School characteristics influencing the implementation of a data-based decision making intervention

There is an increasing global emphasis on using data for decision making, with a growing body of research on interventions aimed at implementing and sustaining data-based decision making (DBDM) in schools. Yet, little is known about the school features that facilitate or hinder the implementation of DBDM. Based on a literature review, the authors identified 12 potentially critical factors for the successful implementation of DBDM. Following an intensive DBDM intervention, 16 schools’ characteristics were studied and related to the success of DBDM implementation after participating in an intensive DBDM intervention for 2 subsequent academic years. Strong instructional leadership, maximum exposure to the intervention, standardization of work processes, as well as staff continuity and a strong academic coach appear to be strongly related to implementation success. The remaining school context features and the culture and structure of the schools were not associated with the success of DBDM implementation.     

Factors promoting and hindering data-based decision making in schools

Although data-based decision making can lead to improved student achievement, data are often not used effectively in schools. This paper therefore focuses on conditions for effective data use. We studied the extent to which school organizational characteristics, data characteristics, user characteristics, and collaboration influenced data use for (1) accountability, (2) school development, and (3) instruction. The results of our hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis from this large-scale quantitative study (N = 1073) show that, on average, teachers appear to score relatively high on data use for accountability and school development. Regarding instruction, however, several data sources are used only on a yearly basis. Among the factors investigated, school organizational characteristics and collaboration have the greatest influence on teachers’ data use in schools.     

学习性评价:涵义、方法及原理

学习性评价是以"促进学生发展、教师提高和改进教学实践"为目的的内部非正式评价,也是有效教学的一个有机组成部分.学习性评价的主要方法可以概括为:(1)改进课堂提问方式,增加回答"等待时间";(2)提高作业反馈质量,促进学生深入反思;(3)加强同伴与自我评价,形成自主与责任意识;(4)两种评价结合并用,优化评价教育功能.在科学课堂上实施学习性评价,首先改变了科学教师的教学方式,其次促进了学生学习方式的转变,提高课堂互动的效果和教学质量,从而有效地促进师生的共同发展.     

强化形成性评价 提高学生自主学习能力

对学生学习的评价可分为形成性评价和终结性评价。形成性评价作为重要的评价工具有多种形式,其中学习周记、学习档案和学生讨论是教学中常用的三种形式。     

从“形成性评价”到“学习性评价”：课堂评价理论与实践的新发展

"学习性评价"是在"形成性评价"基础上发展演变而来的、为适应新一轮国际基础教育改革而产生的课堂评价理论及其指导下的课堂评价实践。"学习性评价"的五大核心理念体现了国际基础教育评价理念经历的重大变化。"学习性评价"与"形成性评价"既有密切联系又有显著区别。我国需要从评价制度(如督导)和政策层面上确立"学习性评价"在课程与教学中的地位,积极发挥"学习性评价"对课程与教学改革的促进作用。     

Comparing student learning experiences of in-text commentary and rubric-articulated feedback: strategies for formative assessment

This study compares students’ experiences of two types of criteria-based assessment: in-text commentary and rubric-articulated feedback, in an assessment design combining the two feedback channels. The main aim is to use students’ responses to shed light on how feedback strategies for formative assessment can be optimised. Following action research methodology, the study discusses key categories of student responses from three sources: reflective texts, a questionnaire, and interviews. Results show that different functions were attributed to the two feedback channels: in-text commentary to lower-order concerns related to language proficiency, and rubric-articulated feedback to higher-order concerns related to an overview of writing achievement. We argue that the different functions have the potential of creating a sufficiently balanced assessment design with the possibility of serving both short-term and continuous learning goals. On the other hand, some students found it difficult to navigate between the two feedback channels. The article therefore ends with a ‘lessons learned’ section where we list possible ways in which the current assessment design can be improved for optimal use of the synergy effects emanating from a combination of in-text commentary and rubric-articulated feedback for formative purposes.     

Using email for formative assessment with professional doctorate students

This article reports on aspects of a recent research and development project in doctoral education. It focuses on the use of email for tutor’s formative assessment within the early stages of a Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) in an English university. Its case study methodology included participant observation of the programme workshops, critical discourse analysis of the email texts, and two series of in‐depth, semi‐structured student interviews. The tutor whose feedback was analysed had previously researched and theorised formative assessment, so the research allowed his previous theoretical insights to be explored and developed in an early doctoral context. The article concludes by discussing the problematic power of feedback at this level, given the culturally constructed associations of feedback with summative assessment, and implications for supervisory practice.     

形成性评价在大学英语教学中的实践意义

形成性评价在大学英语教学中具有重大的实践意义,最主要的功能是帮助教师了解学生进展,进而调整改进教学工作。     

Linking a learning progression for natural selection to teachers' enactment of formative assessment

Learning progressions, or representations of how student ideas develop in a domain, hold promise as tools to support teachers' formative assessment practices. The ideas represented in a learning progression might help teachers to identify and make inferences about evidence collected of student thinking, necessary precursors to modifying instruction to help students advance in their learning. The study reported in this article took the novel approach of using a learning progression for natural selection to support teachers' enactment of formative assessment. Sources of data include interviews and videotapes of six high school biology teachers leading assessment conversations around the same formative assessment questions. Results indicate that while teachers picked out and made inferences about student ideas related to the learning progression during assessment conversations, they did not use all parts of the learning progression in the same way. Furthermore, several of the teachers seemed to use the learning progressions simply as catalogs of misconceptions to be “squashed” rather than drawing upon the developmental affordances offered by a learning progression. Results are framed in terms of the utility of learning progressions as supports for classroom practice. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1181–1210, 2012     

Misconceptions about data-based decision making in education: An exploration of the literature

Research on data-based decision making has proliferated around the world, fueled by policy recommendations and the diverse data that are now available to educators to inform their practice. Yet, many misconceptions and concerns have been raised by researchers and practitioners. To better understand the issues, a session was convened at AERA’s annual convention in 2018, followed by an analysis of the literature based on misconceptions that emerged. This commentary is an outgrowth of that exploration by providing research, theoretical, and practical evidence to dispel some of the misconceptions. Our objective is to survey and synthesize the landscape of the data-based decision making literature to address the identified misconceptions and then to serve as a stimulus to changes in policy and practice as well as a roadmap for a research agenda.     

Evaluating a large-scale implementation of Assessment for Learning in Sweden

This study reports on a large-scale implementation of Assessment for Learning (AfL) in a Swedish municipality. The implementation was founded on two principles: (1) teaching should be informed by educational research; (2) to be successful teachers’ professional development needs to be based in everyday classroom practice. From these principles, AfL was chosen as a strand of educational research to inform teaching and ‘Teacher Learning Communities’ were chosen as a vehicle for professional development and for implementing AfL practices. Findings indicate that the project has been successful in bringing about a change in how teachers talk about teaching and learning and in changing teachers’ pedagogical practice towards AfL. Findings also suggest that AfL practices are mostly teacher-centred, which means that the teachers still take most of the responsibility for the assessment. This leads to high workload for the teachers and may also hinder students from taking responsibility for their learning.     

Assessment terms half a century in the making and unmaking: from conceptual ingenuity to definitional anarchy

As the parameters of the field of educational assessment have extended past testing into learning, assessment concepts have evolved and become ever more nuanced. It is frequently lamented in the English language literature that there is insufficient conformity and clarity in the way they are defined and used. This paper offers a survey of the problem over the past five decades and scrutinises conceptualisations of a number of key assessment terms. Additionally, it argues that some of these may not, or may no longer, be necessary, and recommends the phrase ‘evaluation for learning’ as the most suitable term for embodying the spirit of using testing for improving learning and teaching. It closes by offering suggestions for tackling the problem.     

A model formative assessment strategy to promote student-centered self-regulated learning in higher education

Adult learners are already involved in the process of self-regulation; hence, higher education institutions should focus on strengthening students＇ self-regulatory skills. Self-regulation can be facilitated through formative assessment. This paper proposes a model formative assessment strategy that would complement existing university teaching, and can be used in higher education to promote student-centered self-regulated learning with minimal effort and time input from teachers. Based on this model, a real-world teaching example on writing an essay as a challenge task has also been developed. This model strategy incorporates Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick＇s seven principles of good feedback practice that promotes self-regulation.     

Building upon synergies among self-regulated learning and formative assessment research and practice

ABSTRACT

The synergies that result from synthesising conceptual models and findings from self-regulated learning and formative assessment research are launching a new era of scholarship. They drive new questions about how to help students to internalise complimentary self-regulatory and assessment knowledge, skills, and dispositions as well as how to prepare teachers and education systems to prioritise and support this work. The articles in this special issue illustrate the power and importance of studying how self-regulation and classroom assessment emerge from social, contextual, historical, and cultural factors. Four themes emerged from the articles in this special issue, including new conceptualisations of self-regulated learning and formative assessment, insights regarding teachers’ dual role in enacting and promoting self-regulation, recognition of the critical role of students’ ability to productively use assessment information, and the need to instantiate self-regulated learning and assessment literacy as formal and valued curricular outcomes.     

Special educational needs,e-learning and the reflective e-portfolio: implications for developing and assessing competence in pre-service education

Diagnostic and formative assessment practices have been widely endorsed in the educational research literature. This article reports the findings of a small-scale study which investigated the extent to which these practices have been embraced in classroom teaching. The interview data from six lecturers and six students at a polytechnic in Singapore illustrate how lecturers described their strategies and students experienced them. The data indicate that, among the research participants, there was little clear evidence to suggest that diagnostic and formative assessment were coherently conceptualised or strategically applied. Further, instances of pedagogical actions that could have been taken as applications of diagnostic and formative assessment appeared to have occurred serendipitously rather than purposefully. The implications of this for the students’ learning are discussed.     

Investigating the dynamics of formative assessment: relationships between teacher knowledge,assessment practice and learning

This exploratory study of elementary school science examines questions central to policy, practice and research on formative assessment: What is the quality of teachers’ content-pedagogical and assessment knowledge? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge and assessment practice? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge, assessment practice and student learning? Drawing on multiple measures, hierarchical linear modelling and path analysis, results suggest that despite weaknesses in teachers’ content-pedagogical and assessment knowledge, teachers’ formative assessment practices are positively related to student learning. Relationships between teachers’ knowledge and assessment practices are mixed. Findings underscore both the potential and challenge of bringing effective formative practice to fruition as well as the need for continued research.     

On the value of data-based decision making in education: The evidence from six intervention studies

Although some studies have investigated the impact of data-based decision making (DBDM) on student achievement, the overall findings are not straightforward, because of the studies’ methodological flaws and their mixed results. This article first presents a breakdown of the DBDM concept as applied in the Dutch context. Next, it explains the theoretical foundations of DBDM in feedback and goal-setting theory and then discusses various factors influencing DBDM effectiveness. The results of six Dutch DBDM interventions with an explicit focus on student achievement effects of DBDM and with strong research designs are then presented. Significant positive effects on student performance as measured by means of standardized tests are reported for four interventions. The interpretation of student progress data from student monitoring systems does not seem to be problematic for teachers, if they are deliberately trained for it, but teachers do find it difficult to translate student progress data into tailor-made instruction.     

开放教育课程形成性考核现存问题与对策

形成性考核是现代远程开放教育教学质量保证体系的重要组成部分,是强化素质教育,加强教学过程管理,改进课程考试方式方法的重要措施。本文针对形成性考核实施过程中存在的诸如思想认识、考核设计和组织管理等方面的问题提出了相应对策,以利于更科学、有效地推进此项工作。     

论形成性评价与大学英语学习

对形成性评价的概念、理论基础、功能等进行评述,指出形成性评价对大学英语学习的重大意义,并提出实践过程中有待解决的问题。