Standards-based performance assessment for the evaluation of student teachers: a consequential validity study

The instrument Samples of Teaching Performance (STP) was developed to assess student teachers' capacity to plan, deliver and evaluate a unit of instruction. The current study reports consequential validity data collected from supervisors (n?=?20) and student teachers (n?=?62) from three elementary and five secondary teacher preparation programs in Chile that participated in the field-testing of the STP. Student teachers described how this assessment had honed their sense of professionalism and promoted learning of the skills assessed. Supervisors reported enlarging the topics discussed with student teachers and making some changes to the supervisory process. These findings are complemented by an analysis of the STP scores obtained by 24 student teachers, which showed better development of instructional skills when compared to pedagogical reasoning and reflection. These results raise questions about the structure of student teaching to support the implementation of standards-based assessments that entail tasks at different levels of cognitive complexity.     

A review scrutinising the consequential validity of dynamic assessment

This literature review explored whether dynamic assessment procedures in psycho-educational practice might bridge the well-known gap between diagnosis and intervention. Due to a learning phase included in the testing procedure, qualitative information about the child’s learning needs can be revealed by means of dynamic assessment. The question is, however, what the consequential validity, i.e. the extent to which assessment influences instructional and learning processes, of dynamic assessment procedures really is. The review of 31 articles that met the inclusion criteria showed that proximal consequential validity of dynamic assessment is warranted, but distal consequential validity is warranted to a lesser extent (e.g. some guidelines for practice). Furthermore, it can be noticed that motivational aspects never played an explicit role during learning phases. In order to design student-tailored interventions following dynamic assessment, there is a need for more explicitness of learning phases and types of feedback in the development of these instruments.     

Professional standards for the teaching of science: An exploratory study

The Science Education Professional Development (SEPD) Project was commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) as part of its Projects of National Significance Program. Its brief was to develop a national strategy for enhancing the professional development of science teachers. This paper summarises one component of the Project's work, an exploration of the feasibility of establishing professional standards or expectations for teachers of science. The aim was to give clearer purpose and direction to professional development planning and to provide a more valid basis for evaluating science teachers for career development. Specializations: Teachers' work and policy, teacher development, educational evaluation, teacher evaluation, research on teaching.     

An assessment of the construct validity of the CCSEQ Quality of Effort scales

A substantial body of research indicates that the greater the effort and time expended by students in the opportunities afforded by their colleges, the greater the likelihood of academic and personal growth, satisfaction with the institution, and persistence within the educational system. The most extensive effort exerted in operationalizing the concepts of involvement and integration was that of C. Robert Pace in his development of theCollege Student Experiences Questionnaire, which was the basis for the development of theCommunity College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CCSEQ). This study examines the construct validity of the eight Quality of Effort scales resulting from the CCSEQ for students involved in all administrations of the instrument from 1990 through 1994. Results indicate that the Quality of Effort measures can be used to make valid and reliable inferences regarding students' efforts and involvement, and that the validity of the inferences is not conditional on whether the students are in vocational or transfer programs, attending full-time or part-time, or of majority or minority ethnic status.     

Preliminary evidence for the validity of the new Test of Everyday Reading Comprehension

The Test of Everyday Reading Comprehension (TERC) has recently been presented as an addition to the armoury of tests available for assessing the skills of low-progress readers. While comparison data for students of different ages are presented together with evidence for high test reliability, there is, as yet, no published evidence for its validity. Consequently, an incidental sample of 169 low-progress readers attending a reading clinic was assessed on a battery of reading and related skills tests and also on the TERC. Insofar as the TERC was shown to correlate highly with other relevant measures, preliminary evidence for the test's validity is provided by this study.     

An exploratory study of the knowledge base for science teaching

The purpose of this study was to describe the knowledge base of a group of science teachers in terms of their knowledge of the structure, function, and development of their disciplines, and their understanding of the nature of science. The study also aimed to relate the teachers' knowledge base to their level of education, years of teaching experience, and the class level(s) that they teach. Twenty inservice science teachers were selected to respond to a modified version of the Views on Science–Technology–Society (VOSTS) questionnaire to assess their understanding of the nature of science. The teachers then constructed concept maps and were interviewed. The concept maps were scored and the interviews analyzed to assess teachers' knowledge of the structure, function, and development of their disciplines. The teachers' knowledge base was found to be lacking in all respects. Teachers held several naive views about the nature of science and did not demonstrate adequate knowledge and understanding of the structure, function, and development of their disciplines. Moreover, the teachers' knowledge base did not relate to their years of teaching experience, the class level(s) that they teach, and their level of education. It was reasoned that teacher preparation programs are not helping teachers develop the knowledge base needed for teaching science. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 673–699, 1997.     

An exploratory study in school assessment: The relationship between achievement and attitude scales

Conclusion Increased emphasis on school based curriculum development and assessment, with stress placed on attitudinal aims, together with the policy of the N.S.W. Schools Board that attitudes should be included in school assessment programmes, has created a major dilemma for N.S.W. science teachers. The results of this study indicate that such a dilemma can be a very real one, particularly for young teachers just out of training. Out of 23 sets of results obtained from 12 cognitive achievement tests, set by a class of 19 Diploma in Education students, only two produced a coefficient alpha reliability of the order of 0.80 and none had an alpha of 0.85 or above. In their first year of teaching, these students will be participating in test construction exercises for internal assessment purposes, where their results will be expected to discriminate between individual students. The attitude instrument developed by the class was promising, for an early stage of instrument development, producing an alpha of 0.65, with item analysis indications that it has the potential for further refinement to produce a useful instrument. However, correlations between the attitude scales and those achievement tests which had reliabilities sufficiently high to allow reasonable interpretation of results, were very low, indicating very little relationship between the attitude as measured by the scale and science achievement as measured by the cognitive tests. Obtaining a set of student results by adding scores from this instrument to results of achievement tests would be of very doubtful validity. In addition, there is the whole complex issue of the unknown degree to which respondents give socially desirable answers, when it is known that the results of such a test will be used for assessment purposes, influencing crucial decisions about their future. Analysis of the results of the attitude test by grade level showed a predictable and statistically significant upward shift in scores with increasing Grade level, except for grade 8 which had the lowest mean, but the increase in the mean between junior and senior grades was only a moderate magnitude, tentatively suggesting that the influence of five years of high school science is not a major one in developing a belief in the value of conservation of the natural environment.     

Analytics-supported reflective assessment for 6th graders' knowledge building and data science practices: An exploratory study

Preparing data-literate citizens and supporting future generations to effectively work with data is challenging. Engaging students in Knowledge Building (KB) may be a promising way to respond to this challenge because it requires students to reflect on and direct their inquiry with the support of data. Informed by previous studies, this research explored how an analytics-supported reflective assessment (AsRA)-enhanced KB design influenced 6th graders' KB and data science practices in a science education setting. One intact class with 56 students participated in this study. The analysis of students' Knowledge Forum discourse showed the positive influences of the AsRA-enhanced KB design on students' development of KB and data science practices. Further analysis of different-performing groups revealed that the AsRA-enhanced KB design was accessible to all performing groups. These findings have important implications for teachers and researchers who aim to develop students' KB and data science practices, and general high-level collaborative inquiry skills.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Data use becomes increasingly important in the K-12 educational context.
• Little is known about how to scaffold students to develop data science practices.
• Knowledge Building (KB) and learning analytics-supported reflective assessment (AsRA) show premises in developing these practices.

What this paper adds

• AsRA-enhanced KB can help students improve KB and data science practices over time.
• AsRA-enhanced KB design benefits students of different-performing groups.
• AsRA-enhanced KB is accessible to elementary school students in science education.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Developing a collaborative and reflective culture helps students engage in collaborative inquiry.
• Pedagogical approaches and analytic tools can be developed to support students' data-driven decision-making in inquiry learning.

     

A concurrent validity study of the Woodcock Word Comprehension Test

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the Woodcock Word Comprehension Test and several measures of reading achievement and verbal intelligence. Subjects were 194 children who were tested in a University Reading Clinic. All were administered the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, the Slosson Oral Reading Test, an Informal Reading Inventory, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised, the Slosson Intelligence Test, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Pearson product-moment correlations (r) were used to test the relationships. It appeared that the Woodcock Word Comprehension Test assesses reading ability more than general verbal ability.     

An exploratory study on collaborative modes of professional development and learning for teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

This study aims to deliver a school‐based mode of training for in‐service teachers of students with ASD in Hong Kong. The training is delivered following the phases of implementation science, namely, exploration, installation, and implementation. The project team used the theory of mind approach, which enables teachers to engage with students with ASD and to focus on recognizing and reacting to emotions. Participants in this study included four educators from a teacher education institution, three expert teachers, and 19 in‐service teacher trainees. The most salient responses came from trainees who were provided with the opportunity to apply learned skills in their own classrooms immediately and to share the knowledge and skills in dealing with students with ASD in the post‐conference meetings.     

改革传统教学方法的基本原则探微

传统教学方法重教轻学,立足点在于对已有知识的传授,过分强调语言传授的方法,不利于学生创造力的开发和实践能力的培养。要改革传统教学方法,必须树立现代教育观念,确立对教学方法改革的基本要求和规范。     

An exploratory study of science educators' use of the internet

As is true of all segments of society, science educators' use of the Internet has been increasing. Yet little research is available on the current use of this medium by science educators. This study was conducted with two surveys on two populations. The first, a telephone survey concerning use of the Internet, was administered to a known group of science educators. The second instrument, a revision of the first survey, was administered through the Internet to an unknown population of science educators. Results from the Internet survey showed that time online could be categorized into use of e-mail, bulletin boards, gopher sites, or other uses. In addition, most of the respondents accessed a fee network, rather than a commercial, or fee-paid network. Readers are cautioned that response to the survey was limited, therefore this study does not represent a general statement of science educators' use of the Internet. This study, while it has some limitations, is important in the exploration of Internet use by science educators.     

Determinants of withdrawal behavior: An exploratory study

Research on college persistence has typically classified nonreturnees as dropouts. Recently, this practice has been criticized by Tinto (1987) who argues that such a practice merges together different types of withdrawal behavior whose determinants may vary as a function of the particular departure behavior under consideration. This paper empirically examines whether the determinants of decisions to withdraw from the institution are similar to those affecting decisions to transfer to other institutions of higher education for the 1984 entering freshman class at a large southern institution. Results provide support for Tinto's proposition of differentiating between different types of voluntary withdrawal behavior. While institutional commitment, academic performance, finance attitudes, and student perceptions of faculty concern for student development and teaching discriminated between persisters and dropouts, only final institutional commitment and final goal commitment discriminated between persisters and transfers.An earlier version of this paper was presented before the 1990 American Educational Research Association annual meeting.     

The Moral Competence Test: An examination of validity for samples in the United States

The Moral Competence Test (MCT) was designed over 30 years ago to provide a resource for educators interested in conducting cross-cultural studies of moral development and education. Since its origin, it has been translated into at least 30 languages and used in hundreds of studies. However, few studies provide evidence to support the use of the test in the US. The test’s designer identified three criteria for evaluating the construct validity of the test and its primary scores: do correlations of stage scores reflect a simplex structure, do ratings follow the theoretical order of stages, does the test differentiate preferences and structures of reasoning. We use these criteria and evidence of criterion and content validity to assess the validity of the MCT. We present results from two US samples (n = 772). Results analyzing the test author’s criteria support the semantic validity of the test, however, evidence of criterion validity raise questions about the C-score as a measure of moral competence. After controlling for stage preferences, the C-score was negatively related to democratic attitudes and positively related to dogmatism.     

A predictive validity study of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children with the California Achievement Test

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was administered to 44 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade students. Six months later, all students received the California Achievement Test (CAT). Significant positive correlations were obtained between K-ABC variables and CAT scores. CAT subtest scores and total score correlated higher with the K-ABC ACHV scale than with the K-ABC SEQ, SIM, or MPC scales on 8 of the 12 comparisons. The results support the predictive utility of the K-ABC, and also provide support for the differential validity of the K-ABC achievement vs. mental processing scales.