This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Sharon H. Ulanoff, Randall D. Penfield, Megan Madigan Peercy, Nathan D. Brubaker, Donald F. Moores, Jill B. Farrell, Darren Husted, Jaime Maerten-Rivera, Paul G. Fitchett, and Genae B. Crump.
(2012). A Lack of Depth: One Preservice Teacher's Experiences in a Post-NCLB World, Social Studies. As a graduate student in a teacher-training program, I saw firsthand the gulf between the methods suggested by my professors and classroom practices that are didactic and lack depth. My concern over these issues has led me to examine research related to them, and the findings suggest that the perception that social studies is in trouble is very real and that there are many teachers who do not attempt to teach social studies in a relevant, thought-provoking way. Researchers are not in agreement on the reasons for the decline in both the quantity and quality of social studies lessons. Many blame the restrictions placed on teachers by high-stakes testing, while others blame teachers themselves, and others blame teacher-training programs for inadequately preparing new teachers to present in-depth lessons. This article looks at research on these issues and considers what can be done to address the decline in the quantity and quality of social studies lessons. [More] Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Social Studies, Student Attitudes, Preservice Teachers
(2008). Science Achievement of English Language Learners in Urban Elementary Schools: Results of a First-Year Professional Development Intervention, Journal of Research in Science Teaching. This study is part of a 5-year professional development intervention aimed at improving science and literacy achievement of English language learners (or ELL students) in urban elementary schools within an environment increasingly driven by high-stakes testing and accountability. Specifically, the study examined science achievement at the end of the first-year implementation of the professional development intervention that consisted of curriculum units and teacher workshops. The study involved 1,134 third-grade students at seven treatment schools and 966 third-grade students at eight comparison schools. The results led to three main findings. First, treatment students displayed a statistically significant increase in science achievement. Second, there was no statistically significant difference in achievement gains between students at English to Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) levels 1 to 4 and students who had exited from ESOL or never been in ESOL. Similarly, there was no significant difference in achievement gains between students who had been retained on the basis of statewide reading test scores and students who had never been retained. Third, treatment students showed a higher score on a statewide mathematics test, particularly on the measurement strand emphasized in the intervention, than comparison students. The results indicate that through our professional development intervention, ELL students and others in the intervention learned to think and reason scientifically while also performing well on high-stakes testing. [More] Descriptors: Intervention, Elementary Schools, Science Achievement, Achievement Gains
(2012). National Trends in Elementary Instruction: Exploring the Role of Social Studies Curricula, Social Studies. Using data from the National Center for Educational Statistics research spanning fifteen years, researchers examined the impact of national educational policy implementation on the role of social studies in elementary schools. Specifically, with the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2007 and the continuation of federal-mandated testing of English language arts (ELA) and mathematics in grades three through five, researchers sought to understand how policy decisions to extend testing to science affected teacher decisions in regard to instructional time allocations for core subject areas of ELA, mathematics, science, and social studies in elementary schools. Results of this quantitative study offer large-scale evidence of the declining role of social studies in an era in which testing is clearly linked to subject-area importance. Findings provide an overview of the national scope of testing and the ramifications for social studies in elementary schools. Researchers conclude that curriculum standardization, accountability, and high-stakes testing have had adverse affects on social studies time allotments in comparison to tested subjects. [More] Descriptors: Elementary Education, Elementary School Curriculum, Social Studies, Role
(2012). Multiple Layers of Self in an Evolving Pedagogy of Teacher Education: Conflict and Compromise in a Quest for Classroom Democracy, Studying Teacher Education. This study examines how my practice changed over three semesters as a beginning teacher educator. Teaching the undergraduate course, "Diversity in Elementary Education", I worked to uphold and maintain my democratic ideals while more fully accounting for the larger context of authoritarian teaching to which my students were accustomed. The findings suggest that seeking few solutions to the problems being negotiated, prescribing purposes regardless of mutually perceived relevance, and imposing predetermined experiences and outcomes helped to construct a class climate that was more directly aligned with what students were ready to experience while compromising with the larger educational context. By making less discernible the differences between my practice and those with which my students were familiar, I reframed my underlying focus from clashing tales of triumph and tragedy to a complex tapestry of interwoven layers of self informing my evolving pedagogy of teacher education. Doing so helped illuminate the personal, pedagogical, and philosophical challenges of cultivating classroom democracy in an era of increased emphasis on high-stakes testing, standardization, and transmission-based teaching. Such knowledge is important for expanding our understanding of democratic teacher education practices and informing efforts to cultivate democratic dispositions in teachers. [More] Descriptors: Preservice Teacher Education, Elementary Education, Democracy, High Stakes Tests
(2012). Teaching about Global and U.S. Poverty Using the Internet, Social Education. Just a few months earlier, the United Nations and the World Bank reported that 1.4 billion people live below the new poverty rate of US $1.25 per day. That news was accompanied by stories of severe famine in Africa, Asia, and even scattered through Europe and the Americas. The author knows that it's sometimes difficult to teach about contemporary issues in today's rigid curriculum–with national, state, and local standards, combined with high-stakes testing. Yet most teachers became social studies educators because they wanted to help their students become knowledgeable and participatory citizens. This paper presents websites that the author has selected which are just a small selection of those that address both poverty within the United States and global poverty. He has chosen sites that he thinks will accomplish two things: (1) give teachers and students an understanding of poverty's meaning, social and cultural causes, and impact on society; and (2) provide teachers with lesson plans and resources to help them integrate this controversial and sad topic into their curriculum planning. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Poverty, Global Approach, Internet
(2008). No Child Left Behind: Values and Research Issues in High-Stakes Assessments, Counseling and Values. High-stakes testing and mandated assessments, which are major outcomes of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) contain multiple embedded values that affect the lives of students, their families, teachers, and counselors. A primary embedded value within the NCLB is the privileging of quantitative science over other methods of inquiry and assessment. Thus, accountability, a cornerstone of NCLB legislation, has come to be understood in a narrow way and is valued primarily as a feature of quantitative assessment. This article examines the embedded values within mandated assessments and high-stakes testing included in the NCLB and considers their implications for multiple stakeholders, especially students, their families, teachers, and counselors. Embedded values are the unstated assumptions and taken-for-granted premises underlying the principles and arguments within the NCLB. For example, a taken-for-granted belief or value of the NCLB is that student achievement can best be measured on standardized state academic assessments. To appreciate and understand the significance of any piece of legislation with impact as great as that of the NCLB requires critical reflection on its unstated values, preferences, and beliefs. To provide a context for understanding the evolution of the NCLB, the authors also include a brief history of educational reform in order to orient stakeholders regarding how high-stakes assessments and mandated testing became the gold standards for measuring student progress at the expense of other more holistic nonquantitative assessments. [More] Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Academic Achievement, High Stakes Tests, Educational Change
(2008). Learning from the World: Achieving More by Doing Less, Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review. Throughout the United States, initiatives are being launched to extend the school day, increase homework, integrate technology, and require more high-stakes testing. The underlying assumption is that more time in school, more homework, more technology, and more high stakes testing will produce smarter, better-prepared students. Instead of executing a strategy of more and more, some have decided to educate their young people by doing less. Because the test scores of students from these countries eclipse the scores of American students in two international comparisons of student achievement–Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme of International Student Achievement (PISA)–an investigation of educational practices in higher-achieving countries might prove instructive. In this article, the author discusses four areas where the policy and practice in high-achieving countries run counter to current practice and policy in the U.S., namely: (1) time spent at school; (2) homework; (3) technology; and (4) schools as agents of social change. Instead of spending more efforts at reform, the author argues that perhaps it is time for the U.S. to learn from the world, to stop thinking in terms of more and more, and consider what might be achieved by doing less. [See EJ777828.] [More] Descriptors: Educational Change, School Schedules, Homework, Educational Technology
(2012). Science Talk: Preservice Teachers Facilitating Science Learning in Diverse Afterschool Environments, School Science and Mathematics. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact a community-based service learning program might have on preservice teachers' science instruction during student teaching. Designed to promote science inquiry, preservice teachers learned how to offer students more opportunities to develop their own ways of thinking through utilization of an afterschool science program that provided them extended opportunities to practice their science teaching skills. Three preservice teachers were followed to examine and evaluate the transfer of this experience to their student teaching classroom. Investigation methods included field observations and semi-structured, individual interviews. Findings indicate that preservice teachers expanded their ideas of science inquiry instruction to include multiple modes of formative assessment, while also struggling with the desire to give students the correct answer. While the participants' experiences are few in number, the potential of afterschool teaching experience serving as an effective learning experience in preservice teacher preparation is significant. With the constraints of high-stakes testing, community-based service learning teaching opportunities for elementary and middle-school preservice teachers can support both the development and refinement of inquiry instruction skills. [More] Descriptors: Student Evaluation, High Stakes Tests, Teaching Methods, Student Teaching
(2002). The Law of Unexpected Consequences, American Annals of the Deaf. This article explores three controversial issues in the deaf community: genetic engineering, cochlear implants, and high stakes testing for students. It is argued that while some argue high stakes testing raises the expectations for students with deafness, it may leave many students with deafness without high school diplomas. (Contains references.) Descriptors: Attitudes toward Disabilities, Cochlear Implants, Deafness, Elementary Secondary Education
(2008). Reading Fluency and Students with Learning Disabilities: The Relationship to Test Accommodations, Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal. Extended time on high stakes testing is the most sought out accommodation for individuals with learning disabilities. This accommodation is necessary for many individuals with learning disabilities for a variety of reasons, but often for individuals who have ongoing difficulties with reading fluency. For many students with reading based learning disabilities, the need for extended time exists because of the difficulty in training individuals to read fluently. Reading fluency training is considered an evidence based procedure necessary for the development of reading skills by the National Reading Panel. However, most of the evidence on which this finding is based consists of single subject, evaluative, and other non-empirical studies. This article presents a review of the literature focusing on reading fluency intervention studies that utilized empirical research methodology. After a thorough review of the research we found seven studies which met our criteria. This article reviews those studies. Effect sizes were computed for all outcome data so that comparisons of effectiveness could be made. Our discussion highlights important commonalities and differences among these studies as well as highlighting the need for more empirically sound research in this area especially as it impacts the need for accommodations for high stakes testing. [More] Descriptors: Testing Accommodations, Reading Fluency, Research Methodology, Learning Disabilities
(2013). Examining Teacher-Assigned Math Grades as Predictors for High-Stakes Testing, ProQuest LLC. This study sought to determine whether a relationship existed between teacher-assigned classroom grades and high-stakes test scores. The study examined teacher-assigned math grades in correlation to the student scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment test (FCAT) in a selected Florida high school. It also sought to determine the relationship between teacher-assigned classroom grades and high-stakes testing scores independent of the variables of gender, ethnicity, disability status, and Limited English Proficiency Status. Hence, there were two main research questions that drove this study: (a) Do tenth-grade classroom math grades relate to the student's performance on the math portion of the FCAT, and (b) After controlling for student characteristics (gender, ethnicity, disability status, and Limited English proficiency), is there a significant relationship between tenth-grade classroom math grades and students' performance on the math portion of the FCAT? The raw scores were taken from the available sample of tenth grade students whose test scores and classroom grade scores were reported from their tenth-grade year during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years. A quantitative, non-experimental correlational approach was used to determine if there is a correlation between the students' classroom grades and their FCAT scores. Correlational coefficients were produced to reflect the strength of the relationship between the independent variable, teacher-assigned grades, and the dependent variable, the FCAT. A Pearson correlation was used as the statistical technique to determine the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable. A multiple regression was used to determine the strength or existence of a relationship of the independent variable and the dependent variable independent of gender, ethnicity, disability status, and Limited English Proficiency status. This information will assist in developing high school grading models that can be used to produce grades that are strongly indicative of student achievement towards classroom preparation of mastering standards for state assessments. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: www.proquest.com/en-US/products/disserta… [More] Descriptors: Achievement Tests, State Standards, Standardized Tests, Correlation
(2005). High-Stakes Testing and Student Achievement: Problems for the No Child Left Behind Act. Executive Summary, Education Policy Research Unit. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), standardized test scores are the indicator used to hold schools and school districts accountable for student achievement. Each state is responsible for constructing an accountability system, attaching consequences–or stakes–for student performance. The theory of action implied by this accountability program is that the pressure of high-stakes testing will increase student achievement. But this study finds that pressure created by high-stakes testing has had almost no important influence on student academic performance. To measure the impact of high-stakes testing pressure on achievement and to account for the differences in testing pressure among the states, researchers created the Pressure Rating Index (PRI). The PRI was used in two ways. Correlations between the PRI and National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) results from 1990 to 2003 in 25 states were analyzed and the PRI was used in replications of previous research. These analyses revealed that: (1) States with greater proportions of minority students implement accountability systems that exert greater pressure. This suggests that any problems associated with high-stakes testing will disproportionately affect America's minority students; (2) High-stakes testing pressure is negatively associated with the likelihood that eighth and tenth graders will move into 12th grade. Study results suggest that increases in testing pressure are related to larger numbers of students being held back or dropping out of school; (3) Increased testing pressure produced no gains in NAEP reading scores at the fourth- or eighth-grade levels; and (4) Prior increases in testing pressure were weakly linked to subsequent increases in NAEP math achievement at the fourth-grade level. This finding emerged for all ethnic subgroups, and it did not exist prior to 1996. While the authors believe a causal link exists between earlier pressure increases and later fourth-grade math achievement increases, they also point out that math in the primary grades is far more standardized across the country than the math curriculum in middle school and, therefore, drilling students and teaching to the test could have played a role in this increase. This interpretation is supported by the lack of evidence that earlier pressure increases produced later achievement increases for eighth-grade math achievement or for fourth- and eighth-grade reading achievement. The authors conclude that there is no convincing evidence that the pressure associated with high-stakes testing leads to any important benefits for students' achievement. They call for a moratorium on policies that force the public education system to rely on high-stakes testing. [For the full report, "High-Stakes Testing and Student Achievement: Problems for the No Child Left Behind Act," see ED531184. For appendices, "High-Stakes Testing and Student Achievement: Problems for the No Child Left Behind Act. Appendices," see ED531537.] [More] Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, Standardized Tests, Academic Achievement, Federal Legislation
(2012). Learning from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: Using Inquiry to Inform Practice. Language & Literacy Series, Teachers College Press. This resource guide looks at new classroom-based literacy research that supports "all" learners, including culturally and linguistically diverse students. The authors demonstrate how teachers and researchers develop instructional practices based on multiple languages and the literacy contexts of their schools. They describe classrooms where literacy and learning is encouraged and respected, highlighting best practices for classrooms that include English language learners. This valuable book will inform all educators interested in classroom literacy research and how it supports achievement for diverse students. It features contributions from authors at the forefront of teacher research that hold the most promise for initiating change. Book features include: (1) Descriptions of inquiry-based instruction for the PreK-12 classroom; (2) Examples of classrooms where teachers provide effective instruction for English language learners, including student work samples; (3) Research tools to assist and support teachers in becoming reflective practitioners and planning their own classroom research agenda; and (4) Recommendations for changes to policy and instructional practices that will counteract the negative impact of high-stakes testing. Contributors include Josephine Arce, Diane Brantley, Sandra A. Butvilofsky, Susan Courtney, Gregory J. Cramer, Elizabeth Padilla Detwiler, Virginia Gonzalez, Dana L. Grisham, Shira Lubliner, Jodene Kersten Morrell, Sandra Liliana Pucci, Alice Quiocho, Ambika G. Raj, and Richard Rogers. [Foreword by Douglas Fisher.] [More] Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Teaching Methods, Research Tools, Multilingualism
(2009). (Over and) beyond High-Stakes Testing, American Psychologist. Sackett, Borneman, and Connelly's article and recent meta-analyses (e.g., Kuncel & Hezlett, 2007) should lay to rest any doubt over whether high-stakes standardized tests predict important academic and professional outcomes–they do. The challenge now is to identify noncognitive individual differences that determine the same outcomes. Noncognitive is, of course, a misnomer. Every psychological process is cognitive in the sense of relying on the processing of information of some kind. Why do so many psychologists, including myself, resort to the term noncognitive despite its obvious inappropriateness? [More] Descriptors: Standardized Tests, High Stakes Tests, Individual Differences, School Psychology
(2012). How Can ESOL and Mainstream Teachers Make the Best of a Standards-Based Curriculum in Order to Collaborate?, TESOL Journal. In this era of high-stakes testing, teachers are often required to follow a standards-based, standardized curriculum, which can be constraining for English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) and mainstream teachers who are trying to meet the needs of English language learners. Despite the challenges presented by such curricula, this study found that one advantage of a standardized, standards-based curriculum is that it can support collaborative efforts between ESOL and mainstream teachers. This research emerged from a university-school district professional development partnership with 26 ESOL and mainstream teachers across 11 elementary schools. This study examined different ways that ESOL and mainstream teachers worked together using a standardized curriculum as a key tool for collaboration. Data collection involved surveys, interviews, and observations of collaborative teaching and coplanning and interviews with three focal teacher pairs before and after they cotaught lessons. The authors found that the ways the teachers used, adapted, and took ownership of the curriculum as a tool for collaboration may have been even more important than the curriculum itself. This study has implications for teachers, schools, and teacher educators considering tools or structures that may already be in place, or that need to be created, which could serve as a common touchstone for collaborative efforts. [More] Descriptors: Teacher Collaboration, Best Practices, English Language Learners, English Teachers