Archived: The Educational System in the United States: Case Study Findings

Methodology
Before conducting the field research on which this chapter is based, we identified
four areas of investigation that guided our data collection on the topic of stand-
ards. First, we were interested in the influence of standards on student motivation
and achievement. Second, we were interested in the development and implemen-
tation of academic curricula. Factors influencing implementation such as text-
books, the use of technology, homework, and teacher knowledge and acceptance
were all investigated. Another element of the standards research was the investiga-
tion of monitoring mechanisms, such as in-class exams and state and national
assessment exams. In addition, we were interested in the role of standards in the
preparation of students for postsecondary education. And, last, we were interested
in the attitudes of parents, teachers, administrators, and students about the useful-
ness and effectiveness of establishing national standards, particularly in mathe-
matics and science.
Research for this chapter was conducted over a 2-month period in Metro City and
over a 3- to 4-week period in East and West City. All project schools in each of
these locations were included in research for this chapter.
Mark Ashwill conducted all of the interviews and observations in Metro City that
pertained to the topic of standards, except for a few interviews that were con-
ducted in Spanish by a bilingual research assistant and a few interviews conducted
with African-American students and parents. Mavis Sanders conducted the inter-
views with African-American respondents, and Carmen Johnson de Maldonado
conducted the Spanish interviews.

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Gerald LeTendre and Sally Lubeck collected all of the interview and observation
data relevant to the topic of standards during their visits to schools in East City.
William Foraker and Carmen Johnson de Maldonado collected the interview and
observation data on standards in West City schools. All of the information from
these secondary sites was later shared with the authors, and these data were in-
cluded in the analysis and reflected in this paper.
In pursuit of information on standards in the United States, Ashwill and his re-
search colleagues conducted 30 interviews at academic high schools, 10 at voca-
tional high schools, 31 at middle schools, and 28 at elementary schools. Of all
the interviews on this topic, approximately 12 were held in East City, 24 in West
City, and 63 in Metro City. In addition, approximately 38 classroom and general
observations were included in the data analysis. Printed information obtained from
schools, career counseling centers, school districts, state departments of edu-
cation, and the National Center for Education Statistics was also integrated into
research findings in this chapter.
Most of the schools we visited were very welcoming and accommodated our visits
to the best of their ability. Two schools in Metro City were difficult to visit, al-
though for very different reasons. One elementary school seemed to lack the orga-
nizational structure to assist in arranging teacher and student interviews. A middle
school also turned out to be somewhat difficult to work in, because the parents
closely monitored research requests for the reason that they felt the research
might interfere with the education of their children. The principal at this school
was very aware of this oversight by the community and placed greater structure
on our visits than we would have wished. Despite these difficulties, we were able
to collect data and conduct observations at both of these schools. We found the
principals and teachers at all of the schools we visited to be very open and willing
to share their views and experiences with us.
Interviews with teachers and administrators took place in the schools, as did the
majority of the parent and student interviews. Interviews with students were gen-
erally arranged either through the principal, assistant principal, or classroom
teacher. A few of the interviews with students were conducted as group inter-
views, and we found most students open to being interviewed. Parent interviews
were mostly conducted with mothers who were involved with the school in some
way and therefore known to the principal; others were volunteers.
Although we felt we were able to obtain candid information from the individuals
with whom we spoke, we realize that the principals’ involvement in assigning
respondents to us may have reduced our ability to interact with individuals who
were disenchanted with or disengaged from school. We believe that it is likely

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our sample includes primarily students of average or slightly above average ability.
Teachers were often selected on the basis of availability on the particular day of
our visit. In most cases, interviews were conducted with teachers whose class-
rooms we observed.