Superintendents’ Use of Student Achievement Data from New Hampshire State Assessments
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Authors
Scholand, Kathleen
Date
2025
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002 began holding public schools accountable for improving student achievement in math and reading in grades 3-8. A provision of this act required states to administer annual assessments. This reinforced the civil rights aspect of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The intention was to ensure that underperforming students received intervention and support to close achievement gaps. This testing mandate was maintained when NCLB was reauthorized in 2015 as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Competencies for superintendent licensure in New Hampshire include the verbiage to promote achievement. One way to meet this competency is the establishment of “a strong professional culture of growth, openness and collaboration wherein educators engage in analyzing student data and planning program improvements that result in closing achievement gaps” (New Hampshire Education Law, Part Ed 506, §506.01(b)(1)(b), 2023). Thus, it is argued that superintendents, like principals, have a responsibility to use data from the New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System (NH
SAS) to promote academic achievement. Yet the extent of superintendents’ use of this data, and in collaboration with principals, is unknown. This knowledge might inform designers of technical assistance and developers of resources about ways to enhance superintendents’ capacity to use the data.
Correlational analysis from this quantitative study showed significant relationships when superintendents collaborated with principals to analyze and interpret data (i.e., data inquiry). Use of data to decide and plan also had strong connections. An Inquire, Decide, Plan (IDP) model highlights these strengths.