Unpacking instructional alignment: The influence of teachers’ use of assessment data on instruction

The use of assessment data to inform instruction is an important component of a comprehensive standards-based assessment programme. Examining teachers’ data use for instruction can reveal the extent to which instruction is aligned with established content standards and assessment. This paper describes results of a qualitative study of teachers’ data use in a mid-Atlantic metropolitan area in the United States. Focus group interviews with 60 upper elementary and middle school teachers from 45 schools were conducted. Findings indicate teachers aligned instruction and assessments with the state curriculum with the goal of improving student performance. While teachers found day-to-day informal assessments essential to shaping instruction, periodic formal assessments helped them monitor student progress and remediation efforts. Teachers described challenges associated with the misalignment of periodic assessments with instructional content, the breadth of content and higher cognitive demand expected in the newer state curriculum and the lack of infrastructure to support data use

Intellectual Growth For Undergraduate Students: Evaluation Results From An Undergraduate Research Conference

We describe the development and evaluation of the university-wide, weeklong undergraduate research conference at the University of New Hampshire. Despite increases nationally in the number of undergraduate research conferences (URC), there has been little research examining the social and educational impact of these events on student presenters. We describe the development and evaluation of the university-wide, weeklong URC at the University of New Hampshire. A survey administered to URC participants over a four year period revealed that research culminating in a presentation at the URC was one of the more influential events students experienced during their undergraduate years and students realized a high level of satisfaction from presenting at the URC

Formative Assessment and Benchmark Testing: Phase 2

As school districts respond to test-based accountability requirements the emphasis on using data to drive decision making has most recently focused on using interim or benchmark assessment results. The use of these assessments to monitor student progress and inform instruction with the aim to improve learning is widespread. When considered in a continuum of assessments based on the proximity to instruction, benchmark assessments are located between teachers’ minute-by-minute and daily formative assessment practices that are used to direct instruction to support learning, and the summative unit assessments, or tests administered after instruction has occurred to measure learning. As such, the intended purpose of benchmark assessments blends the ideas of data-driven decision making with the principles of formative assessment. The expectation is that school administrators and teachers will use these test results to identify students’ misunderstandings and correct the course of learning in preparation for the year-end state mandated exams. Examining the extent to which benchmark assessments results are being used in this formative way was the primary aim of this study. This report presents results of a survey of elementary and middle school teachers in four school divisions about their use of benchmark assessment data to improve instruction and support student learning. This report documents the second phase of a two-stage investigation of teachers’ formative uses of benchmark assessment results.

Teachers' Views on High-Stakes Testing: Implications for the Classroom

To explore the policy impact of Florida’s state testing and accountability program on classroom practices, teachers, and students as perceived by educators, this brief presents the results of a national survey in which the responses of Florida teachers are compared with those of practitioners in other states using high-stakes exams

Emulating the Wright State Model for Engineering Mathematics Education: Improving First-Year Engineering Student Retention

In 2004, Wright State University developed an innovative mathematics course for first-year engineering undergraduates in order to increase student retention, motivation and academic success. To date, the Wright State model has had a positive impact on student retention, motivation and academic success by increasing graduation rates and GPAs among participants. During the fall of 2014 and 2015, one large public university in the Midwest with more selective admission criteria decided to pilot a course based on the Wright State Model for Engineering Mathematics Education. Using the Wright State model, a mathematics for engineering course was offered to prospective students so they could subsequently begin engineering classes without a traditional calculus prerequisite. Each semester, a cohort of 31 first-year engineering students enrolled in the course. Instructors distributed surveys to students at the beginning and end of each term. In addition, university administrators tracked student grades in subsequent math and engineering courses. This paper will outline the details of the course as well as the academic performance and retention of these students. Preliminary findings suggest first to second year retention is higher with students who have taken the mathematics for engineering course. First-year students who take the course also earn higher grades in algebra, trigonometry, and introductory engineering courses, but not in Calculus I

Make It Real - Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Theme one in the Quest for Distinction is for VCU to become a leader among national research universities in providing all students with high quality learning/living experiences focused on inquiry, discovery, and innovation in a global environment. Quest is grounded in a commitment to providing students with a diversity of experiences which are available at a premiere public research university. The goal of this project is to take advantage of the wealth of research resources at the Medical College of Virginia Campus, coordinate cross campus efforts to facilitate the use of these resources and increase faculty participation in mentoring undergraduate research projects

The University of New Hampshire Engaged Scholars Academy: Instilling in Faculty Principles of Effective Partnership

Over the last decade, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) has promoted mutually beneficial partnerships between faculty and community partners vis-à-vis the Engaged Scholars Academy (ESA), a faculty development program aimed at enhancing faculty understanding of the principles of partnership and engaged scholarship. This research seeks to determine whether and how the ESA has impacted faculty-community partnerships around engaged scholarship. Findings suggest that Engaged Scholar Academy participants – as compared to non-participants – have a deeper understanding of the principles of partnership, are more likely to feel their scholarship is enhanced, spend more time with partners, engage their partners throughout the process of inquiry, and focus more on sustaining partnership outcomes

Use of outcomes to evaluate surveillance systems for bioterrorist attacks

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Syndromic surveillance systems can potentially be used to detect a bioterrorist attack earlier than traditional surveillance, by virtue of their near real-time analysis of relevant data. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis using the area under the curve (AUC) as a comparison metric has been recommended as a practical evaluation tool for syndromic surveillance systems, yet traditional ROC curves do not account for timeliness of detection or subsequent time-dependent health outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a decision-analytic approach, we predicted outcomes, measured in lives, quality adjusted life years (QALYs), and costs, for a series of simulated bioterrorist attacks. We then evaluated seven detection algorithms applied to syndromic surveillance data using outcomes-weighted ROC curves compared to simple ROC curves and timeliness-weighted ROC curves. We performed sensitivity analyses by varying the model inputs between best and worst case scenarios and by applying different methods of AUC calculation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The decision analytic model results indicate that if a surveillance system was successful in detecting an attack, and measures were immediately taken to deliver treatment to the population, the lives, QALYs and dollars lost could be reduced considerably. The ROC curve analysis shows that the incorporation of outcomes into the evaluation metric has an important effect on the apparent performance of the surveillance systems. The relative order of performance is also heavily dependent on the choice of AUC calculation method.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study demonstrates the importance of accounting for mortality, morbidity and costs in the evaluation of syndromic surveillance systems. Incorporating these outcomes into the ROC curve analysis allows for more accurate identification of the optimal method for signaling a possible bioterrorist attack. In addition, the parameters used to construct an ROC curve should be given careful consideration.</p

Formative Assessment Practices with Benchmark Testing: Phase I

The recent popularity of benchmark testing has become closely tied to formative assessment. Formative assessment has traditionally focused on a process in which evidence elicited from classroom assessments is used to provide feedback to students and inform instructional correctives (McMillan, 2007: 2010, Popham, 2008). However, accountability demands have led to widespread implementation of benchmark, interim, periodic, or quarterly testing at the school or district level that is often labeled “formative.” Indeed, some in the testing industry believe that benchmark testing is formative assessment. For example, the definition of benchmark testing by the Regional Education Laboratory Mid-Atlantic is that “a benchmark assessment is a formative assessment” (Brown & Coughlin, 2007, p.2). However, as pointed out by Goertz, Olah, and Riggan (2009), research on the effectiveness of formative assessment has defined it as a practice that is “embedded within classroom instruction” (p1). There is very little research that examines how benchmark testing data are used as formative assessment as defined by the classroom assessment literature (Goertz, et al.; Perie, Marion, & Gong, 2009). The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which teachers’ described using benchmark testing data in formative ways, to identify factors that support teachers; use of test results to enhance instruction and improve student learning, as well as to identify barriers hat may limit usage

The Relationship Between Classroom Assessment Practices and Student Motivation and Engagement: A Literature Review

Assessment is becoming increasingly important in classrooms as school systems respond to federal and state testing mandates. The increasing emphasis on assessment surely impacts student outcomes such as engagement and motivation, and ultimately achievement. While it is clear that classroom assessment is receiving more attention as a critical component of teaching that directly affects student learning, there is still a lack of systematic research that addresses many classroom assessment issues. There is some evidence that effective formative assessment enhances achievement (Black & William, 1998) and that curtain grading practices result in greater student motivation and achievement (Brookhart, 2004b). However, researchers have not sufficiently investigated how classroom assessment and grading practices should be categorized, and have not demonstrated strong relationships between these practices and student self-efficacy and motivation at different grade levels