Articulating the validity evidence for a science alternate assessment

Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities (SCD) are the 1% of the total student population who have a disability or multiple disabilities that significantly impact intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors and who require individualized instruction and substantial supports. Historically, these students have received little instruction in science and the science assessments they have participated in have not included age‐appropriate science content. Guided by a theory of action for a new assessment system, an eight‐state consortium developed multidimensional alternate content standards and alternate assessments in science for students in three grade bands (3–5, 6–8, 9–12) that are linked to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013 ) and A Framework for K‐12 Science Education (Framework; National Research Council, 2012 ). The great variability within the population of students with SCD necessitates variability in the assessment content, which creates inherent challenges in establishing technical quality. To address this issue, a primary feature of this assessment system is the use of hypothetical cognitive models to provide a structure for variability in assessed content. System features and subsequent validity studies were guided by a theory of action that explains how the proposed claims about score interpretation and use depend on specific assumptions about the assessment, as well as precursors to the assessment. This paper describes evidence for the main claim that test scores represent what students know and can do. We present validity evidence for the assumptions about the assessment and its precursors, related to this main claim. The assessment was administered to over 21,000 students in eight states in 2015–2016. We present selected evidence from system components, procedural evidence, and validity studies. We evaluate the validity argument and demonstrate how it supports the claim about score interpretation and use.     

Collusion among Accounting Students: Data Visualization and Topic Modeling of Student Interviews

Although classroom cheating violates academic standards of behavior, it occurs frequently. Although the research on cheating is extensive, few researchers have interviewed students directly involved in cheating behaviors. We explore interview responses gathered from a cohort of graduate accounting students, some of whom colluded on an assignment, whereas others did not. We use Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a powerful text mining algorithm, as our primary tool to explore the underlying topical structure of the interviews and to demarcate subtle differences among students’ reactions to and explanations of their experience. Because LDA does not impose or require a priori theories, we use it to provide ideas for future research rather than to test extant theories about classroom collusion. We identify five primary topics that emerged from the accounting students’ reflections: (1) general course context (including honor code), (2) the rigor of the assignment, (3) student teams as support mechanisms, (4) the perceived repercussions of cheating (colluding), and (5) personality differences between the tax and audit track students. We find subtle language differences between colluders and noncolluders. Colluders considered the nature of the assignment and the difference between tax and audit majors more significant than noncolluders did. Additionally, the role of teams and the general institutional context were somewhat less relevant for colluders than for noncolluders. We conclude by exploring ethical and pedagogical implications of structuring courses as heavily team based for teaching and future research purposes.     

Adolescent experiences of living with a diagnosis of ADHD: a systematic review and thematic synthesis

Seeking young people’s perspectives is integral to delivering effective mental health care. This systematic review aimed to synthesise the qualitative research exploring the life experiences of young people diagnosed with ADHD. Four electronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycInfo and SCOPUS) were searched in February 2017 for peer-reviewed, qualitative English language studies exploring the perspectives of adolescents formally diagnosed with ADHD. Eleven studies were included and appraised for methodological quality and a thematic synthesis was undertaken. Participants’ stories highlighted both positives and challenges within five analytical themes: Differing perspectives of the problem, Societal pressures, Sense of self, Feelings about medication, and Maturational shift from passive to active. The findings suggested that interpersonal conflict, stigma, and invalidation have a negative psychological impact upon young people’s self-esteem and identity. Support strategies are needed to maximise adolescents’ resilience, autonomy and abilities.     

What Plants and Animals Do Early Childhood and Primary Students’ Name? Where Do They See Them?

Children from England and the United States of America have a basic similar knowledge of plants and animals, which they observe during their everyday life. Nine children of ages 4, 6, 8, and 10 years, in each country, were asked to free-list plants and animals. Afterwards, they were interviewed individually about the plants and animals they listed to determine where they were seen. Additionally, children were asked to name animals they knew that were found in specific habitats or had specific characteristics. The results showed that children from the earliest years notice the animals in their everyday lives and 8 year olds were able to name the most animals. Plants were not named as often as animals and children in the USA found it difficult to name plants when questioned. This study shows that children are in touch with their everyday environment to varying extents, and that rich experiences can greatly contribute to their knowledge about plants and animals.     

Disabled children's evolving digital use practices to support formal learning. A missed opportunity for inclusion

This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach combining digital education with disability theory to investigate disabled children's digital use practices for formal learning. Evidence suggests that children's lives have been transformed through engagement with digital technologies, eg, computers, laptops and mobile devices. Even so, empirical studies about disabled children's uses of technology remain limited, particularly studies that engage with disabled children's own views in context. In response, an exploratory, participatory research study was designed to gain up-to-date insights into how visually impaired children, as an illustrative case, experienced digital technologies for learning within the context of inclusive education policy. Disabled children and teachers were interviewed in mainstream schools in England; results were analysed using social practice theory to identify digital use practices characterised as digital learning and digital accessibility practices alongside children's experiences. Outcomes were mixed. Youngsters saw benefits to using digital technologies, particularly tablets, for learning. Nevertheless, digital accessibility practices were potentially stigmatising and carried an extra task load to overcome barriers that occurred when teachers had not developed inclusive digital pedagogy. The paper discusses the implications of these findings and calls for further research to guide schools to use digital technologies to support inclusion.     

Independent inquiry and the undergraduate dissertation: perceptions and experiences of final‐year social science students

This article reports on findings from a research project that investigated the experiences and perceptions of final‐year social science undergraduates enrolled on a dissertation module in a post‐1992 UK university. The dissertation was designed to provide students with the opportunity to function autonomously and determine the content and focus of a major part of their study and assessment. Using data from interviews and questionnaires, the article explores the students’ lived experience of the dissertation as a form of independent learning and assessment, the challenges they encountered, and their perceptions of peer and tutor support. While students valued the autonomy, authenticity, and ownership they felt in relation to their dissertation, they also experienced considerable ­challenges, particularly in relation to ‘time’.     

Challenging fundraising,challenging inequity: contextual constraints on advocacy groups’ policy influence

School fundraising is known to reproduce inequities in schools, yet it remains common practice in Ontario, Canada; findings from a critical policy analysis of an advocacy group’s efforts to change fundraising policy help explain why this is the case. Adopting a discursive understanding of policy, the study used rhetorical analysis to identify how the group has engaged in a decades-long struggle over the meaning of fundraising policy. The findings of the rhetorical analysis were examined in light of an historical narrative of Ontario’s social context to understand how the policy’s contexts have constrained the group’s influence. The study’s findings demonstrate that challenging school fundraising by defining the policy as a problem of equity is not strong enough to overcome neoliberalism’s pressure on parents to provide their children with educational advantages, a trend toward privatization in public education, neoconservative interests in reduced government spending, Canadians’ belief in meritocracy, and historical fundraising practices and dominant meanings. Further, the continuance of school fundraising even after Ontario’s government introduced policy that explicitly addressed the group’s concerns about equity and aimed to limit the practice challenges traditional notional of group influence and success in policy processes.