School Board Members’ Perception on Their Roles and Responsibilities in Developing Policy That Affects Student Achievement

The purpose of this study was to determine how school board members perceive their individual roles with regard to individual student achievement. The study participants were public schools that have completed the fourth cycle Missouri School Improvement Program in Missouri. With the accountability movement that is facing every public school system, the school board’s involvement must be accounted for in that process of increasing student achievement. The traditional school board has taken a lesser role in the student learning process and has spent the majority of its time on management of policy and facilities. A clear understanding of the board’s role and responsibilities in the new age of accountability is a must for the success of individual school districts. The school board typically can use policy to effect and drive student learning. The school board can also use policy to clarify their priorities within the school district. Thus, sending a message to staff, parents, and community on what they value in their local educational system. Data collected from surveys were analyzed using the Paired samples t-test. The findings were that those districts of education whose school boards were highly involved in assessing student data were more likely to be “accredited in distinction” and have higher standardized test scores