color have less access
to high-quality curriculum, equipment, and experience different courses as compared to
White students. Unequal access to high-quality curriculum and academically challenging
courses is a major factor in the achievement disparities between minority students and
White students (Darling-Hammond, 2007). Relative to challenging courses, there is a
strong connection between student achievement and course-taking patterns. There is a
substantial difference among students of various racial and ethnic groups in course-taking
areas such as mathematics. Students of similar backgrounds and initial achievement levels
who experience a challenging curriculum will outperform students who receive less than
desirable curriculum (Darling-Hammond, 2007).
Inequalities in access to a high-quality curriculum are reinforced by the lack of
teachers who can successfully teach heterogeneous groups of students and upper-level
courses and by tracking (Darling-Hammond, 2007). There is growing evidence that
supports that students with low achievement are at a serious disadvantage. Traditionally,
African American students are underrepresented in tracks with courses for “gifted and
talented”, honors, and Advanced Placement programs. The enrollment rates for African
American and Latino students in college-preparatory courses such as calculus are less than
half those of the general school population (Darling–Hammond, 2007). Tracking, if not
addressed, exacerbates differential access to knowledge and will continue to widen the gap
between the achievement of White and African American students.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 22

Access to Technology
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) drive the nation’s global
digital economy (Lloyd, Philip, & Winston, 2007). However, many Americans are
underserved by the public education system in the STEM fields. Black students in
particular, as compared to all other students, are less likely to participate and achieve in
STEM education at high levels. Moreover, there is a digital divide that persist in creating
racial disparities in access to computers and the internet (Lloyd et al., 2007).
According to Becker (2006), digital equity in education means that every student
regardless of socioeconomic status, language, race, geography, physical restrictions,
cultural background, or gender has equitable access to advanced technology and the
learning experiences it provides. In general, digital equity is often discussed alongside the
digital divide, which represents computer access and computer use.
The research and data on digital equity in education support significant disparities
in access to high-quality technology and inequities in how technology is distributed to and
used by different groups of students. Furthermore, based on school types and school
location, some students have differential access to technology. Students who are African
American, poor or live in rural or urban areas are less likely to have access to technology in
their homes. There is also evidence to support how urban schools use computers to
support the level of cognitive development of their students as compared to urban schools.
Urban schools with predominately minority students generally use computers for rote
skills practice. Urban schools use computers for problem solving skills. Additionally, the
differential access and use of technology may widen the achievement gap between high-
and low-achieving students (Clark, 2003).
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 23
The complexity of the digital divide is often misunderstood relative to Black
students’ access to and use of technology. The digital divide represents a racial and
socioeconomic issue in access to computer hardware, software, and training (Lloyd et al.,
2007). Black students have fewer opportunities to play a role in the development of online
learning and less access to technology, and this has an impact on their academic progress,
psychological development, and global citizenship (Lloyd et al., 2007).
No Child Left Behind
In 2002, the U.S. government launched an unprecedented push for early literacy in
the form of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Conley & Hinchman, 2004). The
legislation aimed to bring all students to proficient level, as measured on state tests, by the
2013-2014 school year and would enable American students to achieve at high levels in
school (Conley & Hinchman, 2004; Townsend et al., 2013; Darling-Hammond & Rustique-
Forrester, 2005). The central assumption of many state accountability systems is that all
key stakeholders such as students, teachers, schools, and districts would be held
accountable for standardized achievement outcomes, resulting in higher expectations for
students, improvement in teaching, and increased learning (Darling-Hammond & Rustique-
Forrester, 2005). A key feature of state educational reforms over the last decade has been
the development of educational standards and test-based accountability that guided school
practices and investments (Darling-Hammond & Rustique-Forrester, 2005). Some
proponents of NCLB believe that the test alone will motivate better teaching and learning
due to curriculum changes, additional attention to student needs, targeted investments in
professional development, and the hiring and retention of more expert teachers (Darling-
Hammond & Rustique-Forrester, 2005).
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 24
Instructional Leadership
Instructional leadership originated from empirical studies conducted in 1970s and
1980s in schools in poor urban areas where students succeeded despite the odds. These
schools included a learning climate free of disruption, clear teaching objectives, and high
teacher expectation for students (Robinson, Lloyd, & Rowe, 2008). The literature during
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s presented two views of instructional leadership. One view
considered the principal’s responsibilities and actions. Another view defined instructional
leadership to include only behaviors that directly affected curriculum, instruction, staff
development, and supervision. A more comprehensive view of leadership, based on the
research and experience of Hallinger and Murphy (1987), determined that instructional
leadership must be defined in terms of observable practices and behaviors implemented by
the principal (O’Donnell & White, 2005).
During this time, instructional leadership was assumed to be the responsibility of
the principal; therefore, the model used to measure instructional leadership was the
Principals’ Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS), an instrumented created by
Hallinger (1989). The model neglected the contributions of staff with respect to
instructional goal setting, oversight of curriculum and instruction, and development of
positive school culture (Robinson et al., 2008). However, the PIMRS was used to measure
the frequency of instructional leadership behaviors as perceived by the faculty (O’Donnell
& White, 2005). The PIMRS included three dimensions of a principal’s instructional
leadership role: communicating the school goals and mission; managing the instructional
program; and promoting the school’s learning environment. (Hallinger, 1989, 2007;
O’Donnell & White, 2005; Robinson et al., 2008; Townsend et al., 2013). There are eleven
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 25
instructional behaviors that span across all three dimensions: (1) framing school goals, (2)
communicating school goals, (3) monitoring and evaluating instruction, (4) coordinating
curriculum, (5) monitoring and feeding back student achievement data, (6) protecting
instructional time, (7) administrative visibility, (8) promoting incentives to improve
teaching, (9) promoting professional development, (10) promoting academic standards;
and (11) promoting incentives for learning (Hallinger, 1989; Gallagher, Riley & Murphy,
1986). Figure 1 illustrates the three dimensions with the corresponding behaviors.

Promoting
The
School’s
Learning
Environmen
Behaviors
Monitoring & Evaluating
Instruction

Coordinating Curriculum

Monitoring and feeding back
student achievement data

Protecting Instructional
Time

Administrative Visibility

Behaviors
Framing School Goals

Communicating School
Goals

Behaviors
Promoting Incentives to
improve teaching

Promoting Professional
Development

Promoting academic
standards

Promoting incentives for
learning

Principal’s
Instructional
Leadership

Figure 1. Hallinger’s Principal’s Instructional Leadership Model (1989)
The research conducted on instructional leader behaviors that support student
achievement within their organization noted some or all of the behaviors listed above in
their findings. Based on current research, a definition of instructional leadership is more
inclusive and now focuses on shared instructional leadership, also known in the research
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 26
as distributed or collaborative leadership, to include those in positions of responsibility
(Robinson et al., 2008).
Distributed Leadership

It is often assumed that instructional leaders who were once teachers have the tools
necessary to provide instructional leadership. Unfortunately, preparation as a teacher does
not ensure that the principal is capable of supporting a teacher’s improvement in
classroom instruction. The problem of providing instructional leadership at the secondary
level is compounded by the fact that principals supervise a large number of teachers with
varying subject matter specializations (Hallinger, 1989).
The intensification of a secondary school principal’s work activities makes it difficult
to provide uninterrupted blocks of time necessary to observe lessons, meet with teachers,
and monitor and adjust curriculum. Therefore, secondary principals must delegate much
of their instructional leadership functions and engage in instructional leadership by
delegating and working closely with administrators, department chairs, and teachers
(Bredeson, 2013; Hallinger, 1989; Heck & Hallinger, 2009). Instructional improvement
occurs through the efforts of multiple individuals working together to influence the context
of leadership and instruction (Copeland, 2003; Halverson & Clifford, 2013). Second,
distributed leadership involves spanning task, responsibility, and power boundaries
between formal and informal leaders.
Lastly, distributed instructional leadership attempts to describe how leadership
practices are implemented in schools (Spillane, Halverson, & Diamond, 2004) and rest on a
base of expert versus hierarchical authority (Copeland, 2003). Distributed instructional
practices are made possible through the creation of a third space among administrators,
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 27
department heads, and teachers that allows the discussion of curriculum, teaching, and
learning (Halverson & Clifford, 2013). In recent years, school-based shared decision-
making resulted in a move away from bureaucratic control and toward professionalization
of teaching (Blasé & Blasé, 1999). The new generation of high school principals must
understand how to measure the quality of teaching, provide support to practices that have
been shown to improve learning (instructional coaching and analysis of student work), and
reward productive practices. Additionally, the range of tasks mentioned above clearly
describes the work of multiple actors in the high school setting. A distributed instructional
leadership perspective can reveal how theses multiple actors share in the responsibility of
creating new kinds of learning environments for students (Halverson & Clifford, 2013).
The New Instructional Leader
The role of a school leader is still undergoing a revolution. The policy press around
standards and accountability led policymakers and the public to hold schools accountable
for improvement in student learning (Halverson, Grigg, Prichett, & Thomas, 2007).
Accountability systems created by policymakers, capture the variety of instruments
developed to monitor school change and reshape local practice.
Resulting from the NCLB (2002), the new instructional leader will not only have to
distribute the instructional tasks mentioned above, but is now charged with aligning
existing internal accountability structures that exist within the school and use
accountability data and structures that result in systematic improvements in student
achievement (Halverson et al., 2007). Furthermore, instructional leaders must build a
data-driven instructional system that will systematically improve teaching and learning.
The system should include data collection, data reflection, program alignment and
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 28
integration, program design, and test preparation. It is assumed that accountability
systems will reshape local practices because of the new added pressure for instructional
leaders to build data-driven instructional systems that will align to performance goals and
will ultimately lead to improved student achievement outcomes (Halverson et al., 2007).
Therefore, a key step to redesigning existing practices and building a professional learning
community is using the feedback from data to adapt to change. Feedback systems must be
implemented before developing organizational capacity to learn from prior practices and
form new practices that will achieve anticipated outcomes (Halverson et al., 2007; Elmore,
2002). If educators are expected to thrive and continue to meet the developmental needs
of students given the assessment-driven environment, principal leadership will be the key
for school systems to be successful (O’Donnell & White, 2005).
Building Capacity
The pressures from accountability systems and the increasing interest in
instructional leadership led to the demands of principals to become organizational capacity
builders. Organizational capacity is defined in terms of identifying the fundamental
resources needed to carry out instructional functions. The three components of
instructional capacity are knowledge and skills needed for teachers and other members
within the organization to teach more effectively, the quality and quantity of resources
available for teachers, and the culture and conditions within the organization around
instruction (Elmore, 2002; Klar, 2012; Malen & Rice, 2004). Organizational capacity is a
critical component of meaningful educational reform (Malen & Rice, 2004). Accountability
systems, no matter how well designed, are as good as the capacity of the organization to
respond. Capacity to improve is a precondition to what shapes the school’s response to the
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 29
external demands of accountability systems. Without substantial investment in capacity
building, an unintended outcome of accountability systems will show better performance
in schools with the highest capacity. Evidence of capacity within a school is observable
through the interactions among teachers and students around content (Elmore, 2002).
Principal’s Role in Building Capacity
The principal builds organizational capacity by creating a learning organization in
which leadership is distributed and stakeholders, through collaboration, enhance their
skills and knowledge to support student achievement through professional communities
(Jacobson, 2010; Klar, 2012).
Developing professional learning communities at the secondary level proved to be a
challenge; however, professional learning communities have the potential to build capacity
and transform schools. School leaders can also foster larger capacity by providing high-
quality professional development that embeds opportunities for teachers to collectively
explore diverse approaches to teaching and learning (Jacobson, 2010). Professional
development works as a capacity-building device if the relationship between teachers and
students in terms of the content is acknowledged. However, professional development
derived from an analysis of what is needed to improve student achievement assumes that
the stakeholders within the organization can capture useful data about student leaning and
can apply the data to decisions around instruction and professional development (Elmore,
2002).
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 30

Teacher’s Perception of Instructional Leadership
Two significant findings in the literature indicate that teachers’ perceptions of
instructional leadership are related to the leadership dimensions of promoting the school
learning climate and of defining the school mission (Blasé & Blasé, 1999, p. 132-137;
O’Donnell & White, 2005). However, of the two leadership dimensions mentioned above,
promoting the school’s learning climate had the highest impact on student achievement
(O’Donnell & White, 1999). To capture the teachers’ perceptions of effective instructional
leadership, the PIMRS, or a variation of it, was administered in many of the research
studies conducted. There are meta-analysis studies that measured the impact of
instructional leadership behaviors and student achievement. It is also important to note
that teachers’ perceptions of principals’ efforts to promote the school learning climate
could help explain and predict the outcomes of mathematics scores (O’Donnell & White,
2005).
Two major themes were derived from the literature as effective leadership
behaviors that were perceived by teachers: the principal talking with teachers to promote
reflection and promoting professional growth (Blasé & Blasé, 1999, p. 132-137). The
primary strategies used by the principals to talk with teachers were making suggestions,
giving feedback, modeling, using inquiring and soliciting advice, and giving praise.
Principals who provide suggestions and give feedback informally and in post-observation
conferences encouraged teachers to be continually reflective about teaching and student
outcomes (Blasé & Blasé, 1999, p.132-137). Furthermore, leaders who modeled desired
behaviors and gave encouragement through celebration of successes motivated
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 31
stakeholders to take risks and remain committed to the organization’s goals (Blasé & Blasé,
1999, p.132-137; Leech & Fulton, 2008).
Promoting professional growth is perceived by teachers as the second major
instructional leadership behavior that has an impact on student achievement. The six
strategies used by principals to promote professional growth in teachers are emphasizing
the study of teaching and learning, supporting collaboration effort among educators,
developing coaching relationships among educators, encouraging and supporting redesign
of programs, applying principles of adult learning and growth development to all phases of
staff development, and implementing action research to inform instructional decision
making. All of these strategies ultimately lead to increased collaboration and peer coaching
which increases teachers’ efficacy, motivation, and self-esteem. Having additional support
from peers allowed teachers to be more receptive to trying diverse teaching strategies in
their instructional programs (Blasé & Blasé, 1999, p.132-137). Finally, an effective
principal used class and school-based data about learning to determine the effects of the
instructional programs (Blasé & Blasé, 1999).
Effective Instructional Leadership
Instructional leadership provided by the principal was identified as a contributing
factor to increased student achievement. However, a principal’s primary responsibility is
to facilitate effective teaching and learning to enhance student achievement (O’Donnell &
White, 2005). Outlined in Table 1 are the 21 responsibilities implemented by a school
leader that are most effective in guiding their behaviors when working towards increasing
student achievement. Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005) conducted a meta-analysis
involving 2,802 schools, approximately 1.4 million students and 14,000 teachers and found
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 32
a .25 average correlation between the leadership behavior of the principal and average
academic achievement. There were 69 studies that span between 1978 and 2001, and the
work of Marzano, Waters, and McNulty encompasses what is currently known in the
literature about leadership behaviors and their connection to student achievement.
Table 1
The 21 responsibilities of the School Leader (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005)
Responsibility The Extent to Which the Principal…
1. Affirmation Recognizes and celebrates accomplishments and
acknowledges failures
2. Change Agent Is willing to challenge and actively challenges the
status quo
3. Contingent Rewards Recognizes and rewards individual accomplishments
4. Communication Establishes strong lines of communication with and
among teachers and students
5. Culture Fosters shared beliefs and a sense of community and
cooperation
6. Discipline Protects teachers from issues and influences that
would detract from their teaching time and focus
7. Flexibility Adapts his or her leadership behavior to the needs of
the current situation and is comfortable with dissent
8. Focus Establishes clear goals and keeps those goals in the
forefront of the school’s attention
9. Ideals/Beliefs Communicates and operates from strong ideals and
beliefs about schooling
10. Input Involves teachers in the design and implementation of
important decisions and policies
11. Intellectual Simulation Ensures faculty and staff are aware of the most current
theories and practices and makes the discussion of
these a regular aspect of the school’s regular
12. Involvement in Curriculum,
Instruction, and Assessment
Is directly involved in the design and implementation
of curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices
13. Knowledge of Curriculum,
Instruction, and Assessment
Is knowledgeable about current curriculum,
instruction, and assessment practices
14. Monitoring/Evaluating Monitors the effectiveness of school practices and
their impact on student learning
15. Optimizer Inspires and leads new and challenging innovations
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 33
Table 1, continued
16. Order Establishes a set of standard operating procedures and
routines
17. Outreach Is an advocate and spokesperson for the school to all
stakeholders
18. Relationships Demonstrates an awareness of the personal aspects of
teachers and staff
19. Resources Provides teachers with materials and professional
development necessary for the successful execution of
their job
20. Situational Awareness Is aware of the details and undercurrents in the
running of the school and uses this information to
address current and potential problems
21. Visibility Has quality contact and interactions with teachers and
students

According to an old proverb, “A vision without a plan is a dream. But a vision with a
plan can change the world.” Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005), proposed a five-step
action plan to enable a principal to put the 21 responsibilities into action. The five steps
included in the plan are to develop a strong school leadership team, to distribute some
responsibilities throughout the leadership team, to select the right work, to identify the
order of magnitude implied by the selected work, and to match the management style to
the order of magnitude of the change (p. 98).
Initiatives Implemented by Principals to Support Mathematics Achievement
Mathematics enables African American students economically, socially, and
psychologically. African Americans must be made to see that mathematics education offers
unlimited access into careers in a technologically powerful society (Anderson, 1990). One
such initiative implemented by principals to promote mathematics achievement and
mathematics education in minorities involves the STEM fields. Based on the literature,
principals also used STEM-based initiatives to increase teachers’ content knowledge and
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 34
pedagogical skills (Carpenter, Blanton, Cobb, Franke, Kaput, & McClain, 2004; Merrill &
Daugherty, 2010; Penuel, Frank, & Krause, 2006).
High Schools That Work (HSTW) is another initiative implemented by principals to
push underserved students to learn at high-level content and skills by eliminating the
general academic track and connecting high school coursework to real-world experience.
The premise of this reform is that all students can meet the demands of college-
preparatory work curriculum given the right support (Miller & Mittleman, 2012).
Unfortunately, research on HSTW’s effects via comparative interrupted time series model
found that the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students in terms of college-
preparatory course-taking patterns increased (Miller & Mittleman, 2012). In this study, it
was not clear how HSTW implemented any additional targeted supports for African
American students to be successful in completing the college-preparatory track in
mathematics.
In general, principals restructure their schools to build initiatives around school-
based management to have an impact on student achievement. Principals used teacher
leaders such as department heads, master teachers, instructional coaches, and data
analysts to influence school policies and practices needed to implement initiatives that
support mathematics achievement (Merrill & Daugherty, 2010). Additionally, principals
included goal setting, developing professional learning communities, and cycle of inquires
as vehicles to address teaching and learning that impact all students (O’Donoghue &
Dimmock, 1997; Robinson & Timperley, 2007). It is not clear from the literature how the
initiatives around school-based management directly affected African Americans’
mathematics achievement and further research should be conducted to expand the
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 35
knowledge base of principals in building initiatives that support African American
students’ mathematics achievement.
Sustainability
Sustaining school success requires the capacity of key school stakeholders to self-
renew. Self-renewing depends upon supportive organizational structures, shared
commitment, collaboration, knowledge and skills, leadership, feedback and accountability,
and building relationships grounded in mutual support, care, trust, and consensus
(Jacobson, 2011). School renewal efforts noted in the literature incorporate a focus on
distributed leadership, a cycle of inquiry into practice, and shared decision-making. A cycle
of inquiry is a vehicle for developing and distributing leadership and is centrally important
to building school capacity for improvement (Copland, 2003). Organizations that engage in
a cycle of inquiry focus their efforts to embed structures and processes that promote and
sustain their collaborative work on improving teaching and learning (Copeland, 2003). In
addition to using a cycle of inquiry to improve teaching and learning, there are some
unique cases in the literature where schools provided new leadership structures such as
lead teachers, co-principals, and reform coordinators to allow more stakeholders to be
included in structures and processes that promote and sustain school improvement efforts
(Copeland, 2003). The case studies on high school principals and individual schools
presented in the literature consistently found that distributing leadership, building
capacity to self-renew, and engaging in inquiry processes are the core strategies employed
by principals to increase and sustain student outcomes. There are some individual outliers
who redesigned their organization by converting from a traditional public school to a
district charter school (Jacobson, Johnson, Ylimaki, Giles, 2009; Jacobson, 2010).
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 36
Redesigning the organization gives a principal the autonomy to protect key stakeholders
who support the goals and vision, and those who refuse to self-renew in support of these
goals could not continue to work in the organization (Jacobson, 2010). There are few
studies presented in the literature on individuals who sustained over time reform efforts
that work in progressive or innovative schools (Jacobson et al., 2009). However,
redesigning the organization could be considered as a strategy for future principals to
employ to self-renew their organization to sustain reform effort.
Conclusion
It is clear in the literature that African American students’ Algebra I achievement is
still a concern that has not been adequately addressed by high school principals. African
American students still trail behind other groups in meeting their Algebra I requirement,
thus affecting their overall efforts to meet the A through G requirements for admission to a
4-year campus.
Currently, as the school composition of African American students continues to
grow within K-12 populations, standards-based reform initiatives such as NCLB have not
addressed this phenomenon. Based on the objective reporting of standardized test scores,
it is implied that African American intellectual inferiority is perpetuated and taken for
granted by members within our society (Foster, 2005).
Instructional leadership provided by the principal was identified as a contributing
factor to increased student achievement (O’Donnell & White, 2005). Although there is
literature supporting the selected leadership practices of high school principals that have
either a direct or indirect effect on the mathematics achievement for all students, there are
few empirical studies that explain how these leadership behaviors, tasks, and
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 37
responsibilities, in particular, are translated to meet the Algebra I achievement needs of
African American students. Furthermore, increasingly disturbing trends and statistics
challenge the ability of leadership within U.S. schools to provide a fair and equitable
playing field while educating African American students (Foster, 2005).
Lastly, additional studies on how instructional leaders address Algebra I
achievement of African American students must be conducted at the high school level in
urban communities. Having this information will allow instructional leaders working in
urban communities to effectively modify their leadership behaviors and tasks around
addressing these students’ Algebra I achievement.

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 38
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Despite half a century of desegregation in America’s schools mandated by Brown v.
Board of Education, the educational experiences of African American students in U.S.
schools remains problematic and more troubled than in pre-civil rights days. Furthermore,
increasingly disturbing trends and statistics challenge the ability of leadership within U.S.
schools to provide a fair and equitable playing field while educating African American
students (Foster, 2005).
Statement of the Problem
Instructional leadership provided by the principal is identified as a factor
contributing to increased student achievement (O’Donnell & White, 2005). Although some
literature supports the selected leadership practices of high school principals that have an
indirect/direct effect on mathematics achievement for all students, there are few empirical
studies that explain how these leadership practices, in particular, meet the mathematics
needs of African American students. Furthermore, few studies were conducted within an
environment politically driven by the current assessment-based educational system. The
mandates of NCLB to staff schools with highly qualified teachers and to produce high levels
of student achievement may be the most challenging duty educational leaders faced in the
history of education (O’Donnell & White, 2005). This study focused on how urban high
school principals target their initiatives to address African American students’ mathematics
achievement and what levers are used to build capacity among teachers who serve African
American students. Additionally, more research needs to be conducted on how high school
principals build capacity among their teachers to implement initiatives targeted to increase
and sustain mathematics achievement in African American students at the school level.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 39
Purpose of the Study
The study pursued the initiatives implemented by urban high school principals to
increase and sustain Algebra I achievement among African American students. The
accountability demands associated with closing the achievement gap among various
subgroups of students provides the foundation for this study. Additionally, this study
examined how urban high school principals build capacity among their teachers to
implement initiatives targeted to increase and sustain African American students’ Algebra I
achievement.
Research Questions
1. What informs an urban high school principal’s decision-making process when
implementing initiatives that address Algebra I achievement?
2. How are these initiatives implemented to have an impact on and sustain African
American students’ Algebra I achievement?
3. How do urban high school principals build capacity within Algebra I teachers
serving African American students?
4. How do urban high school principals evaluate and sustain initiatives that increase
African American students’ Algebra I achievement?
Rationale for Mixed-Methods Study Design
Creswell (2014) states a mixed-methods approach involves the integration of
qualitative and quantitative research and data in a research study. A mixed-methods
approach was used to provide a comprehensive understanding of the research problem
through the collection of quantitative and qualitative data. Qualitative data collected
through interviews allowed the researcher to have face-to-face interaction with
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 40
participants to elicit their views and opinions (Creswell, 2014). The quantitative data
collected allowed the researcher to assign a numeric values to data provided by the sample
population used to draw conclusions. A mixed-methods approach reduces the risk that the
researcher’s conclusions reflect biases and through the triangulation of data and allows a
secure understanding of the research problem (Maxwell, 2013).
Research Design
This study used a convergent parallel mixed-method approach. The convergent
parallel mixed-method approach, allowed the researcher to converge or merge quantitative
and qualitative data, which provided a comprehensive analysis of data collected through
interviews and surveys. The qualitative data provided information regarding the
respondents’ views, opinions, and decision-making process regarding principal-led
initiatives that have created and identified to have an impact on African American students’
Algebra I achievement. The quantitative data was used to place a numeric value on the
perceptions of teachers regarding the effectiveness of initiatives implemented by the
principal and whether the principal built their capacity to implement such initiatives.
Additionally, contradictions or incongruent findings will be identified between principal-
led initiatives identified in the qualitative data and teacher’s perceptions around the
principal’s initiatives that focused on Algebra I achievement for African American students
and building the teacher’s capacities to implement these initiatives.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 41

Sample Population
For the qualitative portion of the study, criterion-based selection was used to select
urban high school principals who have served at the school for at least 3 years.
Additionally, these principals were selected when there was evidence of an increase in
mathematics achievement among African American students for three consecutive years as
measured by the California Standards Test for mathematics. The quantitative study
included Algebra I teachers who directly support the principal’s initiatives to increase and
sustain African American students’ Algebra I achievement.
Instrumentation
In studies used in the review of literature regarding instructional leadership, data
was collected in the form of surveys and interviews. Many of the questions used to
measure instructional leadership relied heavily on the attitudes, opinions, and perceptions
of teachers to validate instructional leadership behaviors that directly or indirectly affect
student achievement. An in-depth analysis of how the instructional leader operates under
accountability-based reforms such as NCLB and how that positively affects African
American students’ Algebra I achievement could provide a more complete understanding
of how future instructional leaders can address the Algebra I performance gap that African
American students experiencing when compared to other subgroups.
Quantitative Instrumentation
To accomplish the purpose of this study, quantitative data was collected through an
online survey called Google Form. This survey was used to measure the perceptions of
Algebra I teachers around the instructional leadership behaviors that have an impact on
their implementation of Algebra I instruction and analysis of how African American
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 42
students’ achieving in Algebra I. The survey questions were generated based on the
literature review and are aligned with the four research questions presented above
(Appendix A). The survey questions were also used to quantify the level of support that the
principal provided to help teachers implement and sustain initiatives that support African
American students’ mathematics achievement. Lastly, the quantitative data was used to
verify alignment of what the principal reported in the semi-structured interview and
implementation of the initiatives and teachers’ perceptions regarding how the principal
supports their implementation of the initiatives.
Qualitative Instrumentation
Qualitative data was captured through the semi-structured interview protocol
(Appendix B). A semi-structured interview allows the participant to define the world in a
unique way (Merriam, 2009). Additionally, the researcher can gather data to understand
how the participant interprets phenomena or behaviors that cannot be observed (Merriam,
2009). The semi-structured interview questions align with Merriam’s (2009)
recommendations for six types of questions that should be asked in an interview. The
interview protocol consists of experience and behavior questions, opinion and value
questions, feeling questions, knowledge questions, sensory questions, and
background/demographic questions (Merriam, 2009, p. 96). The researcher also included
probes when needed to gain additional insight and clarity on the research topic. The
questions alignment with the research questions and were designed to give the
participants an opportunity to address the principal-led initiative that supports African
American students’ Algebra I achievement.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 43

Credibility and Trustworthiness
Triangulation is a strategy used to collect data from a diverse range of individuals
using a variety of methods. This strategy reduces the risk of chance associations and
systematic bias due to using a single collection method (Maxwell, 2013). Additional
validity tests used by the researcher outlined in Maxwell (2013) were rich data, numbers,
and comparison to support the credibility of the data. During the interview portion of this
study, rich data were collected through recorded interviews, interview notes and verbatim
interview transcripts. The numbers data enable the researcher to assess the amount of
evidence the data bear on a particular conclusion or threat (Maxwell, 2013). Lastly, a
comparison was used to assess validity threats (Maxwell, 2013). In a convergent parallel
mixed-methods study, including additional follow-up on conclusions strengthened this
strategy of inquiry (Creswell, 2014).
Data Collection Protocols
Prior to collecting data on the participants, an application was submitted to the
Institutional Review Board at the University of Southern California for the purpose of
protecting and preserving information, including identities, provided to the researcher for
the duration of the study and beyond. The qualitative data collected came from
participating urban high school principals in California through recorded and transcribed
interviews. Quantitative data was collected through an online survey tool provided to
select participants. All subjects participated voluntarily. All information presented in the
findings of this study was made unidentifiable with the use of pseudonyms.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 44

Quantitative Data Collection
Once district level approval was granted to the researcher to distribute surveys, an
email providing the link to the Google Form was sent to selected participants. The email
also included an attached cover letter (Appendix E) to elaborate on the purpose of the
study and the potential value of participants’ contribution. When necessary, a follow-up
email was sent to increase the response rate and reliability of the results. After the survey
was completed, each participant received a confirmation and a follow-up email thanking
him/her for participating.
Qualitative Data Collection
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with urban high school principals who
met the sampling criteria. The selected principals were informed of the purpose of the
study prior to the interview (Appendix C) and were provided a participation letter
(Appendix G), inviting them to participate in the research study. Prior to conducting the
interview, consent to conduct and record the interview (Appendix D) was gathered prior
before moving forward
The responses elicited from the interview protocol were captured using a digital
recorder application on an iPad and through interview notes. The recorded responses
were transcribed for later review and analysis. Expanded notes were also completed after
each interview and were included in the raw data. An additional interview took place
when the researcher needed to clarify information or answer questions arising from the
original interview.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 45

Ethical Considerations
Ethical issues relevant to this study were addressed using Patton’s (2002) Ethical
Issues Checklist. Before conducting interviews or surveys, participants were informed
about the purpose of the study. Afterwards, the researcher requested permission to record
the conversations discussed in the interview regarding the research questions. All
recorded and transcribed data was stored in a secure place for the researcher,
chairpersons, and committee members to access. All data were destroyed upon completion
of the study. Lastly, participants were informed this study would not be published without
the written consent of individuals within this study where applicable.
Data Analysis Procedures
The researcher performed an analysis of qualitative data from the responses of
urban high school principals that encompassed the decisions-making process around the
implementation of principal-led initiatives, building capacity, evaluation, and sustainability
of initiatives identified as supporting the Algebra I achievement among African American
students. Furthermore, quantitative data from the responses of teachers implementing
principal-led initiatives that support Algebra I achievement among African American
students were analyzed to understand their perceptions around their abilities to effectively
implement these initiatives.
Quantitative Data Analysis
The quantitative data for this study were generated from an online survey through
Google Form. Features from the online survey tool were used to present statistical
measures of the recorded responses from the survey. The findings from the surveys were
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 46
compared to each other and to the review of literature to determine convergent and
divergent findings.
Qualitative Data Analysis
Category construction is the process that begins with reading the first interview
transcript, the first set of field notes, and the first document collected in the study
(Merriam, 2009). The researcher’s initial process for analyzing the data began was to read
the first interview transcript and interview notes. Bits of data relevant to the study and any
gaps of information resulting from the interview were noted. After several readings of each
interview transcript and interview notes, open codes were assigned to data. According to
Huberman, Miles, and Saldana (2014), when working with text, one notes recurring themes
or patterns that pull together many separate pieces of data.
Next, all of the open codes were recorded in the margins and the codes and the
corresponding data in support of the code were recorded in an excel sheet to allow the
researcher to view the data at a glance before moving to the second-cycle coding. Second-
Cycle method is a way of grouping patterns and themes found in first-cycle coding in
smaller categories themes or constructs (Huberman, Miles, & Saldaña, 2014). Engaging in
the second round of coding allowed the researcher to eliminate some of the initial codes
and assign categories to existing codes. Analytic tools described in Corbin and Strauss
(2008), such as asking questions and making comparisons, were employed during the
process of analyzing the data and helped the researcher gain a deeper understanding of the
categories constructed from the open codes.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 47
Finally, a triangulation of analysis from the quantitative data, qualitative data, and
review of literature was conducted to find points of both convergence and divergence
between these data sources.
Summary
This chapter presents a restatement of the problem, purpose and research questions
guiding this study. The research design is a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach
integrating quantitative and qualitative data. High school urban principals were
interviewed for the qualitative portion of the study and staff members from the
corresponding site were surveyed for the quantitative portion of the study. Additionally,
this chapter provides a detailed account of the data collection protocols, and data analysis
process. Chapter Four presents the results, and recommendation follow in Chapter Five.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 48
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
The purpose of this chapter is to present the results from the data gathered through
interviews, surveys, and related documents and analyzed in light of the literature review.
The findings were evaluated through the lenses of Hallinger’s Principal’s Instructional
Leadership Model (1989), The 21 Responsibilities of the School Leader (Marzano, Waters, &
McNulty, 2005), and NCLB (2001).
The study pursued the initiatives implemented by urban high school principals that
increased and sustained Algebra I achievement for African American students. The
accountability demands associated with closing the achievement gaps among various
subgroups of students provide the foundation for this study. Additionally, this study
examined how urban high school principals build capacity among teachers to implement
initiatives targeted to increase and sustain African American students’ Algebra I
achievement.
This chapter presents the findings from a mixed-methods study that encompasses
qualitative data provided by the four principals interviewed and thirteen surveys
completed by their corresponding Algebra I teachers. All data gathered for this chapter
were aligned to the following research questions:
1. What informs an urban high school principal’s decision-making process when
implementing initiatives that address Algebra I achievement?
2. How are these initiatives implemented to have an impact on and sustain African
American students’ Algebra I achievement?
3. How do urban high school principals build capacity within Algebra I teachers
serving African American students?
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 49
4. How do urban high school principals evaluate and sustain initiatives that increase
African American students’ Algebra I achievement?
Quantitative Phase
Prior to conducting interviews and surveys, four southern California counties and
their corresponding districts and schools were researched to identify schools where
African American students were increasing and sustaining Algebra I proficiency as
measured by the Algebra I California Standards Test. The four schools included in the
study are labeled School A, School B, School C, and School D. If a principal is referenced in a
table, Principal A corresponds to School A, Principal B corresponds to School B, Principal C
corresponds to School C, and Principal D corresponds to School D. The table below
represents the Algebra I proficiency rates for African American students in the 9th grade
from 2011 to 2013 for the four schools included in this study.
Table 1
Algebra I California Standards Percent Proficient and Above for 9th Grade African American
Students by Year
Year School
School A
n = 28
School B
n = 42
School C
n = 73
School D
n = 49
2013 50 36 37 33
School A
n = 27
School B
n = 41
School C
n = 80
School D
n = 60
2012 52 39 33 30
School A
n = 39
School B
n = 51
School C
n = 75
School D
n = 47
2011 46 33 28 28
California Department of Education, 2013
It is important to note that data for Spring 2014 and 2015 were not available and
could not be used for this study. Also, the schools identified had the highest proficiency
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 50
scores recorded within their counties for 9th grade African American students who
completed the Algebra I California Standards Test.
Academic Performance Index
In addition to the Algebra I proficiency rates for African American students included
in Table 1, Table 2 below provides overall API for all four schools and their subgroups.
These data provide an overall snapshot of student achievement as measured by the
California Standards Test, representing all core subjects that fall under English Language
Arts, mathematics, history, and science. Additionally, the API represents overall
achievement for students in grades nine through eleven.
Table 2
Academic Performance Index
Group School A
API
School B
API
School C
API
School D
API
School-wide 777 785 830 787
African American 787 756 797 774
Asian 876 901 853
Hispanic or Latino 756 771 810 781
White 813 817 843 813
Socioeconomically
Disadvantaged
761 770 795 778
English Learners 751 748 726 705
California Department of Education, 2013
Enrollment
Table 3 summarizes the overall enrollment data for each school, which aids in
understanding the number of students that each principal serves school-wide and by
subgroup.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 51

Table 3
Enrollment
Group School A School B School C School D
School-wide 1,502 1,742 3,433 3,276
African American 167 216 479 661
Asian 84 15 275 71
Hispanic or Latino 1,056 1,004 1,455 2,169
White 65 300 943 182
Socioeconomically
Disadvantaged
1,210 1,243 1,158 2,582
English Learners 284 290 87 337
District-wide 20,845 22,965 25,020 19,832
California Department of Education, 2013
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Enrollment
Table 4 represents the number of students at each school who were classified as
socioeconomically disadvantaged. Having this data provides context regarding the weight
of the student population that is disadvantaged as well as the weight of socioeconomically
disadvantaged students within subgroups. As an example, School A has 1,210 students
classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged within the total population of 1,502 students.
This means 80.5% of the students Principal A serves are considered socioeconomically
disadvantaged. Among African American students attending School A, 74.3% are
socioeconomically disadvantaged. Overall, school A has the highest proportion of African
American students classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged. Additionally, in 2013,
the Algebra I proficiency rate, as measured by the California Standards Test for 9th grade
African American students for School A was 50%, which is higher than the that of the other
schools presented in this study.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 52
Table 4
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged by Subgroup
California Department of Education, 2013
Survey Participants
Table 5 presents the data that show the total years of teaching as well as Algebra I
teaching experience. This study emphasized Algebra I achievement for African American
students, and it is important to note the range of teaching experience at each school.
Table 5
Demographics of Survey Participants
Organization Range of Total Years
Teaching Math
Range of Total Years
Teaching Algebra I
School A 9 - 18 5 - 9
School B 9 - 17 9 - 10
School C 13 - 25 5 - 21
School D 10 - 26 5 - 20
Qualitative Phase
Table 6 summarizes demographic information about principal responses relative to
years of experience in education at the time of the interview.
Group School A School B School C School D
School-wide 1,210 1,243 1,158 2,582
African American 124 150 195 461
Asian 46 12 91 52
Hispanic or Latino 941 800 620 1,857
White 35 163 197 101
District-wide 10,994 10,767 14,098 16,789
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 53

Table 6
Demographics of Interview Participants
Name Years as
Principal
Years as
Assistant
Principal
Years as
Teacher
Courses
Taught
Grade Level
Experience
Principal A 12 3 11 History 6 - 12
Principal B 8 4 9 Physical
Education
6 - 12
Principal C 3 3 17 English 9 - 12
Principal D 1 5 13 Math
Business
Technology
9 - 12
Results
The sections below present the results of data analysis in relation to the research
question to which the data pertain.
Results for Research Question One
The first research question asked, “What informs an urban high school principal’s
decision-making process when implementing initiatives that address Algebra I
achievement?” According to Hallinger (1989), the instructional leader should monitor and
provide data when managing the instructional program. Resulting from the NCLB (2002),
instructional leaders must build a data-driven instructional system that will systematically
improve teaching and learning. Furthermore, the system should include data collection,
data reflection, program alignment and integration, program design, and test preparation
(Halverson et al., 2007).
Research Question One was primarily addressed through qualitative data collected
from the interviews. The themes that emerged from this data regarding what informs a
principal’s decision-making process are state assessment data, PLCs and grades. There are
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 54
also some additional findings included that were reported across the various interview
data but did not emerge as a theme or a pattern. Each of the themes is supported by the
instructional leadership frameworks and the literature review presented in this study.
State assessments data. Prior to deciding which programs to design and
implement, overwhelmingly the principals in this study included an analysis of state
assessment data as a first step in the decision-making process. The state assessment data
most commonly analyzed was the Algebra I California Standards Test as well as the
California High School Exit Exam. Generally, the principals reported analyzing the data by
strand, major subgroups, and they included another layer of analysis by looking at the data
included in the strands for high-performing students versus underperforming students.
Regarding state assessments data, Principal C stated the following:
We take student performance on all high-stakes testing and grades very seriously in
this district. As site and district administrators, we know the importance of
ensuring that every student meets those expectations both at the federal and state
level. We are accountable as part of our performance evaluation to ensuring that
students meet those targets that we talked about. I believe many of the, the
principals are, convicted by what we call the moral obligation to ensure that all kids
have access to both a high school diploma and higher education. If a subgroup isn’t
achieving, it’s my job to ensure that I open as many doors of opportunity for them as
I can.
Principal A viewed state assessment data as one of many measuring tools that could be
used as an indicator of success and a feedback tool to look for better ways to improve
teaching and learning:
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 55
It is a great measurement. Why should we not measure our success? Where do we
stand? How do we become successful? It is nothing more than a feedback
mechanism; to the students, the teachers, parent, and community in general. When
our kids don’t do well, we don’t blame students, we don’t blame the teachers for not
doing their jobs correctly. We just look for better ways to teach students.
Overall, all principals agreed that state assessments where vital to informing their
decisions on programs to design or implement to respond to underperforming students.
However, this was not the only measurement tool used to inform their decisions on
implementing initiatives that address Algebra I achievement.
Professional learning communities. PLCs operate under the assumption that
continuous job-embedded learning is the key to improved learning for students.
Furthermore, a PLC is an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in
recurring cycles of inquiry and learn by doing to achieve better results for students
(DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2010). All principals included in this study reported
having PLC embedded in the teacher’s workday, and teachers met on a regular basis.
During their PLC meetings, teachers were expected to analyze assessment data, share best
teaching and learning practices, revise curriculum and assessments based on their analysis
of various data, and provide next steps toward improved student achievement outcomes.
There was an expectation among all principals that, in order to support teaching and
learning, there needed to be course teams established that could be used as a feedback tool
for the principal to design new initiatives or refine existing ones to provide ongoing
support to teachers and students that would result in improved Algebra I achievement
outcomes for students.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 56
Grades. In addition to analyzing state assessment data and establishing PLC as a
feedback tool to improve teaching and learning for Algebra I students, looking at grades
was a common piece of data that the principal’s used to inform their decisions on creating
organizational structures around initiatives that support Algebra I achievement such as
tutoring programs, support classes, and retooling the grading expectations for students.
Other data informing the decision-making process. Surveying students,
although not represented across the interview data, was another source of data used to
inform the decision-making process. About using surveys to inform his decision to
implement a mentoring program to enhance struggling students’ achievement, Principal B
said,
I took an entire day of my schedule, and I broke the students up into groups of 20,
gave them a survey, and the survey had questions like, “Do you want to graduate
from high school? Do you want to?” I don’t think I even was talking about A through
G, ‘cause we’re just trying to get them through school and just not drop out, right?
“Do you want to graduate?” You know, all these questions and, you know, “if given
support, would you take it?” You know, that kind of stuff. Long story short, we
created a mentoring program. We identified 90 kids that met the criteria of what we
wanted to do and, basically, created an advocate system for those students. Ninety-
four percent said they had no connection to an adult on campus. I found that to be
staggering, and that was pretty much what I needed to know. So, we created the
adult on campus, and, so, I released them for three periods at the semester and all
he did was pull these kids out, meet with them, find out what they’re doing, what’s
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 57
working, what’s not working. It really built connections with those kids. So, they
really work much harder.
Lastly, other tools used to inform the principals’ decision-making process included
using data management tools that created achievement data reports, district benchmark
assessment data, and Advanced Placement Exam scores analyzed and used to make
decisions to shape initiatives which have an impact on Algebra I achievement.
Summary of Results
It is evident, because of NCLB (2001), principals collect and analyze data from the
California Standards Test for Algebra I as an initial step to inform their decisions and build
initiatives that support Algebra I achievement for all students. Acknowledging that
standardized test data are important to collect and analyze, principals also identified the
need to establish PLCs and use the feedback resulting from teachers engaging in these
communities as data points to inform their decisions as well. The most interesting finding,
although not represented across all of the interviews, is the use of data collected from
student surveys. Principal B wanted to address his students’ Algebra I achievement by
asking academic and nonacademic survey questions. As a result of this data, he was
informed enough to create an initiative that included mentorship and an adult on campus
with whom students could regularly check in. Having the adult gave students a connection
which, over time, motivated them to work much harder at achieving in their Algebra I class.
Results for Research Question Two
The second research question asked, “How are these initiatives implemented to
have an impact on and sustain African American students’ Algebra I achievement?” The
elements of a PLC include a focus on learning; a collaborative culture with a focus on
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 58
learning for all; collective inquiry into best practices and current reality; action oriented:
learning by doing; a commitment to continuous improvement; and results oriented
(DuFour et al., 2010). Based on the qualitative results for Research Question Two, many of
the initiatives were identified as a result of teachers and related stakeholders’ grounding in
the PLC process. Common themes that represented initiatives included building
relationships with students, analyzing data, curriculum and assessment alignment,
professional development, teacher collaboration, support classes for students, and
tutoring/intervention programs. Quantitative findings also further supported the themes
of teachers’ engaging in data analysis, professional development and collaboration as a
principal-led initiative that supported teachers’ implementation of curriculum and
supported teachers’ perceptions on using collaboration time as professional development
that affected students’ Algebra I achievement outcomes.
Building relationships with students. According to Hattie (2009), in student-
centered classrooms, there is more engagement, fewer resistant behaviors, more student-
initiated and student-regulated activities, and higher achievement outcomes. Furthermore,
the impact of teacher-student relationship has an effect size 0.72, which translates to being
a high-impact strategy that leads to increased student achievement outcomes. All
participants reported the need to build an initiative to strengthen teacher-student
relationships to increase student performance. The initiatives presented during the
interviews included mentorship programs or surveying students to collect data on how to
build programs that connect teachers to students. Principal A stated the following about
his journey to foster teacher-student relationship at his school:
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 59
We did a questionnaire of 400 kids last year, and what they tell you is that one
important thing for them is having a relationship with their teachers. And how they
don’t want to fail because they don’t want to let their teachers down. I think that this
is very important because we need to create a very caring environment for students.
When I first came here, that wasn’t the case. I remember extending my hand out to a
kid and the kid walking away because he didn’t have the relationship with the adults
here. There used to be fights all the time, and, now, we don’t have fights. And kids
will tell each other that fighting is not the way we do things here because this is not
the environment we live in.
Principal B also surveyed a targeted group of students and created a mentorship
program that included an adult on campus who regularly checked in with students to
monitor their progress. Principal D included one period of Algebra I for all of his math
teachers so that every teacher was responsible for mentoring and tutoring their one period
of Algebra I students.
Analysis of data. Analyzing data was pivotal for all participants when informing
their decisions on what initiatives increase and sustain Algebra I achievement for all
students. All principals created job-embedded structures for teachers to analyze student
performance data such as that gained from the Algebra I California Standards Test, site-
level formative assessments and common assessments, and district benchmarks as a
feedback loop to improve teaching and learning. Overall, all teachers agreed that the data
gathered from formative assessments were used to guide Algebra I instruction. Table 7
represents the survey results for each school included in this study.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 60
Table 7
There Was a Consistent Use of Formative Assessments to Guide Algebra I Instruction
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
33.3 66.6 33.3 100 30.8
Agree 66.5 33.4 66.6 69.2
Not Sure
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

In addition to teachers using feedback from formative assessment, 93.4% of the
teachers agreed that data from common assessment were used to evaluate Algebra I
instruction (Table 8).
Table 8
Algebra I Teachers Used Data From Common Assessments to Evaluate Algebra I Instruction
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
66.6 100 25 46.2
Agree 33.3 100 50 46.2
Not Sure
Disagree 25 7.7
Strongly
Disagree

Lastly, based on the survey results, district benchmark data were not used widely,
as perceived by the teachers surveyed, to identify and address Algebra I achievement gaps.
Overall 53.9% of the teachers agreed that district benchmark data were used to identify
achievement gaps. Also of note is that, at School A, which demonstrated the highest
proficiency rates among 9th grade African American student as measured by the Algebra I
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 61
California Standards Test, 33% of the teachers were unsure of how the district benchmark
data were used to identify achievement gaps. Table 9 represents the survey results for
each site regarding the use of district benchmark data:
Table 9
Algebra I Teachers Used District Benchmark Data to Identify Algebra I Achievement Gaps
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
66.6 15.4
Agree 66.6 75 38.5
Not Sure 33.3 33.3 15.4
Disagree 33.3 25 15.4
Strongly
Disagree
66.6 15.4

Curriculum and assessment alignment. Across the board, principals stated that
their teachers were expected to have a common curriculum, common pacing guides, and
common assessment tools (formative and summative). All were expected, at some point in
the PLC process, to align their curriculum and assessments. Principal B stated,
I’ve got two Algebra I teachers, and if their curriculum is not aligned to state
standards, and, if they are not on the same pace with each other and they’re not
offering the exact same curriculum, having the same formative assessments and
looking at the same results, from their two classes, how do you know, if what I’m
doing over here, in Teacher A, how do I know Teacher B is not doing a better job?
Because, if you don’t have the same curriculum, and you don’t have the same
assessments, and you’re not on the same pacing, how can you evaluate that? You can
go into any Algebra class on September 27th and, if you go into Algebra I classes on
that day, I don’t care what period of the day it is and who your teacher is, we have
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 62
four different Algebra I teachers, they will all be doing the exact same assignment
that day.
Principal B thought that, if he did not set the expectation that his teachers were to
align their curriculum, pacing, and assessments, he was not allowing students equitable
access to the Algebra I curriculum. Principal A expected that the entire curriculum needed
to be covered by May. He felt that, if students did not engage in all of the curriculum, they
were denied the opportunity to show proficiency in the Algebra I standards.
Professional development. Promoting professional growth is perceived by
teachers to be the second major instructional leadership behavior that has an impact on
student achievement (Blasé & Blasé, 1999). A common theme presented in the data was to
provide a plan to give teachers access to professional development, through collaboration,
to have an impact on student achievement. Subsequent sections of this chapter present
and discuss the manner in which principals provided professional growth opportunities
that affect student achievement. Professional development in the context of this research
question emerged as teachers had time to collaborate and share best practices. Principals
included time for collaboration, which was a condition for implementing Algebra I
curriculum, but, through teacher collaboration, principals expected teachers to grow
professionally as a result of having discussions around teaching and learning.
Collaboration. The principal builds organizational capacity by creating a learning
organization in which leadership is distributed and stakeholders, through collaborating in
professional communities, enhance their skills and knowledge to support student
achievement (Jacobson, 2010; Klar, 2012). Teacher collaboration fostered student
achievement, especially for students not obtaining proficiency in Algebra I in the 9th grade.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 63
Among the teachers surveyed, 92.4% agreed that horizontal articulation occurred across
teachers regarding the implementation of the curriculum. Principals reported that
collaboration time was used to analyze data, write curriculum, create common formative
and summative assessments, exchange best practices that support teaching and learning,
and to record feedback for the principal that was used to identify additional rounds of
professional development needed. Table 10 quantifies how teachers felt about horizontal
articulation supporting implementation of Algebra I curriculum.
Table 10
Horizontal Articulation Occurred Across All Algebra I Teachers Regarding Implementation of
Algebra I Curriculum
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
33.3 100 66.6 46.2
Agree 66.6 33.3 75 46.2
Not Sure 25 7.7
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

In addition to collecting data on teacher engagement with horizontal articulation,
based on the surveys, there were mixed results on teachers engaging vertically when
collaborating with peers. Fifty-three percent of the teachers disagreed that vertical
articulation happened at their sites while 7.7% were not sure (Table 11).
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 64
Table 11
Vertical Articulation Regarding Algebra I Occurred Across Middle School Through High
School
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree

Agree 66.6 66.6 25 38.5
Not Sure 25 7.7
Disagree 33.3 66.6 33.3 25 38.5
Strongly
Disagree
33.3 25 15.4

Tutoring and intervention programs. Providing additional support to students,
especially for students not succeeding in Algebra I, was supported by all principals. The
support classes took various forms. Principal A and Principal B included support classes in
the master schedule that paralleled Algebra I courses, and Principal D offered a Saturday
class. All principals expected their math teachers to offer tutoring. Principal A had a
tutoring lab that was open to students from 3:30pm to 5:30pm each day, and teachers were
paid for their time to support students. Principal D expected all of his teachers to offer one
hour of tutoring per week either after school, before school, lunch or during their prep
period. Below is a reflection of when Principal D started the tutoring program:
I gave every math teacher in our department at least one algebra class. I wanted
each teacher for that one class to own that group of students. Every math teacher
had an Algebra I class and a group of students that I wanted them to mentor and
focus their energies and strategies on to get that group successful. Why did I do
that? I believe it takes a village to raise a child. I really do. And I felt that by
spreading out a large number of Algebra I students that were underperforming
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 65
among a group of teachers and made that teacher responsible for a group of
students, to mentor, to offer intervention to the after-school tutoring. Whatever it
took for their group to succeed, I wanted them to do it. After two years of
implementing this tutoring program for struggling Algebra I students, we started to
see a change in student achievement.
In addition to offering students support classes and additional tutoring, two of the
principals set high expectations for students not to fail and implemented a grading policy to
support this effort. Principal A offered students additional time after the Algebra I course
ended to request a grade change if the student demonstrated proficiency after retaking
core assessments. Prior to retaking exams, students were expected to work with their
teacher to be eligible for exam retakes. Students were not allowed to retake exams if they
had not addressed their gaps with the content. Principal B allowed math teachers to
emphasize how students performed in the last six weeks when providing an overall
semester grade. If students outperformed in the last six weeks of the Algebra I course,
where many of the concepts from the prior weeks come together, students were eligible to
receive a C or D, therefore obtaining credit for the semester. Principal B stated,
Students keep working hard because we’ve got a system in place that allows them
the opportunity to pass at the end if they show mastery. Students can show the
mastery and the knowledge at the end of the course or through the semester
assessment.
Principal B found this grading policy helped to keep students motivated to persist at
completing the Algebra I course despite their previous grades, especially students who
typically struggled to complete the course.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 66
Summary of Results
It is evident, based on the findings, that principals embed structures that promote
the school’s learning environment through teacher collaboration. Teachers also receive
opportunities during collaboration time to analyze site-level assessments data such as
common assessments, formative assessments, state assessments, and district assessments.
In all, 53% of the teachers disagreed that vertical articulation was happening as a strategy
to increase Algebra I achievement. All teachers were expected to have alignment in their
curriculum and were encouraged and/or expected by all principals to provide tutoring or
intervention to students requiring additional support. Of note is that all principals
identified a need to create initiatives that fostered teacher-student relationships to
ultimately support students’ achievement outcomes.
Results for Research Question Three
The third research question asked, “How do urban high school principals build
capacity within Algebra I teachers serving African American students?” The principal
builds organizational capacity by creating a learning organization in which leadership is
distributed and stakeholders, through collaboration, enhance their skills and knowledge to
support student achievement (Jacobson, 2010; Klar, 2012). Developing PLCs at the
secondary level proved to be a challenge; however, PLCs have the potential to build
capacity and transform schools. School leaders can also foster larger capacity by providing
high-quality professional development that embeds opportunities for teachers to
collectively explore diverse approaches to teaching and learning (Jacobson, 2010).
Two themes emerged in the qualitative data that support how principals build
capacity among teachers to increase and sustain student achievement in Algebra I.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 67
Principals build capacity by engaging teachers in professional development that increases
their skills and knowledge to be effective math teachers and by providing physical
resources, such as technology. An additional finding, although not a theme in the
qualitative data is that Principal A uses formative evaluations for teachers as an
opportunity for them to improve their skills and knowledge. Principals who provide
professional development and material resources are supported by Marzano, Waters, and
McNulty’s (2005) 21 responsibilities that are most effective in guiding behaviors when
working towards increasing student achievement. Quantitative data further support the
theme of the principal’s providing opportunities to develop teacher’s skills and knowledge
by providing ongoing opportunities for them to learn strategies to implement curriculum
effectively and the additional finding of providing formative feedback as perceived by the
teachers surveyed in this study.
Knowledge and Skills. All of the principals enhanced the knowledge of their
subordinates by distributing leadership, providing job-embedded collaboration, setting
aside money for teachers to attend professional conferences, working one-on one-with a
math coach, hiring a consultant, and providing a formative evaluation to teachers.
Overall, 76.9% of teachers felt that professional development was driven by the
Algebra I achievement results. Principals stated that professional development was
targeted to meet the perceived needs of teachers so that opportunities for them to grow
were meaningful. All of the teachers at Schools A and B agreed that their professional
development needs were directly aligned to the gaps in learning presented in achievement
data. It is important to note that, when principals facilitated opportunities for teachers to
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 68
engage in professional development, these opportunities were based on the subgroup of
students not performing.
Collaboration in all schools included in this study was ongoing, and principals
provided opportunities for teachers to learn from their peers’ best practices. However,
only 69.3% of the teachers believed that they received ongoing training on strategies that
could be used to implement the curriculum. Table 12 represents the survey result for all
schools.
Table 12
Ongoing Training On Strategies to Implement Algebra I Curriculum for Algebra I Teachers
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All
Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
100 33.3 66.6 46.2
Agree 66.6 25 23.1
Not Sure 33.3 7.7
Disagree 75 23.1
Strongly
Disagree

In addition to the training teachers received to implement Algebra I curriculum, only
46.2% of them reported that the professional development was specialized for teachers
serving students not achieving in the content standards. Table I3 provides a summary of
this data.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 69

Table 13
Specialized Algebra I Professional Development for Teachers of Students who are not
Achieving Algebra I Content Standards

School A has the highest rate of African American students scoring proficient and above on
the Algebra I California Standards Test and all of those teachers strongly agree that their
professional development specialized in meeting the needs of students not achieving
within the content standards.
Organizational factors. Apart from teachers receiving professional development
to effectively deliver the curriculum, principals provided material resources to support
teacher’s performance in the classroom. Schools lacking efficient and effective
organizational processes and material resources can experience performance gaps (Clark &
Estes, 2008). To increase teachers’ performance, principals provided opportunities to
engage students in using technology to aid in extending their content knowledge. Principal
B had this to say about his initiative to increase technology on his campus to provide
students access:
We believe every child should have the experience of a graphing calculator. We
have 700 TI graphing calculators on our campus. We check them out at no cost to
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
100 33.3 66.6 25 15.4
Agree 66.6 30.8
Not Sure 33.3 15.4
Disagree 75 23.1
Strongly
Disagree
15.4
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 70
the student. We don’t charge students because every kid should have the ability to
use a $130 calculator. Right? Otherwise, kids that can’t afford it, they don’t get that
opportunity. Well it becomes an equity issue. So each year I invest $10,000 to
purchase 100 calculators per year because I want every kid to have that experience.
In addition to principals’ purchasing graphing calculators, laptop carts with computers
such as Chromebooks were purchased for teachers to use in the classroom to support the
Algebra I curriculum. Generally, principals supported the purchase of technology if
teachers could articulate the link between their use of the technology and students’
proficiency.
Formative evaluation for teachers. Formative evaluation of teachers provides
feedback on what is happening in their classroom with respect to how well they achieve
the learning targets they set for their students and where students are headed next. The
effect size on providing formative feedback to teachers on student achievement is 0.90
(Hattie, 2009). In this study, only 53.9% of the teachers agree that the principal provided
feedback on their implementation of curriculum. All teachers at School A agreed they
received formative feedback that provided insight into their delivery of instruction. Table
14 below represents a summary of teachers’ perceptions on receiving feedback.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 71
Table 14
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
33.3 33.3 15.4
Agree 66.6 33.3 50 38.5
Not Sure 33.3 7.7
Disagree 33.3 33.3 15.4
Strongly
Disagree
33.3 50 23.1

The data presented in this table show that principals do not provide formative
feedback on a consistent basis to helping teachers identify overall strengths and areas of
growth. All teachers at School A agree they receive formative feedback that reflects their
strengths and areas of growth. This perception regarding formative evaluations further
supports their proficiency rate among 9th grade African American students in Algebra I.
Summary of Results
Overall, principals created opportunities to build the skills and knowledge
necessary for teachers to be successful. About 77% of the teachers agreed that the
professional development was based on students’ Algebra I achievement outcomes.
Additionally, professional development opportunities varied across the schools. Based on
the data, there were mixed results on receiving professional development that addresses
the specific needs of non-achieving students. However, 69.3% of the teachers believed
their principal provided ongoing opportunities to learn strategies that addressed how to
implement the curriculum effectively. Also, the use of district curriculum leaders and math
coaches to build capacity was reported but did not represent a common theme across the
data. Only 7.7% of the Algebra I teachers leveraged the support of a district curriculum
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 72
leader to address gaps when implementing Algebra I curriculum. Furthermore, only 38.5%
of the teachers agree that math coaches were utilized to support teachers in their delivery
of the curriculum.
Generally, principals provided material resources for teachers that also contributed
to their capacity to perform their basic duties. Two principals were highlighted as having
initiatives that built the organization’s capacity to provide technology to students that was
used to deepen and extend students’ content knowledge.
Lastly, the most interesting finding was that Principal A provided teachers a
formative evaluation to aid in responding to their strengths and areas of growth when
delivering Algebra I curriculum. All of his teachers strongly agreed that he provided this
opportunity. Reiterating what was stated above, the effect size on providing formative
feedback to teachers on student achievement is 0.90 (Hattie, 2009). Principal A has the
highest proficiency rates among his 9th grade African American students, and the practice
of providing formative evaluation in part validates the achievement outcomes of African
American students.
Research Question Four
The fourth research question asked, “How do urban high school principals evaluate
and sustain initiatives that increase African American students’ Algebra I achievement?”
The case studies on high school principals and individual schools presented in the
literature consistently found that distributing leadership, building capacity to self-renew,
and engaging in inquiry processes are the core strategies employed by principals to
increase and sustain student outcomes. Additionally, monitoring and evaluating the
effectiveness of school practices is supported by Hallinger’s (1989) Principal’s Instructional
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 73
Leadership Model and The 21 Responsibilities of the School Leader (Marzano, Waters, &
McNulty, 2005).
Consistent with the literature, all principals included in this study engaged in an
inquiry process that included various stakeholders to provide feedback to the school
community to improve teaching and learning. Grounded in their work within the PLC,
principals, teachers, and key stakeholders continuously collected quantitative and
qualitative data to determine the value of an initiative and next steps to improve and
sustain initiatives positively affecting students Algebra I achievement. Principals reported
teachers were expected to analyze data such as grades, formative assessments, common
assessments, district benchmarks, and state assessments and, based on their analysis of
this data, make decisions to keep or improve initiatives that support achievement. If
initiatives were not supported by data over time to affect achievement, the principals did
not continue these initiatives. At the school leadership level, all principals collected
qualitative and quantitative data by conducting classroom observations on a regular basis.
While not a common theme represented in the data, an interesting finding is that Principal
A conducts group classroom walkthroughs, and these groups include students. The
feedback calibrated from all of the different stakeholders was reported to the PLC and used
to make refine existing initiatives. About his classroom observation process, Principal A
stated,
Every administrator is required to be in at least five classrooms a day. We are
constantly doing classroom visits. First, we record our classroom observations by
pencil and paper. Then, have discussions about it. Then, we go into departments
and have very open discussions about data. We are really very data-driven. To our
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 74
departments, we say, “Here are the trends we are seeing. This is what is going on.
What are you guys seeing? How come this is not going on?” Classroom walkthroughs
happens four times a year, maybe more. Department heads also do walkthroughs.
We also have parents that do walkthroughs, and they know what to look for and
students last year started to do walkthroughs as well.
Principal A reported that he is fortunate to have teachers who were once his students. So
having the input of teachers who were once students provides invaluable feedback that
helps to sustain initiatives that increase Algebra I achievement.
Discussion
A key feature of state educational reforms over the last decade has been the
development of educational standards and test-based accountability that guided school
practices and investments (Darling-Hammond & Rustique-Forrester, 2005). Given that
principals operate under the NCLB, throughout this study, it has been communicated by
principals that their initiatives generally did not target the Algebra I achievement of African
American students specifically. However, if African American students were part of the
subgroup of students not performing, then the initiatives they implemented had a
significant impact on their Algebra I performance.
The findings from this study support that principals operate across the three
instructional leadership dimensions based on Hallinger’s (1989) Principal’s Instructional
Leadership Model presented in Chapter Two. Additionally, eight of eleven instructional
leadership behaviors that correspond to the three instructional leadership dimensions
were also evident.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 75
All principals included various achievement data to inform their decisions on
creating initiatives that support Algebra I achievement. Two principals stood out due to
their surveying students to build initiatives that addressed their nonacademic need.
Including students in classroom walkthroughs was not presented in the literature review,
but Principal A thought that the student voice was necessary feedback to move the school
forward. Aside from the principals using classroom feedback to monitor and evaluate
initiatives focusing on Algebra I achievement, they relied on feedback from their PLCs to
monitor and evaluate such initiatives.
A significant finding in this study is that all of the initiatives were grounded in the
PLC process, and educators were expected to work in collaboration and engage in cycles of
inquiry. Additionally, the Algebra I teachers at School A, based on the survey results,
strongly perceived Principal A to be supportive. They saw him as a catalyst for creating
opportunities to train teachers to be successful with all students, as providing job-
embedded structures at school to support professional learning, and as providing
formative feedback to teachers on strengths and areas of growth. The most unexpected
finding is that, at School A, 80.5% of the population is classified as socioeconomically
disadvantaged as compared to the 74.3% who African American. Principal A had an
average proficiency rate of 50% among 9th grade African American students. This
proficiency rate was much higher as compared to that of the other principals whose
populations include fewer socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
The survey results indicated that teachers received varying opportunities to build
capacity and develop the skills and knowledge necessary to provide high-quality
instruction for diverse groups of students.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 76
In conclusion, the above findings raise additional questions, such as the effect other
key stakeholders within the professional learning community have on supporting the
principals’ initiatives to increase and sustain Algebra I achievement for African American
students. Chapter Five discusses the implications for practice and recommendations for
future research.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 77
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS
Finkelstein and Fong (2008) found that 95% of African American students who did not
take Algebra I or higher in the ninth grade did not meet the minimum college eligibility
requirements. Currently, as the composition of African American students continues to
grow in K–12 populations, standards-based reform initiatives, such as NCLB, do not
address this phenomenon. Furthermore, trends and statistics challenge the ability of
leadership within U.S. schools to provide a fair and equitable playing field while educating
African American students (Foster, 2005).
The purpose of this study was to identify the initiatives implemented by urban high
school principals to increase and sustain Algebra I achievement among African American
students. The accountability demands associated with closing the achievement gaps
among various subgroups of students provide the foundation for this study. Additionally,
this study examined how urban high school principals build capacity among teachers to
implement initiatives targeted to increase and sustain African American students’ Algebra I
achievement.
The researcher evaluated the findings through the lenses of Hallinger’s (1989)
Principal’s Instructional Leadership Model, the 21 Responsibilities of the School Leader
(Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005), and NCLB (2001). These lenses were used to address
the four research questions:
1. What informs an urban high school principal’s decision-making process when
implementing initiatives that address Algebra I achievement?
2. How are these initiatives implemented to have an impact on and sustain African
American students’ Algebra I achievement?
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 78
3. How do urban high school principals build capacity within Algebra I teachers
serving African American students?
4. How do urban high school principals evaluate and sustain initiatives that increase
African American students’ Algebra I achievement?
A convergent parallel mixed-methods approach served to address the research
questions. This approach included gathering data via interviews, surveys, and documents.
Interviews were conducted with four urban high school principals. Surveys were
distributed to all Algebra I teachers working with the principals included in this study.
Various documents were obtained from the California Department of Education website on
Algebra I, California Standards Test Data as well as relevant demographic data that
provided context on the schools the principals serve. This chapter presents a discussion of
the findings and conclusions, implications for practice, and suggestions for future research.
Summary of Findings
It is evident, because of NCLB (2001), principals collect and analyze data from the
California Standards Test for Algebra I as an initial step to inform their decisions and build
initiatives that support achievement for all students. Acknowledging that standardized test
data are important, principals also identified the need to establish PLCs and use the
feedback from teachers in these communities as data points to inform their decisions as
well. To further enhance the decision-making experience, principals also collect data from
surveys of students. Resulting from the data provided by student surveys, principals
created mentorship programs to strengthen teacher-student relationships, which
positively affected Algebra I achievement.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 79
In addition to analyzing state assessment data and student surveys, the principal
created organizational structures that allow teachers to analyze various types of data, and
the feedback from this analysis is used by the principal to build initiatives that promote
both achievement and the school’s learning environment through teacher collaboration.
While 92.4% agree horizontal articulation happens within their PLCs, 53% of the teachers
disagreed that vertical articulation happens as a strategy to increase Algebra I achievement.
All teachers were expected to have alignment in their curriculum and were
encouraged and/or expected by all principals to provide tutoring or intervention to
students requiring additional support.
Overall, principals created opportunities to build the skills and knowledge
necessary for teachers to be successful. However, there are mixed results on how teachers
experiencing professional development that develops pertaining to outcomes for specific
students. About 77% of the teachers agreed that the professional development was based
on students’ Algebra I achievement. However, 69.3% teachers believed their principal
provided ongoing opportunities to learn how to implement the curriculum effectively.
Based on the data, how district curriculum leaders and math coaches are utilized to
support teachers is questionable.
The most interesting finding was that Principal A provided teachers a formative
evaluation to aid in responding to their strengths and areas of growth. Providing formative
feedback to teachers has a 0.90 effect size on student achievement (Hattie, 2009).
Lastly, this study examined how principals monitored and evaluated their initiatives.
Principals relied on data and the feedback generated from all stakeholders engaging in the
PLC process. Principals reported that teachers were expected to analyze achievement data,
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 80
and, based on their analysis of this data, make decisions to keep or make improve
initiatives that support Algebra I achievement. If initiatives were not supported by data,
the principals discontinued them. Another interesting finding regarding how principals
monitor and evaluate involved classroom observations. Principal A reported that he
engages in four or more classroom observations with teams that include students.
Implications for Practice
The role of the principal as the instructional leader is instrumental and has proven
its impact on Algebra I achievement. This study informs the practice of instructional
leadership by examining the initiatives implemented by urban high school principals that
sustain and increase this achievement. Key findings are presented below.
1. Analysis of Data: It is important for principals to analyze state assessment data and
create a plan for how teachers and related stakeholders should analyze it to
improve initiatives that increase and sustain achievement. Principals should have a
plan that outlines how the school community will provide a feedback loop of data
analysis to the principal that will weigh into the decision to keep existing initiatives
or create new initiatives that support Algebra I achievement.
2. Establishing professional learning communities: To enhance the decision-making
process on refining existing initiatives and creating new ones, the principal needs
to establish a professional learning community. The initiatives presented in this
study are grounded in the PLC process. Creating this job-embedded structure
allows principals to include all stakeholders in creating and sustaining initiative
supporting Algebra I teachers and students.
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 81
3. Providing targeted ongoing professional development: An effective instructional
leader builds the teachers’ capacity to implement initiatives. Principals’ providing
targeted ongoing professional development based on students’ Algebra I outcomes
will lead to improved teaching and learning. For example, teachers working with
the principal with the highest proficiency rates among 9th grade African American
students engaged in specialized professional development addressing non-
achieving students.
4. Surveying students: In addition to using Algebra I achievement data, for two
principals in this study, data collected from student surveys informed their
decisions on initiatives to support student efforts regarding Algebra I proficiency.
The students’ voices in the analysis of data widens a principal’s perspective on
their needs in order to improve teaching and learning.
5. Principals providing formative feedback: Formative evaluation of teachers provides
them feedback regarding what happens in their classrooms with respect to
achieving the student learning targets and next steps. One principal provided
formative evaluations to support teachers in leveraging their strengths and
addressing their areas of growth. The practice of providing formative evaluation to
teachers is one strategy a principal can use to positively affect Algebra I
achievement for all students.
6. Conducting classroom observation: Classroom observations help the principal
monitor and evaluate the instructional program. Data collected can aid in
validating whether existing initiatives are effective or whether new ones need to be
created. The principal should allow ongoing opportunities for teams of teachers,
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 82
administrators, instructional coaches, consultants, parents and students to engage
in classroom walkthroughs. For example, one principal scheduled at least four
walkthroughs per year, and required that his administrative team observe five
classrooms a day.
7. Building relationship with students: Effective instructional leaders build
relationship with teachers and look to build relationships among teachers and
students. Surveying students can capture personal interests and academic needs to
build initiatives to improve teacher-student relationships. Improving these
relationships can foster student engagement and reduce resistant behaviors in the
classroom.
Recommendations Future Research
This study showed the principal playing a leading role in building and sustaining
initiatives to increase student achievement in tandem with building teachers’ capacity to
implement such initiatives. Since this study primarily focused on the principal’s role in
increasing Algebra I achievement for African American students, additional research is
needed to better understand how other stakeholders, such as teachers, students, and
district leaders play a role in supporting the principal’s initiatives:
• What role should the district office play in building and/or supporting the
principal’s initiatives to increase Algebra I achievement for African American
students?
• How are math coaches used to support the delivery of Algebra I curriculum to
African American students?
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 83
• What other types of data are analyzed beyond standardized test data and local
assessments data when creating and sustaining initiatives implemented to increase
Algebra I achievement for African American students?
• How are teachers, parents and students trained to conduct classroom observations
and provide feedback to the professional learning community?
• Given that students are empowered to provide feedback to the principal through
surveys, what types of questions do principals ask to inform their decision to build
various initiatives that support Algebra 1 achievement?
• What strategies do principals employ to provide ongoing formative evaluations for
Algebra I teachers?
• What are the initial steps principals take to establish professional learning
communities that focus on Algebra I achievement for struggling students?
• Will the initiatives presented by principals in this study work for African American
students in suburban settings?
• Is there a viable Algebra I curriculum implemented with African American students
that has improved proficiency rates?
Conclusion
The principal’s role as the instructional leader is crucial in affecting African
American students’ Algebra I achievement outcomes. Principals operate under NCLB, and
this study showed the initiatives they established were grounded in the PLC process. This
grounding allowed teachers to analyze achievement data and reflect on teaching and
learning practices in order to provide feedback and influence principals’ decision to keep
PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 84
existing initiatives or create new ones. Equally as important, the principal’s role in building
the capacity of teachers to implement initiatives was a key component in the process.

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 85
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PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 92
Appendix A
Teacher Questionnaire
1. Total years of experience in the field of education by the end of the 2012-2013 school
year.

2. Name of your current district.

3. Total number of years teaching Algebra I by the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

Determine the extent of principal’s initiatives implemented that support Algebra I
achievement.
1 – Strongly Disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – Not Sure 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly Agree
4. There was consistent focus on Algebra I achievement at your
school.
1 2 3 4 5
5. There was ongoing training on strategies used to implement
Algebra I curriculum provided to Algebra I teachers.
1 2 3 4 5
6. There was specialized Algebra I professional development
provided to teachers serving students that are NOT achieving
Algebra I content standards.
1 2 3 4 5
7. Algebra I instruction focused on conceptual understanding. 1 2 3 4 5
8. Vertical articulation regarding Algebra I occurred across middle
school through high school.
1 2 3 4 5
9. Horizontal articulation occurred across all Algebra I teachers
regarding implementation of Algebra I curriculum.
1 2 3 4 5
10. There was a consistent use of formative assessments to guide
Algebra I instruction.
1 2 3 4 5
11. Algebra I teachers used data from common assessments to
evaluate Algebra I instruction.
1 2 3 4 5
12. Algebra I teachers used data district benchmark data to
identify Algebra I achievement gaps.
1 2 3 4 5
13. Algebra I teachers leveraged the support of the district
curriculum leader to address identified achievement gaps.
1 2 3 4 5
14. Math instructional coaches were utilized to support Algebra I
instruction in the classrooms.
1 2 3 4 5
15. Algebra I achievement data was used to drive the professional
development of Algebra I teachers.
1 2 3 4 5
16. The principal provided opportunities for Algebra I teacher to
receive formative feedback on their overall strengths and areas of
growth regarding delivery of Algebra I instruction.
1 2 3 4 5

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 93
Appendix B
Principal Interview Protocol
Biographical Information:
Name: Position:
District: School:
Years of Experience:
Research Question 1
What informs an urban high school principal’s decision-making process when implementing
initiatives that address Algebra I achievement?
• How do you respond to high stakes tests and local assessments data in mathematics at your
school?
• How do you respond to subgroups not achieving at accessing Algebra I curriculum as
measured on state and local assessments, grades, and meeting A-G requirements?
• What are general or specific initiatives implemented at your school that are used to support
Algebra I achievement for particular groups of students that are not achieving?
Research Question 2
How are these initiatives implemented to have an impact on and sustain African American
students’ Algebra I achievement?
• How are these initiatives targeted to meeting the Algebra I needs of subgroups that are not
achieving?
• What are the conditions for implementing standard-based Algebra I curriculum? How are
these conditions in support of meeting the needs of subgroups that are not accessing
Algebra I state standards?
Research Question 3
How do urban high school principals build capacity within Algebra I teachers serving African
American students?
• Describe your mathematics professional development plan?
• Teachers might come to you for help on issues regarding Algebra I curriculum
implementation. Assuming that he/she came to you on how to meet the needs of struggling
students in Algebra I, what supports are in place? How may these supports help teachers
address the needs of specific populations of students?
Research Question 4
How do urban high school principals evaluate and sustain initiatives that increase African
American students’ Algebra I achievement?
• How do you monitor initiatives targeted to address Algebra I achievement?
• What resources are used to evaluate initiatives that are increasing Algebra I achievement?
• How do you sustain initiatives that have made a positive impact on subgroups of students
that historically do not achieve in Algebra I?

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 94
Appendix C
Information/Facts Sheet
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education

INFORMATION/FACTS SHEET FOR EXEMPT NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH

INITIATIVES IMPLEMENTED BY URBAN HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS THAT INCREASE
AND SUSTAIN ACHIEVEMENT IN ALGEBRA I FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS

You are invited to participate in a research study conducted by Brenda Green under the
supervision of Dr. Pedro Garcia at the University of Southern California because you are
either an urban high school principal who has served at his/her current school for at least 3
years, and has demonstrated an increase in mathematics achievement among African
American students for four consecutive years as measured by the California Standardized
Test for mathematics between 2010 – 2013; or you are an Algebra I teacher or
instructional coach who directly supports the principal’s initiatives to increase and sustain
Algebra I achievement. Research studies include only people who voluntarily choose to
take part. This document explains information about this study. You should ask questions
about anything that is unclear to you.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to identify the initiatives implemented by urban high school
principals that increase and sustain Algebra I achievement among African American
students’. The accountability demands associated with closing the achievement gaps
among various subgroups of students provide the foundation for this study. Additionally,
this study will examine how urban high school principals build capacity within their
teachers to implement initiatives targeted to increase and sustain African American
students’ Algebra I achievement.

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
Principals: If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to participate in a one-
hour audio-taped interview. You do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to; if
you don’t want to be taped, handwritten notes will be taken.

Teachers: If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to complete an online
survey which is anticipated to take about 10 minutes. You do not have to answer any
questions you don’t want to, click “next” or “N/A” in the survey to move to the next
question.

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 95
ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATION
Your alternative is to not participate. Your relationship with your employer will not be affected
whether or not you participate in this study.

CONFIDENTIALITY
There will be no identifiable information obtained in connection with this study. Your name,
address or other identifiable information will not be collected. Audio recordings will be
deleted once they are transcribed.

The anonymous data will be stored on a password protected computer in the researcher’s
office for at least three years after the study has been completed and may be retained for
future research studies. If you do not want your data used in future studies, you should not
participate.

The members of the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human
Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors
research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no identifiable
information will be used. A report of study findings will be made to the participating sites,
but all data will be presented in aggregate form such that no individual respondents can be
identified.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact
Principal Investigator Brenda Green via email at brendagr@usc.edu or phone at (323) 547-
5448.

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about your rights as a research participant
or the research in general and are unable to contact the research team, or if you want to
talk to someone independent of the research team, please contact the University Park
Institutional Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los Angeles,
CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu.

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 96
Appendix D
Consent Form
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
Waite Phillip Hall
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089

CONSENT TO AUDIO RECORDED INTERVIEW

TITLE OF THE STUDY

INITIATIVES IMPLEMENTED BY URBAN HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS THAT
INCREASE AND SUSTAIN ACHIEVEMENT IN ALGEBRA I FOR AFRICAN
AMERICAN STUDENTS

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

BRENDA ANITA GREEN
brendagr@usc.edu

CONSENT
I, Principal, hereby consent to the audio recordings of the interview taken by the principal
investigator for the purposes of collecting data for the above study. I have been advised
that all data collected shall be confidential and used solely for the purposes of this study. I
authorize the transcription of this interview from the audio recording for use by the
principal investigator for preparation of the study. Any quotes and or description of
answers will be anonymous.

_______________________________________________ Date:________________________________
Principal

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 97
Appendix E
Teacher Participation Letter

Brenda Green
323.547.5448
brendagr@usc.edu

Dear Algebra I Teacher,

My name is Brenda Green, and I am a doctoral candidate in the Rossier School of Education at
University of Southern California. I am conducting a research study as part of my dissertation,
which examines the impact that school initiatives have on Algebra I achievement for African
American students.

You have been identified as a current Algebra I teacher or as someone who has taught Algebra I
between the years 2010 – 2013, and are invited to participate in this study.

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an online survey that contains
questions that you are rating on a scale from one to five. The online survey is anticipated to take
no more than 10 minutes to complete.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will remain
confidential at all times during and after the study. If you have questions or would like to
participate, please contact me at via email at brendagr@usc.edu or via phone at (323)547-5448.

Thank you for your consideration,

Brenda A. Green
Doctoral Candidate - Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 98
Appendix F
Principal Participation Letter

Brenda Green
323.547.5448
brendagr@usc.edu

Dear Principal,

My name is Brenda Green, and I am a doctoral candidate in the Rossier School of Education at
University of Southern California. I am conducting a research study as part of my dissertation,
which examines the impact that school principals can have on Algebra I achievement for African
American students.

You are invited to participate in this study because you have been identified as a principal who
has served at your current school for at least three years, and who has increased and sustained
Algebra I achievement among African American students for four consecutive years.

If you agree, you are asked to participate in an audiotaped interview. The interview is anticipated
to last approximately 1 hour. If you don’t want to be taped, handwritten notes will be taken.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will remain
confidential at all times during and after the study.

If you have questions or would like to participate, please contact me at via email at
brendagr@usc.edu or via phone at (323) 547-5448.

Thank you for your participation,

Brenda A. Green
Doctoral Candidate - Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 99
Appendix G
Survey Results
Table A
There Is Consistent Focus On Algebra I Achievement at Your School
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly Agree 100 100 66.6 69.5
Agree 33.3 50 15.4
Not Sure 50
Disagree 15.4
Strongly Disagree

Table B
There Was Ongoing Training on Strategies Used to Implement Algebra I Curriculum Provided
to Algebra I Teachers
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
100 33.3 66.6 46.2
Agree 66.6 25 23.1
Not Sure 33.3 7.7
Disagree 75 23.1
Strongly
Disagree

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 100
Table C
There Was Specialized Algebra I Professional Development Provided to Teachers Serving
Students That are NOT Achieving Algebra I Content Standards
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
100 33.3 66.6 25 15.4
Agree 66.6 30.8
Not Sure 33.3 15.4
Disagree 75 23.1
Strongly
Disagree
15.4

Table D
Algebra I Instruction Focused on Conceptual Understanding
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree

Agree 33.3 66.6 66.6 50 46.2
Not Sure
Disagree 66.6 33.3 33.3 50 53.8
Strongly
Disagree

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 101
Table E
Vertical Articulation Regarding Algebra I Occurred Across Middle School Through High
School
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree

Agree 66.6 66.6 25 38.5
Not Sure 25 7.7
Disagree 33.3 66.6 33.3 25 38.5
Strongly
Disagree
33.3 25 15.4

Table F
Horizontal Articulation Occurred Across All Algebra I Teachers Regarding Implementation of
Algebra I Curriculum
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All
Schools
n = 13
Strongly Agree 33.3 100 66.6 46.2
Agree 66.6 33.3 75 46.2
Not Sure 25 7.7
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 102
Table G
There Was a Consistent Use of Formative Assessments to Guide Algebra I Instruction
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
33.3 66.6 33.3 100 30.8
Agree 66.5 33.4 66.6 69.2
Not Sure
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

Table H
Algebra I Teachers Used Data From Common Assessments to Evaluate Algebra I Instruction
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
66.6 100 25 46.2
Agree 33.3 100 50 46.2
Not Sure
Disagree 25 7.7
Strongly
Disagree

Table I
Algebra I Teachers Used District Benchmark Data to Identify Algebra I Achievement Gaps
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
66.6 15.4
Agree 66.6 75 38.5
Not Sure 33.3 33.3 15.4
Disagree 33.3 25 15.4
Strongly
Disagree
66.6 15.4

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 103
Table J
Algebra I Teachers Leveraged the Support of the District Curriculum Leader to Address
Identified Achievement Gaps
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
33.3 7.7
Agree
Not Sure 33.3 66.6 66.6 25 46.2
Disagree 66.6 50 30.8
Strongly
Disagree
33.3 25 15.4

Table K
Math Instructional Coaches Were Utilized to Support Algebra I Instruction in the Classrooms
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
33.3 33.3 33.3 23.1
Agree 33.3 33.3 15.4
Not Sure 33.3 7.7
Disagree 33.3 33.3 50 30.8
Strongly
Disagree
33.3 50 23.1

PRINCIPAL’S IMPACT ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 104
Table L
Algebra I Achievement Data Was Used to Drive the Professional Development of Algebra I
Teacher
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
33.3 33.3 15.4
Agree 66.6 66.6 66.6 50 61.5
Not Sure
Disagree 33.3 50 7.7
Strongly
Disagree
15.4

Table M
The Principal Provided Opportunities for Algebra I Teachers to Receive Formative Feedback
On Their Overall Strengths and Areas of Growth Regarding Delivery of Algebra I Instruction
Response School A
n = 3
School B
n = 3
School C
n = 3
School D
n =4
All Schools
n = 13
Strongly
Agree
33.3 33.3 15.4
Agree 66.6 33.3 50 38.5
Not Sure 33.3 7.7
Disagree 33.3 33.3 15.4
Strongly
Disagree
33.3 50 23.1

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify initiatives implemented by urban high school principals to increase and sustain Algebra I achievement among African American students. Additionally, this study examined how urban high school principals build capacity within teachers to implement initiatives targeted to increase and sustain African American students’ Algebra I achievement. ❧ This study used a convergent parallel mixed-method approach in which four principals participated in a semi-structured interview, thirteen surveys were completed by their corresponding Algebra I teachers, and relevant documents were gathered from the California Department of Education’s website and analyzed as part of the document review. Through the process of triangulation, results indicate that all principals included the use of various achievement data to inform their decisions on creating initiatives that support Algebra I achievement. It was also found that principals created organizational structures that allow teachers to analyze various types of data, such as common assessments, formative assessments, state assessments, and district assessments and the feedback from this analysis was used to build initiatives that promote Algebra I achievement but also promote the school’s learning environment through teacher collaboration. Next, principals provided various opportunities for teachers to build capacity to implement Algebra I curriculum and receive feedback that addressed their areas of growth with students requiring additional support to obtain proficiency in Algebra I. Lastly, principals relied on feedback from the professional learning communities and classroom observation to evaluate and monitor initiatives focused on increasing and sustaining Algebra I achievement for African American students.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Green, Brenda A. (author)

Core Title Initiatives implemented by urban high school principals that increase and sustain achievement in algebra for African American students

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 04/04/2016

Defense Date 03/08/2016

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag African American students,algebra achievement,OAI-PMH Harvest,urban high school principals

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Castruita, Rudy (committee chair), Garcia, Pedro E. (committee chair), Abbott, Sunday (committee member)

Creator Email brendagr@usc.edu,drbrendagreen@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-224506

Unique identifier UC11278059

Identifier etd-GreenBrend-4224.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-224506 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-GreenBrend-4224.pdf

Dmrecord 224506

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Green, Brenda A.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA