A Study of the Marzano Focused School Leader and Teacher Evaluation Models and Student Proficiency and Growth in Middle Schools in A Large Suburban School District in South Florida

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca

A quantitative, non-experimental study examines whether the Marzano Focused School Leader and Teacher Evaluation Models improve school leader and teacher effectiveness to increase student proficiency and growth. Using existing 2017–2018 data from all middle schools in a large suburban district in South Florida, the study tests relationships among instructional practice scores, iObservation® observation quantity, and Florida Standard Assessment developmental scale mean scores in ELA and mathematics/EOC. Linear regression results show instructional practice as a statistically significant predictor and identify a relationship between student proficiency and growth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose and research design

Research questions and variables

Results

Regression findings and interpretation

Policy and assessment context

National initiatives and evaluation rationale

Florida evaluation and assessment requirements

Conceptual context

Accountability, alignment, and data use

53 A Study of the Marzano Focused School Leader and Teacher Evaluation Models and Student Proficiency and Growth in Middle Schools in A Large Suburban School District in South Florida Terrence Narinesingh Barry University The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the Marzano Focused School Leader and Teacher Evaluation Models impacted school leader and teacher effectiveness to increase student proficiency and growth. This quantitative, non-experimental study was conducted using existing data in all middle schools in a large suburban school district in South Florida for 2017-2018. Four research questions guided this study regarding the relationship and predictability among the variables of school leader and teacher instructional practice scores, quantity of observations reported in iObservation® and student proficiency and growth in Florida Standard Assessment (FSA) Developmental Scale Scores (DSS) in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics or corresponding End-of-Course (EOC) assessment. The linear regression analyses indicated that instructional practice was a statistically significant predictor of Grade 6-8 FSA ELA and Mathematics or corresponding EOC performances. The linear regression analyses indicated that there is a relationship between student proficiency and growth as measured by the developmental scale mean scores on FSA ELA and FSA Mathematics or corresponding EOC. These findings were based on data for one school year, and thus caution must be taken when deducing these findings. Education Leadership Review of Doctoral Research, Vol. 8. Fall 2020 ISSN: 1532-0723 © 2020 International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership. This manuscript may not be used commercially or edited. When quoting portions of this text, full attribution to the author/s is required. The Race to the Top (RttT) grant incentivized all United States (U.S.) to focus on educational transformation, which spawned from the Great Recession from 2007-2009 that affected the education sector (U.S. Department of Education, 2012) . In a critical response, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) regulation was ratified by the U.S. Congress and intended to energize the economy (Federal Communications Commission, 2009) . In order to stimulate the education sector, the focus was to enhance school leader and teacher effectiveness to increase student proficiency and growth (U.S. Department of Education, 2012) . Consequently, states deliberately created school leader and teacher evaluation systems to assess the impact of teachers on student achievement (American Institutes for Research, 2020) . Historical national initiatives such as Sputnik in 1957, National Defense Education Act of 1958 (Public Law 85-864), A Nation at Risk in 1983, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, The Rising Above the Gathering Storm report of 2005 and Race to the Top in 2010, have challenged the rigor and progress of the education system in the U.S. (Flowers, 2013). Marzano (2012) asserts that evaluations serve two purposes: measuring the effectiveness of teachers and developing teachers. School leadership interventions under The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Evidence Review (2015) acknowledged the Marzano Focused School Leader Evaluation Model as one of the evidence-based leader evaluation systems (Herman et al., 2017; Manna & Petrilli, 2008). This study investigates whether the Marzano Focused School Leader and teacher evaluation models impacted school leader and teacher effectiveness to increase student achievement and growth more precisely than prior evaluation models. In Florida’s legislation (S.B. 736) all school districts were directed to create or implement an evaluation system that calculates a minimum of 50% of a teacher’s final evaluation on a state performance indicator, such as the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA), and for non-assessed subject area teachers, a district-wide common assessment is required (The Flori

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study described in the document?

The study investigated whether the Marzano Focused School Leader and Teacher Evaluation Models impacted school leader and teacher effectiveness to increase student proficiency and growth.

What data and time period were used for the analysis?

The research used existing data from all middle schools in a large suburban school district in South Florida for the 2017–2018 school year.

Which factors did the linear regression analyses indicate were significant?

Instructional practice was a statistically significant predictor of Grade 6–8 FSA ELA and mathematics (or corresponding EOC) performance. The analyses also supported a relationship between student proficiency and growth measured by developmental scale mean scores.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca