An analysis of the longitudinal effects that a nongraded elementary program, conducted in an open-space school, had on the cognitive achievement of pupils

This research effort was undertaken to analyze the longitudinal effects that a nongraded elementary school program, conducted in an open-space school, had on the cognitive achievement of pupils. A review of the literature was undertaken to ascertain the relative statistical or experiential descriptive data available. A longitudinal study of this type is not reported in the literature. Much has been written, however, regarding the philosophical and theoretical basis for nongraded programs that is not supported by evidence. The research available on how pupils learn supports the philosophy of the nongraded school. The range in intellectual readiness to learn and in most areas of cognitive achievement also dramatically supports this type program. The statistical data available, however, reveals that although pupils in some nongraded programs perform significantly better than do their counterparts in other types of programs the converse is also true. The nongraded school program is still the exception and not the rule. Only two studies were found regarding the effects that the open-space facility has on pupils. One suggests that no definite conclusions can be made concerning the superiority of either the open-space or traditional facility in producing cognitive gain over a one-year span of time. The second study, an assessment of the organizational climate of an open-space school, suggests that pupils who have had sufficient exposure to the "open" school are in fact more independent, lively, self-reliant, and extroverted than pupils with little exposure. Pre and posttest achievement data was collected on three hundred randomly selected elementary school pupils over a three-year period. The subjects were equally divided by sex and year in school. One hundred and fifty were enrolled in a nongraded elementary school program, conducted in an open-space facility, and one hundred and fifty in a program other than nongraded conducted in a traditionally designed facility. A multivariate analysis of variance research design was used to analyze the independent and interactive effects that sex, type of school program, and sex and type of program had on the cognitive achievement gains of the subjects in arithmetic reasoning, concepts, and computation; reading comprehension; and, vocabulary. [...]