Writing evaluation: rater and task effects on the reliability of writing scores for children in Grades 3 and 4

We examined how raters and tasks influence measurement error in writing evaluation and how many raters and tasks are needed to reach a desirable level of .90 and .80 reliabilities for children in Grades 3 and 4. A total of 211 children (102 boys) were administered three tasks in narrative and expository genres, respectively, and their written compositions were evaluated in widely used evaluation methods for developing writers: holistic scoring, productivity, and curriculum-based writing scores. Results showed that 54 and 52% of variance in narrative and expository compositions were attributable to true individual differences in writing. Students’ scores varied largely by tasks (30.44 and 28.61% of variance), but not by raters. To reach the reliability of .90, multiple tasks and raters were needed, and for the reliability of .80, a single rater and multiple tasks were needed. These findings offer important implications about reliably evaluating children’s writing skills, given that writing is typically evaluated by a single task and a single rater in classrooms and even in some state accountability systems.     

DEVELOPING PARENT‐PROFESSIONAL PARTNERSHIPS IN A POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Opportunities are increasing for students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities to attend postsecondary education programs located at college campuses around the nation. Students who attend postsecondary education programs experience numerous positive outcomes, including independent living skills and expanded social networks. However, although parent‐professional partnerships could significantly enhance long‐term outcomes such as competitive employment and independent living, there is a paucity of information about the nature of these partnerships in postsecondary settings. The purpose of this expository article is to describe how staff from a midwestern postsecondary education program facilitate parent‐professional partnerships through parent involvement and support.     

African-American Teachers' Knowledge of Teaching: Understanding the Influence of Their Remembered Teachers

Many researchers have emphasized the connection between teachers' thinking and their autobiography, noting that much of teachers' knowledge of teaching has been derived from their life experiences. Since teachers have spent many years watching teachers teach, those experiences become part of the process of learning to teach. This article examines the role of former or remembered teachers in the shaping of the beliefs and practices of eleven successful African-American teachers who teach in urban schools in a major metropolitan area. Both the remembered teachers and the teachers in this study used their pedagogy to enable their students to achieve in spite of circumstances that often militated against success.     

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON STUDENT RETENTION: A Role for Institutional Research

This paper proposes a role for institutional research in changing institutional attitudes about the priority placed on student retention efforts. Problems associated with changing perspectives are described using Kuber-Ross's work On Death and Dying. Potential barriers associated with changing the status of student retention efforts within the institution are identified relative to her stages of grief-denial, hostility, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Tactics useful in addressing and moving through each stage are described. Results from several studies on student retention provide information that has been used to promote and change attitudes toward student retention efforts at all levels at Virginia Tech.     

When Does 'Good News' Become 'Bad News'? Relationships between Government and the Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland

The development of a set of religiously integrated schools in Northern Ireland since 1981 is often portrayed in wholly positive terms. However, the continued growth of the movement has generated serious tensions at a number of levels which have wider implications for any analysis of the implications of parental choice.