Keywords

acceleration, ACCEL, elementary acceleration, acceleration policy implementation, acceleration for gifted, acceleration Florida

Abstract

This study investigated the content of 14 Florida district's Student Progression Plans and supportive district documentation to gain a better understanding of each district's implementation of Florida statute 1002.3105, ACCEL; explored the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of principals of K-5 schools in two large counties in Florida in enacting ACCEL; and utilized the study's findings to create a guide for administrators. The first phase of the study analyzed the 14 largest Florida public school districts utilizing a content analysis and checklists on best practice in acceleration policy from Lupkowski-Shoplik et al. (2018) to examine each district's implementation. The second phase of the study utilized interviews to ascertain the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of 12 total K-5 principals in two large Florida districts in enacting the state and district policies on ACCEL. Phase three utilized the results of the first two phases to develop a guide for principals who are executing K-5 ACCEL. Findings in phases one and two showed that documentation contained brief overviews of policy, which corresponded to limited principal knowledge of the mandate and district policy. Documentation was also focused on high school acceleration and was set in varied locations and modalities. In phase two, results indicated that principals supported acceleration when it made sense for the student, but that they had limited knowledge of the statute and policy and harbored concerns about social factors, emotional needs, and foundational elements for students who are accelerated. All themes present in phases one and two were added to the guide developed in phase three. Recommendations were made for future review of district policy utilizing program evaluation and for educating stakeholders on the ACCEL mandate.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Eriksson, Gillian

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Format

application/pdf

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

November 2025

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

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Restricted to the UCF community until November 2025; it will then be open access.

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