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Action Research Project Proposal

Action Research Project Proposal

Kassandra Frey

Master of Education, Post University

EDU 690: Comprehensive Capstone in Education

Dr. Peter Madonia

April 30, 2021

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Action Research Project Proposal
Problem Statement

There is a problem impacting the education of students in 21st century schools in the

United States. By gaining an increase in funding, students would be provided with adequate

resources allowing them to achieve their goals and receive an equal education as their relative

peers. The problem is continuously impacting school-aged students negatively because the

achievement gap is found to begin before students enter kindergarten. If this problem is not

supported, it is something that will carry on with them and influence their achievement in the

future. Possible causes contributing to this problem are demographics, such as poverty level

and income, school climate, and the lack of funding and resources provided to the schools,

educators, and their students. A study which investigates the achievement gap could provide a

solution or support towards solving this problem starting in the classroom.

The Harvard Gazette (2019) found that the achievement gap between disadvantaged

students and students that are well off is as wide today, as it was with students back in 1954. By

being aware of the achievement gap and signs to look for, educators can find techniques and

alternative supports to limit the gap. The Harvard Gazette (2019) also discussed that their

research shows the socioeconomic achievement gap has actually widened substantially in the

most recent years. In studying this topic, it can bring forward more information as to how the

school systems could support their students through providing adequate resources to teachers,

students, and their families. By gaining these resources, students would have access to equal

opportunities to succeed and achieve their developmentally appropriate goals, as those peers

who are in a higher-income community. A persons income or where they live, shouldn’t impact

the quality of education they receive or the qualified educator that is in the classroom.
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Action Research Project Proposal
This problem will continue to impact our future generations unless we work together to

research resolutions and use this data to our advantage. When suggestions are found, those

ideas should be implemented to try closing the achievement gap. By beginning to implement

new learning strategies and teaching techniques in the classroom, we can begin supporting this

change. If this problem is not immediately addressed, it will continue be an area of weakness,

or continue to widen and become even worse over time.

The project will research the following questions:

1. What can educators and school administration do that can contribute towards closing

the achievement gap?

2. What are potential solutions that could potentially lessen the gap in the elementary

grades?

Literature Review

The Harvard Gazette (2019) found that the achievement gap between disadvantaged

students and students that are well off is as wide today, as it was with students back in 1954.

This gap is impacting students in the elementary grades and is continuing to impact their future

achievements.  It is influenced by many things such as a school's climate, the resources and

support available to teachers, and the demographics of the school.  The result of this research

will provide teachers and other educational professionals resources and tools to help lessen the

gap within their classroom.  Research has found that the gap begins even before students enter

kindergarten.  In sharing these findings with elementary teachers and staff, they can work
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Action Research Project Proposal
together within their buildings to ensure their students are achieving developmentally

appropriate goals and skills.  This will in turn support their performance and achievement

moving forward.  By focusing on these three main factors of the gap, teachers will understand

how to utilize the resources they are provided with and work with colleagues on implementing

the skills as best as possible to ensure all students are understanding the expectations.

Understanding how demographics are impacting the schools, teachers can advocate for their

classroom’s needs in order to ensure their students are receiving an equal opportunity to

succeed.  Investigating a school's climate will work towards creating a stronger work

environment for students and staff within the building.  The achievement gap is an area that

hasn’t shown improvement over many years.  By finding out ways teachers can work on

lessening it within their classroom, will support their achievement moving forward.  Providing

opportunities for challenge and progress will result in decreasing the achievement gap.

Specifically, the achievement gap “refers to patterned differences in learning and

attainment outcomes between groups of students” (Murphy, 2010, p. 9). It also includes a

disparity in academic performance between a group of students (Ansell, 2011). Consequences

of this problem have become more significant over the last twelve years.

School Climate

School climate refers to the school environment and the quality and character of the

students, families, and faculty within the school (NSCC, n.d.). By providing students with a

positive school climate, it will foster youth development and learning necessary for a

productive, contributing, and satisfying life in society (NSCC, n.d.). School climate includes the

norms, values, and expectations, level of engagement, attitudes, contributions to the

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Action Research Project Proposal
operations and care of the school and its environment, and compatibility and teamwork of the

faculty and staff (NSCC, n.d.). Attitudes involve not only students, but the staff. An educators

views and personal opinions can sometimes impact the education a student receives. “Black

children receive lower-quality care than white children, both within centers and across other

types of care (Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005, p. 182)” (Murphy, 2010, p. 139). If you already

have these perceptions, beliefs, or biases regarding a student, it will reflect on the quality of

education they retrieve. As an educator, we need to treat every student the same from the

second they walk into our classroom. There should always be opportunities for a clean slate

and be provided with opportunities for success and challenge. By setting high, but achievable

goals for students, it allows for them to succeed and feel confident with the materials they are

being given. If a teacher creates these thoughts about a student, it is setting them up to fail

before they even enter the classroom. “Frustrated educators would further lower expectations

for students and favor even simpler, more watered-down curricula” (Nonpartisan Education

Review, 2020, p. 9). This is a sign for educators to learn to take a step back and reflect on

practices before it impacts their students education. Personal opinions and thoughts should not

reflect onto our pedagogical practice. Modifications of curricula per student’s needs and

advocation for those say needs is important but shouldn’t alter the implementation of the

information and skills being taught.

It was found that schools with smaller gaps, also “had better communication and

involvement with students families’ (Brown et al., 2011)” (Leavitt & Hess, 2019, p. 273). By

having communication with families, it allows for a team effort. Sharing skills, areas of

difficulty, and other aspects of a student’s learning, allows for open communication and
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Action Research Project Proposal
ensures the family is aware of student progress. Students are not only learning in the

classroom. They are carrying skills into their daily lives. By allowing families to be involved in

their child’s learning and development, allows for additional support and practice at home. This

works towards forming a connection with families, encouraging students to work hard, and

having those who love and care about them to be there and promote their success. Creating a

joyful and cooperative environment will not happen without efforts (Mason, Hughey, & Burke,

2019, p. 21). With lacking strong relationships and communication amongst staff, it can limit

the support available within the school.

Lack of Support

Even though school supports can be provided outside of the school building through the

district, it is also important to utilize the resources within your school building, staff, and

administration. A poor school climate can impact the ability to access additional resources to

support the students within your classroom, which then impacts educators ability to help lessen

the gap. Lack of support involves limited professional development experiences relative to the

curriculum and implementation, opportunities for improvement, and feedback. Many

professional development opportunities are vague and not directly correlated with specific

classroom needs. Not every classroom is the same, teachers have different needs, as well as

the students. Not everything is cut and dry. Education and teaching cannot follow a “one-size-

fits-all” approach, which is how many professional development experiences seem. By

providing more hands-on experiences relative to specific issues involving the curricula and

implementation. This relates to having a supportive school climate. By being able to work

collaboratively with fellow colleagues can help support students success. Educators have little
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Action Research Project Proposal
say regarding the curriculum that is provided to them. They are expected to implement these

ideas and skills based on the expectations shared with them. When a district provides adequate

training and professional development, educators would have the ability to gather knowledge

and skills to help support their students better. For example, educators can implement more

diverse and inclusive curriculum along with how to support the needs of every student that

walks into their classroom (Austin, Atencio, Yeung, Stein, Mathur, Ivester, & Woods, 2019, p.

113). In addition to this, teachers want to be sure that all students are accessing the curriculum.

In order to ensure that all students, including those with disabilities, are achieving appropriate

goals and progress, it is crucial that educators have an understanding of how to support them.

If a teacher isn’t familiar with a particular need, or have prior experience involving students

with a disability, additional support will be needed in order to implement the curriculum

properly (Gilmour, Fuchs, & Wehby, 2019). Having both a connection and the support of staff

within the building will allow teachers to work as a team and ensure all students are being

supported equally. Even though every classroom is different, and every student may not

respond the same to an implementation method, it can help subject teachers to new learning

opportunities. There is always room to grow as an educator, so having support within the

building, will help make the learning environment feel welcoming and safe for all. “One way

that teachers can combat this dilemma and at the same time improve individual performance is

through the use of formative assessment” (Tibbitt, 2020, p. 73). Goals should focus more on

quality over quantity in order to have successful outcomes (Tibbitt, 2020).

The disciplinary actions and rules in place also involve the staff supports. With lack of

instruction on what discipline is working versus what isn’t, is important. By looking at school
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Action Research Project Proposal
data, it might be evident as to how these actions are impacting a student’s studies and

achievement. “It is also possible that discipline and the achievement disparities may arise as

the result of a broader racial climate in a school district that disproportionately favors White

students over Black or Hispanic students” (Pearman, Curran, Fisher, & Gardella, 2019, p. 4). By

having the support and understanding of how to avoid this aspect of discipline can help

towards improving students confidence and achievement in school. The more time students

are in school, in the classroom, surrounded by supportive adults caring about their education,

can help increase student involvement and engagement. These factors can support their

interest in their learning, which will in turn impact their level of achievement and success.

The availability and access to such supports can be influenced by the demographics and amount

of financial support and funding that is readily available.

Demographics

Demographics include many factors such as age, race, and sex, as well as socioeconomic

status within a community. “Low educational achievement is associated with high

unemployment, lower wages, greater dependency on welfare, and higher crime (Henig, Hula,

Orr, & Pedescleauz, 1999)” (Mason, Hughey, & Burke, 2019, p. 20). Even though schools have

little influence on the level of poverty within a community or other factors around it, what is

being done within the schools could help lessen the negative impact and results it has (Mason,

Hughey, & Burke, 2019, p. 20). Having adequate funding available will not only provide

teachers with the training and development they need outside of the classroom, but it will also

provide students with the technology, resources, and tools they need to succeed. With minimal

access to resources within the classroom, limits the experience and exploration that students
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Action Research Project Proposal
have. If all students do not receive the same technology, resources, or other learning tools that

other students may in a higher-income district, then they are not receiving equal learning

opportunities. In turn, the location a student is from is impacting the level of education and

experience they are receiving inside the classroom.

Gaps in academic achievement between minority and majority students and the higher-

income and lower-income students represents the most significant issue within the United

States (Murphy, 2010, p. 5). In the United States, there is more than 15.5 million children that

are poverty-stricken, which is equivalent to one in five American children (Davis, 2019). Poverty

can also reference the lack of relationship, models, proper nutrition, health, and sleep that is

available. By having a deficit in these areas, could impact the equitable access to a higher-

quality education (Davis, 2019). All of these aspects can impact a student’s achievement.

Poverty can also influence the responsibilities a person has. A young child growing up in a

lower-income household may have more responsibilities than another child in a different

position. As an educator, we need to be aware of this and be understanding of the different

circumstances that may exist outside of the classroom. Even though we can’t be everywhere

with our students, we can support them and provide them with the support and advocate for

their needs to ensure it isn’t impacting their school achievement. This also relates to the

supports available for educators. If teachers were educated in the demographical needs of the

community and students in their classrooms, it is easier to be aware of these areas. Without

being notified, supported, and educated in this specific situation, it could be accidently

overlooked.

Conclusion
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Action Research Project Proposal
In conclusion, there are many factors that impact our main problem at hand which is the

achievement gap. Specifically focusing on a schools climate, the supports readily available for

staff, and the demographics of the school and community will help educators learn how they

can better support their students. By having an understanding of how these aspects are

impacting the achievement gap, there are things that can be implemented in order to lessen

the gap in the early grades. Even though there are bigger factors impacting these sub-areas,

there are things that we can do right from our classroom. We should be looking at the

variables that we can control and focus on those first. By doing so, we will be able to do our

part towards closing the gap earlier on, which can carry throughout their educational careers.

Factors such as having limited funding is something out of our hands, but if we look at the

broader idea, and focus on using the tools and resources we do have, as a team to implement it

focusing on student specific needs, will allow for students to achieve the same skills and end

result, but with being more engaged. In the end, our job is to do whatever we can to support

our students and ensure they have access to a valuable education. Modifications or other

supports may be necessary, but as long as we are advocating for what is needed, will help

towards doing our part in lessening the achievement gap, one classroom at a time.

Action Research Project Proposal

Research Question

As briefly mentioned above, the research questions that are being proposed to find

solutions for are: what can educators and school administration do that can contribute towards

closing the achievement gap and what are potential solutions that could potentially lessen the

gap in the elementary grades? The achievement gap is a problem that educators find later on in
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Action Research Project Proposal
student’s academic careers but is said to begin as early as before students start kindergarten.

By finding out potential solutions to this problem and beginning to implement them into the

early elementary grades, it could help support student success later on.

Proposed Solution

The selected solution is one that will make the most impact in more ways than just the

achievement gap and requires limited resources or funding. 

A solution to the problem is to utilize the curriculum with modifications or adjustments

per each student’s needs.  By doing this, educators are creating a culturally responsive and

inclusive classroom environment allowing opportunities for each student to access the

curriculum. This might not only solve the problem towards lessening the gap within the

classroom, but it will also support the “lack of supports” and “school climate” subtopics that are

discussed and researched within my project.  By working as a team, communicating, and

supporting each other, teachers will be able to implement different techniques to support each

individual students needs while supporting their achievement and success.   Educators can

utilize current resources that are available within the school and share new ones with other

staff to create a “tool-box” of reliable tools.  In addition to this, it will allow for teachers to

create a more supportive and welcoming learning environment that is student-centered.

Setting

The district that this proposed plan would be implemented in is an urban community.

There are 40 public schools within this district, serving over 20,000 students. The districts

“average testing ranking is 1/10, which is in the bottom 50% of public schools in Connecticut”

(Public School Review, n.d., pg. 3). In addition, 86% of the student body are minorities and the
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Action Research Project Proposal
graduation rate is only 77% (Public School Review, n.d.). Specifically, the school this would be

implemented in serves over 500 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 8 th grade.

Participants

The participants for this plan would be of the early elementary grades. It would be

suggested to work with those students enrolled in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. By

starting with the early-childhood grades, baseline data would be able to be collected and carry

with those students as they progress on. It would be beneficial to have data collected from the

older grades as well, such as 4th and 5th grade, to see what areas students are below average in,

so those areas could be the focal points. There is no specific gender for this study, it would

involve both male and female students in those grades.

Methods

The first step in order to complete this project would need to be the collection of

baseline data. As mentioned earlier, it would be helpful to have data from students in grades 4 th

and 5th, to get an idea of areas they may have difficulty with or performing below average. For

example, this specific school performs at 40% proficiency in math and 50% in reading. These

might be good areas to begin with. The next step would be to collect data within the

participating pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms. This data will be the starting point.

Data collection should take place every few weeks and remaining consistent. For example, if

data is collected every three weeks, it should be exactly every three weeks, in order for the

data to remain reliable.

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Action Research Project Proposal
In Connecticut, there are guidelines involving goals and objectives that students should

be meeting based on their age. These are developmentally appropriate goals. These goals

should be used as the goals educators are working towards achieving mastery.

It is suggested that grade-level partners meet weekly to discuss implementation

strategies, feedback, and suggestions. In order for all the data to remain consistent, each

classroom should be implementing the same strategies and sharing their experiences amongst

each other. This way modifications or adjustments could be made in order to meet student’s

needs.

Timeframe

The timeframe for this action plan should be a minimum of half a school year, which is

approximately 5 months. By implementing it for this time period, educators would be able to

monitor the progress from either the beginning to the middle of the school year, or middle to

the end depending on when it started. This plan needs to be implemented long enough to

notice change. It could always be extended if there is a need to do so. By extending it, there

will be more data to be collected. The more time spent, the more data collection and results

will be readily available to use when proposing the implementation of plan across more

schools.

Data Collection

The data needing to be collected would be based on student achievement. If the main

focus is math and reading, data should be taken based on the goals for those subject areas. The

data will look a bit different for each grade level. For example, main focal points for preschool

regarding math would involve color, number, and shape identification and recognition,
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Action Research Project Proposal
counting, sorting of objects, one-to-one correspondence, and a number sense. Educators

should take data for each student regarding what they are able to identify or recognize

independently. Strategies would be implemented to support the achievement and mastery of

these specific skills. Each student will require different supports depending on their areas of

strength and areas needing more work. This will require accommodations and modifications

specifically for each student. In addition, if a student requires additional accommodations if

they have a 504 or IEP in place, the teacher would be required to provide that support as well.

Data collection can be done through formal collection, such as a one-on-one assessment, or

through observation and class work.

Data Analysis

The review of this data would take place at the weekly grade level meetings, as well as

when new data is collected. New data should be compared to previously taken data to analyze

whether there has been growth or improvements in specific areas. The only way educators will

be able to monitor the change is if there is consistent data to compare to. Adjustments or

modifications could be made dependent on individual needs but should be documented to

ensure it does not impact the data collection. Everything should be documented such as the

exact date, time, and location of each piece of data, this way, all factors are considered when

analyzing the data.

Reflection

Working through this project proposal has taught me a lot about the areas where I can

better support my students. I have not only learned more about the achievement gap

specifically, but also more about the statistics around the district and school I work in. By
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Action Research Project Proposal
gathering this information, I am able to take my new learning and begin implementing this plan

within my classroom. Since I have a bit of freedom regarding the curriculum and means of

teaching in my room, I will be able to find strategies that work for my students to ensure they

are achieving their developmentally appropriate goals, including their IEP specific goals. There

have been a lot of shocking research that was found regarding the impact the achievement gap

has on students. By beginning this plan in my classroom, I will be able to work through

different aspects and then share my experience with other preschool teachers in my building.

After gathering enough data regarding the success rate, it could be something that can be

shared within beyond preschool.

After researching more about the achievement gap, I learned a lot about how I can

personally reflect on my educational practices and pedagogy to ensure I am allowing each

student equal opportunities to succeed. This knowledge not only helps me become a better

educator for my students but has also helped me learn new strategies to be a better person

outside of the classroom. It has allowed for me to look at things through a different lens,

advocate, self-reflect and evaluate the decisions I make, inside and outside of the classroom.

Regarding the MEd program learning outcomes, the proposed project meets quite a

few. One outcome states, “identify problems of practice and craft effective solutions that

demonstrate the application of content knowledge”. For this proposal, I was required to select

a problem that impacted my professional context and create potential solutions that could be

used towards solving it. Another outcome states, “Examine and interpret a variety of

educational data, resources, and research to support and inform decision-making practices”.

Throughout this proposal, I was required to utilize many resources that helped describe the
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Action Research Project Proposal
problem I wanted to research and use that data to select potential solutions for it. In addition,

when implementing this plan, educators will be expected to collect and analyze the data in

order to make decisions based on student progress. A third outcome states, “establish and

evaluate learning communities that are collaborative, inclusive, and supports the needs of a

diverse population of learners”. This project proposal is set to help students within those

diverse communities to ensure the implementation strategies are inclusive, allowing each and

every student an opportunity to succeed. Lastly, “compare theories of teaching and learning

and apply them in a variety of educational contexts”. This project works with this learning

outcome because I had to conduct the research and use prior knowledge in order to select

appropriate problem, potential solutions, data collecting, and analyzing strategies.

There are also specific learning outcomes for my MEd concentration, Curriculum and

Instruction. The first outcome is “design and develop curriculum using models of curriculum

design such as Understanding by Design”. This project involves analyzing the curriculum and

creating implementation strategies, as well as adjustments and modifications to ensure all

students are accessing it appropriately and equally. The next outcome is, “Selected advanced

instructional strategies appropriate for specific learning outcomes”. This project supports this

objective because I had to select a problem and potential solutions that are age and

developmentally appropriate. Educators will then need to utilize these instructional strategies

when implementing the curriculum. Finally, the third outcome is to, “apply a variety of

formative and summative assessment strategies to evaluate and improve teaching and

learning”. This project supports this outcome because educators are required to collect data in

different forms, using formal and informal assessments, as well as observations. Data collection
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Action Research Project Proposal
will be based on goals and objectives that are developmentally appropriate and involve each

student’s individual needs. Educators will then need to analyze the data to improve their

teaching and better support individual students.

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Action Research Project Proposal
References

Austin, D. W., Atencio, M., Yeung, F., Stein, J., Mathur, D., Ivester, S., & Woods, D. R. (2019).

Diversity and Inclusion Curriculum: Addressing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and the

Achievement Gap at a Racially Diverse University. Currents in Teaching &

Learning, 11(1), 112–134.

Ballenger, C. (2019). Reframing the Achievement Gap: Lessons From Puzzling Students. Reading

Teacher, 73(2), 141–147. https://doi-org.postu.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/trtr.1810

Davis, L. D. (2019). Common Core and the Continued Socioeconomic Achievement Gap: How

Can We Better Prepare Future Teachers? Journal of Education and Learning, 8(6), 1–14.

Gilmour, A. F., Fuchs, D., & Wehby, J. H. (2019). Are Students with Disabilities Accessing the

Curriculum? A Meta-Analysis of the Reading Achievement Gap between Students with

and without Disabilities. Exceptional Children, 85(3), 329–346.

Hanushek, E. A., Peterson, P. E., Talpey, L. M., & Woessmann, L. (2019). The Achievement Gap

Fails To Close: Half century of testing shows persistent divide between haves and have-

nots. Education Next, 19(3), 8–17.

Leavitt, R. R., & Hess, R. S. (2019). School Climate and the Latino-White Achievement

Gap. Leadership & Policy in Schools, 18(3), 270–283. https://doi-

org.postu.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/15700763.2017.1384498

Mason, C. P., Hughey, A. W., & Burke, M. G. (2019). Decreasing the academic achievement gap

in P-12 schools by implementing Choice Theory and focusing on

relationships. International Journal of Choice Theory & Reality Therapy, 39(1), 20–26.

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NSCC. (n.d.). What is School Climate and Why is it Important? Retrieved March 28, 2021, from

https://www.schoolclimate.org/school-climate

Nonpartisan Education Review. (2020, January 1). Why Have American Schools Failed in Closing

the Achievement Gap? A Case Study of California’s Palo Alto School

District. Nonpartisan Education Review, 16, 1–32.

Pearman, F. A., Curran, F. C., Fisher, B., & Gardella, J. (2019). Are Achievement Gaps Related to

Discipline Gaps? Evidence from National Data. AERA Open, 5(4).

Public School Review. (n.d.). New Haven School District. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/connecticut/new-haven-school-district/902790-

school-district

The Harvard Gazette. (2019, March 18). Harvard researcher, COLLEAGUES: Student

achievement gap unchanged in nearly 50 years.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/03/harvard-researcher-colleagues-

student-achievement-gap-unchanged-in-nearly-50-years/.

Tibbitt, J. (2020). Formative Assessment: A Tool for Closing Achievement Gaps in Diverse

Classrooms. Odyssey: New Directions in Deaf Education, 21, 72–75.