The Impact of High-Stakes Testing on Morale Levels of Middle School Teachers in Southeast Georgia
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Authors
Walsh, Nicholas Lee
Issue Date
2025-06-28
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Education , Educational leadership , Dissertations, Academic--United States , Teacher morale , Middle school teachers , Teachers--Job satisfaction , Education--Evaluation , Educational tests and measurements , Academic achievement , Testing--Standards , Motivation in education , Education--Research , Public schools , Public schools--Georgia , Middle school education
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Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine teacher morale among middle school teachers with and without a Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade Assessment based on content area and grade level. Teacher morale is significant because it has a major impact on student achievement. A descriptive research design using an abbreviated version of “The Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire” was employed to answer the research questions. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were used to analyze the data.
The findings of this study included the following: First, teacher morale scores varied between the GMAS and No GMAS groups, with limited statistically significant findings; however, notable patterns emerged from the descriptive data. Second, significant differences were found in teacher morale among grade-level groups. Seventh-grade teachers scored significantly higher than teachers in grades six and eight. Third, while teacher morale scores differed across content areas, only limited significant results were found. Significant interaction effects between content areas and GMAS emerged in specific subjects, and descriptive data revealed meaningful patterns. Fourth, participating teachers demonstrated moderate to moderately high morale levels regardless of content area, grade level, or GMAS presence.
Because only limited evidence of significant differences was found regarding the direct impact of GMAS presence and content area on teacher morale, further research with a larger sample size is recommended. The implications of the study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.