Retrospective on educational testing and assessment in the 20th century

Over the last 100 years, the ever-increasing demand for testing as a measure of educational reform has created a very profitable market for the US testing industry. We follow the growth of this market since the 1900s in two different, but related, ways. First, we discuss some of the technical developments that have encouraged the use of standardized testing in general and contributed to the growth of the commercial testing industry. Second, we attempt to quantify the expansion of the testing marketplace during the 20th century by tracking several indirect indices of growth over time. We conclude that although technical innovations may have contributed to the growth of the US testing marketplace, they do not necessarily lead to better tests or better outcomes for those who use them. There is a need to more carefully monitor the effects of these tests on teaching and learning in general, particularly when the tests are used in high-stakes contexts.     

What were the processes and outcomes of involving secondary school pupils transitioning from primary to secondary school in pre-arrival shared-reading? A case study

ABSTRACT

Coombe Boys’ School in New Malden worked with Kingston University to establish a ‘Big Read’, a scheme of pre-arrival shared-reading for boys transitioning from local primary schools into year 7 of the Coombe Boys’ secondary school. A novel was chosen for shared-reading, and all arriving pupils were given a copy at their Induction Day (at the end of the summer term). Copies were also made available to all staff. The book was the basis of group-based activities during the school’s Summer School (three weeks before of the start of the autumn term) and of cross-curricular individual and group-based activities during the early teaching weeks of the new school year. Outcomes were monitored using online surveys of pupils, staff and parents/guardians, and through face to face interviews with individuals from representative groups. Here outcomes are reported, both direct and indirect, comparisons made with similar schemes within higher education, and recommendations are made for how the scheme might be adapted for greater effectiveness in future.     

Continuities and discontinuities in the life histories of teacher educators in changing times

Although teacher education has undergone radical reforms in many jurisdictions, who teacher educators are, their lives, and their work, continue to be a somewhat underexplored area internationally, while remaining a ‘secret garden’ in the Irish context. In order to address this lacuna in Irish research, this paper adopts a life history, phenomenological approach to the exploration of teacher educator identities. It considers the articulation of identity relative to prior teacher identity and current roles and institutional context. From nine in-depth interviews with teacher educators in a college of education in Ireland, we examine continuities and discontinuities between past and present roles and responsibilities, and identities. We tentatively explore the diverse pathways, values and experiences that construct them as teacher educators in the present, and gain insight in to the strength of former teacher identities: the old overshadowing the ‘new’. We conclude that privileged primary school teacher identities continue to shape teacher educator practices and values despite global and diverse influences at play. The implications of these findings for initial teacher education are considered.     

Medication Adherence in Older Adults: A Qualitative Study

To effectively address medication adherence and improve cardiovascular health among older adults, a deeper understanding is needed of the barriers that this age group faces and of approaches that would be most effective and feasible for improving adherence. We conducted a focus group study (n = 25) in a diverse population of older adults with hypertension recruited from the Cohort Study of Medication Adherence in Older Adults (CoSMO). A structured guide was used to collect feedback on barriers to adherence and acceptability and the feasibility of intervention strategies. The final coding framework outlines factors at the individual, relationship, health care system, and environmental or policy level that affect adherence in older adults. These include memory, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, side effects, social support, interaction with healthcare providers, and cost and convenience of medication filling. Patient responses highlighted the varied nature of barriers and the need for interventions that are both multifaceted and tailored.     

Alignment and Implications for Test Takers

The use of assessment results to inform school accountability relies on the assumption that the test design appropriately represents the content and cognitive emphasis reflected in the state's standards. Since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act and the certification of accountability assessments through federal peer review practices, the content validity arguments supporting accountability have relied almost exclusively on the alignment of statewide assessments to state standards. It is assumed that if alignment does not hold, the scores will not provide valid inferences regarding the degree to which test takers have performed. Although alignment results are commonly used as evidence of test appropriateness, Polikoff (this issue) would argue that given the importance of alignment in policy decisions, research related to alignment is surprisingly limited. Few studies have addressed the adequacy of alignment methodologies and results as support for the inferences to be made (i.e., proficient on state standards). This paper uses an example of test taker performance (and common performance indicators) to investigate to what extent the degree of alignment impacts inferences made about performance (i.e., classification into performance levels, estimates of student ability, and student rank order).     

A narrative exploration of how curricula for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties shape and are shaped by the practices of their teachers

This article presents the findings of a study that asked teachers to narrate their interactions with learners from the perspective of the curriculum that the school adopted. Thirteen female teachers, employed at eight special secondary schools for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties in England, participated in the research. They narrated their experiences, which were consequently subject to phenomenological hermeneutic analysis. All the teachers displayed a high degree of individuality and conceptualised their work not straightforwardly as teaching the espoused curriculum, but rather as they themselves being the ‘curriculum‐in‐action’, with their practice lying alongside and only obliquely cognisant of their school's explicit provision. The narratives disclosed ongoing conflict with school leaders being interpreted as a threat to their specific pedagogic practices as well as their professionalism. The research raises questions about the ability of the ‘special curriculum’ to be truly responsive to pupils' needs within this complex pedagogical environment.     

Robots, jetpacks and time machines: children's ideas of English in the future

This article describes children's views of what English will be like in ten years time. Children from year 2 (6–7 year olds) and year 6 (10–11 year olds) took part in a study which involved discussion, writing activities and interviews. It was found that, on the whole, these children saw English in the future as being a balance between traditional methods of teaching and learning and technological innovations and advancements. For these children, technology will become an essential part of their education and their lives outside school.