The Relationship Between School Culture And Third-grade Fcat Reading Proficiency In Seminole County Public Elementary Schools

This study aimed to determine the relationship between school culture and student achievement. Elementary school teachers (N=574) from 27 schools in suburban Seminole County, Florida completed the School Culture Triage Survey to generate a school culture score. The participating schools were ranked and placed in categories representing the top 33% (N=9), middle 33% (N=9), and bottom 33% (N=9) of the population based on their culture score. School culture data were analyzed and correlated with third grade student achievement data, as measured by the 2007 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Reading to determine if there were any relationships between (a) school culture and student achievement; (b) the three key components of school culture (collaboration, collegiality, and self-determination/efficacy) and student achievement; and (c) principal tenure and school culture. Additional data analysis served to determine if there were any experiential or demographic differences among the teachers from the schools falling in the top, middle, and bottom 33% on the School Culture Triage Survey. To learn more about principal beliefs with regard to school culture and student achievement, principal interviews were conducted with some principals (N=8) from the participating schools. Through a review of the research results and related literature, the researcher concluded that a relationship between the overall school culture and student achievement did not exist. Further analysis revealed that there were no relationships between student achievement and collaboration, collegiality, and self-determination/efficacy, or between school culture and principal tenure for the schools participating in this study