How Does Opportunity to Learn Influence Student Achievement?

Periodical
Journal for Leadership and Instruction
Volume
21
Year
2022
Page range
15-23
Access date
27.02.2024
Relates to study/studies
TALIS 2013

How Does Opportunity to Learn Influence Student Achievement?

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to explore the differences in opportunity to learn between higher and lower achieving schools. Additionally, the teachers' perception of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) as it relates to students' achievement were investigated. Teachers were surveyed to investigate any difference in their perceptions of opportunity to learn, parental involvement, instructional practices, and quality of leadership between higher and lower achievement schools. This exploratory study scrutinized the variables and demographics that might predict student achievement. The independent variables were opportunity to learn, parental involvement, instructional qualities, and quality of leadership. The dependent variable was student achievement using New York State (NYS) Math 8th Grade scores and English Language Arts (ELA). A significant finding in this study was that student achievement was not related to student demographics. English language learners were equally matched between each pair of higher and lower performing schools. Race and Students with Disabilities were approximately equal in each set of schools. Furthermore, this study found that OTL was employed more in higher performing than in lower performing schools.