The effect of a test preparation course on the SAT scores of students at Saint Joseph Academy (Doctoral dissertation).
Filizola, E. (2008). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3309546).
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examining24Students, grades10-11
ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs Intervention Report - Transition to College
Review Details
Reviewed: October 2016
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SAT Math |
ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs vs. Business as usual |
8 Weeks |
Full sample;
|
498.16 |
460.17 |
Yes |
|
|
|
SAT Reading |
ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs vs. Business as usual |
8 Weeks |
Full sample;
|
458.95 |
437.71 |
No |
-- | |
|
SAT Writing |
ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs vs. Business as usual |
8 Weeks |
Full sample;
|
485.81 |
475.02 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 59%
Male: 41% -
Urban
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Texas
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Race Black 6% White 6% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 88% Not Hispanic or Latino 12%
Study Details
Setting
This study was conducted with high school students at Saint Joseph Academy, a parochial school in Brownsville, Texas. About 40% of the Academy’s students live in Mexico.
Study sample
The intervention group consisted of 17 students who enrolled in an SAT preparation course. The students in the intervention group consisted of seven male and 10 female students. Of these students, nine lived in Brownsville, Texas, and eight lived in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Fifteen of these students were Hispanic, one was Black, and one was “of Anglo ethnicity” (p. 23).
Intervention Group
Students in the intervention group registered to participate in the SAT preparation class, which consisted of eight 4-hour sessions, two of which were used for the administration of the pre- and posttest, a practice SAT. The remaining six sessions were split between math and reading/writing instruction, for a total of 12 hours of instruction in each content area. The verbal sessions focused instruction and practice on the essay portion of the SAT, as well as review, instruction, and practice for the multiple choice questions. The math sessions included strategies, practice items, and practice tests.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group did not participate in the SAT preparation class. The students did participate in the administration of the pre- and posttest. The author does not report any additional information.
Support for implementation
No information was provided regarding support for implementation.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).