Significance of the Research
The benefits of this research in improving low-test scores on summative exams in math
include internal aspects in helping close students’ learning gaps created by the COVID-19
pandemic (Q. Zhang & Storey, 2022). Math-based careers are becoming more in demand, and
students’ belief in their math ability positively predicts their likelihood of pursuing a career in
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM; Seo et al., 2019). For stakeholders,
including teachers and administrators, increased exam scores in math may lead to increased job
satisfaction, which may help in math teacher retention at CCS (Perera & John, 2020). This
increase in job satisfaction would be the result of increased teacher self-efficacy. Increasing
teacher retention can grow the schools’ ability to deliver quality instruction (Grissom &
Bartanen, 2019; Hanushek et al., 2016). At CCS, math teacher retention is a concern. Since 2012,
the school has had to replace at least one math teacher yearly. Increased job satisfaction can
translate into a greater likelihood of math instructors finding CCS a desirable workplace.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of the study was to provide recommendations to solve the problem of low
summative math exam scores at Christchurch School in Middlesex County, Virginia. The applied
research study used quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The first approach was
semi-structured interviews of five faculty employed at CCS. The participants consisted of three
math teachers and two school administrators who work in the curriculum and instruction
department. The second approach was a focus group using open-ended questions. The focus
group participants included one student enrolled in each of the five sections of the Algebra 2
college preparatory math course. The total number of student participants was five. The third
approach was a quantitative survey issued as a Google Form. Survey participants included all
students enrolled in each of the five sections of the Algebra 2 course who were willing to
participate.
References are REQUIRED
