The effect of a county's public high school summer remediation program on student gains on end-of-course standard of learning tests in Algebra I, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry and World History and Geography II

The Commonwealth of Virginia requires high school students to receive a passing grade in core courses and a passing score on End-of-Course Standards of Learning (EOC SOL) tests to receive verified credits that lead to a Virginia high school diploma. These tests are believed to accurately reflect what students should know and be able to do in order to experience success in their endeavors beyond high school. For some students remediation is required to experience success on EOC SOL tests.; This study sought to determine the effect of a County's public high school summer remediation program on student gains on EOC SOL tests in Algebra I, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, and World History and Geography II. Specifically, the purpose of the study sought to determine the following: (a) If significant gains were made by students who attended the summer remediation program; (b) If significant gains were made by students who did not attend the summer remediation program; (c) If there were differences in gain scores of students who attended and those who did not attend the summer remediation program; and (d) If there were differences in gain scores among students who attended the summer remediation program related to school site, gender, ethnicity, learning ability group, socioeconomic status, and level of English proficiency.; The results of the study indicate that students who attended and those who did not attend the summer remediation program made significant gains. However, the gains for students who attended the summer remediation program were significantly greater than the gains made by students who did not attend. The study also found that there were no significant differences in gain scores among students who attended the summer remediation program related to gender, ethnicity, learning ability group, socioeconomic status, and level of English proficiency. There were significant differences in Algebra I gain scores related to school site.; Recommendations for practitioners and further research are presented. The study contributes to research on standards-based summer remediation programs and their effect on student gains on high-stakes tests.