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Eric.ed.gov – Alternative Assessments in Math and Science: Moving toward a Moving Target. A Joint Study.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Given the restructuring of curriculum and instruction and the changing state of assessment in Virginia and nationally, a study group of 22 Virginia teachers from elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools throughout the state chose to examine and revise their assessment practices. They wanted to reflect changes in thinking and practice in teaching that include active learning, cooperative learning, and critical thinking strategies. After 6 months of developing and implementing alternative assessments in their classrooms, study group members concluded that implementation strategies should include: (1) planning assessment as instruction is planned; (2) having a partner with whom to share ideas; (3) developing generic rubrics; (4) expecting to learn by trial and error; (5) attempting student peer assessment; and (6) using cooperative grouping for completing assessment tasks.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Evaluating Phase II of a New York City-Wide STEM Initiative Using Propensity Score Methods: A Replication Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Recently, the authors have been exploring the use of propensity score methods for developing evidence of program impact. Specifically, they have been developing evidence (after one year of implementation) of the effects of the Math Science Partnership in New York City (“MSPinNYC2”) on high school students’ achievement–both in terms of course grades and scores on end-ofcourse tests in two key Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines: Integrated Algebra and Living Environment. Using an evidence-based approach which relies on propensity score matching, the authors asked if the program in its early stages is making a difference in students’ academic achievement and college readiness. The “MSPinNYC2” program restructures early high school STEM courses to include 6-8 Teaching Assistant Scholars (TAS) who, along with the teachers, facilitate in-classroom group… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – “Who Leaves?” Teacher Attrition and Student Achievement. Working Paper 23

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper analyzes attrition patterns among teachers in New York City public elementary and middle schools and explores whether teachers who transfer among schools, or leave teaching entirely, are more or less effective than those who remain. We find that the first-year teachers who are less effective in improving student math scores have higher attrition rates than do more effective teachers. The first-year differences are meaningful in size; however, the pattern is not consistent for teachers in their second and third years. Attrition patterns differ between schools having disproportionate numbers of low- vs. high-scoring students. A relatively high percentage of the ineffective first-year teachers in low-scoring schools leave teaching altogether; whereas inefficient first-year teachers in higher-scoring schools disproportionately transfer within NYC. In general, first-year teachers who transfer,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Kentucky Writing and Math Portfolios.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Teachers in Kentucky are using portfolios to determine strengths and weaknesses of individual students. Consequently, instruction is centered totally around the student. The implementation of portfolios sends the message to students that their first efforts should not be their last. Revision is part of improvement, and students are expected to reevaluate so that their portfolios represent their best work. The rationale and procedures for using mathematics and writing portfolios in Kentucky schools are explored. The use of portfolios grows from the Kentucky Educational Reform Act and is part of the performance based assessment mandated in 1992. The mathematics portfolio for grade 4, presently in use, contains a table of contents, a letter to the reviewer, and five to seven entries that reflect the students’ best work in… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – How Much Does the Pre-K CLASS Relate to Children’s Readiness for School Skills? Early Childhood Literature Scan Brief

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: One widely used tool that captures the process quality of preschool classrooms, including interactions between teachers and children, is the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Preschool (Pre-K CLASS; Pianta et al. 2008). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded Mathematica to conduct a literature scan to search for recent studies analyzing how well widely used classroom quality measures–including the Pre-K CLASS–perform (see box at the end of the brief for more details about methods). This brief focuses on what is known about how the Pre-K CLASS relates to children’s outcomes in general, and whether its relationships with outcomes differs for key subgroups of children. The authors include outcomes that reveal a child’s readiness for school, categorized as language; literacy; math; and social-emotional, executive function, and physical skills (coordination of… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Preliminary Evidence on Measurement Characteristics for the Foundational Assessment of Competencies for Teaching Performance Tasks. Research Report. ETS RR-20-27

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this report we provide preliminary evidence on the measurement characteristics for a new type of teaching performance assessment designed to be combined with complementary assessments of teacher content knowledge. The resulting test, which we refer to as the Foundational Assessment of Competencies for Teaching (FACT), is designed for use as part of initial teacher licensure. Twenty elementary FACT performance tasks (10 for mathematics [MATH] and 10 for reading language arts [RLA]) were developed and then administered to 59 teacher candidates. The results from the pilot indicate that the performance tasks function as designed with candidates completing the tasks on average in approximately 3.5 min. Human raters were able to score the tasks quickly and accurately. All score points were well represented for all the scored tasks.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – (Mis)Conceptions about Geometric Shapes in Pre-Service Primary Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: During the last reform, Slovakia has reduced geometry in curriculum in primary mathematics education. Pre-school education schools devote more time to geometry in curriculum, but this is not mandatory for all the children. In the primary schools, teachers devote very little lessons time to this problem. These lessons are mainly focused on technology of drawing rather than on creating the right conceptions, which results in below the average scores on international test results in Slovak students. One possible solutions is to improve the level of geometrical knowledge of primary education teachers and pre-service primary education teachers. This paper is focused on the knowledge of plane geometric figures and their properties. We found out that pre-service teachers in primary education have many misconceptions that started when these students… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – An Investigation of How Teachers Score Constructed-Response Mathematics Assessment Tasks

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study identified some factors associated with teachers’ knowledge and beliefs that are related to scoring mathematics constructed-response (CR) assessment tasks. Five groups of teachers (n = 274) who either had different teaching experiences or had different cultural beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics were selected to score 28 students’ responses to seven CR math tasks. Among the 274 teachers, the first four groups (n=222) were selected from China. Group 1 was composed of pre-service elementary school teachers; group 2, pre-service secondary teachers; group 3, elementary in-service teachers; and group 4, secondary in-service teachers. The fifth group (n = 52) was composed of in-service middle school teachers from the United States. A number of analyses of variance (ANOVA) on teachers’ scores of the 28 responses and subsets… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – iLEAP Assessment Guide-Revised, Grade 5: English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Louisiana Believes” embraces the principle that all children can achieve at high levels, as evidenced in Louisiana’s recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). “Louisiana Believes” also promotes the idea that Louisiana’s educators should be empowered to make decisions to support the success of their students. In keeping with these values, the Department has created transitional assessment guides to help prepare teachers and students as they transition to the new CCSS over the next two years. These guides reflect the State’s commitment to consistent and rigorous assessments and provide educators and families with clear information about expectations for student performance. The “iLEAP Assessment Guide” provides an overview of Louisiana assessments administered through the integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (iLEAP). In addition to providing teachers with… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – iLEAP Assessment Guide-Revised. Grade 3: English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Louisiana Believes” embraces the principle that all children can achieve at high levels, as evidenced in Louisiana’s recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). “Louisiana Believes” also promotes the idea that Louisiana’s educators should be empowered to make decisions to support the success of their students. In keeping with these values, the Department has created transitional assessment guides to help prepare teachers and students as they transition to the new CCSS over the next two years. These guides reflect the State’s commitment to consistent and rigorous assessments and provide educators and families with clear information about expectations for student performance. The iLEAP Assessment Guide provides an overview of Louisiana assessments administered through the integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (iLEAP). In addition to providing teachers with… Continue Reading