Abstracts Mathematics

An Examination of Florida's High Stakes Testing: A Post-Hoc Study of the Academic Achievement of Students with Borderline Intellectual Functioning

by Rhonda McMahon

This study compares achievement of students with borderline intellectual functioning by investigating differences in Florida Standards Assessment results for those who received special education services and those who did not receive services. A review of the literature finds research focused on this population is limited with few effective strategies identified to help these students keep pace with the increasing demand of today's classrooms. This post-hoc causal-comparative study uses an analysis of variance to determine if there are statistically significant achievement differences in Florida Standards Assessment results in English Language Arts and Mathematics for students when examining the effect of the independent variables of IQ scores and whether students received exceptional student education services. The results of this study indicated there were no significant differences in reading or mathematics achievement for students with borderline intellectual functioning who received ESE services when compared with those who did not receive services. There was, however, a statistically significant difference was found in mathematics achievement between students with borderline intellectual functioning at the lower end of the IQ range and those at the higher end of the IQ range. This study adds to the limited research on students with borderline intellectual functioning and demonstrates the continued need to dive deeper into what supports best meet the learning needs of this unique population of students.