Abstract
Looping, a school structure where students remain with one group of teachers for two or more school years, is used by middle schools to meet the diverse needs of young adolescents. However, little research exists on how looping effects the academic performance of students. This study was designed to determine if looping influenced middle school students' mathematical academic achievement. Student scores on the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) were compared between sixth and eighth grade years for 69 students who looped during the seventh and eighth grades with a group of 137 students who did not loop. Looping students achieved statistically significantly greater growth on the MCT than their nonlooping counterparts between sixth and eighth grades. Further, the data were disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Findings indicate that looping may academically reengage students during the middle school years. Advantages and disadvantages of looping at the middle grades are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 298-308 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | School Science and Mathematics |
Volume | 110 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Mathematics (miscellaneous)
- Education
- Engineering (miscellaneous)
- Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
- History and Philosophy of Science