School Climate Development Survey

Over the last twenty-five years the Consortium on Chicago School Research has engaged in systematic study of more than 400 Chicago Public Schools to determine organizational traits that are related to improvement in student learning. This effort was designed to help explain widely divergent levels of student success between very similar schools in the Chicago system. Initial discussions with educators at all levels, reviews of previous research, pilot studies, and field studies led to the identification of five school contextual factors – the 5Essential Supports – determined to be critical to school success: (1) effective leaders, (2) collaborative teachers, (3) involved families, (4) supportive environment, and (5) ambitious instruction. The framework of the 5Essential Supports served as a theoretical basis for a survey effort designed to measures and report on facets of school culture that could then be used by school leaders and practitioners to guide school improvement efforts. Research related to the 5Essential Supports consistently demonstrates a strong relationship between the presence of these supports and gains in student achievement. Led by Dr. James McMillan and Dr. Charol Shakeshaft from VCU’s School of Education, the purpose of this MERC study was (1) to develop a shortened version of the 5Essentials staff climate survey for the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium schools, (2) to pilot test the new survey with teachers and administrators, and (3) to determine effective methods of dissemination to support schools use f the survey data for school improvement purposes. The piloting and validation phase of the study demonstrated that the core constructs underlying the 5Essentials maintained high levels of validity and reliability in the shortened version. MERC also piloted and received feedback from school leaders on formats for reporting school climate results

Fundamental Assessment Principles for Teachers and School Administrators

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Randomized Field Trials and Internal Validity: Not So Fast My Friend

The purpose of this article is to summarize eight potential threats to internal validity that occur with randomized field trial (RFT) studies. Depending on specific contextual factors, RFTs do not necessarily result in strong internal validity. Of particular concern is whether the unit of random assignment is the same as the number of replications of the intervention, threats as a result of local history, and subject effects. The eight threats are described, with suggestions for providing adequate monitoring to know if they rise to the level of likely or plausible threat to internal validity. Accessed 19,617 times on https://pareonline.net from December 03, 2007 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Successful Literacy Passport Test Remediation Strategies for Elementary and Middle School Students: A Research Report

The purpose of this study was to examine instructional strategies teachers and other school personnel have employed to successfully remediate students who have failed the reading and writing parts of the Virginia Literacy Passport Test (LPT), or the LPT Predictor Test. The intent was to determine if specific approaches seem to work best for different types of students, and if particular materials, teaching strategies, scheduling, and other factors are associated with successful remediation. A qualitative research design was employed to gather and analyze information related to successful remediation. Classroom and resource teachers who had experience in remediating students who had failed either the reading or writing parts of the LPT were interviewed in a series of five focus groups. There were two elementary level focus groups (16 participants) and three middle school level focus groups (18 participants). The findings from this study suggest that the key to successful remediation is student engagement in learning and applying needed skills. There are some general principles and approaches that appear to facilitate student engagement. Several of these are school-wide, including an organizational commitment to successful remediation, cohesiveness of effort, and a systematic plan that includes identification of students, diagnosis, and feedback to teachers. Individually, teachers need training, commitment, and a sense of shared responsibility to help students succeed. Specific strategies that appear to be helpful include teaming, teaching, test-taking skills, practice, small groups, individualized attention, modeling, close supervision, peer instruction, and activities and materials that hold student interest and motivate them to succeed

The Perfect Storm: How Policy, Research, and Assessment Will Transform Public Education

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Palliative stenting for oesophagogastric cancer: tumour and host factors and prognosis

Objectives: Palliative self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) insertion is common in patients not suitable for resection of oesophagogastric (OG) cancer. Factors which may determine survival, however, are not clear. The present study examined the relationship between tumour and host factors, including the systemic inflammatory response and survival of patients undergoing palliative SEMS insertion. Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of OG cancer who were considered suitable for palliative SEMS only without systemic therapy were identified. Patient characteristics including Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, radiological stage and modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS: 0—C-reactive protein (CRP) ≤10 mg/L; 1—CRP >10 mg/L; 2—CRP >10 mg/L; albumin <35 g/L) were recorded prospectively. The relationship between such characteristics and 3-month survival was examined. Results: 203 patients were included in the final analysis. All patients died during follow-up, with median survival from diagnosis 75 days (IQR 47–157). 78% of patients were systemically inflamed (mGPS >1). On multivariate analysis, only poor performance status (HR 1.23, p=0.025), metastatic disease (HR 2.27, p<0.001) and mGPS (HR 1.25, p=0.021) were associated with shorter survival. The combination of performance status and mGPS stratified 3-month survival of patients without metastatic disease from 88% to 20% (p<0.001) and patients with metastases from 43% to 6% (p=0.059). Similar results were observed when analysis was restricted to patients with oesophageal and junctional cancer (M0: 83%–20%, p=0.008; M1: 33%–8%, p=0.082). Conclusion: Performance status, metastatic disease and mGPS are independent predictors of survival in patients with OG cancer undergoing palliative SEMS insertion. These routinely available markers provide a rational system on which to base decisions regarding prognosis and treatment

High School Follow-up Surveys: What Works?

Increasing demand for accountability have prompted a renewed interest in determining effective methods of obtaining data from high school graduates and former students. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the methods and objectives of high school graduate/former student follow-up activities to identify procedures that resulted in high response rates and helpful information. Information was obtained from three sources: local school systems in the Richmond metropolitan area, selected school systems in other areas of Virginia, and school systems in other states as identified through a search of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. The purposes of the follow-up activities continue to center on determining post-secondary efforts and employment status; however, studies developed to obtain baseline data and to measure strategic plan objectives were also found. Although traditional mail surveys remain prevalent, innovative approaches involving focus groups and telephone response surveys were identified. Mail surveys that included a telephone interview component achieved highest response rates. Time of year, home school personalization of the survey request, amount of elapsed time between graduation, and administration of the survey, were other factors that appeared to contribute to response rates. Recommendations are developed based on the need for planning, the determination of purpose, and the consideration of alternative methodologies

Enhancing Parental Involvement in urban Schools: Types of Programs, Characteristics of Successful Programs, and Proven Strategies

Numerous students and reports document the fact that parental involvement in education is positively related to higher student achievement. A review of the literature also reveals that educators regard parental involvement in a variety of ways, ranging from a traditional concept of inviting parents to back-to-school night, to more participatory efforts such as parental membership on decision-making committees and executive councils. Studies also show that parental involvement relates to enhanced community satisfaction with education and to better physical facilities. None of these is an inconsequential or isolated factor; each impinges the other, and taken together they constitute major challenges facing urban school administrators. This report is organized in three sections: (1) types of parental involvement; (2) practical involvement activities found in successful urban school programs; and (3) characteristics of successful urban school parental involvement programs. A list of references follows the conclusion of the third section

Classroom Assessment and Grading Practices: A Review of the Literature

This review of literature is an analysis of completed research on the nature and effect of classroom assessment practices and grading. In recent years the assessment of student performance has become a central focus of efforts to reform education (Cizek, 1997). Policy-makers have increasingly seen assessment as a measure of student and school accountability, influencing curriculum and teaching. At the center of this movement is the classroom teacher. It is the teacher who communicates standards and expectations through the assessments students experience, and it is the teacher who makes decisions daily about what students learn. Classroom assessments, because students experience them continuously, are what have meaning to students concerning their abilities and achievement. Competent teachers use assessment to inform their instruction and determine student strengths and weaknesses. The revived interest in assessment has resulted in part by advances in cognitive learning theory, motivation, and constructivist learning. These fields have shown that effective instruction does much more than simply present information to students. Rather, good instruction provides an environment that engages students in active learning that connects new information with existing information. Learning is an ongoing. self-regulated process in which students actively receive, interpret, and relate information in a meaningful way to what they already know and understand. Recent motivational research as suggested that specific and meaningful feedback to students help determine student self-efficacy and self-confidence (Brookhart, 1997)

Teachers\u27 Classroom Assessment and Grading Practices: Phase 2

A significant amount of recent literature has focused on classroom assessment and grading as essential aspects of effective teaching. There is an increased scrutiny of assessment as indicated by the popularity of performance assessment and portfolios, newly established national assessment competencies for teachers (Standards, 1990), and the interplay between learning, motivation, as assessment (Brookhart, 1993, 1994; Tittle, 1994). In Virginia, the Standards of Learning and associated tests highlight the importance of assessment. Previous research documents that teachers tend to award a hodgepodge grade of attitude, effort, and achievement (Brookhart, 1991, p. 36). It is also clear that teachers use a variety of assessment techniques, even if established measurement principles are often violated (Cross & Frary, 1996; Frary, Cross, & Weber, 1993; Plake & Impara, 1993; and Stiggins & Conklin, 1992). Given the variety of assessment and grading practices in the field, the increasing importance of assessment, the critical role each classroom teacher plays in determining assessments and grades, and the trend toward great accountability for teachers with state assessment approaches are inconsistent with much of the current literature, there is a need to (1) understand current assessment and grading practices (2) understand the relationship of these practices to grades given by teachers, (3) determine if standards teachers use to assign grades different from one classroom to another and one school to another, (4) examine the consequential validity of the new SOL tests on classroom assessment practices and (5) determine assessment and grading topic that, according to teachers, need in-service