AN EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF CLASS TIME VARIANCE ON NORMAL CURVE EQUIVALENT SCORES FOR STANDARDIZED ACHIEVEMENT TEST SCORES FOR TENTH GRADE STUDENTS IN BASIC SKILLS OF MATHEMATICS, LANGUAGE ARTS, AND READING IN EASTERN WASHINGTON

This dissertation examined the effects of class time variance on normal curve equivalent (NCE) scores for standardized achievement test of 10th grade students in mathematics, language arts, and reading in Eastern Washington. The major question of the dissertation was "Will proposals for increasing class time resolve the problem of declining national test scores?".;The data were obtained for each of the 19 Eastern Washington school districts. The individual district data were the SRA or CAT achievement tests given to the school's 10th grade populations. A questionnaire was used to obtain individual school district demographic data, background of test history, male, female, and total populations, and the three most significant uses of the test data. The dissertation analyzed the independent variable of time and the dependant variable of standardized achievement scores for mathematics, language arts, and reading. The normal curve equivalents for SRA or CAT scores were analyzed with a t-test at the .05 alpha level of significance.;The research did not show there was any difference in academic achievement with the varied allotted class time for the 19 Eastern Washington school districts. The difference from the highest minutes per year to the lowest minutes per year for the school districts studied was 41 minutes per day. The difference of the medians of the high and low group showed 15 minutes per day.;There is need for further investigation of some components affecting student achievement that have been identified due to this research. These areas for investigation include: (1) An analysis of the teacher's utilization of the class time rather than the gross amount of time available. (2) An examination of the effects of socio-economic conditions on the utilization of the gross amount of time available for instruction. (3) An evaluation of the differences between various academic disciplines and the time spent on learning. (4) A further analysis of the Carnegie Unit and its effects on learning. (5) An analysis of the effects of class size on the utilization of the time available for instruction. (6) A comparison of time utilization in Urban and Rural school districts.