Action Research

When I first learned about action research, I initially thought about teacher motivation and moral. This is a major interest for me because it’s a huge problem on my campus and the students and teacher would benefit greatly from this sort of research. However, after consulting with my site supervisor and listening to some of Dr. Abshire’s comments during last Thursday’s web-conference, I decided to consider other options. I decided to research topics that involve the use more raw data.

I will be researching the effect of the African American Success Initiative Program on the academic success of African American students at Quintanilla Middle School. I plan to examine student participation in the AASI program, student participation in other programs on campus, student six-weeks grades, ACP scores, daily attendance rates, discipline referrals, STAAR tests results, summer school recommendations, high academic achievement, and grade promotion rates. African American students make up 3% of the population at Quintanilla Middle school, and 25% percent of the population of the entire Dallas Independent School District. The African American Success Initiative Program was developed to address poor academic performance and achievement among African American students. The AASI mission is to eliminate the achievement gap by ensuring that African American students’ academic, social, cultural, and emotional needs are being met as they engaged in rigorous and relevant instruction, while striving to become college and workforce ready.

As a result of my research, I would like to find whether the major aspects of the program are being implemented efficiently, and whether it is successful or ineffective for the academic success of African American students on the Quintanilla Middle School campus,

African American students at Quintanilla Middle School will benefit from this action research project by increasing their academic success through actively participating in the African American Initiatives Program. Participation includes attending student development activities such as seminars, workshops, college fairs, and panel discussions that focused on the academic and cultural needs of students of color. It also includes campus meetings, student/teacher mentorship, and campus programs initiated by the students of the AASI program.