Psychometrics of Praxis III: Classroom Performance Assessments

The article describes the Praxis III assessment, an observation-based system for assessing the skills of beginning teachers that emphasizes teacher decision-making and the importance of student, school, and curricular context. The article also describes the principles and process of the assessments design and construction, including the underlying conception of teaching, how this construct was operationalized, and how assessment criteria were developed. Additional issues in teacher performance assessments, including whether such assessments should reflect current practice or lead it, the balance between assessment of practical and theoretical knowledge, and the role of assessor judgment, are discussed.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards: New Policy,New Practices,and Persistent Challenges

This introduction to the special issue titled Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards: New Policy, New Practices, and Persistent Challenges addresses the federal policy introducing the new alternate assessment for students with persistent academic difficulties, as well as related implementation issues that will be more thoroughly considered throughout the journal. Three guidelines are identified within the policy for alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MASs), including that (a) a state's grade-level academic content standards cannot be modified for an AA-MAS, (b) a state's general test can be modified for an AA-MAS, and (c) a state's achievement standards can be modified for an AA-MAS so long as they remain on grade level. This article introduces key issues including identification of students eligible for an AA-MAS, the degree of modification that can be applied to develop an AA-MAS, and the current state of AA-MAS development across the nation. The article concludes with overviews of each contribution in the journal.     

Kindergarten Educational Policies: Separating Myth From Reality

The critical question facing school districts today is, “What policies should we pursue to improve both the quality and accessibility of early educational programs for all children?” Toward the goal of maximizing the academic growth and development of all children, this article (1) profiles kindergarten policies and practices currently implemented in district schools, (2) reviews and analyzes the research supporting the major policy alternatives for six common kindergarten and school entry age issues that all school districts must address, and (3) identifies the optimum policy option alternative for each issue based on these analyses. Collectively, the policy alternatives recommended provide a model for early childhood education for schools and districts. These policies define a more developmentally appropriate kindergarten curriculum which should optimize the early learning and future achievement levels of all children.     

State Assessment Policies,Practices, and Language Minority Students

State assessment policies define the context for local school districts to identify language minority students who need language-based instructional services and to follow the performance of these students in school. This survey of state education agencies (SEAs) in the eastern half of the United States addressed two questions: What assessment policies are states using to identify and reclassify English language learning (ELL) students from special language programs, and what assessment policies are states using to determine the participation of ELL students in statewide testing programs? Results indicated that fewer than one third of the SEAs required assessment for identification or placement of ELL students through state law or policy, leaving most of the states without procedures that would prevent mislabeling and inaccurate student counts. Almost half the states required a minimum score on a statewide test for students to be eligible for a high school diploma, yet less than one fifth of these had some kind of alternative plan for students not obtaining the minimum score. Recommendations offered to states for designing accurate and equitable assessment practices for language minority students are (a) use uniform requirements for identification and reclassification, (b) monitor district-level assessment practices, (c) select ELL students for inclusion in statewide testing based on English language proficiency, (d) use statewide testing programs to monitor the progress of former ELL students, (e) use multiple assessment procedures in statewide testing, and (f) provide alternative procedures for ELL students to meet stare test requirements for high school graduation.     

Introduction to the Special Issue: Effective Practices for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This article focuses on the development and use of alternative reading measures that are performance based (authentic and direct), technically adequate, and help teachers make instructional decisions. Although performance assessments are promulgated as better than many traditional, published measures of achievement, few studies on technical adequacy have been conducted. We present 2 studies that focus on concurrent criterion validity and instructional decision making; the studies are framed as examples of reading measurement within the debate on whole language programs. The first study focuses on the relation of the performance measure of oral reading with several other reading measures; the second study focuses on teacher decision making, using quantitative and qualitative outcomes reflecting individual student change in performance (in reading fluency and prosody) over time. In this article, both studies are described briefly, and the emphasis of discussion is placed on appropriately evaluating programs so that the measures match the interventions (are systemically valid) and support their effec- tiveness for use with individual students.     

Solicitude and Special Education Policies

This paper examines the general context in which special education policies have been implemented in Western societies in order to try to understand the recent changes. It summarises the different meanings attached to the notion of equality, which are central to the question of special education and recent reforms, and finally it attempts to understand the ways in which special education provisions have been implemented into two different contexts, namely France and French speaking schools in Ontario (Canada). The paper draws on policy analysis conducted in France and in Ontario and from two recent research projects conducted in four different elementary and secondary French language schools in Ontario over the last 2 years, through an ethnographic approach involving different methodological tools, such as observation, interviewing and document analysis.     

幼儿的入园焦虑及其影响因素

梯度入园模式能够在一定程度上缓解幼儿的入园焦虑,但幼儿个体差异较显著,尤其表现在入园第一周与家长分离时.本研究以118名新入园的托班幼儿为被试.探讨不同焦虑类型幼儿的分离焦虑水平以及入园前的交往水平对幼儿入园焦虑类型的影响,为缓解幼儿入园焦虑提供应对依据.结果发现:(1)各入园焦虑类型的幼儿按分离焦虑由高到低依次排列是:缠人型、狂暴型、封闭型和一般型,前三种类型幼儿的分离焦虑水平显著高于一般型幼儿.(2)幼儿与陌生成人的交往水平显著高于与同伴的交往水平,封闭型幼儿的两种交往水平均显著低于其他类型的幼儿.缓解幼儿的入园焦虑应根据不同类型幼儿的焦虑表现作不同的应对.关注入园前幼儿交往能力的培养,尤其是与同伴交往能力的培养,有助于幼儿更好地适应幼儿园生活.     

DIF Detection and Interpretation in Large-Scale Science Assessments: Informing Item Writing Practices

Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses are a routine part of the development of large-scale assessments. Less common are studies to understand the potential sources of DIF. The goals of this study were (a) to identify gender DIF in a large-scale science assessment and (b) to look for trends in the DIF and non-DIF items due to content, cognitive demands, item type, item text, and visual-spatial or reference factors. To facilitate the analyses, DIF studies were conducted at 3 grade levels and for 2 randomly equivalent forms of the science assessment at each grade level (administered in different years). The DIF procedure itself was a variant of the "standardization procedure" of Dorans and Kulick (1986) and was applied to very large sets of data (6 sets of data, each involving 60,000 students). It has the advantages of being easy to understand and to explain to practitioners. Several findings emerged from the study that would be useful to pass on to test development committees. For example, when there was DIF in science items, MC items tended to favor male examinees and OR items tended to favor female examinees. Compiling DIF information across multiple grades and years increases the likelihood that important trends in the data will be identified and that item writing practices will be informed by more than anecdotal reports about DIF.     

Child Temperament and Home-Based Parent Involvement at Kindergarten Entry: Evidence From a Low-Income,Urban Sample

Research Findings: Home-based involvement—defined as the actions parents take to promote children’s learning outside of school—is often the most efficient way for low-income parents to be involved with their children’s education. However, there is limited research examining the factors predicting home-based involvement at kindergarten entry for low-income families. This is a notable oversight given established links between parent involvement and children’s educational outcomes. To learn more about this gap, we used data from 220 low-income, urban students to examine associations between 4 dimensions of child temperament—negative reactivity, task persistence, withdrawal/shyness, and motor activity—and home-based parent involvement. Parent–child conflict was also examined as a mechanism explaining associations between dimensions of child temperament and parent involvement. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that a withdrawn/shy temperament in children predicted lower levels of home-based parent involvement, whereas a task-persistent temperament predicted higher levels of home-based parent involvement. Parent–child conflict partially mediated the relationship between task persistence and home-based parent involvement. Practice or Policy: Results expand understanding of home-based involvement at kindergarten entry in low-income families and illuminate the need to consider child temperament within the context of early intervention programs.     

Hurry Up and Wait: Rethinking Special Education Identification in Kindergarten

This article makes the case that it no longer makes sense to delay the process of identifying children with disabilities until after kindergarten. The purposes, expectations, and day-to-day realities of kindergarten have changed, and children who eventually will be identified for special education are put at a considerable disadvantage when their special learning needs are not addressed during the kindergarten year. The article identifies inadequate solutions and suggests strategies that teachers and schools can use to address the status quo and work to change policy and tradition regarding special education identification in kindergarten.     

幼儿园教师反思的核心:问题意识情境

教师专业成长中会面临许多专业问题,对这些问题的不同反应造就了不同教师各自不同的专业发展状态和水平。那些善于反思的教师能在日常教育情境中敏感地意识到自己面临的专业挑战,不断审视自己的教育观念和行为,勇于面对并努力解决问题。本文将就幼儿园教师问题意识情境的内涵;现实幼儿教育实践中存在的可能引发幼儿园教师反思的问题意识情境类型和特征作出初步探讨。     

Mathematics in Secondary Psychiatric Schools: Curricular and Assessment Policies and Practices

The current study focuses on results from a national survey of special education mathematics teachers in secondary psychiatric schools. A total of 115 (33.04%) respondents completed a mail or online survey concerning school-level mathematics curriculum and assessment policies and practices. No statistically significant differences existed between respondent and nonrespondent schools on demographic variables. Results indicate a disconnect between the mathematics curriculum and state assessments. Approximately half teachers responded that their school relies on standard district or state curriculum, and the curriculum and instructional materials are aligned with assessments to a great extent. Only about 40% and 30%, respectively, reported that schools are supervised and teachers are provided professional development to facilitate the alignment of curriculum with state assessments to a great extent. Additional results and implications are discussed.     

Age of Entry to Kindergarten and Children's Academic Achievement and Socioemotional Development

Research Findings: Data on more than 900 children participating in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care were analyzed to examine the effect of age of entry to kindergarten on children's functioning in early elementary school. Children's academic achievement and socioemotional development were measured repeatedly from the age of 54 months through 3rd grade. With family background factors and experience in child care in the first 54 months of life controlled, hierarchical linear modeling (growth curve) analysis revealed that children who entered kindergarten at younger ages had higher (estimated) scores in kindergarten on the Woodcock—Johnson (W-J) Letter-Word Recognition subtest but received lower ratings from kindergarten teachers on Language and Literacy and Mathematical Thinking scales. Furthermore, children who entered kindergarten at older ages evinced greater increases over time on 4 W-J subtests (i.e., Letter-Word Recognition, Applied Problems, Memory for Sentences, Picture Vocabulary) and outperformed children who started kindergarten at younger ages on 2 W-J subtests in 3rd grade (i.e., Applied Problems, Picture Vocabulary). Age of entry proved unrelated to socioemotional functioning.

Practice: The fact that age-of-entry effects were small in magnitude and dwarfed by other aspects of children's family and child care experiences suggests that age at starting school should not be regarded as a major determinant of children's school achievement, but that it may merit consideration in context with other probably more important factors (e.g., child's behavior and abilities).