This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Luigi Iannacci, Kathleen Donalson, Aurelio Montemayor, Thomas M. Haladyna, Jack Dieckmann, Sara Elizabeth Wolf, Kathryn Hibbert, Chris W. Gallagher, Rachel Heydon, and Cheri Foster Triplett.
(2004). Making the Grade with Information Literacy, School Library Journal. In this evolving era of high-stakes testing, most parents and teachers are unaware of the relationship between strong information literacy curricula and increases in student achievement. Information-literacy skills provide students with a powerful set of tools they can use to solve all types of problems. A curriculum that emphasizes information-literacy produces students with stronger academic skills, especially when aligned with well-written standards that are appropriately assessed. This brief article provides tips on how to embed these skills throughout the curriculum. Descriptors: Standardized Tests, Skill Development, High Stakes Tests, Information Literacy
(2009). Perceptions of Educators and Parents of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) Requirement for Students with Disabilities, ProQuest LLC. This qualitative study examined the perceptions of educators and parents of the California High School (CAHSEE) requirements for students with disabilities. In the state of California, all seniors who graduate from a public high school are required the pass the CAHSEE in order to receive a high school diploma. This graduation requirement is a result of the current political mandates IDEA and NCLB which have called for the accountability of academic progress of all students, including students with disabilities, towards state educational standards. Consequently, students with disabilities are required to participate in standardized assessments and high school exit examinations. This has resulted in a dilemma for educators in regard to the fairness of exit examinations as a graduation requirement for students with disabilities. Although these debates revolve around many factors, including accountability, graduation rates, curriculum, and the future impact of high-stakes testing for students with disabilities, the central theme to all debates continues to be that of equity vs. equality. The participants of this study were special education teachers, administrators, and parents of special education students from a large school district in Southern California. Both the teaching and administrative participants were interviewed. This was followed by a survey in which only the teachers participated. The teaching participants were then requested to give a survey to the parents of three of their students to complete the final segment of this study. The analysis of this research revealed a similar perception among administrators, teachers, and parents in regard to the fairness of holding students with disabilities accountable for standardized assessments and high-stakes testing. There was an overall consensus among the participants of this study that students with disabilities should not be held accountable for standardized assessments, such as the CAHSEE, in the same way as their non-disabled peers. This study also offered evidence that special educators at all levels are implementing the curriculum and policy which is intended to prepare students with disabilities to participate in regular education programs, according to the expectations of CAHSEE, as determined to be appropriate. According to this study, these mandates have resulted in accountability for the academic progress of students with disabilities as well as the use of standardized curriculum. Another finding of this study is that in the majority of cases, the accommodations provided for students with disabilities is integral in order for them to access the educational opportunities needed to meet the current graduation requirements. This study also demonstrated a difference in the perceptions among the participants as to why the CAHSEE requirement is not a fair practice for students with disabilities and differences in practices to ensure current policy is being implemented. [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: High Schools, Equal Education, Graduation Rate, Testing
(2011). A Historical Perspective of Testing and Assessment Including the Impact of Summative and Formative Assessment on Student Achievement, ProQuest LLC. In 2007, Georgia developed a comprehensive framework to define what students need to know. One component of this framework emphasizes the use of both formative and summative assessments as part of an integral and specific component of the teachers. performance evaluation. Georgia administers the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) to every elementary student in Grades 1 though 8. Before 2008, the state tested eighth-grade students on a quality core curriculum. In 2008, the state began testing students on a Georgia Performance Standard curriculum. A direct comparison of the curriculum change should have contained items to test both curriculums. However, this was not done. Therefore, the current study was designed to examine if differences in students achievement occurred because of the curriculum change. Archival CRCT and ITBS data from 21 middle schools were analyzed to determine if assessment changes affected student achievement. Results of two doubly multivariate, repeated measures ANCOVAs found no statistically significant differences between the two curriculums. However, the lack of significance could be attributed to the small sample size. The increase in scores at the end of the three-year period measuring the quality core curriculum and at the end of the three-year period measuring the Georgia Performance Standard curriculum provided partial support to the hypothesis of a difference in achievement between eighth-grade students who were taught and then tested under different curriculums. Recommendations for practice include the provision that educators be engaged in professional development in regards to the use of data. Most principals and district leaders do not have the skills to navigate high-stakes testing results. More importantly, though, are the university systems that should augment an instructional strategy class and add a data leadership class to the current list of courses needed to earn a leadership degree. Another recommendation is to those who develop criterion-referenced tests. Changing the score scales on the criterion-referenced competency tests when the curriculum changes make it very difficult to study data to determine progress over time. In the statistical world, this creates a confounding variable that may be hard to control. [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: Academic Achievement, High Stakes Tests, Educational Strategies, Program Effectiveness
(2009). "Kairos" and Informative Assessment: Rethinking the Formative/Summative Distinction in Nebraska, Theory Into Practice. In this article, the author argues that educational policymaking, teaching, and assessment are most effective and ethical when they are carried out with attention to local contexts. He explores this concept through a consideration of Nebraska's unique School-based, Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System (STARS), which created a statewide policy framework that honored local teaching and assessments, including classroom assessments. The conceptual linchpin of STARS was a rethinking of the traditional distinction between formative and summative assessments and fostering of adaptive leadership at all levels of the system, most important, the classroom level. Using the concept of "kairos" to describe appropriateness for the occasion at hand, the author discusses the ways in which STARS offered an alternative to high-stakes standardized testing. Moreover, he argues that this approach holds important lessons for those who wish to understand the power of informative assessment, even in an educational world that tends toward standardization. [More] Descriptors: Formative Evaluation, Standardized Tests, Testing Programs, State Legislation
(2004). Five Questions Principals Should Ask About Their Math Programs: Making Students Mathematically Proficient Requires Major Shifts in the Thinking and Training of Principals and Teachers, Principal. Faced with the achievement demands of the No Child Left Behind Act and high-stakes testing, principals are being called on to provide leadership that ensures that their students demonstrate mathematical proficiency. To accomplish this goal, it is important for principals to understand what mathematical proficiency is and how they can promote it in their schools. Mathematical proficiency has five key components and instructional programs should address all of these components in a coherent and balanced manner, rather than focusing on one to the exclusion of another. Conceptual understanding is comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations, and relations. [More] Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Principals, Mathematical Concepts, High Stakes Tests
(2005). Third Through Sixth Graders' Perceptions of High-Stakes Testing, Journal of Literacy Research. This study examined elementary students' perceptions of high-stakes testing through the use of drawings and writings. On the day after students completed their high-stakes tests in the spring, 225 students were asked to "draw a picture about your recent testing experience." The same students then responded in writing to the prompt "tell me about your picture." During data analysis, nine categories were constructed from the themes in students' drawings and written descriptions: Emotions, Easy, Content Areas, Teacher Role, Student Metaphors, Fire, Power/Politics, Adult Language, and Culture of Testing. Each of these categories was supported by drawings and written descriptions. Two additional categories were compelling because of their prevalence in students' drawings: Accoutrements of Testing and Isolation. The researchers examine the prevailing negativity in students' responses and suggest ways to decrease students' overall test anxiety, including making changes in the overall testing culture and changing the role teachers play in test preparation. [More] Descriptors: Elementary School Students, Perception, High Stakes Tests, Freehand Drawing
(2004). Small Schools and Small Learning Communities. Policy Statement. Issue 4. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform recommends that national, state, and local policymakers provide resources and support to create small schools at the middle-grades level. In those cases where small schools are not feasible, the National Forum recommends that district and school leaders break down large middle-grades schools into smaller schools or small learning communities that create a personalized environment for teaching and learning. "Smallness," whether small learning communities or small schools, is a necessary but not sufficient organizational structure that enhances teaching and learning at the middle level. [For "High-Stakes Testing. Policy Statement. Issue 3," see ED528787.] [More] Descriptors: Small Schools, High Stakes Tests, Educational Change, Middle Schools
(2004). Construct-Irrelevant Variance in High-Stakes Testing, Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. There are many threats to validity in high-stakes achievement testing. One major threat is construct-irrelevant variance (CIV). This article defines CIV in the context of the contemporary, unitary view of validity and presents logical arguments, hypotheses, and documentation for a variety of CIV sources that commonly threaten interpretations of test scores. A more thorough study of CIV is recommended. [More] Descriptors: Student Evaluation, Evaluation Methods, High Stakes Tests, Construct Validity
(2009). Opportunities Gained & Lost: Placement in an Alternative Reading Class, Middle Grades Research Journal. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of one class of sixth grade middle students enrolled in a Title I reading class. The class consisted of 15 students. Through instrumental case study, qualitative data were collected over 24 weeks through (a) interviews, (b) observations, and (c) documents: student schedules, report card, teacher's lesson plans, and curriculum guides. The study explored the emotional consequences of students struggling in reading and the programs of intervention schools implement for readers who struggle through participant voices. Data was processed through inductive analysis using a computerized data management program. The findings revealed the negative consequences of high stakes standardized testing, a mandated scripted basal reading program, and loss of certain educational classes. The findings disclosed the positive outcomes of a supportive curriculum through an engaging reading curriculum and the opportunity to keep certain educational classes. [More] Descriptors: Student Placement, Basal Reading, Reading Programs, Standardized Tests
(2004). Strategies to Support Balanced Literacy Approaches in Pre- and Inservice Teacher Education, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. The authors describe the ways in which, as preservice and inservice teacher educators, they conceptualize balanced literacy within an educational climate that values quick fixes, standardized curricula, and high-stakes testing. They proffer a professionalized version of the work of teachers in the classroom that values, fosters, and supports teacher knowledge, discernment, and reflection throughout all stages of teachers' careers. They also present, and illustrate through two case studies, a dynamic reconceptualization strategy that supports novice and seasoned teachers in their decision making. [More] Descriptors: Literacy Education, Academic Standards, Teacher Characteristics, Inservice Teacher Education
(2004). High Stakes, Theory and Research in Education. I discuss the contributions of Harvey Siegel, Francis Schrag and Randall Curren to this volume. Their articles cast in bold relief the relation of High Stakes Testing to the goals of education, the nature of mind and the demands of justice. I argue that the connections are deep, but that the considerations these authors raise do not show that High Stakes Tests are in principle unacceptable. Rather, they show that we need to be exceedingly careful about how our assessments are constructed, how the results are interpreted, what we take them to reveal and what we do with the results. [More] Descriptors: Educational Objectives, High Stakes Tests, Data Interpretation, Reader Response
(2004). Richard Mills and the New York State Board of Regents, 1995-2001 Parts A & B, Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership. In 1995, New York State Education Commissioner Richard Mills and the Board of Regents changed the state's testing policy in favor of a challenging, high-stakes testing accountability system. The case describes Mill's leadership over the next six years in the face of significant opposition from parents, alternative schools, vocational educators, and bilingual advocates. The case portrays Mills' effectiveness as an apologist of the policy to the public and his ability to survive politically. It documents his justification of placing stakes on students as the means to persuade state institutions, including the governor and the legislature, to provide greater financial support for education. [More] Descriptors: Testing, High Stakes Tests, Governing Boards, Accountability
(2011). Relationship between "Form" and "Content" in Science Writing among English Language Learners, Teachers College Record. Background/Context: While different instructional approaches have been proposed to integrate academic content and English proficiency for English language learning (ELL) students, studies examining the magnitude of the relationship are non-existent. This study examined the relationship between the "form" (i.e., conventions, organization, and style/voice) and "content" (i.e., specific knowledge and understanding of science) of expository science writing among third grade ELL students in the beginning and at the end of each year during the three-year implementation of the intervention. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The study is part of a larger five-year research and development project aimed at improving science and literacy achievement of ELL students in urban elementary schools in a large school district. Research Design: The intervention was comprised of curriculum units for students and teachers and professional development workshops for teachers throughout the school year. As a school-wide initiative, all third grade teachers and their students from six treatment schools participated. The study involved 683 third graders during the first year, 661 third graders during the second year, and 676 third graders during the third year. Approximately half of the students were Hispanic and the other half were Black, including Haitians and Caribbean Islanders. A writing sample was used as a measure of English proficiency and ability to explain science concepts in writing. At the beginning and end of each school year, teachers administered the writing prompt to their students. Data were analyzed using a hierarchical linear modeling approach. Findings/Results: The results indicated significant relationships between writing form and content at both pretest and posttest, with a stronger relationship at posttest. The effect of English proficiency on the magnitude of the relationship was significant only at posttest, for which the relationship was stronger for non-ELL students. The results suggest that through our intervention over the course of the school year, students with greater English proficiency learned science content and developed English literacy simultaneously, whereas students with lower English proficiency did not show this simultaneous growth to the same degree. Conclusions: Thus, interventions such as ours, which primarily present science curriculum and instruction in English, might be expected to have limited positive effects for ELL students at the beginning and intermediate levels of English proficiency. The results point out potential conflicts in current educational policies, including high-stakes testing and accountability and English-only policies, which affect ELL students. [More] Descriptors: Grammar, Intervention, Second Language Learning, High Stakes Tests
(2004). Public School Teachers Who Lead, Intercultural Development Research Association. This article describes some core characteristics that reflect the underlying commitment of public school teachers to create and maintain vibrant learning environments for every student, every day, in every way, often under the bureaucratic pressures of high-stakes testing, rigid curricular fads, and simplistic administrative responses to accountability pressures. The success of public schooling depends on increasing the number of teachers who share these leadership characteristics. [This document originally appeared in the "IDRA Newsletter", however some accompanying charts and graphs may not be provided here.] [More] Descriptors: Public Schools, Public School Teachers, High Stakes Tests, Accountability
(2009). What Would He Say? Harold O. Rugg and Contemporary Issues in Social Studies Education, Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education. The purpose of this paper is to consider the continued saliency of the ideas of Harold O. Rugg, particularly for social studies education. Given the conservative political times in which we work, and the current educational emphases on academic standards, high-stakes standardized testing, and mastery of specified knowledge, and the impact of these developments on social studies education, it is useful to revisit Rugg's contributions to the field. In this paper, we examine Rugg's social and curricular theories. Then, in light of this examination, we imagine what Rugg would say about contemporary issues for social studies education, and what we, as curriculum scholars and social studies educators, can learn from his likely responses. [More] Descriptors: Standardized Tests, Academic Standards, Social Studies, Educational Environment