Social Skills Action Research:
Results, Part 1

The data was analyzed using two statistical approaches for each of the variables. First, the results were compared based on group average change (T-test). Subsequently, the data were analyzed in finer detail by considering individual student change within each subgroup (Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test) to answer two questions: what percentage of students made statistically significant change; and what was the direction of that change?

Only statistically significant results are reported.

Attendance Rates

Attendance: The number of days in attendance during the school year out of a possible 180 days. Since some districts had years that were greater than 180 days, attendance was adjusted to a 180-day standard for all programs.

There were 872 students who had complete sets of data. Analysis reveals that students had a one-day mean increase on Attendance from 2001-02 to 2002-03 (Table 1).

Table 1: T-test Results - Attendance Rates for All Participants
Variables	Means	N	SD	r	t	df	p
01-02 Attendance	170.36	872	11.77	.42	2.36	871	.02*
02-03 Attendance	171.26	872	8.58

*p<.05

To consider individual change, the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was applied to the same data (Chart 1). All Students demonstrated significant change; specifically, 50% of the students had better attendance, seven percent had the same attendance, and forty-seven percent had worse attendance rates in 2002-2003 as compared to 2001- 2002. When the data are disaggregated into subgroups, there are exceptional findings for the students in priority and transitional districts (PT Districts) and those in Grades K-5. Specifically, 59% or almost three of every five students had better attendance rates from pre to post program participation in PT Districts. Of the students in Grades K-5, fifty-one percent (51%) had better attendance after participation in the program.

Number of Referrals for Discipline Related Offenses

Referrals: The number of actual office referrals for disciplinary offenses.

The second variable examined was the number of times participants were referred to the main office for discipline related offenses. For the 665 students who had complete sets of pre and post data, there was no statistically significant difference in pre and post numbers of referrals for discipline when comparing group means.

In contrast, there were significant findings when individual change was analyzed (Chart 2). The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test revealed that 32% of the students had fewer referrals in 2002-03 than in 2001-02. Forty-nine percent had the same number and 19% had more referrals the following year.

There are several important outcomes for four of the subgroups. Males, Special Education students, students in PT Districts, and those who participated for 2-3 Years had statistically significant declines in the number of disciplinary referrals due from 2001-02 to 2002-03 (Table 3).

Next Page: Results, Part 2

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