A Parallel Task

The district’s declining student performance is the main problem raised by this scenario. I think this is the case because, despite the superintendent pushing for the principals to cut the budget, the union president and a worried parent indicate in their letters their displeasure with the superintendent’s choice, emphasizing the district’s failing children.

It would be wise to respond to the following two queries in order to study this matter effectively: Will the pupils’ performance be impacted by the funding cuts? How do we maintain student performance in the face of growing class numbers and reduced teaching staff? Will the pupils’ performance be impacted by the funding cuts? It is important to address this question because the learning institutions in the district rely on finances injected in them. They need finances to pay teachers’ salary, buy textbooks, and pay remedial math teachers along with enrichment, art, ESL, music, reading and instrumental music instructors. It is already clear that students struggle in reading and math hence require more remedial reading and math teacher to handle the decreasing student achievement. Hiring more remedial teachers requires money, and lack of it hinders acquisition of additional teachers subsequently affecting students’ performance negatively due to inadequate exposure to instructors.

How do we stabilize students’ performance despite increasing class sizes and cutting teaching staff? Addressing this question is vital because increasing class sizes and cutting teaching staff have a significant effect on the way students score. The student to teacher ratio is critical on the level of exposure and concentration students gets from an instructor. A colossal proportion makes it difficult for the tutor to concentrate efficiently on students making it hard for a student to gain access to a teacher if there are problems or topics and subjects they do not understand.

A low student to teacher ratio makes learning worthwhile, and learners can feel a sense of belonging thus getting motivated due to the attention they get from tutors. It is therefore essential to have a small class size which will enable tutors to concentrate efficiently on learners and maximize their potential to achieve better grades. Cutting teaching staff might be a necessity in some instances due to financial constraints, but it does have an impact on student’s scores.

In getting answers to each question, I would deploy specific methods of data collection which include conducting interviews, giving out questionnaires, observing and using focus groups. To get answers to whether budget cuts affect students’ performance, it would be prudent to hold interviews with the next most concerned stakeholders in the question; principals. Principals are the chief executive officers of learning institutions and are the ones that bear the burden of cash constraints. They would be in the best position to give answers on impacts of budget cuts and deficits given that they run the schools and therefore approve transactions. They feel the heat most whenever students fail to pass and get more scrutiny even getting sacked or transferred most of the time.

I would also form a focus group of principals in the district just to get the overall feel from them on effects of budget cuts particularly on performance by students. Combined opinions and perspectives from this focus group would give the much-desired answers for this question. Challenges would undoubtedly be faced in the process of getting a response to the questions as some principals would be unwilling to give answers to specific interview questions revolving around sensitive topics due to privacy or being uncomfortable giving answers.

Administering questionnaires would be efficient in getting answers on how to steady learner’s scores despite cutting teaching staff and increasing sizes of class. It would be best to assign questionnaires to the students as they are the ones that feel the immediate impact of increasing class size and reducing teaching staff. They would be in the best position to give answers as to how the significant numbers in classes affect them in their academics and also to provide views on how the situation could be handled. As to whether the shortage in tutors was changing them, they would be best qualified to answer given that their performance is directly attributed to the focus they get from instructors. Children are brutally honest therefore achieving correct and accurate responses from them would not be a problem.

It is often cumbersome to design questionnaires that collect the desired information even if individuals are willing to give answers. I might, therefore, design questionnaires that would lack alignment on how fundamental questions are administered. I would also use observation to get answers to my second question. I would do this by observing how the students are settled in class and whether the numbers are healthy for them to learn and be competitive in academics actively. Following the teacher and student ratio would also be a technique I would use to attain answers to my queries. Taking a look at the learners’ scores and grades would also be a scenario I might come across as it would help me to get adequate data and draw my assumptions. Even though observation might appear valid, it would not allow me to get qualitative analysis and content.

From my inquiry process, it would be possible that schools are already strained on teaching staff judging from the unbearable teacher to students’ ratio. It would, therefore, be necessary not to cut on teaching staff but to inject more money on acquiring remedial instructors.

References

Brown, S. (2016, November 3). Bottom Line: How State Budget Cuts Affect Your Education. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.mobile.nytimes.com

Education, C. f. (2017). Class Size and student achievement: Research review. Retrieved from cpe: http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org

Evaluation, O. O. (2016). Data Collection Problems. Retrieved from ASPE: http://www.aspe.hhs.gov

Minnesota, U. O. (2017). Data Collection Techniques. Retrieved from cyfar: http://www.cyfar.org