An Agency Theory Perspective on Student Performance Evaluation

The emphasis in recent research on the responsibility of college and university business instructors to prepare students for future employment underscores a need to refine the evaluation of student performance. In this article, an agency theory framework is used to understand the trade‐offs that may be involved in the selection of various approaches to student evaluation. Understanding these trade‐offs may be particularly important as faculty members seek to balance competing obligations, such as research and service requirements, while ensuring instructional effectiveness. This article presents propositions for examining how various institutional, instructor, and student characteristics influence the selection and use of student performance evaluation techniques (i.e., exams, papers, and group assignments). In conclusion, we suggest that agency theory may serve as a foundation for understanding current evaluation practices and guiding instructors in their selection of appropriate evaluation mechanisms.     

Blockbusters: Ideas for the block center

The values of block play include development of hand-eye coordination, thinking skills, language development, cooperation among children, mathematical concepts, and many others. Guidelines for the block center and activities are described and illustrated. Samples of task cards and sentence strips give practical ideas for the classroom.     

Choices for studying choice: Assessing charter school effectiveness using two quasi-experimental methods

Two quasi-experimental methods – fixed effects (FE) and virtual control records (VCR) – were used to measure charter schooling in 14 states and two districts. The new VCR method uses all available observable charter student characteristics and prior performance to create a composite comparison record. A head-to-head comparison of the FE and VCR methods used the same charter students to test the FE control (e.g., the charter student's own traditional public school experience) and the VCR for equivalence. The comparison produced highly similar estimates; charter coefficients were identical in sign and significance and of the same general magnitudes. In an analysis of the sampling fractions included in each method using all available tested charter students, the VCR method was found to produce more generalizable results. In the policy analysis, charter school quality was found to be demographically and geographically uneven with only 19 percent of charter schools outperforming their local markets.     

Nonresponse and Online Student Evaluations of Teaching: Understanding the Influence of Salience, Fatigue, and Academic Environments

Technological advances have enabled institutions of higher education to administer course evaluations online, forgoing the traditional paper-and-pencil methods. Consequently, many of these institutions suffer from low response rates, but little research is available on this topic. To increase understanding about course evaluation participation in the online environment, this study examined over 22,000 undergraduates to whom the university administered about 135,000 evaluations. Multilevel models were constructed to analyze the data, and several variables emerged as significant predictors of participation. The results were mostly consistent with previous research and aligned with theories of survey nonresponse. However, the integration of uncommon variables provided new perspectives about course evaluations in particular. Implications for research and practical applications for institutions are also addressed, including ways to combat survey fatigue, increase the salience of the survey, and increase participation in online course evaluations.     

Culturally responsive teaching in the context of mathematics: a grounded theory case study

In this grounded theory case study, four interconnected, foundational cornerstones of culturally responsive mathematics teaching (CRMT), communication, knowledge, trust/relationships, and constant reflection/revision, were systematically unearthed to develop an initial working theory of CRMT that directly informs classroom practice. These cornerstones were found to interact in unique ways. Results have implications for teachers of mathematics who aim to become more culturally responsive, mathematics teacher educators and supervisors, and school administrators who seek to promote equity in mathematics.     

Factors influencing school connectedness: Chinese adolescents’ perspectives

This study explored the concept of school connectedness and the factors that may influence its development with a sample of Chinese adolescents. Six focus groups involving 52 high school students were conducted using a set of predetermined discussion topics. Results indicated that the students fully understood the notion of school connectedness and could identify a number of key influences affecting its development. These factors could be grouped under several domains including teacher care, peer relations, broader school relationships, school disciplinary policies and practices, activities within the school’s guidance and counseling program, and opportunities for talent development. The students were also able to suggest practical strategies that schools might introduce to enhance and strengthen students’ acquisition of connectedness to school. The implications from the findings are discussed with particular reference to implementing comprehensive school guidance and counseling program in Hong Kong.