TITLE:
The Contribution of School Climate and Teaching Quality to the Improvement of Learning Achievements, According to an External Evaluation System
AUTHORS:
Noga Magen-Nagar, Dana Azuly
KEYWORDS:
School Climate, Teaching Quality, Learning Achievements, External Evaluation
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.7 No.13,
August
18,
2016
ABSTRACT: The goal of the current research is to evaluate the contribution of school climate and teaching quality to the improvement of students’ learning achievements in elementary schools and junior high schools, according to a national external evaluation system, the measurements of school efficiency and growth tests (MEITZAV). 60 schools took part in the research, including 158 5th grades and 157 8th grades. The information about their achievements was taken from the open database of the Ministry of Education. The research findings show a decline in students’ perception of the quality of teaching and school climate, the higher the students’ grade. In addition, school climate and teaching quality were found to contribute to learning achievements both in elementary school and junior high school, and that the contribution is more meaningful in math and less in Native Language discipline. The main conclusion is that it is important to allocate resources and equip the educational staff with tools in order to improve the quality of teaching and school climate, in junior high schools particularly. These findings show that additional research is necessary to allow deeper understanding of the effect of school climate and teaching quality on achievement at the single student level.