The number of low-performing schools has drastically increased since COVID-19. During the 2018-2019 school year, there were 488 low-performing schools (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2024). The number increased to 736 schools during the 2023-2024 school year, a 50.8% increase (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2024). Understanding factors related to climate in these schools is pertinent to making teachers’ jobs more rewarding while improving student outcomes (Rosenburg & Anderson, 2021). Though there is research on school climate and student achievement, more research is needed to examine school climate in low-performing elementary schools in North Carolina.
This quantitative study explored whether two school-level characteristics, namely, schools’ Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) growth status and school performance grade, impact teachers' confidence levels regarding principal leadership, teacher leadership, student discipline, and teacher retention. Thus, this quantitative study sought to answer the overarching research question: whether there are statistically significant differences in perceptions of principal leadership, teacher leadership, student discipline, and teacher retention based on their school’s EVAAS growth measure and performance grade.
This study’s participants were certified staff members from 293 low-performing public elementary schools ranging from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade in North Carolina during the 2021-2022 school year. The statistical analysis used was a 2 x 2 factorial MANOVA, which measured the dependent variables (principal leadership, teacher leadership, student discipline, and teacher retention). Additionally, the 2 x 2 factorial MANOVA examined the EVAAS growth measure (met or not met) and the school performance grade from each school (D or F) based on the certified staff perspectives of the dependent variables. Findings suggest that teachers’ perceptions of teacher leadership and teacher retention differ significantly based on the school’s EVAAS growth measure and performance grade in low-performing elementary schools in North Carolina. However, the results did not align with previous research on teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership and student discipline, as there was no statistically significant difference.