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Alternative education supporting students in meeting high school graduation requirements

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Alternative education supporting students in meeting high school graduation requirements

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Alternative Education Supporting Students in Meeting High School Graduation
Requirements

Diana Peralta Uribe

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

December 2023

© Copyright by Diana Peralta Uribe 2023
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Diana Peralta Uribe certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Maria Ott
Frances Kellar
Darline Robles, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2023

iv
Abstract
This study used a gap analysis to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
resources necessary for an alternative education program to reach the organizational goal of
having 100% of students meet graduation requirements. While a complete performance
evaluation would focus on all stakeholders, the stakeholders of focus were the Grades 9–12
supervising teachers. This study used a qualitative design for data gathering and analysis using
interviews and document analysis. Findings indicated 10 influences on the problem of practice:
one in conceptual knowledge, three in motivation, and six in organization. These influences were
used to select evidence-based recommendations for solutions using the new world Kirkpatrick
model. This study informs the initiatives at Vista High School toward building capabilities in
supervising teachers to support students in earning a high school diploma.
Keywords: alternative education, qualitative design, gap analysis

v
Dedication
To my children Nicole, AnnaMarie, and Kalel, and to my husband, Henry. Thank you for your
endless support throughout this journey. There aren’t enough words to express the love and
gratitude I have for you all.
To my parents for teaching me that anything is possible.
To all my family and friends who always encouraged me and never once doubted me.

vi
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge and give my warmest thanks to my chair (Dr. Darline
Robles), who not only guided me to complete this study but who also believed in me when I
doubted. Her guidance and advice carried me though all the stages of this process. I would also
like to thank my committee members (Dr. Maria Ott and Dr. Frances Kellar) for making my
defense enjoyable and for their highly constructive criticism.

vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ........................................................................................................................................v
Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................x
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi
Chapter One: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1
Organizational Context and Mission ...................................................................................2
Organizational Performance Goal ........................................................................................3
Related Literature.................................................................................................................4
Importance of the Evaluation ...............................................................................................5
Description of Stakeholder Groups ......................................................................................6
Stakeholder Group for the Study .........................................................................................7
Purpose of the Project and Questions ..................................................................................8
Methodological Framework .................................................................................................8
Definitions............................................................................................................................9
Organization of the Study ..................................................................................................10
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature .........................................................................................12
Historical Background .......................................................................................................12
School Choice ....................................................................................................................13
High School Dropouts........................................................................................................15
Charter Schools ..................................................................................................................17
A Window of Opportunity .................................................................................................19
Gap Analysis Conceptual Framework ...............................................................................21
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences ...............................21

viii
Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................................34
Conceptual and Methodological Framework .....................................................................34
Assessment of Performance Influences .............................................................................37
Participating Stakeholders and Sample Selection ..............................................................46
Instrumentation ..................................................................................................................47
Data Collection ..................................................................................................................48
Trustworthiness of Data .....................................................................................................50
Role of Investigator............................................................................................................50
Chapter Four: Results and Findings ...............................................................................................51
Participating Stakeholders .................................................................................................51
Determination of Assets and Needs ...................................................................................52
Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes.....................................................................52
Results and Findings for Motivation Causes .....................................................................56
Results and Findings for Organization Causes ..................................................................61
Summary of Validated Influences .....................................................................................68
Chapter Five: Recommendations and Evaluation ..........................................................................72
Introduction and Overview ................................................................................................72
Recommendations to Address Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences .....73
Organization Recommendations ........................................................................................81
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan ................................................................87
Summary of the Implementation and Evaluation ..............................................................99
Limitations and Delimitations ..........................................................................................100
Recommendations for Future Research ...........................................................................101
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................101
References ....................................................................................................................................103

ix
Appendix A: Interview Protocol ..................................................................................................112
Interview Questions .........................................................................................................112
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................114
Appendix B: Qualitative Research Documents and Artifacts Review Protocol ..........................115
Appendix C: Information Sheet for Exempt Research ................................................................116
Appendix D: Recruitment Email .................................................................................................118
Appendix E: Evaluation Tool to be Used Immediately Following Training ...............................119
Appendix F: Evaluation Tool Delayed for a Period After Training ............................................120

x
List of Tables
Table 1: Organizational Mission and Performance Goal 7
Table 2: Summary of Assumed Knowledge Influences on Teacher’s Ability to Achieve the
Performance Goal 25
Table 3: Summary of Assumed Motivation Influences on Teacher’s Ability to Achieve the
Performance Goal 28
Table 4: Summary of Assumed Organization Influences on Teacher’s Ability to Achieve the
Performance Goal 32
Table 5: Summary of Knowledge Influences and Method of Assessment 39
Table 6 :Summary of Motivation Influences and Method of Assessment 42
Table 7: Summary of Organization Influences and Method of Assessment 44
Table 8: Participating Stakeholders 52
Table 9: Knowledge Assets or Needs As Determined by the Data 69
Table 10: Motivation Assets or Needs As Determined by the Data 70
Table 11: Organization Assets or Needs As Determined by the Data 71
Table 12: Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 75
Table 13: Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 79
Table 14: Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 82
Table 15: Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 89
Table 16: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation 91
Table 17: Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 92
Table 18: Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program 96
Table 19: Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 97

xi
List of Figures
Figure 1: The Gap Analysis Process 36

1

Chapter One: Introduction
Alternative education programs were created to assist students in achieving the same
goals as students who attend traditional comprehensive schools. The objective is to stay
consistent with the curriculum while supporting their learning styles and individual needs,
remaining flexible with the environment, time, structure, and pedagogy. Alternative schools can
provide students with challenging behaviors, low motivation, poor attendance, and failing grades
with an engaging and enriching educational experience (Maillet, 2017).
Producing high school graduates is essential to avoid high costs for the nation and states,
and individuals who fail to obtain a high school diploma face increased personal hardship.
According to the National Dropout Prevention Center, graduating high school sets the stage for
the next 50 years of a person’s life. A high school dropout who fails to earn a high school
diploma has more difficulty finding employment, is more likely to get a job that does not pay
well, is more likely to depend on public aid, will increase their odds of going to prison, and is
less likely to vote (Belfield & Levin, 2007; Rumberger, 2011). According to the U.S.
Department of Education (2018), the likelihood of a dropout being unemployed or
underemployed is 10% higher than a peer who earned a high school diploma. High school
dropouts are less healthy and are at greater risk of early death when compared to high school
graduates (Pleis et al., 2010; Stuit & Springer, 2010).
Further, approximately two-thirds of all inmates in the United States did not earn their
high school diploma (Harlow, 2003; Melville, 2006). California’s high school graduation rate for
2021-2022 was 87%. However, at Vista High School (pseudonym), which is considered an
alternative school, only 76% of the students met graduation requirements. Vista High School
(pseudonym) was the focus of this study, and it is operated by Love4Learning (pseudonym). This
2

study aimed to evaluate the degree to which Vista High School was meeting its organizational
goal of increasing graduation rates. The analysis focused on knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences related to achieving this organizational goal. While a complete
performance evaluation would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes, the stakeholders
focused on in this analysis were the supervising teachers at Vista High School.
Organizational Context and Mission
Love4Learning (pseudonym) is a non-profit charter management organization that
provides products and services to charter schools. The first school opened in 2002, and there are
now more than 90 schools in California. Schools also recently opened in Texas, Ohio, Michigan,
and South Carolina. Each school is locally controlled and sponsored by a school district, is
tuition-free, and gives students the flexibility and one-on-one attention they need to succeed. The
mission of Love4Learning schools is to support students who have the courage to go back to
school when facing obstacles. Life challenges, such as poverty, housing insecurity, foster care,
pregnancy, abuse, and neglect, make it impossible at times to attend school and be engaged.
When their students reach their doors, there is always a glimmer of hope, and the educators strive
to ignite that hope, foster it, and watch their students flourish. The primary role of staff members
is to become positive constants in their students’ lives, embracing them as individuals, inspiring
them to excel, and ensuring that the adversity the students face evolves into resiliency and
advancement of character. Vista High Charter has 11 schools, and each varies in the number of
staff. Some schools have 15 teachers, while others have 10.
For this study, I focused on three schools from Vista High Charter and 19 teachers in
total. Vista High School is a public charter school that offers a personalized educational program
for high school students and families who prefer using an independent study model to meet
3

academic needs. Typical students are those who want an alternative to the local public school
systems. Most students come to the school because they were unsuccessful in the traditional high
school or needed a more personalized approach to education. Other students need the flexibility
of an independent study model to meet family obligations such as work or childcare needs.
Regardless of the reason, the school offers a uniquely structured academic program rigorously
guided by the California Subject Area Content Standards that provides a challenging, yet highly
individualized, education for students. Vista High School has a community school model and
builds partnerships with Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act service providers and
other agencies. The school continues to develop career technical education (CTE) pathways,
which our community partnerships support by providing work-based learning opportunities.
Students can learn about audio-visual production, graphic design, photography, and digital and
interactive media through different CTE pathways. The University of California system
approved curricula developed through the Edmentum courses as part of the CTE pathways for
meeting admissions requirements. These pathway programs and community alliances have had a
significant and positive impact on students who leave school with work readiness and
professional skills for postsecondary success.
Organizational Performance Goal
Vista High School is dedicated to supporting students who have not succeeded in
traditional public schools. To help students complete a high school education, the school is
designed to support personalized learning and offer individual instruction. Based on the school’s
focus, the area superintendent and school administrators have the goal of increasing the
graduation rate to 100%. According to their local control accountability plan (LCAP) for the
2022–2023 school year, their graduation rate for 2019 was 76%. Students earned, on average,
4

1.97 credits per learning period since the beginning of the 2019 school year. Considering this
number was below the school’s target of 4.0 credits per learning period, credit completion was
low, and not all students met graduation requirements every year. The achievement of Vista’s
goal of increasing the graduation rate to 100% will be measured annually by the percentage of
credit completion and graduation rates.
Related Literature
The following is a literature review that is relevant to this problem of practice and the
organizational performance goal of increasing the graduation rate.
Charter Schools
The charter school movement began in 1991 to restructure public education. Charter
schools offered educators, parents, students, and the community opportunities to enter the
education tract to create, change, and operate public schools. Now, 20 years later, studies have
shown that enrollment in charter schools more than quadrupled during the first decade of the 21st
century, from 340,000 to 1.6 million students, with over 5,600 charter schools in 41 states plus
the District of Columbia serving more than two million students (Wohlstetter et al., 2013). Most
recently, charter schools have appeared essential to many urban districts’ reform efforts.
Supporters and critics of charter schools admit that they likely will not disappear.
In this country, there is a strong tradition of valuing the “opportunity to learn” in public
schools where “poor and minority students” may have “access to the full range of educational
opportunities” (Stevens & Grynes, 1993, p. 1). The reality is that access to resources in
educational environments is not equally distributed (Stockard & Mayberry, 1992). For instance,
vocational training is said to prepare students to enter the labor force directly after leaving high
school, and many times, it may be in the best interest of some students (Bullis & Gaylord-Ross,
5

1991). However, schools tend to focus on the college-preparatory track. Students who are
unsuccessful in this track tend to leave high school early but might enter and stay in a school
where alternative education strategies are used (U.S Department of State, 2021).
Every Student Succeeds Act
The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) was a law focused on fully preparing
all students for success in college and careers. This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-
old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and
longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. The ESSA includes provisions to
help to ensure success for students and schools. It advances equity by upholding protections for
disadvantaged and high-need students. It also requires that all students be taught to high
academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers. It ensures that
important information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities through
annual statewide assessments that measure students’ progress toward those high standards. It
also maintains an expectation that there will be accountability and action to effect positive
change in our lowest-performing schools, where groups of students are not making progress and
where graduation rates are low over extended periods (U.S. Department of Education, 2018).
This law seems like it can solve all inequities for this student population; however, it has not.
Importance of the Evaluation
It was important to evaluate the school’s performance in relationship to the performance
goal of 100% of students meeting graduation requirements. If the organization is not compliant
with meeting this goal, it risks the future of its students. Ensuring that students meet the
graduation requirements increases their chances of securing a job or going to college. On the
other hand, if students do not graduate from high school, they will be unable to get a good job
6

and may not attend college. Additionally, a growing body of evidence documents the positive
outcomes of earning a high school diploma (Feldman et al., 2017). Evaluating the school’s
performance will enable stakeholders to gather formative data that can be used to assess the
school’s programming decisions that positively impact student progress.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
Key stakeholders in the organization directly contribute to increasing students’ academic
progress as they gain skills for college and career readiness. The stakeholders are school
leadership, counselors, and teachers. These stakeholders work toward the school’s mission of
providing students with many different options to help them engage more fully with their
academic work with personalized learning and college and career readiness to further develop
courage, resiliency, and important life skills.
The school leaders are the principal, assistant principal, learning center coordinator,
regional specialist, and lead teacher. These leaders guide the talents and energies of teachers,
students, and parents toward achieving educational goals for the students. Counselors support
students with academic planning, guiding students in developing educational and career plans
through teaching and/or supervision of career development activities. Vista High teachers, also
known as supervising teachers, work directly with the students to ensure the students are meeting
academic standards. Their role is to create the academic plan for each student, set weekly
appointments to review assignments, assess the students, and ensure they are on track to meeting
the graduation requirements. Table 1 presents the stakeholder groups’ performance goals.

7

Table 1
Organizational Mission and Performance Goal
Organizational mission
The mission of Alta Vista Innovation High School is to provide students with an array of
programs to help them engage more fully with their academic work with personalized
learning and college and career readiness to further develop courage, resiliency, and
important life skills.
Organizational performance goal
By June 2025, Vista High School will have 100% of its students meet graduation requirements.
School leadership
By January 2024,
Leadership will conduct
program evaluations to
determine progress in
credit completion.
Counselors
By June 2024, counselors will
review and provide
recommendations on improving
the current action plan to
increase the graduation rate.
Vista HS teachers
By June 2025, 100% of
Vista High teachers will
have the skills,
knowledge, and
motivation to increase the
graduation rate.

Stakeholder Group for the Study
While all stakeholders’ joint efforts will contribute to achieving the overall organizational
goal of increasing the graduation rate to 100% at Vista High School, it was important to evaluate
where the Vista High School teachers were regarding credit completion and students meeting
graduation requirements. Therefore, they were the stakeholders of focus for this study. The
stakeholders’ goal, supported by the area superintendent, is that all Vista High School teachers
will have the skills and knowledge to increase the graduation rate. Having the skills and
knowledge to increase the graduation rate includes reviewing documents and procedures on
academic planning for all students, professional development and training, and reviewing the
school’s action plan. Failure to accomplish this goal will lead to students not meeting graduation
8

requirements and a loss in funding, which harms the school’s ability to provide support and
interventions to its students.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the organization’s performance related to a
larger problem of practice. The analysis focused on the causes of this problem due to gaps in the
areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational issues. The analysis began by generating a
list of possible or assumed causes and examining these systematically to focus on actual or
validated causes. While a complete gap analysis would focus on all stakeholders, for practical
purposes, the stakeholders to be focused on in this analysis were the Vista High School teachers.
As such, the questions that guide this study were the following:
1. What is the current status of Vista High School’s knowledge and motivation (of the
teachers) related to student credit completion?
2. How do the organizational influences impact Vista High School teachers’ capacity to
increase credit completion?
3. What are recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Methodological Framework
The gap analysis was a research-tested conceptual framework that analyzed performance
gaps and allowed the implementation of appropriate performance solutions (Clark & Estes,
2008). This qualitative case study used a systemic and analytical method to diagnose the human
causes behind the performance gaps. Assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences that impede organizational goal achievement were assessed by personal knowledge,
9

interviews, document analysis, and related literature in Chapter Two. Research-based solutions
were recommended and evaluated comprehensively.
Definitions
Area superintendent: An internal term for our superintendents. The nomenclature is only
used internally. The oversight is the same.
Average daily attendance (ADA): This is the actual claim we make to the state. We claim
attendance daily.
Career Technical Education Pathways – A CTE pathway is a sequence of two or more
CTE courses within a student’s area of career interest. These pathways are designed to connect
high school classes to college, industry certifications, and/or a career.
Credit: The primary method used by schools to document that the student has met their
academic requirements for each course. In a credit-by-credit model, the awarding of academic
credits is done each learning period, not at the end of each semester like in a traditional school
district.
Credit recovery: Students’ ability to make up credits for courses that they had previously
failed.
Independent studies: An individualized alternative education designed in which the
students learn the knowledge and skills of the core curriculum while working at their own pace
and meeting with the teacher at least once a week to review coursework. Independent study is an
alternative to classroom instruction consistent with an LEA (Local Educational Agency) course
of study and aligned with State content standards (California Department of Education, 2023).
Learning center: A learning center is one school, a charter school which is the Local Educational
Agency (LEA) may have multiple learning centers. More clearly, a school district will break its
10

budget into different amounts for each school, whereas an LEA has one budget that multiple
learning centers utilize.
Learning period: Each Track is split into multiple Learning Periods. Our school follows a
13-learning period wherein we have 13 separate windows of attendance for students to complete
work.
Master agreement: The agreement signed by the parent for their minor child or by an
adult student who self-enrolls. The master agreement defines the terms of enrollment, the period
of enrollment, and the requirements for completion of coursework. This agreement also includes
the courses the student will complete during that enrollment period. It includes other information
such as the teacher’s name and signature, student’s name and signature, school name, courses,
and the consequences for violating that agreement.
Region: These are boundaries set up internally at the organization for oversight. A
superintendent oversees a region, which is typically a charter school that operates within a
county or adjoining county in accordance with the education law.
Supervising teacher: The supervising teacher is the teacher of record, who assigns work
that the student completes. This person supervises instruction, but the primary instruction is
completed under the parents' care under the school-of-choice independent study model.
Utilization: Utilization is the simple calculation of the number of students completing
work divided by the caseload. Example: 22 students turn in work for a teacher with a caseload of
25. That teacher would have a utilization of 88.0%.
Organization of the Study
Five chapters were used to organize this study. Chapter One provided the key concepts
and terminology commonly found in a discussion of charter schools. The organization’s mission,
11

goals, and stakeholders, as well as the initial concepts of gap analysis, were introduced. Chapter
Two provides a review of current literature surrounding the scope of the study. Topics of
alternative education, meeting graduation requirements, support and interventions, and policy
will be addressed. Chapter Three details the assumed causes for this study and the methodology
for choosing the participants, data, and analysis methods. In Chapter Four, the data and results
are assessed and analyzed. Chapter Five provides solutions, based on data and literature, for
closing the perceived gaps, as well as recommendations for an implementation and evaluation
plan for the solutions.
12

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
According to the California Department of Education, high school dropout rates remain
steady at nine percent, which is 43,648 students who dropped out of high school (California
Department of Education, 2022). A high school dropout who fails to earn a high school diploma
has more difficulty finding employment, is more likely to get a job that does not pay well, is
more likely to depend on public aid, will increase their odds of going to prison, and is less likely
to vote (Belfield & Levin, 2007; Rumberger, 2011). The first section of Chapter Two reviews the
research on the benefits of earning an education. The first section looks at the historical
background of the purpose of schooling and the importance of school attendance. It will also
include an overview of the importance of school choice, a review of state and federal legislation,
and the impact of high school dropouts. Independent study charter schools and student
engagement will also be reviewed. Problems that continue to affect graduation rates, credit
completion, and student engagement will be explored. Following the review of the general
literature, the second part of the chapter introduces the gap analysis framework (Clark & Estes,
2008). The framework provides a structure for examining the possible knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences assumed to impact graduation rates and credit completion.
Historical Background
Understanding the history of education, how it began, allows us to analyze and positions
us to see patterns that might otherwise be invisible in the present. Providing some historical
background for this problem of practice is crucial to understanding the current and future
problems in education.

13

Purpose of Schooling
The purpose of schooling has been discussed for many decades. Here we are today,
pondering the purpose of schooling and the purpose of learning. It has been said that the purpose
of schooling has not been a consistent site of learning. Learning is about removing ourselves
from known practices and trying different experiences that are unpredictable (Patel, 2016). It is
important to apply a historical lens when analyzing current schooling practices as this can guide
us to building a practice of imagining beyond current inequities. Ladson-Billings (2006) stated
that questions that concern education research are not new. When reviewing dropout rates,
scholars have identified cultural deficit theories to suggest that children of color are victims of
pathological lifestyles that hinder their ability to benefit from traditional school (Ladson-Billings,
2006). We should continue to discuss how, instead of looking at the achievement gap, we must
look at the accumulating education debt. School choice is important to parents seeking what
could meet their children’s needs.
School Choice
School choice provides options for low-income families. Giving families a choice breaks
the dictatorial link between a child’s housing and the school they can attend. It is important to
have school choice to give a student access to a quality education.
The Beginning
Choice allows individuals to choose any public school from a lineup designated by a
school district or state. School choice means the right to express a preference for schools and for
each parent’s highest possible preference to be honored (Burgess et al., 2015). Per Hochschild
and Scovronick (2003),
14

Many believe that the current system of public education exists for the adults who work
in it and eat money, that the public has invested more than enough time and resources in
trying to make the system work and should try another approach. (p. 107)
A central element of the view that strengthening school choice will drive up school performance
is a strong parent demand when it comes to academic performance (Burgess et al., 2015).
Alternatives for students who are at risk for school failure, dropout, or delinquency are
necessary. There is evidence that at-risk students served in comprehensive, well-designed
alternative programs do better than predicted if they do not attend them (Tobin & Sprague,
1999). State and federal legislation also play a significant role in education and school choice.
State and Federal Legislation
Every child is entitled to an education; therefore, each state is required by its constitution
to provide a school system. State legislatures exercise power over schools in any manner
consistent with the state’s constitution. Many state legislatures allow a state board of education
to manage the school system. The state board of education works within federal laws and
educational policies.
Every Student Succeeds Act
State legislatures are key to supporting civil rights. The ESSA was passed and signed into
law on December 10, 2015. This is a federal law replacing the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) and the ESEA, authorizing federal funding for K–12 schools, representing the nation’s
commitment to equal educational opportunity for all students, and continuing to influence the
education of many children (Perez, 2013). It is important to understand why this law was
developed.
15

There is a need to create equitable access to public education and close the achievement
gap for all students. Efforts toward equity in access to education and educational resources, well-
supported and culturally responsive teachers, educational provisions, and comprehensive public
social services have historically been necessary and challenged as a right for all children (Perez,
2013). It is fundamental to provide equal educational opportunities to prevent school dropouts.
High School Dropouts
It is imperative to reduce California’s high school dropout rate in. The poverty rate could
be high for these students, along with a higher unemployment rate. The financial ramifications of
dropping out of high school hurts more than the individual; it costs the society as well. However,
it is not just money. The incarcerated population is high for high school dropouts as well (Lynch,
2017).
Importance of School Attendance
In American schools, attendance is a problem. It is imperative to understand that chronic
absenteeism correlates with lower grades and a higher risk of dropping out. Chronic absenteeism
is defined as missing 15 or more school days for any reason (U.S. Department of Education,
2018). Poor attendance can be linked to school disengagement, which could probably correlate to
eventual dropout. Attendance is now a measure of performance in almost all state school
accountability plans in response to ESSA (2015) and providing school choice is essential to
provide all students with options (Hall et al., 2021). Research shows there can be long-lasting
effects of chronic absenteeism.
School disengagement may lead to poor attendance, which could lead to dropping out of
school. “The empirical literature is consistent in demonstrating that those who eventually drop
out of school are different in fundamental ways from nondropouts long before they leave school”
16

(Rocque et al., 2017, p. 593). Truancy has been associated with low-status jobs, smoking, and
crime. Dropping out of school is correlated with negative life outcomes. Studies show that not
much attention is being paid to understanding the magnitude of student disengagement in high-
poverty schools, its impact on student achievement, and, ultimately, its role in driving the
nation’s graduation rate crisis (Balfanz et al., 2007).
Dropouts in CA
The high school dropout rate in California has remained stable at 8.9% since the 2020–
2021 school year. The California Department of Education estimated that 43,648 public high
school students dropped out. These data suggest that about 19% of California high school
students in any ninth-grade class will drop out within 4 years. The dropout rate is highest among
the state’s largest minority student populations. An estimated 33% of African Americans and
24% of Hispanics will drop out (California Department of Education, 2023; Stuit & Springer,
2010).
There is substantial literature on some challenges students may encounter if they drop out
of high school. Students who drop out have a much higher possibility of being unemployed and
experiencing poverty, incarceration, and health problems. For society, the harms manifest as lost
earnings and higher costs of government assistance programs. Data also suggest postsecondary
education is increasingly important for job attainment, as educators in K–12 schools are shifting
their focus from high school graduation to college and career readiness, making high school
graduation necessary (Lovelace et al., 2018). Doll et al. (2013) explained some reasons students
drop out. Some of the most compelling were financial worries, family needs, marriage,
childbirth, and when a student is not showing significant academic progress and therefore
becomes uninterested in graduating (Doll et al., 2013).
17

Charter Schools
In this country, there is a strong tradition of valuing the “opportunity to learn” in public
schools where “poor and minority students” may have “access to the full range of educational
opportunities” (Tobin & Sprague, 1999, p. 6). Therefore, charter schools began as a vision of
establishing a new form of public schools, working outside the culture and regulations of
traditional public schools. It used to be said that charter schools would take away public
resources from charter schools. There were also concerns about charter schools being capable of
serving all student populations (Epple et al., 2016). However, supporters of charter schools
believe that charter schools can be innovative and create opportunities for families to choose a
school outside of their neighborhoods, giving families an attainable and successful education
option.
Charter schools promote choice, accountability, equity, and systematic change. These
schools have the option to offer greater opportunities in educational programs for at-risk students
(Geheb & Owens, 2019). Charter school leaders understand that they must meet performance
goals set by the state agencies or local school boards that authorize them to receive public funds.
They know they must maintain trust and confidence with these agencies, parents, teachers, and
students. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools can decide how to spend their funds,
and students are not required to enroll, so all students do so by choice (Hill et al., 2004).
Alternative Schools
Since the 1960s, schools have had alternative schools and specialized programs within
them to address the needs of students who are identified as being at risk of school failure. One
type of alternative school is designed to provide academic support to students who experience
credit deficiencies and/or struggle to stay on track academically for high school completion
18

(Wilkerson et al., 2015). The open school movement began with open public high schools
without walls, schools within schools, magnet schools, and continuation schools. These schools
were about embracing a child-centered and noncompetitive approach. They represented school
choice by parents, students, and teachers (Hughes-Hassell, 2008). However, in the 1980s and
1990s, alternative schools shifted and became centered on at-risk students, who were considered
most likely to drop out of school.
Alternative schools offer a more flexible approach, individualized instruction, and
smaller class sizes to students who find the traditional public school unsuitable. These types of
schools are often among the few that offer accessible means of acquiring a high school diploma
and accessing services and supports (Lea et al., 2020). Some alternative schools are known to
offer a culturally promotive curriculum that cultivates educational resilience among students.
The results indicate that the teaching content was perceived as truthful and relevant and that
these students felt empowered by the curriculum because this type of school allowed them to
self-direct their learning goals and display the importance of relationships (Lea et al., 2020).
Independent study is a type of alternative education that fulfills several student needs.
Independent Study Charter Schools
The state defines independent study as an “individualized alternative education designed
to teach the knowledge and skills of the core curriculum” (California Department of Education,
2023, para. 1). For example, students with employment can complete courses as their schedule
may not permit them to attend traditional public schools. Students may also take courses to
advance their education or for credit recovery (Hill, 2007). These types of schools may serve all
K–12 students, must have credentialed teachers, and must provide the students with a written
agreement that specifies dates of participation, methods of study and evaluation, and other
19

resources that must be available to the student. State law requires independent study schools to
use the same state-adopted content standards. This suggests that independent study students must
be held to the same standards as students in traditional public schools (Hill, 2007). Parents have
become increasingly aware of this alternative education option, especially with the disruption in
K–12 education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Anderson & Amesse, 2022).
Independent study charter schools are non-classroom based and are known for their
flexibility, personalized instruction, greater autonomy, and accountability for improving student
achievement. This type of alternative education aims to improve student outcomes (Trimmer,
2013). Enrollment for this type of alternative education is expected to increase by 2025. Given
this information, there is a need for thorough academic research on the teaching pedagogy and
best practices in non-classroom-based forms of K–12 education (Anderson & Amesse, 2022).
However, with alternative education, there is opportunity, school choice, and a chance for
students to succeed academically.
A Window of Opportunity
Utilizing the history of education and optimizing on the opportunity of school choice,
there is a window of opportunity for students with alternative schools and innovation practices to
obtain a high school diploma.
Evidenced Best Instructional Practices
Alternative schools are designed to provide students with an engaging and enriching
educational experience (Maillet, 2017). Independent study schools are designed to respond to
students’ educational needs, interests, aptitudes, and abilities within legal authority and school
board policy. Students who participate in independent study have the same course requirements
as pupils in regular classes (California Department of Education, 2023). Alternative education is
20

an option to provide creative and service-driven instruction that could re-engage students in their
learning (Maillet, 2017).
Education is continuously changing in the United States. Traditional public schools are
no longer the only option for families. These schools can also implement best practices identified
as having high standards and expectations for students and staff, curriculum and instruction
focused on researched best practices like project-based learning, technology use, higher-order
thinking, varied instruction groupings, and rubrics for peer and self-reflection (Quick & Conrad,
2013).
Some charter school best practices are increased instructional time, more effective
teachers and administrators, high-dosage tutoring, data-driven instruction, and a culture of high
expectations (Fryer, 2014). In case studies on the transition from traditional classrooms to
innovative learning environments, they discovered that the effectiveness of an innovative
learning environment can be attributed to how well school leadership uses the facility,
demonstrated by its pedagogy, curriculum, culture, and other organizational attributes that should
align with the physical space (French et al., 2020).
System Innovation Practices
There are now large numbers of students who do not appear to fit the existing structure of
mainstream education. The number of alternative education programs is on the rise, yet these
programs are often stigmatized as last-chance options for high school completion or as a
“dumping ground” for marginalized students (Panina-Beard & Vadeboncoeur, 2022). When the
charter school movement began, people worried that this school choice would affect funding,
hurt students, and make a system in which race played a central but frequently unacknowledged
role even more unjust. Studies have found that charter schools’ overall effects are positive. Low-
21

socioeconomic-status, Black, and Hispanic students have seen huge gains. As charter schools
grow, parents can gain access to high-quality schools that better meet their children’s needs
(Petrilli & Griffith, 2022). The choice and flexibility that charter schools can provide are
important. These schools can implement practices that lead to better results (Richmond, 2020).
Gap Analysis Conceptual Framework
Increasing knowledge, skills, and motivation and focusing those assets on organizational
goals are the keys to success (Clark & Estes, 2008). We can consider a performance problem as
an illness in the organization. In 2008, Clark and Estes used performance improvement strategies
to address organizational problems related to people or to take advantage of opportunities to
improve organizational goals, yet there are no universal solutions that will improve all people’s
problems, from poor morale to weak skills. Performance improvement products and services
need to be targeted at the root causes of the problems. Change must result from a systematic
analysis of the causes of performance gaps and be partnered with the knowledge and skills that
go along with motivational adjustments (Clark & Estes, 2008). For this study, the organizational
goal is to have all Vista High School teachers increase graduation rates. This study used the
evaluative approach and a methodical process to analyze knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences on performance gaps.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
Clark and Estes (2008) stated that increasing knowledge, skills, and motivation and
focusing those assets on organizational goals are the keys to success in the new world economy
(p. 2). It is imperative that change results from a systemic analysis of the causes of performance
gaps. Below are the influences of knowledge, motivation, and organization that were examined
for this study.
22

Knowledge
According to Rueda (2011), from the perspective of an educational leader, if you are not
clear about what those you supervise should know, how can they themselves be clear? Three
factors must be considered during the analysis. For students to meet the graduation requirements,
we must consider teachers’ knowledge and skills, the motivation to achieve the goal, and
organizational barriers such as a lack of resources or inadequate work processes (Rueda, 2011).
Conducting a gap analysis allows for studying possible causes of performance gaps, and I
focused on procedural, conceptual, and metacognitive knowledge influences.
Procedural Knowledge Influence: Teachers Know Various Techniques to Support Students
With Low Credit Completion
Procedural knowledge requires that one know how to do something, methods of inquiry,
and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods (Krathwohl, 2002). According
to Clark and Estes (2008), it is necessary to determine whether people know how to achieve their
performance goals. Procedural knowledge requires all staff to know what is needed to ensure all
students have the skills to graduate from high school. Vista High School’s goal requires teachers
to demonstrate they know different techniques to support students with low credit completion.
Knowing various techniques to support students with low credit completion aids in re-
engaging students and ensuring they meet graduation requirements. Teachers cannot use the
same technique with every student, as Vista High School supports students from many different
backgrounds. A one-size-fits-all approach does not align with the school’s mission and vision of
personalized learning. Student engagement is targeted to specific needs when teachers know
different techniques, such as keeping student appointments exciting, breaking down heavy
23

content, building collaboration with students, and working in collaboration with the school
counselor, student retention support specialist, and instructional specialist.
Conceptual Knowledge Influence: Teachers Understand Collaborative Instructional Practices
to Re-engage Students Who Are Behind in Credit Completion
It is important to determine whether people know how to achieve their performance goals
(Clark & Estes, 2008). Conceptual knowledge has to do with the interrelationships among the
basic elements within a larger structure to provide a way for everyone to work together toward
the same goal. At Vista High School, conceptual knowledge describes what teachers need to
know to support the organizational goal of having 100% of students meet the graduation
requirements. The knowledge dimension is a cognitive process that includes recalling
information, understanding it, and applying it to meet the performance goal (Rueda, 2011).
To guide students toward meeting graduation requirements, teachers must know and
understand collaborative instructional practices to work together and re-engage a student who is
behind in credit completion. It is known that strong collaboration can improve teachers’ and
students’ outcomes. Working toward shared learning is important in developing teachers’
individual skills and for the cohesion of instruction and learning (Lockton, 2019). It is important
for teachers to have an established productive collaborative culture to support student learning.
Teachers understand that school administrators need to structure collaborative relationships
among the staff to effectively establish collaborative instructional practices. In schools where
teachers routinely engage in collaboration, joint work extends beyond meetings into teachers’
relationships (Lockton, 2019).

24

Metacognitive Knowledge Influence: Teachers Need to Self-Reflect on the Effectiveness of
Their Teaching Practices to Support a Student Who Is Behind in Credits for Graduation
Metacognitive knowledge is the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge. It is
the awareness of one’s cognition and cognitive processes. It is the type of knowledge that allows
one to know when and why something needs to be done (Rueda, 2011). This involves a
generative capability in which component cognitive, social, and behavioral skills must be
organized into integrated courses of action to serve innumerable purposes (Bandura, 1982).
Teachers need to have the time to reflect on the effectiveness of their processes when it comes to
supporting students who are behind in credits, therefore not advancing toward the graduation
requirements.
Education communities across the world prioritize efforts to raise teaching quality to
improve student learning. A current focus of researchers and educators of all levels is to
understand how teachers best learn to develop and refine their practice (Hollingsworth & Clarke,
2017). When put into practice, this can be highly effective when all teachers’ reflections are
focused on their role in supporting students who are low in credit completion. In practice, this
will include conversations with peers at staff meetings regarding whether students succeed in
credit completion, problem-solving for future issues, and noting accommodations needed for
future enrollment.

25

Table 2
Summary of Assumed Knowledge Influences on Teacher’s Ability to Achieve the Performance
Goal
Knowledge Assumed knowledge influences Research literature
Procedural Teachers know various techniques to
support students with low credit
completion.
Krathwohl, 2002
Rueda, 2011
Clark & Estes, 2008
Conceptual Teachers understand collaborative
instructional practices to re-engage
students who are behind in credit
completion.
Krathwohl, 2002
Clark & Estes, 2008
Rueda, 2011
Lockton, 2019
Metacognitive Teachers need to self-reflect on the
effectiveness of their teaching practices to
support a student who is behind in credits
for graduation.
Krathwohl, 2002
Rueda, 2011
Bandura, 1982
Hollingworth & Clarke, 2017

Motivation
Recent work on motivation, specifically on achievement or academic motivation,
emphasizes the beliefs a person develops related to themselves as learners and to learning tasks.
Motivation is an influence where noticeable benefits are available to the organization even when
there is no gap between goals and current performance (Clark & Estes, 2008). It is good to keep
in mind that knowing how to do something does not equal a desire to do it (Rueda, 2011).
Motivation is the internal, psychological process that gets us going, keeps us moving, and helps
get the job done. It influences three aspects of our work. The first is making the choice to work
toward a goal. The second is persevering until it is attained, and the third is how much mental
effort we put in to get the job done (Clark & Estes, 2008). Three influences of motivation were
26

considered regarding Vista High School’s organizational performance goal: self-efficacy,
attributions, and goal orientation.
Self-Efficacy Motivation Influence: Teachers Need to Have Confidence in Their Ability to Re-
engage Students With a Low Credit Completion
Those who believe in their success influence whether they think negatively or positively
in self-enabling or self-debilitating ways. Self-efficacy beliefs influence how well people
motivate themselves and persevere in the face of difficulties through the goals they set for
themselves, their outcome expectations, and causal attributions for their successes and failures
(Bandura, 2012). Successful experiences increase self-efficacy beliefs, while experiences of
failure lower them (Pfitzner-Eden, 2016). A teacher’s frame of mind influences the quality of
instruction they give their students. In their study, Okoro et al. (2022) found that students who
were taught by teachers of high and moderate teachers’ self-efficacy levels had better academic
achievement when compared with those students whose teachers exhibited low Teachers’ self-
efficacy. Teachers need to feel more confident in their and their students’ abilities to re-engage
students with low credit completion.
Self-Efficacy Motivation Influence: Teachers Need to Have Confidence in Their Ability to Re-
engage Students With a Low Credit Completion
Learning and performance are enhanced when participants allot success or failures to
effort rather than ability. Teachers need to understand their role in contributing to student success
(Schunk, 2005). Teachers need to persist and spend enough time working to achieve the goal of
the number of credits needing to be completed by the student every learning period. Behaviors
that can be self-regulated are time and effort planning and planning for self-reflection of
behavior (Schunk, 2005). For example, time and effort planning (time management) involves
27

creating a schedule and allotting time for planning different teaching strategies to re-engage a
student who is not completing credits (Schunk, 2005). To achieve the organizational goal of
increasing credit completion and graduation rates, teachers need to understand that their role as
supervising teachers contributes to student success with how and what they teach.
Goal Orientation Motivation Influence: Teachers Are Highly Motivated to Come Up With
Innovative Ways of Addressing Challenges With Student Engagement for Credit Completion
One of the most important things to remember about motivation at work is that it results
from our experiences and beliefs about ourselves, our coworkers, and our prospects for being
effective. Our motivation for work is controlled by whether we believe the environment provides
us with work goals and resources that can result in a reasonable amount of effectiveness (Clark
& Estes, 2008). However, one must keep in mind that while everyone is motivated by the drive
to be effective, cultural and personal differences influence people’s beliefs about what makes
them effective (Clark & Estes, 2008). To increase the graduation rate, teachers need to be highly
motivated to innovatively address challenges with student engagement.

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Table 3
Summary of Assumed Motivation Influences on Teacher’s Ability to Achieve the Performance
Goal
Motivation Assumed motivation influences Research literature
Self-efficacy Teachers need to have confidence in their
ability to re-engage students with low credit
completion.
Rueda, 2011
Clark & Estes, 2008
Bandura, 1982
Bandura, 2001
Bandura, 2012
Pfitzner-Eden, 2016
Okoro et al., 2022
Attributions Teachers understand that their role as
supervising teachers contributes to students’
success with how and what they teach.
Rueda, 2011
Clark & Estes, 2008
Schunk, 2005
Goal orientation Teachers are highly motivated to innovatively
address challenges with student engagement
for credit completion.
Rueda, 2011
Clark & Estes, 2008
Bandura, 1977

Organization
One must consider that even when teachers know what the goal is, when it needs to be
accomplished, and why they are supposed to meet it and feel highly motivated to do so, things
about the organization may hinder their performance (Rueda, 2011). Organizational factors are
important to consider in school outcomes and discussions of student achievement, as one must
think about how schools function as an organization rather than as a simple collection of
individuals (Rueda, 2011). When an organization has missing or inadequate processes and
materials, this can prevent achieving performance goals. One must also consider the
organization's culture to determine possible causes, as any change in how an organization
expects employees to do their jobs creates an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the
29

organizational change (Clark & Estes, 2008). Influences that affect organizational change
include a lack of resources, inadequate policies and/or procedures, and cultural models and
settings that are not aligned with the performance goals (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Resource Organizational Influence: Teachers Have the Time to Collaborate to Support
Students to Meet Graduation Requirements
Teacher collaboration is an important element of successful schools; it can help advance
student achievement, support teachers in dealing with stressors and psychological strains, and
strengthen a school’s capacity for improvement (Meyer et al., 2022). Studies have addressed the
relationships between principal leadership and both teacher collaboration and collective efficacy.
Findings have shown that principal leadership predicts the quantity and quality of teacher
collaboration (Meyer et al., 2022). Teaching and meeting schedules must allow time for teachers
to come together and discuss how they can support students. At Vista High School, the
organization must prioritize time in the schedule for teachers to collaborate and plan.
Resource Organizational Influence: Teachers Need Training and Professional Development
to Improve and Learn New Skills to Support Students to Meet Graduation Requirements
There is a consensus among scholars on teachers’ professional learning to improve the
quality of education. As teachers encounter different experiences, challenges, and problems, they
must learn different strategies to support students. Currently, teachers are increasingly
confronted with diverse student populations. Learners differ culturally and linguistically as well
as in their cognitive abilities and learning preferences (De Neve et al., 2015). Organizations
require material resources to achieve process goals and to help individuals as they perform
essential procedures (Clark & Estes, 2008). Therefore, the organization should prioritize ongoing
30

professional development and training of teachers to achieve the organizational goal of
increasing graduation rates.
Policies and Procedures Organizational Influence: Policies and Procedures Are in Place to
Support Instructional Goals for Students with Low Credit Completion
Policies and procedures are important, as they can influence whether performance goals
will be met (Rueda, 2011). Organizations are most effective when their policies, processes, and
procedures are aligned with their organizational goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). Student
engagement is fundamentally linked to the perceived value or relevance of the learning and the
associated opportunities for students to experience success. As such, low credit completion can
be affected by teachers’ actions in planning and delivering students’ learning experiences (Main
& Whatman, 2016). Teachers need to feel that policies and procedures support students with low
credit completion, such as enforcing school-wide expectations, community-building, checking in
with students, and allowing students to receive multiple types of specialized support. When a
policy is not supported by effective work processes or procedures, one of the possible causes is a
conflict between some aspect of the organizational culture and the current performance goal
(Clark & Estes, 2008).
Cultural Setting Organizational Influence: Teachers Have Clear Goals and Expectations on
Their Performance
The more visible aspect of an organization’s culture is the cultural setting, which must be
considered when analyzing a possible gap in its ability to reach its goal (Rueda, 2011). Cultural
settings are about social contexts where organizational policies and practices are enacted. It is
understanding why organizational stakeholders think and behave as they do (Rueda, 2011).
When Vista High School has a consistent practice of communicating clear goals and
31

expectations on teacher performance, the school may reach the organizational goal of increasing
graduation rates.
Cultural Setting Organizational Influence: Teachers Receive Appropriate Feedback on Their
Performance
It is important to have consistent interactions between school leadership and teachers,
including clear communication of organizational goals and expected behaviors of employees and
sharing performance information; this will support teachers in accomplishing higher performance
(Park & Choi, 2020). Understanding that performance feedback plays a central role in managing
performance and meeting the school’s organizational goals. Consistent feedback will aid in
understanding why stakeholders think and behave the way they do within an organization
(Rueda, 2011). At Vista High School, teachers should receive appropriate feedback on their
performance to support them in meeting the performance goal of increasing graduation rates.
Cultural Model Organizational Influence: Teachers Are Part of an Organization That
Supports Them to Do the Best They Can to Help the Students Graduate
Cultural models support understanding the invisible aspects of the organizational work
settings. Cultural models help define what is customary and normal. Those models develop and
play out in specific work settings, such as classrooms, meeting places, administrator’s offices,
and teacher lunchrooms (Rueda, 2011). Cultural models are an organization’s unseen workings
that determine the behavior of stakeholders (Rueda, 2011). Teachers who believe they are
supported will feel more confidence in their abilities. If teachers feel value and importance about
themselves, their contribution and commitment to the school will also increase. For this reason, it
is thought that the relationship between the teacher’s perception of organizational support and
32

commitment is important (Nayir, 2012). Teachers need to know they are part of an organization
that supports them to do the best they can to help students graduate.

Table 4
Summary of Assumed Organization Influences on Teacher’s Ability to Achieve the Performance
Goal
Organization Assumed organization influences Research literature
Resources Teachers have the time to collaborate to
support students in meeting graduation
requirements.
Clark & Estes, 2008
Rueda, 2011
Meyer et al., 2022
Resources Teachers need training and professional
development to improve and learn new
skills to support students to meet
graduation requirements.
Clark & Estes, 2008
Rueda, 2011
De Neve et al., 2014
Policies and
procedures
Policies and procedures are in place to
support instructional goals for students
with low credit completion.
Clark & Estes, 2008
Rueda, 2011
Main & Whatman, 2016
Cultural settings Teachers have clear goals and expectations
for their performance.
Clark & Estes, 2008
Rueda, 2011
Cultural settings Teachers receive appropriate feedback on
their performance.
Clark & Estes, 2008
Rueda, 2011
Park & Choi, 2020
Cultural models Teachers are part of an organization that
supports them to do the best they can to
help the students graduate.
Clark & Estes, 2008
Rueda, 2011
Nayir, 2012
Bolman & Deal, 2022

33

This evaluation study sought to identify the knowledge, motivational, and organizational
factors that will allow Vista High School to reach its goal of increasing graduation rates to 100%
by increasing credit completion. This literature review explained the barriers that create
instructional gaps for students and effective research-based practices for teachers to support their
learning. Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis conceptual framework was introduced, and the
literature review informed the identification of assumed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences directly related to achieving the performance goal.
34

Chapter Three: Methodology
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which Vista High School is
meeting its organizational goal of increasing graduation rates to 100%. The analysis focused on
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences related to achieving this organizational
goal. While a complete performance evaluation would focus on all stakeholders, for practical
purposes, the stakeholders of focus in this analysis were the supervising teachers. Questions that
guide this study are as follows:
1. What is the current status of Vista High School’s knowledge and motivation of the
teachers related to student credit completion?
2. How do the organizational influences impact Vista High School teachers’ capacity to
increase credit completion?
3. What are recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and determine whether they are appropriate
for the organization, Clark and Estes (2008) created the gap analysis framework. The gap
analysis is a systemic problem-solving approach to improve performance and achieve
organizational goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). This framework focuses on three areas that
correspond to the human causes related to stakeholders’ knowledge, motivation, and
organizational factors and provides research-based solutions (Rueda, 2011). The systematic
process of the gap analysis allows for the examination of the current knowledge, motivation, and
organizational factors (KMO) of the employees who are charged with the organization’s goal
attainment, which may contribute to the organization’s performance gap (Clark & Estes, 2008).
35

The organization must then address the identified KMO influences impeding the achievement of
the goal (Clark & Estes, 2008).
The study adapted the gap analysis by focusing on only one stakeholder group. This
improvement model provides an approach that evaluates performance gaps in the KMO factors.
The first step is to identify the gap compared to the goal. Next, the gap was evaluated by
analyzing KMO factors to determine the gap’s root causes (Clark & Estes, 2008). Typically,
after identifying the root causes of the gap, solutions to the KMO causes are recommended,
leading to the final step of implementation and evaluation of the recommended solutions (Clark
& Estes, 2008). It was not the purpose of this study to implement or evaluate the recommended
solutions.
As this study aimed to evaluate Vista High School’s graduation rate, this gap analysis
model provides insight to determine the KMO root causes. The supervising teachers’ knowledge
was examined to determine their depth of knowledge about instructional practices, various
techniques, self-reflection, and implementation of the practices and techniques. Supervising
teachers were also asked about their motivation to ensure students meet graduation requirements
and whether they understand that their role as supervising teachers contributes to students’
success with how and what they teach. Finally, the supervising teachers were asked about the
organization’s objectives around graduation rates and how they think those goals will be
achieved.
The methodical and systematic approach to analyzing KMO influences on performance
gaps, as described by Clark and Estes (2008), is the evaluative approach used for this study
(Figure 1). This modified gap analysis framework (Clark & Estes, 2008) guided this evaluative
study to analyze the assumed KMO factors with regard to increasing graduation rates. Once
36

analyzed, the data-informed solutions for closing the perceived gaps and recommendations for an
implementation and evaluation plan for the solutions.

Figure 1
The Gap Analysis Process

37

Assessment of Performance Influences
For Vista High School to increase graduation rates, it is necessary to assess the teachers’
knowledge, motivation, and understanding of the organizational barriers through a gap analysis
(Clark & Estes, 2008). The KMO influences outlined in Chapter Two and supported by the
literature are the foundation of inquiry for this qualitative study of assessing performance
influences. Using interviews and document analysis guided by the research questions, this gap
analysis determined the needs for achieving the organizational goal. After identifying the needs,
an evaluation plan was developed to address the gaps and ultimately meet the organization’s
goal.
Knowledge Assessment
The gap analysis allows us to determine whether people know how to achieve the
organization’s performance goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). Krathwohl (2002) identified four types
of knowledge: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. This study analyzed the three
types of knowledge: conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. As outlined in Chapter Two, the
assumed influences for conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge were assessed
using interviews and document analysis. Once the knowledge influences were identified, these
data were used to develop an evaluation plan for Vista High School.
Conceptual Knowledge Assessment
Conceptual knowledge is the interrelationship among the basic elements of knowledge
within a larger structure; it is what allows the elements to work together (Krathwohl, 2002).
Conceptual knowledge is necessary for teachers to function effectively. The assessment of
conceptual knowledge included interview items that required teachers to identify and explain
instructional strategies for all students, such as collaborative instructional practices to re-engage
38

students. The analysis of documents, such as the students’ master agreement, student records,
professional learning community agendas, and professional development plans, allowed for the
further assessment of teachers’ conceptual knowledge.
Procedural Knowledge Assessment
Procedural knowledge requires that one know how to do something, methods of inquiry,
and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods (Krathwohl, 2002). The
assessment of procedural knowledge for this study included interview questions and analysis of
documents that required teachers to prove whether they knew of various techniques to support
students with low credit completion. Teachers must know how to re-engage a student and
implement research-based instructional strategies to support all students.
Metacognitive Knowledge Assessment
Metacognitive knowledge is the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge. It is
awareness of one’s own cognition and particular cognitive processes. It is the type of knowledge
that allows one to know when and why something needs to be done (Rueda, 2011). Assessment
of metacognitive knowledge included interview questions requiring teachers to demonstrate
whether they self-reflected on the effectiveness of their teaching practices to support a student
who is behind in credits. Analysis of documents such as professional development plans,
feedback forms completed after professional training, and meeting minutes provided evidence on
whether and how teachers self-reflected on their teaching effectiveness. Details on how teachers
reflected on training opportunities, their plans for transferring the training into daily practice, and
how they articulated their reflections during meetings allow for further assessment of
metacognitive knowledge.
39

Table 5 outlines each assumed knowledge influence and the interview questions used to
assess teachers’ knowledge related to implementing strategies to support the increase in
graduation rates. Table 5 also includes documents used to analyze the assumed knowledge
influences.

Table 5
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Method of Assessment
Assumed knowledge influences Interview item Document
Conceptual
Teachers understand
collaborative instructional
practices to re-engage
students who are behind in
credit completion.
If you had to explain collaborative
instructional practices to
someone, what would you say?

What are some collaborative
practices in your school to re-
engage students who have low
credit completion?
LCAP
Procedural
Teachers know various
techniques to support
students with low credit
completion.
Do you have students on your
roster with low credit
completion?

What techniques/strategies do you
use to increase credit
completion?
School accountability
report card
LCAP
Metacognitive
Teachers need to self-reflect on
the effectiveness of their
teaching practices to support
a student who is behind in
credits for graduation.
How often do you reflect on the
effectiveness of your teaching
strategies?
–

Note. There was no document analysis for the metacognitive knowledge influence.
40

Motivation Assessment
Motivation is the internal, psychological process that gets us going, keeps us moving, and
helps get the job done. It influences making the choice to work toward a goal, persevering at it
until it is attained, and how much mental effort we put in to get the job done (Clark & Estes,
2008). When people make choices, persist, or quit a task, motivational variables are assumed to
be the driving dynamic (Rueda, 2011). This section introduces the recommended motivational
influences that were assessed. These motivational indicators can determine the nature of the
motivational influence, such as self-efficacy, attributions, and goal orientation, and each was
assessed in this study.
Self-Efficacy Assessment
Self-efficacy beliefs influence how well people motivate themselves and persevere in the
face of difficulties through the goals they set for themselves, their outcome expectations, and
causal attributions for their successes and failures (Bandura, 2012). Those who are confident in
their ability are more likely to persist and execute all that is necessary to achieve goals by
controlling their motivation, behavior, and social environment (Bandura, 2001). To achieve the
organizational goal of increasing graduation rates, teachers need to be confident in their abilities
to meet their students’ needs. Interview questions assessed teachers’ confidence in their ability to
re-engage students with low credit completion. Analyzing documents such as feedback forms
after professional training and meeting minutes helped to assess the teachers’ confidence in their
abilities to meet their students’ needs.
Attributions Assessment
Learning and performance are enhanced when participants allot success or failures to
effort rather than ability. Teachers need to understand their role in contributing to student success
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(Schunk, 2005). Teachers need to persist and spend enough time working to achieve the goal of
the students completing the number of credits every learning period. Behaviors that can be self-
regulated are time and effort planning and planning for self-reflection of behavior (Schunk,
2005). Interview questions assessed whether teachers understood that their role contributes to
students’ success. I also analyzed documents such as meeting agendas and meeting minutes.
Goal Orientation Assessment
Our motivation for work is controlled by whether we believe the environment provides us
with work goals and resources that can result in a reasonable amount of effectiveness (Clark &
Estes, 2008). However, while everyone is motivated by the drive to be effective, cultural and
personal differences influence people’s beliefs about what makes them effective (Clark & Estes,
2008). Interview questions assessed whether teachers were motivated to innovatively address
challenges with student engagement for credit completion. I also analyzed documents such as
professional development plans, meeting agendas, and meeting minutes.
Table 6 outlines for each assumed motivation influence (self-efficacy, attributions, and
goal orientation) the various interview questions used to assess teachers’ motivation related to
increasing graduation rates. Table 6 also includes documents used to analyze the assumed
motivation influences.

42

Table 6
Summary of Motivation Influences and Method of Assessment
Assumed motivation influences Interview item Document
Self-efficacy
Teachers need to have
confidence in their ability to
re-engage students with low
credit completion.
Tell me about a time you felt confident
about how you supported a student
with low credit completion.
Please talk through a time you felt less
confident.
Describe how confident you are in
your ability to differentiate
instruction for students who need to
be re-engaged.
–
Attributions
Teachers understand that their
role as supervising teachers
contributes to students’
success with how and what
they teach.
What do you believe are the reasons
students are not engaged and
meeting the credit completion every
learning period?
Some might say that the success of a
student in the independent study
program has to do with the skills and
abilities of the supervising teacher.
What are your thoughts on this?
–
Goal orientation
Teachers are highly motivated
to innovatively address
challenges with student
engagement for credit
completion.
What is your approach with students
who have low credit completion?
Parent/student
handbook

Note. There was no document analysis for influence of Self-Efficacy and Attributions.

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Organization Assessment
Organizational factors are important to consider in school outcomes and discussions of
student achievement, as one must think about how schools function as an organization rather
than as a simple collection of individuals (Rueda, 2011). When an organization has missing or
inadequate processes and materials, this can prevent achieving performance goals. One must
consider obstacles, such as a lack of resources and inadequate and misaligned
policies/procedures affecting organizational performance (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Resources
To achieve organizational goals, teachers need resources like supplies, equipment,
funding, and time (Clark & Estes, 2008). The interview questions were designed to assess the
degree to which stakeholders feel they have the needed resources to support students. Documents
such as budgets, schedules, policy/procedure manuals, professional development plans, and
electronic communications were also analyzed to assess whether stakeholders had the resources
for goal attainment.
Policies and Procedures
When policies, processes, and procedures align with organizational goals, stakeholders
are more effective and better able to achieve goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). The participants were
asked interview questions on whether our organization has the policies, processes, and
procedures to support all students’ needs. Documents analyzed were policy and procedure
manuals, budgets, the school website, and electronic communications.
Cultural Settings
The cultural setting, the more visible aspects of an organization’s culture, must also be
understood when analyzing a possible gap in its ability to reach its goal (Rueda, 2011). Cultural
44

settings allow for understanding why organizational stakeholders think and behave as they do
(Rueda, 2011). For this study, interview questions assessed whether teachers had clear goals and
expectations for their performance and if they felt they received appropriate feedback on their
performance.
Cultural Models
To fully understand gaps that prevent an organization from achieving its goal, the cultural
model that shapes its customary and normal operating procedures must be understood (Rueda,
2011). One must also consider the organization’s culture to determine possible causes, as
changing expectations regarding how employees do their jobs allows for evaluating the
effectiveness of the change (Clark & Estes, 2008). Interview questions are also designed to
understand if teachers were part of an organization that supports them to do their best so that
they can help the students graduate.
Table 7 outlines for each assumed organizational influence the various interview
questions used to assess teachers’ beliefs about the organization’s culture, resources,
policies/procedures/processes to support all students. Table 7 also includes the documents used
to analyze the assumed organizational influences.

Table 7
Summary of Organization Influences and Method of Assessment
Assumed organization
influences
Interview items Document
Resources
Teachers have the time to
collaborate to support
What kind of collaborative planning
time, if any, does your school
provide? Please explain.
LCAP
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Assumed organization
influences
Interview items Document
students in meeting
graduation requirements.
Teachers need training and
professional development
to improve and learn new
skills to support students to
meet graduation
requirements.
What training have you received to
support the student population that
enrolls in the independent study
program?
What follow-up support do you
receive after the New Teacher
Training?
Probe: Are there coaches or other
specialists who support the work
you do for your students?
Professional
development plans
New teacher training
School accountability
report card
LCAP
MyLO

Policies and procedures
Policies and procedures are
in place to support
instructional goals for
students with low credit
completion.
What are some of the policies and
procedures you have at your school
that support the needs of students
not completing credits or not
meeting the 2 credits per week goal?
Probe: Explain
Are there policies and procedures that
don’t support the students’ or
teachers’ needs?
Probe: Explain
Policy and procedure
manuals
School website
School accountability
report card
Charter renewal
petition
Cultural settings
Teachers have clear goals
and expectations for their
performance.
What process does your school have in
place to set goals and expectations
for supervising teachers?
Review of
performance
management system
(Clear View)
Teachers receive appropriate
feedback on their
performance.
Does your school provide consistent
and ongoing feedback on
performance for supervising
teachers?
NA
Cultural models
Teachers are part of an
organization that supports
them to do the best they
Do you have the support you need to
implement techniques/strategies?
Does your school value professional
learning to support supervising
Professional
development plans
School accountability
report card
46

Assumed organization
influences
Interview items Document
can to help the students
graduate.
teachers to help students meet
graduation requirements? Probe:
How do you know?
LCAP

Participating Stakeholders and Sample Selection
The stakeholders of focus for this study were the supervising teachers, as they engage
with the students and create the students’ academic plan to meet the graduation requirements.
The stakeholder’s goal, supported by the area superintendent and school administration, is that
all Vista High teachers will have the skills, knowledge, and motivation to increase the graduation
rate. They are the focus of this study, as the organizational goal cannot be met without these
stakeholders’ implementing strategies to support the learning of all students.
Sampling
The sampling strategy for this study was a case-study approach (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). I deliberately sampled the teachers, as they could provide information that would be
relevant to the organization’s goals and maximize the examination of the stakeholder knowledge
and motivation and the organizational culture and group dynamics (Maxwell, 2013).
Recruitment
I sent all 15 supervising teachers an email requesting their participation in an interview.
The email communication introduced me, described the purpose of the study, and stated that
participation was voluntary and confidential. The email also outlined the anticipated length of
time needed and options for participating (in person or Microsoft Teams). The participation
target was 100%. However, I agreed to interview as many as 12 teachers, which was 80% of the
47

teachers. I offered each participant a list of dates and times from which they were encouraged to
select a time to be interviewed. As I was a teacher for this charter school, there was a peer
relationship between some of the participants and me.
Instrumentation
The instrumentation used for this qualitative study consisted of interview and document
analysis protocols. To ensure the credibility and trustworthiness of the findings, I used
triangulation. This is when multiple sources of data are used. For example, what a teacher tells
me in an interview can also be checked against what I read from a document relevant to the
subject (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Interview Protocol Design
The interview questions designed for this study, main questions, and probes are all
related to the two research questions and framed around Clark and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis
conceptual framework (2008). The interview questions followed the semi-structured approach
because of the flexibility it allows with the question types and structure and was a guide for the
interviewer to create an environment for a guided conversation (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Each
interview question is directly linked to influence types described by Clark and Estes (2008),
Krathwohl (2002), and Rueda (2011) and is outlined in Appendix A. Since I am a former teacher
at the school and am now the charter management organization’s coordinator of multilingual
programs, to minimize the potential for stakeholders to feel coerced to participate, I was explicit
about why I was conducting this study and assured the teachers that my role was to conduct the
interviews, collect all the data, and maintain the confidentiality of all participants. I also sent the
recruitment email that stated the employees’ participation is voluntary.

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Document Analysis
The systematic document analysis procedure was used to review and evaluate
organizational artifacts and public records (Bowen, 2009). As Merriam and Tisdell (2016) noted,
most documents were created before the start of this study, and it is the researcher’s
responsibility to analyze various types to gain a deeper understanding of the setting and thinking
around the topic for the research. Documents provide important data regarding the organization’s
context and allow for tracking changes/development, details and data that stakeholders may not
remember, and detailed descriptions of an organization’s many facets (Bowen, 2009).
The analysis included meeting agendas, meeting minutes, training materials, handbooks,
and website postings for professional development opportunities. The documents were public
records such as student reports, policy manuals, and strategic planning documents. Documents
were coded, organized by themes and influences, and served as a further basis of discussion in
interviews. The documents included in the analysis all related to the two research questions
framed around Clark and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis framework. Each document is directly
linked to influence types described by Clark and Estes, Krathwohl (2002), and Rueda (2008) and
is outlined in Appendix B.
Data Collection
Following the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board (IRB)
approval, with permission from the area superintendent, I solicited participants via email using
their Vista High School email addresses. All participants received an informed consent form,
included in Appendix C, explaining the purpose of the study and the procedures regarding their
participation.

49

Interviews
Teachers who agreed to be interviewed received a follow-up email with options on a day
and time that was most convenient for them. Participants could choose to conduct their interview
in person or via Microsoft Teams, and I scheduled the interview. The interviews lasted
approximately 60 minutes and were recorded with their permission. I informed the participants
about the purpose of the study and that their identities would remain anonymous.
Document Analysis
I collected documents that added to the study’s relevance and provided deeper insight
into the KMO influences. Documents were policy and procedure manuals, meeting minutes, the
school’s website, professional development plans, student records, budgets, the school’s website,
the school student information system, and a Google Drive for shared documents. As a school
employee, I had access to this information.
A qualitative study is research focused on discovery, insight, and understanding from the
perspectives of those being studied, which offers the greatest promise of making a difference in
people’s lives (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In this qualitative evaluation gap analysis study, data
analysis occurred using interview and document data.
For interviews, recordings and transcripts were evaluated to identify patterns related to
KMO influences. The interviews and data were classified and coded by organizational categories
for each influence immediately after each interview (Maxwell, 2013). I also annotated notes,
comments, observations, and queries in the margins of my interview questions, as this was
important for the data analysis (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
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Documents, like the student master agreement, meeting agendas, and meeting minutes,
were evaluated to identify patterns related to KMO influences. I classified and coded the
documents by themes for each influence and subtopics (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Trustworthiness of Data
To ensure consistency and dependability, I used triangulation. The strategy of
triangulation was essential, as comparing and cross-checking what was said in interviews and
what was read in documents increased the credibility of findings (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Multiple methods of collecting data increase reliability as well. Interviews served as one method,
and document analysis was the second. A running record of interaction with the data as I
engaged in analysis and interpretation was recommended, as it supports a detailed account of
how the study was conducted and how the data were analyzed (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Role of Investigator
My positionality as a former Vista High School teacher and now the coordinator of
multilingual programs for the charter management organization could have posed an issue as
some of the teachers knew me and were former work colleagues. To mitigate this issue, I
explained why I was conducting this study and reminded them that I did not have a supervisory
role. I used ethical practices, such as receiving informed consent from interviewees, voluntary
participation, confidentiality, the right to withdraw without penalty, seeking permission to record
the interviews, and storing/securing the data.

51

Chapter Four: Results and Findings
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree to which Vista High School is
meeting its organizational goal of increasing the graduation rate for all students. This chapter
presents the results and findings. Applying the gap analysis framework (Clark & Estes, 2008),
the results are organized by influences regarding KMO elements related to achieving this
organizational goal. Qualitative data were collected through interviews and document analysis to
understand the KMO needs and assets of the teachers’ experience regarding this organizational
goal. Interviews were conducted first as the central source of determining needs and assets.
Document analysis followed to allow further assessment, evidence, and validation of the needs
and assets.
Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholders for this study were the supervising teachers in the independent study
program Grades 9–12, 19 stakeholders, as they are the staff that works closely with the students.
They received an email (Appendix D) requesting that they participate in an interview. The
participation target was 53%, or ten supervising teachers, but only nine volunteered to be
interviewed; the participation rate was 47%. As outlined in Table 8, all subjects were represented
in the study. Each stakeholder was assigned a participant number, and demographic information
about the stakeholders was not available to ensure confidentiality. However, the subject each
participant taught is known and outlined in Table 8.

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Table 8
Participating Stakeholders
Participant Subject taught
1 Math
2 ELA/ELD
3 Social science
4 ELA/ELD
5 ELA
6 Art
7 ELA
8 Multiple subjects
9 Science

Determination of Assets and Needs
The main data source for this study was interviews, followed by document analysis. This
study’s results and findings are presented by the KMO influences determined in Chapters Two
and Three. The criterion for determining an influence as a need or asset was that a minimum of
eight participants indicated a particular influence was present. If at least eight did, then the
influence was determined as an asset; if not, the influence was determined to be a need.
Document analysis provided more in-depth insight into the KMO influences and determined the
presence of an influence. However, cross-referencing interview data with documents for
assumed influences might have indicated the presence of an influence, and teachers might have
been unaware of resources.
Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes
The gap analysis is a method used to identify people’s knowledge and skills. The type of
support people need can only be determined after analyzing what is required to close the gap and
whether the required element is readily available in the organization (Clark & Estes, 2008). As
53

an educational leader, it is important to be clear on what those you supervise should know.
Otherwise, how will they know? (Rueda, 2011). For this study, the results and findings were
reported for the influence of knowledge, using three types: procedural, conceptual, and
metacognitive.
Procedural Knowledge
The procedural knowledge influence examined in this study was that teachers know
various techniques to support students with low credit completion.
Interview Findings. All participants stated they have students on their roster with low
credit completion. Various techniques have been used to increase credit completion. Participant 5
stated,
They call, text students and parents, enroll the student in SGI [small group instruction],
including reaching out to the SOS team, which is a team established of tutors and
paraprofessionals that support teachers in reaching students who are struggling to come in
to school and complete credits assigned.
Participant 2 added, “I use a credit tracker, I do home visits, and work evening shifts to tutor.”
All participants shared a common process. To summarize, Participant 4 stated, “I make sure to
stay in constant communication with the student and the parent educator.”
Document Analysis. An analysis of the school’s LCAP and school accountability report
card (SARC) for the 2021–2022 school year yielded evidence of what is done to support students
with low credit completion. As stated in the general information in the LCAP, “Many of our
students face unique economic challenges, including out-of-school attendance, parenting, and
family stability.” The SARC also states specific and targeted interventions that take progressive
steps to support the teachers and students when they witness a decline in attendance.
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Summary. The assumed influence of teachers using various techniques to support
students with low credit completion was determined to be an asset with interviews and document
analysis. Interview results indicate that all participants have students on their roster with low
credit completion and use various techniques and strategies to increase credit completion.
Teachers understand that it is important to understand the root of the problem, to know what is
going on in a student’s life that is preventing them from coming to school, submitting credits,
and meeting the goal to graduate. The document analysis demonstrates this understanding as
well, stating that some students need the flexibility of an independent study model to meet family
obligations, such as work or childcare needs. Therefore, this influence is determined to be an
asset.
Conceptual Knowledge
The conceptual knowledge Influence examined was that teachers understand
collaborative instructional practices to re-engage students who are behind in credit completion.
Interview Findings. All but one participant could explain what collaborative
instructional practices are. Participant 1 stated, “It’s about working as a team to develop the best
methods. To make sure all the students are learning and that we are implementing best
practices.” Participant 9 said, “It’s about working together to assist our students, talking about
issues, and coming up with solutions together.” Participant 6 added that “collaborative
instructional practice is also about teachers collaborating to find ways to connect subjects to each
other.”
When asked what some collaborative practices are done in your school to re-engage
students who have low credit completion, Participant 3 stated, “We don’t do a lot of
collaboration. There hasn’t been much lately.” Participant 1 said, “One time we got together to
55

look at the curriculum, but that was some time last year.” Others stated they have all staff
meetings and teams who support contacting hard-to-reach students. Even though 90% of
participants know what collaborative instructional practices are, six did not clearly state that
these take place consistently at their school. Therefore, this influence was determined as a need.
Document Analysis. There is some evidence that collaborative practice is valued. The
school’s LCAP states, in the reflection of successes, “Building relationships and staying
connected to students decreased the dropout rate. Our dedicated staff and students successfully
pulled together.” There is also some evidence of professional development, stating, “The
meetings included a number of different feedback opportunities through multiple collaborative
activities.”
Summary. The assumed influence that teachers understand collaborative instructional
practices to re-engage students who are behind in credit completion is determined as a need. This
is based on the interview data. Teachers know what collaborative instructional practices are.
However, 67% did not clearly describe their school’s collaborative practices.
Metacognitive Knowledge
The metacognitive knowledge influence analyzed was that teachers need to self-reflect on
the effectiveness of their teaching practices to support a student who is behind in credits for
graduation.
Interview Findings. All participants self-reflect on their teaching practices. Participant 2
stated, “Pretty often. What’s the unobvious? What else can I do?” Participant 4 added, “Daily, I
take my job very seriously. I constantly think, what could I have said? Could I have done this
better?” Several participants said they reflect monthly at the end of the learning period.
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Participant 5 said, “I feel like I am almost forced to reflect monthly when I get the report that
shows everyone’s ADA and credit completion.”
Document Analysis. No document analysis was conducted for metacognitive
knowledge.
Summary. With all participants understanding self-reflection as adding to the
effectiveness of their teaching practices to support a student who is behind in credits, this
influence was determined as an asset. The interview data provided evidence that 100% of the
participants self-reflect. They constantly question their actions, methods, and instruction to
ensure students get what they need, understanding that this change is based on each student.
Summary of Knowledge Findings
Two out of three assumed knowledge influences were determined as assets. Teachers do
know various techniques to support students with low credit completion. They also take the time
to self-reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching practices to support a student who is behind
in credits to graduate. However, with the assumed influence of conceptual knowledge, there is a
need for teachers to engage in collaborative instructional practices. Participant 1 stated, “Last
time we got together was last year.” Participant 6 said, “We just reach out to each other. Can you
call this student?” There are many benefits to establishing collaborative instructional practices.
There could be an increase in student retention, self-esteem, and understanding of diverse
perspectives.
Results and Findings for Motivation Causes
When considering the influence of motivation, knowing how to do something does not
necessarily ensure a desire to do it. It is also important to understand that motivational issues
impact teachers just as much as they do students (Rueda, 2011). The results and findings were
57

reported for the influence of motivation, using three types: self-efficacy, attributions, and goal
orientation.
Self-Efficacy
The self-efficacy influence investigated in this study was that teachers need to have
confidence in their ability to re-engage students with low credit completion.
Interview Findings. Participant 4 does not feel confident in their ability to support a
student with low credit completion, as they expressed that when they put all their effort and
attention into one student, knowing that all the students with low credit completion need that
one-on-one attention every day. Participant 5 added, “When I’m calling the students every hour
on the hour until I get a hold of them, that is when I have the most success, but there isn’t always
time.” Participant 6 said, “I’m feeling less confident right now because all the things that have
worked in the past are no longer working.” Participant 8 added, “I think I struggle because I trust
students too much.” Participant 9 said, “I feel less confident when the student is not responsive to
the point where I have no idea what to do next because I’ve exhausted all efforts.” Some
participants stated they feel most confident in differentiating instruction when it is in a small
group or the traditional classroom setting.
Document Analysis. No document analysis was conducted for self-efficacy motivation.
Summary. Teachers need to feel confident in the work they do daily. They need to
believe in their capabilities to do all they can to reach specific goals, like meeting ADA
percentage or credit completion every learning period. With seven participants not feeling
confident in their abilities to re-engage a student with low credit completion, this influence was
determined as a need.

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Attributions
The influence pertaining to attributions analyzed herein was that teachers understand that
their role as supervising teachers contributes to students’ success with how and what they teach.
Interview Findings. This influence was assessed with two questions. The first question
was, “What do you believe are the reasons students are not engaged and meeting the credit
completion every learning period?” Seven participants shared many of the same reasons students
are not engaged. Participant 1 stated, “A lot of family troubles. Some need to work as income
helps their family survive.” Participant 3 added, “Another big factor is mental health.”
Participant 5 said, “We don’t have enough parental involvement.” Participants 2 and 8 believe
that students lack consequences for not meeting the credit completion goal every learning period.
Participant 6 stated, “Lack of consequences,” and Participant 7 said, “Students can say whatever
they want, and there are no consequences. They are not here in person and do not have a set
schedule.”
The second question was, “Some might say that the success of a student in the
independent study program has to do with the skills and abilities of the supervising teacher. What
are your thoughts on this?” Six participants believe that, to some extent, this statement is true.
Participant 1 said, “Teachers do have a big impact, but students have something to do with it
too.” Participant 3 stated, “Short of me doing the work for the student, there’s only so much I can
do to meet the student halfway. But as a teacher, I do need to check in.” Participant 6 added, “I
don’t think we’re the only one. Parents are the second-biggest part.” Other participants did not
agree with this statement. Participant 7 said, “False. This depends on the student’s drive and
desire to be successful.” Participant 5 said, “It really doesn’t have anything to do with me at all.
The kids have to complete the packet, and I can’t do it for them.”
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Document Analysis. No document analysis was conducted for attributions motivation.
Summary. The assumed influence that teachers understand that their role as supervising
teachers contributes to the student’s success with how and what they teach was determined to be
a need. Seventy-eight percent of the participants understand that outside factors affect student
engagement and that students’ backgrounds influence whether they meet the goal of submitting
four credits every learning period. Only 67% agreed with the statement that a student’s success
in an independent study program connects to teachers’ skills and abilities. Despite it being an
independent study program, teachers should be expected to provide instruction. Even when it is
one-on-one personalized instruction, the students would benefit from direct and collaborative
instruction when they come to school.
Goal Orientation
The influence pertaining to goal orientation that this study examined was that teachers are
highly motivated to innovatively address challenges with student engagement for credit
completion.
Interview Findings. When asked about their approach to students with low credit
completion, Participant 1 said, “I wish I could start an intervention, but our resources are used
for zeros (students that are not submitting any work).” Participant 2 added, “There is only so
much we can do.” Another participant responded, “It’s kinda hit or miss.” Only 55% of
participants shared their approach with confidence. Participant 4 answered, “My approach has
been to build trust and have rapport with the students by showing them that my priority is for
them to be successful.” Another participant added, “I get a grasp of the situation and get to know
the student.” Participant 8 stated, “I increase one-on-one time and enroll them in SGI classes.”
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Document Analysis. In the analysis of the school’s parent/student handbook. There is
evidence that outlines tiered re-engagement strategies that are in accordance with Education
Code Section 51747(d). It outlines a progressive process for students not meeting the minimum
requirements, and it states, “If the student continues to make unsatisfactory educational progress,
the student will be transitioned out of the program and referred back to their school district of
residence.” According to this document, there is a process and procedure established. The
practice of reflecting on the effectiveness of this process and the lack of consistency in following
it does not allow the participants to feel highly motivated to bring innovation in re-engaging
students.
Summary. The assumed influence of teachers feeling highly motivated to develop
innovative strategies to address challenges with students who are not engaged and have low
credit completion was determined as a need. The interview data provided evidence that only 55%
could speak about an established approach with students who have low credit completion.
Document analysis supports establishing a tiered process for students not engaged in school.
However, the participants did not know this process.
Summary of Motivation Findings
Evidence shows a considerable need for the assumed influences on motivation of self-
efficacy, attributions, and goal orientation. Motivation is what can keep teachers going;
experienced, intelligent people who are unmotivated lack the direction, persistence, and energy
to accomplish work (Clark & Estes, 2008). There is a need to increase teacher’s motivation
related to student credit completion. Therefore, the study’s implementation plan includes specific
actions to support and increase teacher’s motivation.

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Results and Findings for Organization Causes
Even when motivation is high and there is exceptional knowledge and skills, missing or
inadequate processes and resources can prevent achieving an organizational goal (Clark & Estes,
2008). For the assumed organizational influences, one must consider how these influences
impact teachers’ capacity to increase credit completion. The results and findings were reported
for the organizational influence using four types: resources, policies and procedures, cultural
settings, and cultural models.
Resources
The first influence analyzed was that teachers have the time to collaborate to support
students in meeting graduation requirements.
Interview Findings. Eight participants could not identify what kind of collaborative
planning time their school provides. Participant 1 stated, “I would say the only time we really
collaborate is during staff meetings, but I really cannot remember the last time we had a staff
meeting.” Participant 2 added, “As far as collaborative days, I’d say it’s more informal, no
carved-out time.” Participant 3 communicated, “I don’t think we plan collaborative stuff. I think
it’s really hard for an independent study program to collaborate.” Participant 9 confirmed, “We
don’t have specific time set aside out of the day,” and explained,
That’s just something that we have to find, I guess, or put together. Where we set aside
time to work with each other to figure out a plan for the students. So, we just have to
make that time.
Participant 7 also confirmed, “There really isn’t any set collaborative planning time.”
Document Analysis. The school’s 2022–23 LCAP provided evidence that reflects an
understanding of the importance of collaboration: “Our personalized learning model is tailored to
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the needs and interests of each student through the collaborative creation of an individual
learning plan.” However, there is no indication of specified collaborative planning time set aside
for the instructional staff.
Summary. The assumed influence that teachers have the time to collaborate to support
students in meeting the graduation requirements was determined to be a need in both the
interview results and document analysis. While there is evidence of all staff meetings being
scheduled, one participant stated that “staff meetings go over updates, new policies, and testing
participation. They’re not really designed to be collaborative.”
Influence 2. Teachers Need Training and Professional Development to Improve and Learn
New Skills to Support Students to Meet Graduation Requirements
This influence was examined through interviews and document analysis.
Interview Findings. I asked three questions about this influence. The first question was,
“What training have you received to support the student population that enrolls in an independent
study program?” Seven participants stated they had attended professional development and
training. Participant 1 said, “There have been a few, and I think they have been really good.”
Participant 4 added, “They have done a good amount of professional development days.”
Participant 2 said, “We had trauma-informed training, which I really liked.”
The second question was, “What follow-up support did you receive after your New
Teacher Training?” Participant 1 said, “The New Teacher Training we have now was in its
infancy stage. I did not receive any formal training.” Participant 2 followed with, “It is very
different than it is now. I shadowed a teacher, but I don’t think I had any formal training.”
Participant 3 did have the opportunity to participate in the New Teacher Training and stated, “I
did a few modules, but I don’t feel like there was any follow-up. I definitely didn’t finish it.” All
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participants stated there was no official training or they did not complete the current new teacher
training.
This last question was followed by the probe, “Are there coaches or other specialists who
support the work you do for students?” Participant 1 said, “I feel there are, but I don’t know. I
wish there was a point person, somebody that could help us.” Participant 4 confirmed, “I think
there are, but I’ve never worked with any of them.” Participant 5 added, “There is an EL
specialist when I work with ELs, and my assistant principal, but that’s really it. I don’t know
anyone outside my school.” Participant 8 also said, “Yes, we have our education specialist for
this region.”
Document Analysis. In reviewing MyLO (My Life Online), the organization’s open-
source website platform that is accessible to all schools, there is evidence of coaches and
specialists in the people directory. However, there is no evidence of an instructional specialist or
coach for staff. On this website, one can also see the new teacher training e-learning course. In
requesting the school’s professional development calendar, the area superintendent and the
principal provided a list of professional development. The document analysis supports this
assumed influence being a need, as teachers are not aware of these positions and/or are not in
communication with these positions of support. New teachers are not completing the new teacher
training, and there is no follow-up after the e-learning course is assigned. Also, professional
development and training are taking place, but there is no evidence of implementation.
Summary. Despite providing professional development and training and specialists to
support instructional staff, the assumed influence that teachers need training and professional
development was determined as a need. Six participants stated there needs to be more
implementation of professional development. One participant said, “PDs are provided, but there
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is no implementation or follow through.” Participant 3 added, “All the brainstorming, writing
down, and, in my opinion, never gets implemented. There is no follow-up.” Even when there is
new teacher training, new teachers are not completing the course nor receiving any follow-up
support. Veteran teachers had no formal training, as none was available until recently. There are
specialists that support instruction, but teachers seem to be unaware. One participant stated, “I do
think that communication seems to be an issue in learn for life.”
Policies and Procedures
The influence in this area was that policies and procedures are in place to support
instructional goals for students with low credit completion.
Interview Findings. There were two questions asked for this assumed influence. The
first question asked, “What are some of the policies and procedures you have at your school that
support the needs of students not completing credits or not meeting the credits per week goal?”
Participant 1 said, “There is, but only for the students that are at zero.” Participant 4 stated, “We
have an 8-week protocol for student retention and re-engagement. But for students that only turn
in some credits, not really, that I think just falls onto the supervising teacher.” Participant 7
added, “We do home visits, phone calls, texting, we have an SOS team, and a Student Retention
Specialist.”
The second question was, “Are there policies and procedures that do not support the
student or teacher’s needs?” Participant 1 responded, “Data and design. Good tool but no follow-
through.” Participant 2 answered, “There are some safety concerns with home visits.” Participant
5 claimed, “Using contact manager to document calling the student, it doesn’t matter how much
contact I have, the student is still not working.” Participant 9 added, “Unfortunately, it doesn’t
make sense to keep a student on the roster that has expressed the need to withdraw.”
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Document Analysis. The school’s master agreement for independent study has evidence
that states, “After a student has missed three assignments, during any period of 20 school days,
and is determined to be making unsatisfactory educational progress, an evaluation will be made
to determine whether it is in the best interests of the student to remain in independent study.”
There is also evidence in the school’s parent/student handbook that outlines tiered re-engagement
strategies, as well as in the SARC, discussing what staff will do when they witness a decline in
attendance.
Summary. The current policies and procedures are not fully and/or consistently
implemented. The assumed influence of policies and procedures in place to support the
instructional goals for students with low credit completion was determined as a need. This
determination was due to current processes not always being effective and focused on the
students who are not submitting any work. There were none to support the students doing the
bare minimum to remain enrolled.
Cultural Settings
Two influences were examined in terms of cultural settings.
Influence 1. Teachers Have Clear Goals and Expectations for Their Performance
This influence was examined through interviews and document analysis.
Interview Findings. Seven participants were aware of the performance management
framework (PMF) school leadership uses to set goals and expectations for employees. However,
six of them expressed that the PMF was not always effective. Participant 1 said, “We have PMF,
but it is not being used the way it should be. Goals are established by the admin.” Participant 2
added, “We used PMF, but it just kinda faded out.” Participant 4 stated, “I mean honestly, the
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only thing I know that they home in on is our ADA and our credit completion rate.” Participant 5
responded with more detail, stating,
The goals are set for me by what my supervisor thinks I should do, and they are things
that are part of my job anyway. I know I need to be at 90% ADA and be as close to 4-
credit average. I need goals like increasing my understanding of special education or
anxiety because I have so many students with anxiety.
Participant 7 expressed, “It’s called the PMF, but it’s always very negative.”
Document Analysis. I reviewed the people services page in MyLO, the organization’s
open-source website platform that is accessible to all schools. There is a page on the PMF and an
employee resources section that provides FAQs and support in setting SMART goals. It also
explains that it is best practice to have conversations with the employee every 12 weeks.
Summary. The assumed influence that teachers have clear goals and expectations for
their performance was determined as a need. The system is in place to support teachers in setting
goals and providing them with clear expectations. However, the PMF is not being utilized
consistently or effectively. It is important to provide teachers with personalized goals and
expectations.
Influence 2. Teachers Receive Consistent and Appropriate Feedback on Their Performance
Interview Findings. When asked if the school provides consistent and ongoing feedback
on the performance of supervising teachers, six participants expressed that they do not receive
appropriate feedback on their performance. Participant 2 said, “No, there is informal stuff like
texts. But I don’t think I’ve had a formal evaluation for maybe 2 years.” Participant 3 responded,
“It depends on how your ADA is doing. If your ADA is okay, they don’t really follow up on
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you.” Participant 4 added, “I would say it’s a little inconsistent.” Participant 5 responded, “It’s
not super consistent, but it does happen.”
Document Analysis. No document analysis was conducted for cultural settings.
Summary. The assumed influence that teachers receive consistent and appropriate
feedback on their performance was determined as a need. The PMF is available, but it is not
utilized appropriately and consistently to support teachers in their performance. Developing and
changing the organization’s culture can change performance (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Cultural Models
The cultural model influence examined was that teachers are part of an organization that
supports them to do the best they can to help the students graduate.
Interview Findings. Two questions were asked for this assumed influence. The first
question was, “Do you have the support you need to implement techniques/strategies?”
Participant 3 said, “Sometimes, yes.” Participant 2 stated, “Yes, but when we have ideas, it’s not
always easy to implement.” Participant 4 responded, “I would say, for the most part, yes.”
Participant 8 added, “Yes, admin is very understanding.” The second question was, “Does your
school value professional learning to support supervising teachers to help students meet
graduation requirements?” All nine participants confirmed that the school values professional
learning. However, five felt the school and its administrators value it, but only to an extent.
Participant 1 said, “I think they do value it, but I think they need help in achieving it.” Participant
2 added, “Yes, to an extent. I feel like we need to be more honest about who our students are and
how we can work with them.” Participant 3 responded, “I think yes, but it feels more like a pep
talk. There is no action behind what is being said.”
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Document Analysis. The schools’ master agreement, MyLO website, LCAP, and SARC
are all documentation in support of teachers being part of an organization that supports their staff
in having students meet the graduation requirements. However, there is a need to be consistent
with policies and procedures and communicate them effectively to participants.
Summary. With 55% of participants stating there is no follow-through and no action
behind what is being presented, professional learning feels more like a pep talk. The assumed
influence of teachers being part of an organization that supports them to do the best they can to
help the students graduate was determined to be a need.
Summary of Organization Findings
All six assumed organizational influences have been determined as a need. The
organization has policies and procedures in place; however, it lacks effective communication and
implementation of these policies and procedures. Teachers receive training and professional
development, but there needs to be follow-through, accountability, and support for
implementation. Teachers also need time to collaborate and learn from one another to create best
practices for students. Teachers have the PMF, but there needs to be more consistency in using
the program and allow teachers to set goals for themselves on their teaching practices and not
just on ADA and credit completion goals.
Summary of Validated Influences
Tables 9, 10, and 11 show the knowledge, motivation, and organization influences for
this study and their determination as an asset or a need. The criterion for determining an
influence as a need or asset was that a minimum of eight participants indicated that it was
present. When this was the case, the influence was determined as an asset. If not, the influence
was determined to be a need. Document analysis provided more in-depth insight into the KMO
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influences and determined the presence of an influence. However, cross-referencing interview
data with documents for assumed influences might have indicated the presence of an influence
for documents, and teachers might have been unaware of resources.

Table 9
Knowledge Assets or Needs As Determined by the Data
Assumed knowledge influences Asset or
need
Procedural
Teachers know various techniques to support students with low credit completion. Asset
Conceptual
Teachers understand collaborative instructional practices to re-engage students
who are behind in credit completion.
Need
Metacognitive
Teachers need to self-reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching practices to
support a student who is behind in credits for graduation.

Asset

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Table 10
Motivation Assets or Needs As Determined by the Data
Assumed motivation influences Asset or need
Self-efficacy
Teachers need to have confidence in their ability to re-engage students
with low credit completion.
Need
Attributions
Teachers understand that their role as supervising teachers contributes
to student’s success with how and what they teach.
Need
Goal orientation
Teachers are highly motivated to innovatively address challenges with
student engagement for credit completion.
Need

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Table 11
Organization Assets or Needs As Determined by the Data
Assumed organization influences Asset or need
Resources
Teachers have the time to collaborate to support students in meeting
graduation requirements.
Need
Teachers need training and professional development to improve and
learn new skills to support students to meet graduation requirements.
Need
Policies and procedures
Policies and procedures are in place to support instructional goals for
students with low credit completion.
Need
Cultural settings
Teachers have clear goals and expectations for their performance. Need
Teachers receive appropriate feedback on their performance. Need
Cultural models
Teachers are part of an organization that supports them to do the best
they can to help the students graduate.
Need

These findings inform the recommendations and solutions in Chapter Five to address the
gaps in the KMO influences identified in this chapter. Chapter Five answers the following
question: What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of KMO
resources?
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Chapter Five: Recommendations and Evaluation
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which Vista High School is
meeting the organizational goal of all students meeting graduation requirements. The analysis
focused on KMO influences related to achieving this organizational goal. The stakeholders of
focus for this analysis were the supervising teachers. The questions that guide this study were the
following:
1. What is the current status of Vista High School teachers’ knowledge and motivation
related to student credit completion?
2. How do the organizational influences impact Vista High School teachers’ capacity to
increase credit completion?
3. What are recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of KMO
resources?
Introduction and Overview
An analysis of the results and findings in Chapter Four provided evidence regarding the
research questions. Chapter Five presents recommendations for evidence-based solutions and an
evaluation plan for the validated KMO influences regarding all students meeting the graduation
requirements and answers the final research question: What are recommendations for
organizational practice in the areas of KMO resources?
Each recommendation is context-specific, organized by KMO categories of validated
influences, and aligned with principles. The recommendations informed the implementation
program as a solution to the problem of practice. There is not much value unless what is learned
gets applied on the job, and the subsequent on-the-job performance contributes to key
organizational outcomes (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Using the new world Kirkpatrick
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model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016) as a framework, an integrated implementation plan was
developed for this study. This model consists of four levels of evaluation to support
organizations operationalize effectively: reaction (Level 1), learning (Level 2), behavior (Level
3), and results (Level 4). Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) recommended using the model in
reverse order, and this order serves as the plan for this study.
Recommendations to Address Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences
The recommendations are presented and organized by the categories of KMO influences
through qualitative data analysis. These influences were determined as a need or an asset. The
study’s data, as outlined in Chapter Four, indicated one need for conceptual knowledge
influences. The other two influences in the category of knowledge were determined as assets but
must be maintained. Therefore, all knowledge influences must remain a priority for
recommendations to help the organization achieve its goal.
To achieve the organizational goal of having 100% of students meet the graduation
requirements, Vista High School must address the significant finding in the category of
motivation. The study found that teachers need to have the confidence and understanding that
their role as supervising teachers contributes to student success. Teachers need to feel highly
motivated to create innovative approaches to address the many challenges students face and
increase credit completion.
Another significant finding was in the category of organization. The study found that
teachers need the resources of time and structure to implement collaborative practices. They
receive professional development and training but lack follow-through and implementation.
Policies and procedures lack consistency, and some allow for some updates. Teachers need clear
goals and expectations that are unique to their skills and abilities and should be receiving
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appropriate and consistent feedback. Teachers need to feel they are part of an organization that
supports the work they do to assist students in meeting graduation requirements. Table 12
indicates a priority level for each validated influence in achieving the organization’s goal and the
research-based principles that support these recommendations.

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Table 12
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed knowledge
influence
Asset or
need
Priority
high
low
Principle and citation Context-specific
recommendation
Procedural
Teachers know
various techniques
to support students
with low credit
completion.
Asset High There is concern
about simply
learning the what
and how but not
understanding the
why or when
regarding
techniques (Rueda,
2011).
Provide teachers
support to maintain
the techniques used,
understand the why,
and add techniques
to build
opportunities with
increasing credit
completion.
Conceptual
Teachers understand
collaborative
instructional
practices to re-
engage students
who are behind in
credit completion.
Need High Teacher collaboration
is an important
characteristic of
successful schools
and a significant
predictor of a
number of
outcomes at the
student, teacher,
and school levels
(Meyer et al.,
2022).
Provide teachers with
regular and sufficient
time to collaborate.
Metacognitive
Teachers need to self-
reflect on the
effectiveness of
their teaching
practices to support
a student who is
behind in credits
for graduation.
Asset High Reflection is one of
teacher education’s
most important
actions (Nagro,
2020).
Provide support and
encouragement to
continue self-
reflection and utilize
this reflection to
establish
personalized goals.

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Knowledge Recommendations
When considering the organization’s goal of having 100% of students meet the
graduation requirements, the data validated one knowledge influence as a need. This influence
was validated as a need through interviews and document analysis. However, the two influences
that were determined as assets need to be maintained. The organization must prioritize these
knowledge influences to achieve its goal. Table 12 lists the priority level for each validated
influence, the research-based principal citation, and the specific recommendation based on
supporting literature.
Procedural Knowledge Solutions
Teachers know various techniques to support students with low credit completion. There
is a concern of simply learning the what and how but not understanding the why or when
regarding techniques. It may lead to random hit-and-miss, trial and error, or reliance on a single
or small number of approaches without the ability to change learning needs (Rueda, 2011).
Students come with various backgrounds and needs. As an independent study program that offers
personalized instruction, it is important to support teachers in maintaining the techniques used. It
is also fundamental to help the teachers understand the why and to add techniques to build
opportunities with increasing credit completion.
Conceptual Knowledge Solutions
Teachers need to understand collaboration and collaborative instructional practices to
support all students. Teacher collaboration is an important characteristic of successful schools
and a significant predictor of several outcomes at the student, teacher, and school levels (Meyer
et al., 2022). Providing teachers with targeted learning opportunities that ask them to identify
collaboration and co-teaching practices would support the implementation of these practices.
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Also, modeling effective collaboration and collaborative instructional practices will allow
teachers to demonstrate these practices with scaffolding and support from coaches or specialists
that would strengthen collaboration.
Collaboration has been seen as a solution to problems in education with various and
substantial benefits, particularly regarding the quality of teaching and learning. Collaboration
may take different forms, such as team teaching, collaborative planning, peer coaching,
mentoring, professional dialogue, and collaborative action research (Forte & Flores, 2014). As an
independent study program, teachers would benefit from consistent and sufficient time for
professional dialogue, peer coaching, and conducting collaborative action research on their
students. This will support attendance, credit completion, and students’ academic achievement.
Metacognitive Knowledge Solutions
Teachers need to self-reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching practices to support a
student who is behind in credits. Metacognitive knowledge is awareness of one’s mental process
of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought and experience. This type of
knowledge allows one to know when and why to do something (Rueda, 2011).
“Reflection is one of teacher education’s most important actions” (Nagro, 2020, p. 420).
Reflection allows teachers to engage in dialogue with colleagues or on their own to solve
problems, evaluate their effectiveness, and develop a plan to adjust their teaching to serve their
students better. This confirms that providing structured time for teachers to engage in self-
reflection and utilize this reflection to establish personalized goals will support student academic
achievement.

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Motivation Recommendations
The data validated three motivation influences as needs. Influences were validated as
needs through interviews and document analysis. Table 13 lists the priority level for each
validated influence, the research-based principal citation, and the specific recommendation.
Following the table, a discussion is provided for each priority influence, the associated principle,
and the specific recommendations based on supporting literature.

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Table 13
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed motivation
influence
Asset
or
need
Priority
high
low
Principle and citation Context-specific
recommendation
Self-efficacy
Teachers need to
have confidence in
their ability to re-
engage students
with low credit
completion.
Need High Individuals with higher
self-efficacy have a
greater belief in their
competence, high
expectations for
positive outcomes,
and feel more
motivated (Rueda,
2011).
Allow the teachers to
contribute to the
development and
implement processes
and procedures to re-
engage students.
Attributions
Teachers understand
that their role as
supervising
teachers
contributes to
students’ success
with how and what
they teach.
Need High When an individual
believes that failing
to meet a goal is not
permanent and can
be influenced by
things that can be
controlled, they are
more likely to work
hard at a task
(Rueda, 2011).
Provide teachers
support on providing
differentiating
instructional
practices and to
provide students with
ongoing feedback on
performance.
Goal orientation
Teachers are highly
motivated to come
up with innovative
ways of addressing
challenges with
student
engagement for
credit completion.
Need High Studies have shown
that goals matter
because they create
distinct motivational
systems that are
associated with
qualitative
differences in the
ways people define
and evaluate success,
process information,
and regulate
behavior (Butler,
2007).
Provide teachers the
opportunity to
collaborate and
establish attainable
goals.

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Self-Efficacy Solutions
Self-efficacy beliefs influence how well people motivate themselves and persevere in the
face of difficulties through the goals they set for themselves, their outcome expectations, and
causal attributions for their successes and failures (Bandura, 2012). Teachers need to have
confidence in their ability to re-engage students with low credit completion. It is important to
allow teachers to collaborate on processes and procedures to support student re-engagement.
The findings of this assumed influence indicate that self-efficacy is a need, as teachers
need to believe in their capabilities to do all they can to reach specific goals, like meeting ADA
percentage or credit completion every learning period. The motivational principle is that
individuals with higher self-efficacy have a greater belief in their competence and higher
expectancies for positive outcomes and will be more motivated to engage in, persist at, and work
hard to increase ADA and credit completion (Rueda, 2011). To achieve the organizational goal
of increasing the graduation rate to 100%, teachers must feel confident, have positive
expectations for their success and their students’ success, and persevere every day to support this
goal.
Attribution Solutions
The teacher’s role is central to student success. When an individual believes that failing
to meet a goal is not permanent and can be influenced by that which can be controlled, they are
more likely to work hard at a task (Rueda, 2011). Teachers must understand that their role
contributes to students’ success. Feedback seems to be a potentially important vehicle for
teachers to communicate directly to students about the teachers’ expectations. Feedback can also
serve as a basis for students to form personal expectations about their potential and to posit
personal explanations about why they do well or poorly (B. W. Hall et al., 1989). Even in an
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independent study program, the teachers must still provide feedback on student performance and
implement differentiating instructional practices. Studies show that training in and different uses
of teacher and student attribution statements have resulted in changes and differences in the
attributions used by students for their school performance (B. W. Hall et al., 1989).
Goal Orientation Solutions
Teachers need to be highly motivated to develop innovative methods to address
challenges with student engagement for credit completion. To increase teacher’s motivation, they
should have the opportunity to establish attainable goals collaboratively. Studies have found that
goals create distinct motivational systems associated with qualitative differences in how people
define and evaluate success, process information, and regulate behavior (Butler, 2007).
Motivation is inspired by interactions between people and their work environment, and without
clear goals and feedback, people are not committed to work and are not inclined to target goals
with their best efforts (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Organization Recommendations
This study’s data validated six organizational influences on the problem of practice: two
resource influences, one policy and procedures, two cultural settings, and one cultural model
influence. The influences were validated through interviews and document analysis. Table 14
indicates a priority level for each validated influence in achieving the organization’s goal and the
research-based principles that support this recommendation. Following the table, a discussion is
provided for each priority influence, the associated principle, and the specific recommendations
based on supporting literature.
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Table 14
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
organization
influence
Asset
or
need
Priority
high
low
Principle and citation Context-specific
recommendation
Resources
Teachers have the
time to
collaborate to
support students
in meeting
graduation
requirements.
Need High Even for people with
top motivation and
exceptional
knowledge and skills,
missing or inadequate
resources and
materials can prevent
achieving
performance goals
(Clark & Estes,
2008).
Provide teachers with
regular and sufficient
time to collaborate.
Teachers need
training and
professional
development to
improve and
learn new skills
to support
students in
meeting
graduation
requirements.
Need High Even the best training is
a waste of resources
if the participants
have no application
for the content in
their everyday work
(Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Provide opportunity to
transfer learning to
behavior by
implementing the new
skills learned from
training/professional
development.
Policies and procedures
Policies and
procedures are in
place to support
instructional
goals for students
with low credit
completion.
Need High Effective organizations
ensure that
organizational
messages, rewards,
policies, and
procedures that
govern their work
align with or support
organizational goals
and values (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Establish and revise
current policies and
procedures that align
with supporting
students’ and teachers’
needs.
Cultural settings
Teachers have clear
goals and
expectations for
Need High Goals help improve
performance by
directing employees’
Provide the teachers the
opportunity to establish
personalized and
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Assumed
organization
influence
Asset
or
need
Priority
high
low
Principle and citation Context-specific
recommendation
their
performance.
attention to important
aspects of their work,
increasing effort and
persistence, and
encouraging
employees to find and
activate relevant
knowledge for goal-
driven tasks (Patrick,
2022).
attainable goals that
offer opportunities to be
successful but also
challenge them.
Teachers receive
appropriate
feedback on their
performance.
Need High Formative evaluations
involving feedback
mechanisms assist
with developing
teacher productivity
in alignment with a
school’s mission
(Rodriguez et al.,
2020).
Provide appropriate
feedback regarding
competence and self-
efficacy, focusing on
developing
individualized
competence expertise
and skills.
Cultural models
Teachers are part of
an organization
that supports
them to do the
best they can to
help the students
graduate.
Need High Effective organizations
ensure that
organizational
messages, rewards,
policies, and
procedures that
govern their work
align with or support
organizational goals
and values (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
Develop strategies to align
systems to integrate best
differentiated
instructional strategies
for an independent study
program with
organizational goals.

Resources Solutions
The two validated organizational resource influences are connected, as teachers need time
and structure to collaborate and need to implement new learning into their practice. Missing or
inadequate resources and materials can prevent achieving performance goals even for people
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with top motivation and exceptional knowledge and skills (Clark & Estes, 2008). It is important
to provide teachers with regular and sufficient time to collaborate. Collaboration has substantial
benefits in regard to the quality of teaching and learning. Associated with collaborative work are
also different ways of working and different kinds of relationships within a group or team.
Literature has emphasized collaborative professional cultures by recognizing and valuing
knowledge that is built collectively to foster teacher professional development (Forte & Flores,
2014). The recommendation is to prioritize collaboration by developing the structure and time
into the schedule to support teacher collaboration. To ensure teachers have the time to support
student re-engagement, increase credit completion, and meet graduation requirements.
Teachers are receiving training and professional development to support students.
However, there must be follow through and opportunity to transfer newly learned teaching
strategies into their practice. The best training is a waste of resources if the participants have no
application for the content in their everyday work (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Effective change efforts ensure everyone has the resources to do their job and that, if
there are resource shortages, then resources are aligned with organizational priorities (Clark &
Estes, 2008). The organization’s investment in professional learning, follow-up, and support
needs to be aligned with its performance goal. The recommendation is to provide teachers the
opportunity to transfer learning to behavior by implementing the new skills learned from training
and/or professional development.
Policies and Procedures Solutions
Policies and procedures are in place to support instructional goals for students with low
credit completion. However, these need to be reviewed to ensure they meet students’ and staff
members’ needs. Effective organizations ensure that policies and procedures that govern their
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work align with or support their goals and values (Clark & Estes, 2008). It is also true that, at
times, these bureaucratic policies and practices exist for reasons that have little to do with
improving the quality or the work safeguarding the rights of students and staff (Rueda, 2011).
The recommendation is to establish and revise current policies and procedures to align with
supporting students’ and teachers’ needs.
Cultural Settings Solutions
The data validated two gaps in the assumed organizational influence of cultural settings,
showing that the school needs to provide teachers with clear goals and expectations and receive
appropriate feedback on their performance. The cultural setting, the more visible aspect of an
organization’s culture, must be understood when analyzing a possible gap in its ability to reach
its goal (Rueda, 2011). Consisting of the core values, goals, beliefs, and processes learned and
developed over time that become the everyday experience of those in the organization, cultural
settings must be aligned with organizational goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). Teachers who believe
they are supported by school management will feel confidence and peace. If teachers’ feelings
about the value and importance of self-development, their contributions and commitment to the
school will also increase (Nayir, 2012). The school should support teachers where they are in
their instructional growth.
The organizational influence that teachers have clear goals and expectations and receive
appropriate feedback on their performance is a high priority. The recommendations are to
provide the teachers the opportunity to establish personalized and attainable goals and challenge
them and to provide appropriate feedback regarding competence and self-efficacy, focusing on
developing individualized competence expertise and skills.

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Cultural Models Solutions
The data validated one gap in the assumed influence of cultural models, showing that
teachers need to feel that they are part of an organization that supports them to do the best they
can to help the students graduate. When a school’s cultural models and settings are clear, it will
be easier to understand why people in that context think, behave, and respond in how they do
(Rueda, 2011). A conflict between some aspect of the organizational culture and the current
performance goal or a policy unsupported by effective work processes or procedures might
explain why people fail to get the necessary resources (Clark & Estes, 2008). The literature and
guiding principle confirm that Vista High School needs to develop strategies to align systems to
integrate the best differentiated instructional strategies for an independent study program with
organizational goals.
Summary of Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Recommendations
As stipulated in Tables 12, 13, and 14, it is anticipated that these influences in the KMO
categories have a high probability of being validated and a high priority for achieving the
organization’s goal. These tables also show the recommendations for these highly probable
influences based on theoretical principles. Teachers must acquire the intended knowledge, skills,
and attitudes to increase teacher collaboration, integrate differentiating instructional practices,
provide ongoing feedback, and maintain self-reflection so that teachers can establish attainable
goals. Adding confidence and commitment will also help to close the gap between learning and
behavior and support the organizational goal of having 100% of students meet the graduation
requirements.

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Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
The mission of Love4Learning schools is to engage students who are no longer enrolled
in a traditional classroom program or who prefer a personalized learning education. The
organization’s goal is to successfully prepare students for work or college readiness through an
integrated personalized program of job readiness coursework. Many students who return to
school face obstacles like poverty, housing insecurity, foster care, pregnancy, abuse, and neglect.
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
Vista High School teachers’ goal is to increase the graduation rate to 100%. The school is
a public Love4Learning charter school that offers a personalized educational program for high
school students. The graduation rate for 2019 was 76%. Students earned, on average, 1.97 credits
per learning period since the beginning of the 2019 school year. Considering this number is
below the school’s target of 4.0 credits per learning period, credit completion is low, and not all
students meet graduation requirements.
The data from this evaluative study will inform the school leaders’ decisions to support
teachers and, most importantly, all students. Students rely heavily on their teachers to meet the
graduation requirements. This study evaluated what teachers need to support all students to
graduate. The following implementation and evaluation plan will ensure that all teachers are
trained in best practices and will implement strategies to provide students support in meeting
graduation requirements.
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The new world Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), based on the
original Kirkpatrick four-level model of evaluation of training programs (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016), guided this implementation plan. In the new world model, the
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recommendation is to follow the plan in reverse, beginning with the end in mind: Level 4 results.
Then come Level 3 (behaviors), Level 2 (learning) Level 1 (reaction). This backward design
creates accountability and forces the organization to envision and plan for the intended
outcomes.
In the following sections, Level 4 results are outlined first. Results are determined after
considering the mission and goals and aligning them with the organizational goal. Level 3 is
followed by the critical behaviors stakeholders must perform consistently to impact the intended
results. Level 2 defines the learning goals and the degree to which stakeholders acquire the
knowledge to achieve the intended results. Finally, Level 1 measures stakeholders’ satisfaction
with the training. Implementing the new world Kirkpatrick model will foster value and buy-in
from stakeholders and ground and guide the organization to achieve the expected outcomes.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Table 15 shows the Level 4 leading indicators for the external and internal outcomes and
the metrics and methods to measure them. Overall, Level 4 results measure the degree
to which the organization’s targeted outcomes occur as a result of the training plan. This
essentially means Vista High School is meeting the organizational goal of increasing the
graduation rate.

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Table 15
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metrics Methods
External outcomes
Vista High School teachers are
experts in the region in supporting
students to meet graduation
requirements with a personalized
instruction model.
Number of teachers hosting
PD and workshops related
to supporting students with
low credit completion
Number of schools visiting
Vista High School to better
understand their
program/practices
Hosting PD events
with full enrollment
Visits from other
schools to study our
program and
practice
All staff, students, and parents know
the school has policies and
procedures and follow them
consistently to support the
students.
Feedback/recommendations
LCAP participation
Surveys
LCAP meetings
Increased credit completion Credits submitted at the end
of a learning period
Data reports
Increased ADA Daily attendance log Data reports
Increased graduation rate Students meeting graduation
requirements
Data reports
Internal outcomes
Implementation of research-based
differentiated instructional
strategies by supervising teachers
to support students in an
independent study program
Number of strategies outlined
in lesson planning
Number of strategies
observed during
student/teacher
appointment
Student/teacher
appointment
observations
Review of lesson
plans
Attend collaboration
meetings
Collaboration model is implemented
to support supervising teachers
Frequency of collaboration
meetings

Schedule of
collaboration
meetings
Meeting minutes
Consistent use of PMF Frequency of goal-setting
meetings
Established SMART goals
Consistency in annotated
conversations using Clear
Review in PMF
Scheduled meetings
with school
leadership and
teacher
PMF goals,
conversations

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Level 3: Behavior
Critical Behaviors
The stakeholders of focus are the supervising teachers, and they must engage in the
behaviors noted in Table 16 if the school is to reach its goal. These behaviors will have the
largest impact on our Level 4 desired results. Table 16 also specifies the metrics, methods, and
timing for evaluating each critical behavior. Each is specific, observable, and measurable and
will most influence Level 4 results.

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Table 16
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical behavior Metrics
Methods
Timing
Implementation of high-
quality differentiated
instruction that challenges
and engages all students
equitably
Number of teachers
who are
implementing
Number of different
strategies
implemented
Teacher/student
appointment
observations
Lesson plans
Daily
Supervising teachers will
consistently collaborate to
support teaching,
assessment, and reflection.
Number of
collaborative
meetings
scheduled
Meeting meetings
shared with admin
Admin and support staff
(counselors, student
retention specialist,
EL specialist, etc.) to
attend meetings
Monthly
Analysis of data (e.g.,
credit completion, ADA,
assessment) to inform
instruction and create
individualized academic
plans to target struggling
students
Number of teachers
and support staff
conducting data
analysis.
Meeting minutes
Admin and support staff
(counselors, student
retention specialist,
EL Specialist, SPED
specialist)
data analysis work
sessions.
Monthly
Use of PMF to support
personalized goal setting
and instruction
Number of goal-
setting meetings
Number of
conversations
Meetings scheduled
with teacher/admin
Annotation of
conversations
Quarterly/
Monthly

Fidelity to implementation
of professional
development (i.e., TREC
training)
Detailed action plan
to implement
learning
Number of meetings
Action plan
Meeting minutes
Monthly

Note. These are the critical behaviors needed for the required drivers in Table 17.

Required Drivers
To influence the achievement of the critical behaviors, required drivers reinforce,
monitor, encourage, and reward the performance of the critical behaviors. Table 17 identifies and
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categorizes the required drivers, the timing, and the specific critical behavior that each driver
supports. These required drivers and the active monitoring help will assist accountability to
ensure the on-the-job application of what is learned during training.

Table 17
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Methods Timing
Critical behaviors
supported
Reinforcing
Job aids:
List of differentiating instructional strategies
Lesson plan template
Teacher/student appointment checklist
Ongoing 1,2,3,4
On-the-job training (OJT):
Supervising teacher role training (e-learning course)
Ongoing 1,2,4
Scheduled collaborative and data review meetings Monthly 1,2,3,4
Encouraging
Administrators/designees listen to teacher challenges
and collaboratively problem-solve
Monthly 1,2,3,4
Feedback from administrators/designee on
personalized goals, progress, and next steps
Quarterly 1,2,3,4
Informal ongoing feedback from
administrators/designees that acknowledges effort
Ongoing 1,2,3,4
Rewarding
Teacher spotlight recognizing teachers’ achievements Monthly 1,2,3,4
Personalized email from administrator recognizing
effort and work
Ongoing 1,2,3,4
Monitoring
Observations of teacher/student appointment by
administrators/designee
Monthly 1,2,3,4
Performance management framework Quarterly 1,2,3,4
Collaborative and data review meeting minutes Monthly 2,3
Action plan implementing professional learning Monthly 2,3

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Organizational Support
Meeting the organizational goal and addressing the validated gaps requires organizational
support. The critical behaviors in Table 16 and the required drivers in Table 17 rely on the
recommendations at the organizational level. Resources, policies and procedures, cultural
settings, and cultural models at Vista High School must be aligned with the organizational
performance goal that 100% of students will meet the graduation requirements. The data analysis
from Chapter Four found that teachers do have some knowledge to support students with low
credit completion. However, it is important that teachers feel motivated and confident about
implementing strategies to support student engagement, increase credit completion, and meet the
graduation requirements.
The organization must align its systems and policies and allocate resources to support this
important work. Specifically, the current system does not have a collaborative model
implemented at the school for instructional staff to engage in purposeful discussions around
student engagement. Building capacity in the teachers to provide differentiated instruction in a
personalized learning model allows students access to targeted instruction to meet their needs
throughout their school day. Implementing new skills learned from training and/or professional
development to transfer learning to behavior will benefit the students.
Ensuring policies and procedures align with supporting teachers' and students’ needs is
critical to achieving the organizational performance goal. Evidence from interviews and
document analysis showed that there are policies and procedures for students who are not
submitting any work in a learning period but none for students who are doing the bare minimum
to remain enrolled. Clark and Estes (2008) noted that effective organizations ensure that their
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policies align with and support their goals and values. Current policies are either not effective or
not fully and consistently implemented.
Level 2: Learning
The following learning goals were developed based on the validated needs from Chapter
Four.
Learning Goals
After implementing the recommended solutions, supervising teachers will be able to
1. Understand the importance of collaborative instructional practices (Conceptual)
2. Provide differentiated instructional practices that support students in a personalized
learning model (Self-efficacy)
3. Propose innovative ideas to increase student engagement (Goal orientation)
4. Attribute student success to teacher support and instruction (Attribution)
5. Implement professional development into daily practices (Goal orientation)
Program
The learning goals provided will be achieved through training that will increase the
knowledge and motivation of the supervising teachers. This training will be in response to the
organization’s goal of having all students meet graduation requirements and will be supported by
the teachers and administrators.
This evaluation and implementation plan will focus on training for supervising teachers
in an independent study model. Support instructional staff (e.g., paraprofessionals and tutors) can
also attend as they are a source of support to the teacher. Instructional coaches, specialists, and
administrators will also attend the training. Understanding that there are 12 influences of high
priority, administrators and instructional support staff can present the training in stages. To
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sustain and support teacher’s knowledge and motivation, it would be best to immediately
schedule structured collaboration time for the teachers. During this collaborative time,
administrators can participate to support and provide guidance in maintaining assets and meeting
the staff’s needs.
The next step was to elicit expertise and/or regional support staff to analyze ADA and
credit completion data. Working with the supervising teachers, support staff target training to the
teacher’s needs, provide worked examples, and provide the learning validated as a need in this
study. This training should be individualized and collaborative to meet the supervising teachers
where they are with their learning. Additionally, administrators will regularly monitor and
evaluate the training.
Administrators, along with support staff, will work with each supervising teacher to
implement differentiated instructional strategies, collaborative instructional practices, and
reflection on their teaching. Implementation will occur once the teachers establish their preferred
collaborative model and schedule meetings, allowing flexibility with the timelines. Follow-up
and feedback from this training will be informal and observed by administrators and/or support
staff.
Evaluation of the Components of Learning
Evaluating supervising teachers’ learning for declarative and procedural knowledge is
important, as this knowledge is the foundation for the expected application. It is also important to
assess teachers’ value, confidence, and commitment to ensure motivation is not detracting from
learning. As the data verified in Chapter Four, two influences in the category of knowledge are
an asset among the study participants. However, it is important to continue to assess this
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important influence on the entire group of stakeholders. Table 18 lists the evaluation methods
and timing for these components of learning.

Table 18
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Methods or activities Timing
Declarative knowledge: “I know it.”
Understanding collaborative instructional practices During and after
Explaining key components of differentiated
instructional strategies
During and after
Explaining different techniques to support student
engagement
During and after
Procedural skills: “I can do it right now.”
Analyze ADA and credit completion data During and after
Self-reflect on the effectiveness of teaching practices After training
Implement differentiated instructional strategies to
support students in a personalized learning model.
After training and ongoing
Attitude: “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Pre- and post-survey of supervising teachers from
initial training regarding attitudes
Before and after training
Discussions at supervising teacher level about the
value and rationale for the learning
Before and after training
Confidence: “I think I can do it on the job.”
Post survey of teachers with Likert scaled items related
to confidence
After training
Collaborative discussions with administration and
support staff
After training
Commitment: “I will do it on the job.”
Goal setting After training and ongoing to
monitor progress
Teacher/student appointment observations by
admin/designee
After training and ongoing to
monitor progress

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Level 1: Reaction
Level 1, reaction, refers to the degree to which participants react favorably to the training
and find the training useful and applicable (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Table 19 lists the
methods used to determine the teachers’ reactions in three dimensions: engagement, relevance,
and customer satisfaction.

Table 19
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Methods or tools Timing
Engagement
Observations of how present and attentive teachers are
during the training
During
Instructor feedback from instructor regarding
participant engagement
During
Relevance
Discussions with teachers regarding using this new
learning
During the training and ongoing at
staff meetings
Check-ins by instructor during training to gauge
relevance
During training
Anonymous survey on relevance of training to
classroom instruction
After training
Customer satisfaction
Feedback from instructor During training
Survey feedback on what went well and
recommendations for improvement
After training

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Evaluation Tools Immediately Following the Program Implementation
By gathering data on effective training and training effectiveness, learning and
performance professionals can credibly show the value the training has brought to the
organization (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). To assess Levels 1 and 2 and to measure
anticipated application and outcomes, an evaluation tool (Appendix E) could be used
immediately following the program training. Participants will complete this anonymous survey
to provide immediate feedback to administrators. Additionally, the training instructor will
conduct check-ins to ask for feedback, address questions, and ask teachers if the learning is
relevant to their daily work. Administrators and coaches will have discussions with teachers
during the training to check in about engagement during the learning and immediately afterward
to learn opinions about relevance.
Evaluation Tools Delayed for a Period After the Program Implementation
Appendix F outlines potential survey items regarding Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 that could be
used approximately six weeks after the training. It is recommended to evaluate the training
program's impact after some time to allow participants to reflect on the impact and for drivers
and critical behaviors to take effect (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The evaluation tool is
designed to obtain feedback regarding Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4. Open-ended questions allow
participants to provide feedback regarding additional support they might need and identify any
implementation barriers.
Data Analysis and Reporting
Data should be gathered and analyzed throughout the implementation process to allow
supervisors to influence what is happening for short-term and long-term desired results
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The data collected via the tool in Appendix E will be shared
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with the stakeholders within days of completing the training at teacher collaborative meetings.
The Likert-type responses are presented using pie charts, and the open-ended responses are
categorized by theme and shared with the charts. The same system was used for sharing data
with the stakeholders for the delayed survey in Appendix F. Data from informal teacher/student
appointment observations charting the various strategies used with students was also collected
and shared at staff meetings in small groups. Additionally, during teacher collaborative meetings,
teachers shared their celebrations and challenges about implementation, and these data were
collected on shared documents for all stakeholders to access. The goal of collecting, analyzing,
and sharing data is to monitor progress toward the performance and stakeholder goal.
Stakeholders buy-in, encouragement, monitoring, and reinforcement are essential to reach the
goal. Keeping them involved and engaged in charting the progress and feedback on goal
attainment can lead to positive results.
Summary of the Implementation and Evaluation
There is a need for compelling evidence that training delivers bottom-line results and
contributes to accomplishing the mission. The new world Kirkpatrick model was the framework
for the integrated implementation and evaluation plan to address recommended solutions to the
validated gaps identified through the data analysis in Chapter Four (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2016). There are three major reasons to evaluate training programs: to improve the program, to
maximize the transfer of learning to behavior, and to demonstrate the value of training to the
organization. Overall, when organizations identify gaps and address problems with training, the
training program’s implementation is expected to make a measurable difference in goals and
results.
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In commitment to the recommendation to use the training evaluation plan in reverse, the
leading indicators to accomplish the organization’s goal were identified in Level 4. Critical
behaviors and the required drivers to achieve the goal were outlined for Level 3, and the critical
details regarding organizational support and goal alignment were identified. Learning goals and
evaluating the learning program are outlined in the section dedicated to Level 2. Finally,
outlining a plan to measure reactions to the training program completed the implementation and
evaluation plan for Level 1.
It is recommended to collect, analyze, and share data continuously throughout the
training and implementation (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Possible data collection tools,
Appendices E and F, will provide data immediately after the training and six weeks post-training.
As data are collected and analyzed, observations and discussions with stakeholders will
determine the need for additional data collection tools to be used as we work toward the common
goal of providing improved instruction for students with low credit completion and meeting
graduation requirements.
Limitations and Delimitations
There are some limitations and delimitations to this study. Vista High School was the
only charter investigated for the study, and the stakeholder sample size is small. The data
gathering was limited to only three schools. These factors might impact the validity of the
findings. Due to the sample size and the specific target group, the data gathering had some
delimitations as well. A larger context could broaden the data scope and provide deeper insights
into the KMO challenges of increasing the graduation rate. Further, I am in a leadership position
for the school’s charter management organization, which could have resulted in biased data
interpretation.
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Recommendations for Future Research
This evaluation study identified gaps in the categories of knowledge, motivation, and
organization: one in knowledge, three in motivation, and four gaps in organization. Future
research could focus on other stakeholder groups and study how their role supports students in
meeting graduation requirements. Research could also focus on administrators' role in having all
students meet graduation requirements. Future research could also focus on how supervising
teachers can support students’ social and emotional needs as they acquire a high school diploma
in a personalized instruction model.
Conclusion
There are and will always be concerns about our education system. Love4Learning
schools offer a one-of-a-kind opportunity to improve lives and change a student’s legacy. By
offering personalized one-on-one instruction, flexible hours, and year-round access to teachers,
students have the opportunity to earn a high school diploma. Despite turnover, enrollment is
promising, and more schools have opened: two in Ohio, one in South Carolina, one in Michigan,
and one in Texas, and there has also been an increase in enrollment for the schools in California.
Love4Learning schools are designed as a school option to support students and families with
alternative schedules and receive personalized instruction to earn a high school diploma. Some
changes are necessary to increase the graduation rate and have all students meet graduation
requirements. This evaluation study informs stakeholders of the KMO gaps at Vista High
School.
The study found that supervising teachers lack the motivation and confidence to support
their students. The organization must address gaps to support the teacher’s knowledge and
motivation. The school must implement collaborative instructional practices and new learning
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after professional development and training. Most importantly, teachers should have clear and
attainable goals to gain more confidence in their skills and abilities to support their students. I
have served as a teacher at Love4Learning schools, and it would have been beneficial to have
had an instructional coach or administrator observe teacher/student appointments and collaborate
with me to set attainable goals. Consistent collaboration to support instruction and student
engagement would have been instrumental. Love4Learning schools are great, but there is
opportunity to become exemplary schools.

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Appendix A: Interview Protocol
Thank you for taking time out of your busy day and duties to assist me in my research on
increasing the graduation rate at your school. I am conducting this study to help us gain some
insight as to why not all students are meeting the graduation requirements and, with your help,
construct some recommendations on changes you would like to see implemented in your school.
You have been chosen to participate in this study as teachers are the ones who work closely with
the students. Your responses will allow for the development of recommendations for improving
the overall learning experience for the students at your school. Everything you say during this
interview will be kept confidential, and the responses to this data collection will be used only for
research and educational purposes. Your name will not appear in any published documentation,
and throughout the interview, I will use a pseudonym in place of your real name. I would like to
record this meeting and ask your permission to do so, as this will allow for accurately capturing
your ideas. (Pause to hear the response regarding permission to record.) The recording will be
heard only by me, and all identifying information will be removed before the information is
stored and shared. The interview will take approximately 60 minutes. I will not be making any
judgments on how you are performing as a teacher. My goal is to understand your perspective
and together make recommendations to increase the graduation rate. Do you have any questions
before we begin?
Interview Questions
1. If you had to explain collaborative instructional practices to someone, what would
you say? (Knowledge conceptual)
2. What are some collaborative practices in your school to re-engage students who have
low credit completion? (Knowledge conceptual)
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3. Do you have students on your roster with low credit completion? (Knowledge
procedural)
4. What techniques/strategies do you use to increase credit completion? (Knowledge
procedural)
5. How often do you reflect on the effectiveness of your teaching strategies?
(Knowledge metacognitive)
6. Tell me about a time you felt confident about how you supported a student with low
credit completion. Please talk through a time you felt less confident. (Motivation self-
efficacy)
7. Describe how confident you are in your ability to differentiate instruction for students
who need to be re-engaged. (Motivation self-efficacy)
8. What do you believe are the reasons students are not engaged and meeting the credit
completion every learning period? (Motivation attributions)
9. Some might say that the success of a student in the independent study program has to
do with the skills and abilities of the supervising teacher. What are your thoughts on
this? (Motivation attributions)
10. What is your approach with students who have low credit completion? (Motivation
goal orientation)
11. What kind of collaborative planning time, if any, does your school provide? Please
explain. (Organization resources)
12. What training have you received to support the student population that enrolls in the
independent study program? (Organization resources)
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13. What follow-up support do you receive after the New Teacher Training?
(Organization resources) Probe: Are there coaches or other specialists who support
the work you do for your students?
14. What are some of the policies and procedures you have at your school that support
the needs of students not completing credits or not meeting the 2 credits per week
goal? (Organization policies and procedures) Probe: Please Explain
15. Are there policies and procedures that don’t support the student’s or teacher's needs?
(Organization policies and procedures) Probe: Explain
16. What process does your school have in place to set goals and expectations for
supervising teachers? (Organization cultural settings)
17. Do you have the support you need to implement techniques/strategies? (Organization
Cultural models)
18. Does your school provide consistent and ongoing feedback on performance for
supervising teachers? (Organization cultural settings)
19. Does your school value professional learning to support supervising teachers to help
students meet graduation requirements? (Organization cultural models) Probe: How
do you know?
Conclusion
This concludes our interview. I would again like to thank you for your time. Everything
that you have shared is helpful to guide us toward recommendations to support the students in
meeting our graduation requirements. May I contact you if I have any follow-up questions?
Again, thank you for participating in this study. Your work and desire to assist our students is
greatly appreciated.
115

Appendix B: Qualitative Research Documents and Artifacts Review Protocol
Artifact/document Influence assessed (KMO) Data analyzed

116

Appendix C: Information Sheet for Exempt Research
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles CA, 90089
STUDY TITLE: An Alternative Education Program Supporting Students in Meeting High
School Graduation Requirements
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Diana Uribe
FACULTY ADVISOR: Dr. Darline Robles
You are invited to participate in a research study. Your participation is voluntary. This document
explains information about this study. You should ask questions about anything that is unclear to
you.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the degree to which Alta Vista Innovation High School is
meeting its organizational goal of increasing graduation rates. The analysis will focus on
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences related to achieving this organizational
goal. We hope to learn more about the gaps in participants’ knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences in relation to achieving this organizational goal. You are invited as a
possible participant because you currently serve as a supervising teacher.
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you decide to take part, you will be asked to participate in an individual interview conducted in
person or via Zoom.
The interview should last about 1 hour and will be recorded with your consent. The recording
will be used by the primary investigator for the sole purpose of ensuring that all information is
captured correctly. If you prefer to not have your interview recorded, you may decline to record
prior to or during the interview. Your participation will not be affected.
CONFIDENTIALITY
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California Institutional
Review Board (IRB) may access the data. The IRB reviews and monitors research studies to
protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.
When the results of the research are published or discussed at conferences, no identifiable
information will be used.
Throughout the interview, your real name will not be used. Throughout the analysis of the
interview data, a pseudonym will be used in place of your real name. The interview recording
will only be listened to by the principal investigator and will not be linked with your name. The
purpose of the recording is to ensure that the information has been captured accurately. All
recorded data and the transcriptions of this interview will be kept in password-protected files on
the principal investigator’s computer. All data will be destroyed upon the completion of this
study.
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this study, please contact the following individuals:
Principal Investigator
Diana Uribe
dianauri@usc.edu
Faculty Advisor
Darline Robles, PhD
dprobles@usc.edu

117

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board at (323) 442-0114 or email
irb@usc.edu.

118

Appendix D: Recruitment Email
Good (morning, afternoon, evening),
For those of you who do not know me, I am the Coordinator of Multilingual Programs at
Lifelong Learning Administration Corporation (LLAC). I am in a doctorate program with the
University of Southern California, and I am conducting a study to help us gain some insight as to
how we can increase the graduation rate for Janet Wilson’s region. Many students are meeting
the graduation requirements, but many are not, and with your help, we will construct some
recommendations on changes you would like to see implemented in your school.
You have been chosen to participate in this study as a staff that works closely with the
students and supports your school’s instructional program. I am seeking to speak with multiple
supervising teachers throughout your charter to learn more about why our students are not
meeting the graduation requirements. I want to assure you that I am strictly wearing the hat of a
researcher with this study. This means that the nature of my questions is not evaluative. I will not
be making any judgments on how you are performing as a teacher. My goal is to understand your
perspective and together make recommendations to increase the graduation rate.
If you are willing to give me an hour of your time to schedule an interview with me,
please complete the form linked with your information, and I will be contacting you directly to
schedule an interview.

119

Appendix E: Evaluation Tool to be Used Immediately Following Training
Please select the number that best correlates with how you feel about the statement for
each of the following questions. A choice of 1 indicates you strongly disagree, and a choice of 5
indicates you strongly agree.
The training was interesting (L1)
My participation was encouraged by the instructor (L1)
During the training, we discussed how to apply what I learned (L1)
I feel positive about applying what I learned during training to my teaching practice (L1)
I am committed to applying what I learned
I found the feedback during the discussions valuable for my teaching practice (L1)
I am satisfied with the training on implementing differentiated instructional practices
during teacher/student appointments (L1)
Please provide an answer to the following questions, and remember your responses will
remain anonymous:
1. What part of the training did you find not useful for your goal to implement research-
based differentiated instructional strategies to support students in a teacher/student
appointment? How would you change the training? (L1)
2. What is one concept you learned that you would apply immediately in your teaching
practice? (L2)
3. What additional support will you need to implement what you learned? (L2)
4. What barriers do you anticipate that could limit your success at applying what you
learned? (L2)

120

Appendix F: Evaluation Tool Delayed for a Period After Training
The purpose of the following questions is to evaluate the quality of performance results
since completing the training to learn collaborative instructional practices and research-based
differentiated instructional strategies to support students in a personalized learning model.
1. I feel more confident about implementing research-based differentiated instructional
strategies to support students in a personalized learning model. (L1)
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Agree
• Strongly agree
2. I feel more confident about the impact these strategies have on student learning and
outcomes. (L1)
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Agree
• Strongly agree
3. I feel more confident about proposing innovative ideas to increase student
engagement (L1)
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neither agree nor disagree
121

• Agree
• Strongly agree
4. Since the training’s completion, describe a newly learned technique and/or
instructional strategy you used and the impact it had on your students. (L2, L3, L4)
5. Describe the value of implementing research-based differentiated instructional
strategies to support students in a personalized learning model. (L1, L2)
6. I incorporate research-based instructional strategies in my lessons each day during
teacher/student appointments. (L2, L3, L4)
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Agree
• Strongly agree
7. I am more confident in my ability to implement research-based differentiated
instructional strategies to support students during a teacher/student appointment. (L1,
L2)
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Agree
• Strongly agree

122

8. I have utilized the information and skills I learned in the training sessions to support
all students. (L2, L3, L4)
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Agree
• Strongly agree
9. What additional support will you need to implement what you learned from the
training? (L2)
10. What barriers do you anticipate that could limit your success at applying what you
learned? (L2)

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Asset Metadata

Creator Uribe, Diana Peralta (author)

Core Title Alternative education supporting students in meeting high school graduation requirements

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Degree Conferral Date 2023-12

Publication Date 09/06/2023

Defense Date 06/14/2023

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

Tag alternative education,gap analysis,OAI-PMH Harvest,qualitative design

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Robles, Darline (committee chair), Kellar, Frances (committee member), Ott, Maria (committee member)

Creator Email dianauri@usc.edu,duribe@llac.org

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113303120

Unique identifier UC113303120

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Legacy Identifier etd-UribeDiana-12318

Document Type Dissertation

Format theses (aat)

Rights Uribe, Diana Peralta

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