This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Scott Sargrad, Laura Magalas, S. Michael Gaddis, Max Marchitello, David Nurenberg, Nicole Muchowicz, Scott K. Baker, Catherine Brown, Thomas G. Ryan, and Derek Kosty.
(2016). Emporium Model: The Key to Content Retention in Secondary Math Courses, Journal of Educators Online. The math emporium model was first developed by Virginia Tech in 1999. In the emporium model students use computer-based learning resources, engage in active learning, and work toward mastery of concepts. This approach to teaching and learning mathematics was piloted in a rural STEM high school. The purpose of this experimental study was to compare the impact of the emporium model and the traditional approach to instruction on student achievement and retention of algebra. The results indicated that both approaches to instruction were equally effective in improving student mathematics knowledge. However, the findings revealed that the students in the emporium section had significantly higher retention of the content knowledge. [More] Descriptors: Retention (Psychology), Mathematics Education, Algebra, Secondary School Mathematics
(2016). Linking the PARCC Assessments to NWEA MAP Tests for New Mexico. Northwest Evaluation AssociationâÑ¢ (NWEAâÑ¢) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress¬Æ (MAP¬Æ) interim assessment scores. One important tool is the concordance table between MAP and state summative assessments. Concordance tables have been used for decades to relate scores on different tests measuring similar but distinct constructs. These tables, typically derived from statistical linking procedures, provide a direct link between scores on different tests and serve various purposes. Aside from describing how a score on one test relates to performance on another test, they can also be used to identify benchmark scores on one test corresponding to performance categories on another test, or to maintain continuity of scores on a test after the test is redesigned or changed. Concordance tables are helpful for educators, parents, administrators, researchers, and policy makers to evaluate and formulate academic standing and growth. Recently, NWEA completed a concordance study to connect the scales of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) English language arts (ELA) and math with those of the MAP Reading and MAP for Mathematics assessments for New Mexico (NM). In this report, presented are the 3rd through 8th grade cut scores on MAP reading and mathematics scales that correspond to the benchmarks that Illinois adopted for its PARCC ELA and math tests. Information about the consistency rate of classification based on the estimated MAP cut scores is also provided, along with a series of tables that predict the probability of receiving a Level 4 (i.e., "Proficient") or higher performance designation on the PARCC assessments, based on the observed MAP scores taken during the same school year. A detailed description of the data and analysis method used in this study is provided in the appendix. [More] Descriptors: Scores, Inferences, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests
(2016). Learning English: Accountability, Common Core and the College-for-All Movement Are Transforming Instruction, Education Next. Ninety-five percent of students at Redwood City's Hoover School, in San Mateo County, California, come from low-income and working-class Latino families, and nearly all start school as English language learners (ELLs). The elementary and middle school piloted the Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL) program in 2009 in hopes of raising reading and math scores and moving more students to the college track. Programs like SEAL offer a fresh approach to educating English language learners. The focus in schools is shifting from the language of instruction to the quality of instruction. As a result, long-standing debates about whether English learners should be taught only in English or also in their native tongue feel increasingly obsolete. This article discusses the rise of bilingual education across the United States and what the education system is doing to keep up with this trend. [More] Descriptors: Accountability, Common Core State Standards, College Preparation, Low Income Students
(2016). Inquiry and Irony: Promise and Paradox in Paul Jablon's "The Synergy of Inquiry", High School Journal. Paul Jablon's "The Synergy of Inquiry" (2014) is well-timed. The 2014 deadline set by No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002) for universal student proficiency has come and gone, and according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, "proficiency rates last year were below 50 percent for nearly every racial and ethnic group, in both reading and math, in both 4th and 8th grade" (Kamenetz, 2014, p. 2). Its goals of reaching all students, refusing to "write off" or "give up" on struggling learners (especially struggling learners of color) were admirable, but the 2014 report was just the latest in a host of studies (summarized in Fairtest, 2003; Rose 2004; Sunderman, Kim, & Orfield, 2005) that revealed how student learning repeatedly failed to reach NCLB's targets. Jablon is but the latest in a series of educators who argue that the fault lies not so much in NCLB's goals as in the methods that too many schools chose to reach these goals, namely a "doubling down" on skill-and-drill preparation for the NCLB-mandated standardized tests. "The Synergy of Inquiry" (2014) attempts to resolve the present paradox–namely, that the standardization of pedagogy and curriculum that schools adopted to meet the heavy testing focus of the outcomes-based movement is ill-suited to helping students develop the kind of higher order thinking that the movement's proponents advocate. Jablon offers a way that schools and teachers can help students acquire higher order skills, especially when more traditional methods are failing. Or rather, he offers several ways, merged under one umbrella called "Inquiry Learning." This article details Jablon's "The Synergy of Inquiry" chapter by chapter and concludes with mention of shortcomings and suggestions for improvement. [More] Descriptors: Inquiry, Figurative Language, Educational Legislation, Federal Legislation
(2016). Visual Thinking Strategies: Teachers' Reflections on Closely Reading Complex Visual Texts within the Disciplines, Reading Teacher. The authors offer a new perspective on close reading that uses a range of multimodal texts to capitalize on the visual nature of contemporary society and to support literacy within the academic disciplines. Specifically, a qualitative study explored teachers' perspectives on the use of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a practice borrowed from museum educators that replicates close reading processes, to support literacy learning within subject areas. The analysis revealed teachers' beliefs that VTS supported students' academic vocabulary development and accountable talk. In addition, the teachers felt that VTS created a safe environment for all students to participate, thus providing access to the curriculum. The authors argue that teachers can adapt VTS to help students meet the needs of 21st century communication modes as they analyze and create print and nonprint texts in different forms of media. [More] Descriptors: Critical Reading, Visualization, Visual Aids, Thinking Skills
(2016). Testing the Immediate and Long-Term Efficacy of a Tier 2 Kindergarten Mathematics Intervention, Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. This study examined the efficacy of a kindergarten mathematics intervention program, ROOTS, focused on developing whole-number understanding in the areas of counting and cardinality and operations and algebraic thinking for students at risk in mathematics. The study utilized a randomized block design with students within classrooms randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Measures of mathematics achievement were collected in the fall (pretest) and spring (posttest) in kindergarten and in the winter of first grade (delayed posttest). Significant differences between conditions favoring treatment students were found on four of six measures at posttest. Treatment students reduced the achievement gap with their not-at-risk peers. No effect was found on follow-up first-grade achievement scores. Implications for Tier 2 mathematics instruction in a Response to Intervention model are discussed. [More] Descriptors: Kindergarten, Numeracy, Mathematics Education, Intervention
(2016). Implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act: Toward a Coherent, Aligned Assessment System, Center for American Progress. In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the nation's major law governing public schools. ESSA retains the requirement that states test all students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, as well as the requirement that states ensure those tests align with states' college- and career-ready standards. However, the law makes significant changes to the role of tests in state education systems. For example, ESSA requires states to include a broader set of factors in school accountability systems rather than just test scores; provides funding for states and districts to audit and streamline their testing regimes; and allows states to cap the amount of instructional time devoted to testing. It also eliminates the requirement under the Obama administration's NCLB waiver program that states evaluate teacher performance based on, in part, student test score growth. Taken together, these provisions greatly reduce the stakes of state tests for schools and teachers. They also give states substantially more autonomy over how they define school success and the interventions they employ when schools fail to demonstrate progress. The likely result would be a significant reduction in the level of angst regarding testing among teachers and parents. Today, states have an opportunity to use the new flexibility embedded in ESSA to develop stronger testing systems without the pressure of NCLB's exclusive focus on summative tests. They also have the opportunity to innovate: Through a new pilot program that will allow seven states to develop radically new approaches to assessments, states can experiment with performance based and instructionally embedded tests and use technology to advance testing. These pilot states will have the freedom to imagine a testing system of the future in which standardized tests taken on one day each year are no longer the typical way of assessing student learning. Over a six-month span, researchers at the Center for American Progress (CAP) interviewed dozens of parents, teachers, school leaders, system leaders, advocates, assessment experts, and policy leaders in an attempt to identify what can be done to ensure that tests are being used in service of teaching and learning. Although they are few and far between, models of coherent, aligned teaching and learning systems do exist. In these systems, the curriculum and end of year summative assessments are aligned with high academic standards. Interim tests, administered at key points throughout the year, provide a check on whether students are on track to meet the grade level standards. Short, high-quality formative tests give real-time feedback to teachers and parents so that they can use the results to inform instruction and to course correct when needed. School and system leaders use data to determine if all students receive the high-quality education they deserve and to provide more support or intervention if the results show that individual students, entire classrooms, or schools are off track. Unfortunately, these models are the exception. Because the problems with testing are structural and systemic, they do not lend themselves to an easy fix. Nevertheless, ESSA provides an opportunity for a fresh start, and system leaders can capitalize on the flexibility in the new law to make changes in the short and long run to develop a system of better, fairer, and fewer tests. What's important to keep in mind is that in the new education policy world of ESSA, testing systems continue to need to be refined–not discarded. Parents and teachers want annual standardized testing to continue. Despite media reports to the contrary, there remains significant support for tests. But parents also want tests to be useful and to provide value for their children. Within this changing policy landscape CAP recommends that states: (1) Develop assessment principles; (2) Conduct alignment studies; (3) Provide support for districts in choosing high-quality formative and interim tests; (4) Demand that test results are delivered in a timely fashion; and (5) Increase the value of tests for schools, parents, and students. CAP also recommends that schools should provide parents with the data from all assessments–including formative, interim, and summative assessments-along with individualized resources to help their children improve. CAP recommendations for school districts, schools, and the U.S. Department of Education are also detailed in this report [More] Descriptors: Program Implementation, Federal Legislation, Educational Legislation, Alignment (Education)
(2016). Accountability Pressure, Academic Standards, and Educational Triage, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Despite common conceptions, evidence on whether No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has had adverse effects for low achieving students is mixed. We hypothesize that the incentive to shift attention away from the lowest achieving students increases with the rigor of state standards. Using panel data from students in North Carolina, we exploit two natural experiments: increases in the rigor of standards in math in 2006 and then again in reading in 2008. We report an increase in test score gaps between low and high achievers and students near grade level. Adverse effects on low achievers are largest in the lowest achieving schools. We discuss the policy implications of our findings given the widespread adoption of more rigorous Common Core Standards. [More] Descriptors: Accountability, Academic Standards, Mathematics Achievement, High Achievement
(2016). No Child Left Behind: A Postmortem for Illinois, Education Policy Analysis Archives. In this study, the outcomes of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as implemented in Illinois, are evaluated in terms of high school standards testing results between 2003-2013. NCLB was a policy dedicated to closing the gap in schooling outcomes nationally in the space of a decade. There have been few systematic examinations of its macro-level results for those exiting high school, especially considering the attention, time, effort, and money dedicated to its implementation. It has been subsumed into newer reform policies that move forward from the same assumptions and structures without a look back. This is a macro study of the outcomes in one state, Illinois, using its assessment system. Data include Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) results in reading and math as well as graduation rates from high schools. The data is evaluated across the state as a whole and within categories of urban, suburban, town, and rural. Outcomes in reading, math, and graduation rates remain unchanged across the decade at the state and all community-type categories. Potential problems with implementation and design of NCLB are proposed with the intention of informing current and future policy, especially in regard to continuing a standards/accountability regime under the Common Core. [More] Descriptors: Educational Legislation, Federal Legislation, Program Evaluation, Outcomes of Education
(2016). Linking the Virginia SOL Assessments to NWEA MAP Tests. Northwest Evaluation AssociationâÑ¢ (NWEAâÑ¢) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress¬Æ (MAP¬Æ) interim assessment scores. Recently, NWEA completed a concordance study to connect the scales of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) reading and math tests with those of the MAP Reading and MAP for Mathematics assessments. In this report, we present the 3rd through 8th grade cut scores on MAP reading and mathematics scales that correspond to the benchmarks on the SOL reading and math tests. Information about the consistency rate of classification based on the estimated MAP cut scores is also provided, along with a series of tables that predict the probability of receiving a Level 2 (i.e.,"Proficient") or higher performance designation on the SOL assessments, based on the observed MAP scores taken during the same school year. A detailed description of the data and analysis method used in this study is provided in the Appendix. [More] Descriptors: Scores, Inferences, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests
(2016). Linking the PARCC Assessments to NWEA MAP Tests for Illinois. Northwest Evaluation AssociationâÑ¢ (NWEAâÑ¢) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress¬Æ (MAP¬Æ) interim assessment scores. One important tool is the concordance table between MAP and state summative assessments. Concordance tables have been used for decades to relate scores on different tests measuring similar but distinct constructs. These tables, typically derived from statistical linking procedures, provide a direct link between scores on different tests and serve various purposes. Aside from describing how a score on one test relates to performance on another test, they can also be used to identify benchmark scores on one test corresponding to performance categories on another test, or to maintain continuity of scores on a test after the test is redesigned or changed. Concordance tables are helpful for educators, parents, administrators, researchers, and policy makers to evaluate and formulate academic standing and growth. Recently, NWEA completed a concordance study to connect the scales of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) English language arts (ELA) and math with those of the MAP Reading and MAP for Mathematics assessments for Illinois (IL). In this report, presented are the 3rd through 8th grade cut scores on MAP reading and mathematics scales that correspond to the benchmarks that Illinois adopted for its PARCC ELA and math tests. Information about the consistency rate of classification based on the estimated MAP cut scores is also provided, along with a series of tables that predict the probability of receiving a Level 4 (i.e., "Proficient") or higher performance designation on the PARCC assessments, based on the observed MAP scores taken during the same school year. A detailed description of the data and analysis method used in this study is provided in the appendix. [More] Descriptors: Scores, Inferences, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests
(2016). Linking the Kentucky K-PREP Assessments to NWEA MAP Tests. Northwest Evaluation AssociationâÑ¢ (NWEAâÑ¢) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress¬Æ (MAP¬Æ) interim assessment scores. One important tool is the concordance table between MAP and state summative assessments. Concordance tables have been used for decades to relate scores on different tests measuring similar but distinct constructs. These tables, typically derived from statistical linking procedures, provide a direct link between scores on different tests and serve various purposes. Aside from describing how a score on one test relates to performance on another test, they can also be used to identify benchmark scores on one test corresponding to performance categories on another test, or to maintain continuity of scores on a test after the test is redesigned or changed. Concordance tables are helpful for educators, parents, administrators, researchers, and policy makers to evaluate and formulate academic standing and growth. Recently, NWEA completed a concordance study to connect the scales of the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) reading and math with those of the MAP Reading and MAP for Mathematics assessments. In this report, presented are the 3rd through 8th grade cut scores on MAP reading and mathematics scales that correspond to the benchmarks on the K-PREP reading and math tests. Information about the consistency rate of classification based on the estimated MAP cut scores is also provided, along with a series of tables that predict the probability of receiving a Level 3 (i.e., "Proficient") or higher performance designation on the K-PREP assessments, based on the observed MAP scores taken during the same school year. A detailed description of the data and analysis method used in this study is provided in the Appendix. [More] Descriptors: Scores, Inferences, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests
(2016). Linking the Texas STAAR Assessments to NWEA MAP Tests. Northwest Evaluation AssociationâÑ¢ (NWEAâÑ¢) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress¬Æ (MAP¬Æ) interim assessment scores. One important tool is the concordance table between MAP and state summative assessments. Concordance tables have been used for decades to relate scores on different tests measuring similar but distinct constructs. These tables, typically derived from statistical linking procedures, provide a direct link between scores on different tests and serve various purposes. Aside from describing how a score on one test relates to performance on another test, they can also be used to identify benchmark scores on one test corresponding to performance categories on another test, or to maintain continuity of scores on a test after the test is redesigned or changed. Concordance tables are helpful for educators, parents, administrators, researchers, and policy makers to evaluate and formulate academic standing and growth. Recently, NWEA completed a concordance study to connect the scales of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic ReadinessâÑ¢ (STAARâÑ¢ reading and math with those of the MAP Reading and MAP for Mathematics assessments. In this report, presented are the 3rd through 8th grade cut scores on MAP reading and mathematics scales that correspond to the benchmarks on the STAAR reading and math tests. Information about the consistency rate of classification based on the estimated MAP cut scores is also provided, along with a series of tables that predict the probability of receiving a Level II (i.e., "Satisfactory") or higher performance designation on the STAAR assessments, based on the observed MAP scores taken during the same school year. A detailed description of the data and analysis method used in this study is provided in the Appendix. [More] Descriptors: Scores, Inferences, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests
(2016). A New Rendition of an Old Classic: The Young Writers Program as a Writing Workshop, International Journal of Progressive Education. The Young Writers Program (YWP) is the latest writing workshop to be developed for the classroom. It challenges students to choose a topic and write a novel-length piece based on that topic, without worrying about spelling or grammar. While the foundation of this philosophy is solid, the support and structure of the Young Writers Program website does not make up for the lack of structure and routine that is instrumental to the implementation and success of other writing workshops. Until it creates a framework that teachers can implement in their classroom, the Young Writers Program has very little direction and very few benefits when compared to other, more successful, writing workshops. [More] Descriptors: Laboratories, Writing (Composition), Web Sites, Novels
(2016). Linking the North Carolina EOG Assessments to NWEA MAP Tests. Northwest Evaluation AssociationâÑ¢ (NWEAâÑ¢) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress¬Æ (MAP¬Æ) interim assessment scores. Recently, NWEA completed a concordance study to connect the scales of the North Carolina End-of-Grade (EOG) English language arts (ELA) and math with those of the MAP Reading and MAP for Mathematics assessments. In this report, we present the 3rd through 8th grade cut scores on MAP reading and mathematics scales that correspond to the benchmarks on the EOG ELA and math tests. Information about the consistency rate of classification based on the estimated MAP cut scores is also provided, along with a series of tables that predict the probability of receiving a Level 3 (i.e.,"Proficient") or higher performance designation on the EOG assessments, based on the observed MAP scores taken during the same school year. A detailed description of the data and analysis method used in this study is provided in the Appendix. [More] Descriptors: Scores, Inferences, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests