bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Preparing for the Future: What Educational Assessment Must Do
Authors: Bennet Randy Elliot 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context There is little question that education is changing, seemingly quickly and in some cases dramatically. The mechanisms through which individuals learn are shifting from paper-based ones to electronic media. Simultaneously, the nature of what individuals must learn is evolving, in good part due to an exponential accumulation of knowledge and of technology to access, share, and exploit that knowledge. Finally, how education is organized, offered, and administered is undergoing transformation, most apparently—but not only—in higher education. With potentially seismic changes in the mechanisms, nature, and organization of education must also come changes in educational assessment. Purpose This paper makes 13 claims about what educational assessment must do if it is to remain relevant in the face of rapid and potentially dramatic changes in education and society. Research Design Analytic essay. Conclusions/Recommendations If it is to remain relevant, educational assessment must provide meaningful information; satisfy multiple purposes; use modern conceptions of competency as a design basis; align test and task designs, scoring, and interpretation with those modern conceptions; adopt modern methods for designing and interpreting complex assessments; account for context; design for fairness and accessibility; design for positive impact; design for engagement; incorporate information from multiple sources; respect privacy; gather and share validity evidence; and use technology to achieve substantive goals.
Technological Implications for Assessment Ecosystems: Opportunities for Digital Technology to Advance Assessment
Authors: Behrens John T. , Dicerbo Kristen E. 
Published: November 2021

Background It would be easy to think the technological shifts in the digital revolution are simple incremental progressions in societal advancement. However, the nature of digital technology is resulting in qualitative differences in nearly all parts of daily life. Purpose This paper investigates how the new capabilities for understanding, exploring, simulating, and recording activity in the world open possibilities for rethinking assessment and learning activities. Research Design This analytic essay enumerates three changes to assessment likely to result from the ability to gather data from every day learning activities. Findings The digital revolution allows us to use technology to extend human abilities, represent the world, and collect and store data in previously unavailable ways, all opening new possibilities for the unobtrusive ubiquitous assessment of learning. This is a dramatic shift from previous eras in which physical collection of data was often obtrusive and likely to cause reactive effects when inserted into daily activity. These shifts have important implications for assessment theory and practice and the potential to transform how we ultimately make inferences about students. Conclusions/Recommendations The emerging universality of digital tasks and contexts in the home, workplace, and educational environments will drive changes in assessment. We can think about natural integrated activities rather than decontextualized items, connected social people rather than isolated individuals, and the integration of information gathering into the process of teaching and learning, rather than as a separate isolated event. As the digital instrumentation needed for educational assessment increasingly becomes part of our natural educational, occupational, and social activity, the need for intrusive assessment practices that conflict with learning activities diminishes.
The Case of Dixon v. Alabama: From Civil Rights to Students’ Rights and Back Again
Authors: Lee Philip 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Legal scholars have cited the Fifth Circuit's ruling in Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education (1961) as the beginning of a revolution for students’ rights that ended the in loco parentis relationship between colleges and their students. But little has been written about the students’ activism that led to this seminal case. Research Question Students’ rights, in general, benefited from the Dixon precedent. But how did the student activists who brought the case personally benefit? None were able to tell their stories in court in a way that challenged separate but equal laws. None of them took advantage of the due process that the Fifth Circuit ruled that Alabama State College must provide. None re-enrolled at the college after the case was over. And segregation was still alive and well in Alabama after Dixon was decided. So what did they win? Research Design This study presents a historical analysis of the student activism that led to the Dixon case, the case itself, and its interplay with future civil rights activism. Conclusions Despite the divergence of interests between the student activists and the lawyers, both the sit-in and the litigation empowered students all over the country to engage in the civil rights struggle.
Informal Science and Youth Development: Creating Convergence in Out-of-School Time
Authors: Noam Gil G. , Shah Ashima Mathur 
Published: November 2021

This chapter highlights the fit between youth-development-oriented programming and informal science activities in out-of-school time (OST) and illustrates how science and youth development can and should co-occur. The clover model and Dimensions of Success tool are introduced as lenses for designing and assessing science program quality in OST. “While both the afterschool and science fields are at a crossroads, association with the other enhances the potential for each to flourish.” ∼Lucy Friedman (2005)
Reading Attitude as a Mediator between Contextual Factors and Reading Behavior
Authors: Lim Hyo Jin , Bong Mimi , Woo Yeon-Kyoung 
Published: November 2021

Background Among the factors known to influence reading development and performance, attitude toward reading is shown to be particularly critical for developing learners. Reading attitude enhances independent reading, levels of engagement in classroom reading activities, and the amount and variety of topics in reading, which in turn influence reading skills and strategies. Reading attitude is an important element in students’ active engagement and achievement in reading. Purpose The first purpose of this study was to test whether Korean students’ home literacy resources, parental support and parents’ reading attitude, and teachers’ use of instructional strategies in relation to reading could predict Korean students’ reading attitude. The second purpose was to test a model linking family- and school-related factors, reading attitude, and reading behaviors and learning strategy use as outcomes. Specifically, we hypothesized that positive and negative attitudes toward reading would mediate the relationships between home, parent, and teacher variables and reading outcomes. Design Using a nationally representative sample from the PISA 2009 database, we tested two structural equation models. Because there were two categories of outcomes examined in this study, we fitted the model separately for each outcome category. The first model (Reading Behavior Model) included reading activities such as reading for enjoyment, reading diversity, and online reading as outcome variables. The second model (Learning Strategy Model) shared the same model structure with the first one except that the outcome variables were use of learning strategies such as memorization, elaboration, and control. In both models, reading attitudes were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between contextual factors (i.e. gender, home resources, parental and teacher influences) and the reading/learning outcomes. Conclusions Gender, books and other types of literacy resources in the home, and parents’ attitudes toward reading functioned as consistent predictors of Korean students’ positive and negative attitudes toward reading. Among the contextual factors, parents’ reading attitude and parental support for reading directly as well as indirectly predicted students’ reading behaviors via students’ reading attitude. Parental support for reading and teachers’ instruction and assignment strategies in reading directly predicted students’ use of learning strategies as well. Positive attitudes toward reading also predicted students’ use of memorization, elaboration, and control strategies. Thus, reading attitude was an important mediator between parent- and teacher-related contextual factors and reading/learning engagement of Korean adolescents.
Entering the Historical Problem Space: Whole-Class Text-Based Discussion in History Class
Authors: Reisman Abby 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context The Common Core State Standards reveals how little we understand about the components of effective discussion-based instruction in disciplinary history. Although the case for classroom discussion as a core method for subject matter learning stands on stable theoretical and empirical ground, to date, none of the research on classroom discussion has examined whole-class text-based discussion in secondary history classrooms. Purpose This study explored how teachers and students in five 11th-grade classrooms participated in whole-class discussion, using intervention materials designed to promote text-based disciplinary discussion. Analysis of videotaped instruction sought to (a) determine the degree to which the instructional materials fostered disciplinary discussion about texts, and (b) analyze teacher talk moves that characterized effective facilitation of such discussions. Research Design This qualitative study was embedded in a larger quasi-experimental curricular intervention that found treatment effects on factual recall, historical thinking, and general reading comprehension. In this paper, we analyze classroom videos from five treatment classrooms taken over the course of the six-month intervention. Each teacher was videotaped once per week, for a total of 20 videotaped lessons per teacher. Findings/Results Analyses showed that disciplinary discussion was surprisingly rare, and discussion that promoted historical understanding even rarer. Discussions that were most successful in deepening students’ historical understanding were characterized by talk moves that drew students’ attention to the text, and that stabilized the historical content. Conclusions/Recommendations The study has implications for teacher preparation focused on implementation of Common Core State Standards as well as for teacher training in do-main-specific core practices.
Nonrobustness of the Carryover Effects of Small Classes in Project STAR
Authors: Sohn Kitae 
Published: November 2021

Background Class size reduction (CSR) is an enduring school reform undertaken in an effort to improve academic achievement and has been widely encouraged in the United States. Supporters of CSR often cite the positive contemporaneous and carryover effects of Project STAR. Much has been discussed regarding the robustness of the contemporaneous effects but not regarding that of the carryover effects. Purpose This article checks the robustness of the carryover effects of STAR's small classes. Setting STAR was undertaken in 75–79 schools in Tennessee. Participants: Each year in the experimental period, 6,000–7,000 students in grades K–3 participated in the experiment, for a total of 12,000 students during the entire period. Intervention As students initially entered STAR schools, they were (arguably) randomly assigned to small classes with 13–17 students, regular classes with 22–25 students without teacher aides, and regular classes with 22–25 students with teacher aides. The experiment was performed from 1985 through 1989, but information on STAR students continued to be collected thereafter. Research Design STAR is a randomized controlled field experiment. Data Analysis In this article, STAR schools are divided into “effective” schools and “ineffective” schools. Effective schools are defined as schools where the test scores of students in small classes were statistically significantly higher than those of students in regular classes at the 5% level in both math and reading. By contrast, ineffective schools are defined as schools where the test scores of students in small classes were not statistically significantly higher than those of students in regular classes at the 5% level in either math or reading. Separately for effective schools, schools other than effective schools, and ineffective schools, the academic achievement of students is regressed on variables indicating small class assignment, along with student characteristics and school-by-entry wave fixed effects. Findings The carryover effects of CSR are not robust; they are driven mostly by effective schools, which account for at most a quarter of STAR schools. During this investigation, it is revealed that, in contrast to the protocol of randomization, observable student characteristics in these schools are not randomly distributed between small and regular classes. They are instead distributed in such a way as to increase the academic achievement of students in small classes and decrease that of students in regular classes. Recommendations Caution is recommended when citing the positive carryover effects of S TAR.
Professional Learning for Using Data: Examining Teacher Needs & Supports
Authors: Jimerson Jo Beth , Wayman Jeffrey C. 
Published: November 2021

Background In the last few decades, a focus on school accountability at the state and federal levels has created expectations for teachers to attend to data in increasingly structured ways. Although professional learning is often cited as an important facilitator of effective data use, research that focuses on the intersection of professional learning and data use is scarce. Examining teacher perceptions of data use supports, and contrasting assertions of what is desired in data-related professional learning with accounts of the ways in which this professional learning actually happens provide an avenue for exploring these issues and for building a research base that can inform the work of district and campus leaders as well as support providers. Focus of Study This study aimed at examining teacher needs specific to data-related professional learning through a lens informed by knowledge-based organizational learning. We were guided by two broad questions: (a) What knowledge and skills do teachers need in order to engage in data-informed practice? (b) How do professional learning supports address these needs? Research Design The qualitative study draws on document analysis as well as interview and focus group data collected from n=110 participants (teachers, school leaders, and district support staff) in three school districts in central Texas. Flexible a priori coding rooted in our conceptual framework was employed to examine data for themes common across district settings and across school levels (e.g., elementary, middle, high). Code counts were used to further examine areas of professional learning focus and/or apparent imbalance. Findings Educators articulated professional learning needs related to data use in six main areas: (a) asking appropriate questions of data (to guide analysis and use); (b) accessing and operating district data systems; (c) data literacy/interpretation; (d) fitting data use with day-do-day practice; (e) sharing information via collaboration; and (f) knowledge codifica-tion. Of these, data capture via computer data systems was by far the most prominent focus reported by educators in each district. Clear plans for addressing data use capacity through professional learning supports were lacking. Recommendations Taking into account teacher perspectives on what professional learning for data use was needed and on how such supports were, in reality, structured, we make three recommendations: (a) purposefully embed professional learning for data use in ongoing organizational routines; (b) mitigate the district level silos that separate training-on-computer-systems from professional learning focused on turning data into action at the classroom level; and (c) seek balance in supporting the constellation of knowledge and skills that contribute to data use capacity.
Structuring Professional Learning to Develop a Culture of Data Use: Aligning Knowledge from the Field and Research Findings
Authors: Gerzon Nancy 
Published: November 2021

Background This research review provides an analysis of current research related to school and district data use, with a particular focus on identifying key characteristics of schools and districts with effective “data using cultures.” The research review identifies and analyzes findings in five key areas of practice: communicating professional expectations for data use; providing resources and assistance to make meaning from data; participating in the flow of information for data use; providing professional development on data use knowledge and skills; and providing leadership to nurture a culture of data use. Purpose The goal of this literature review was to identify key elements that the research identifies as essential to developing a school or district culture of data use. Through the literature review and analysis, this article proposes a conceptual framework for school and district data use practices that can be used to guide professional learning in the area of data use. Research Design The research design is an analytic essay. The article includes an analysis of current literature on school and district data use, compares key concepts presented in current studies and literature reviews, and offers conclusions based on these findings. Conclusions This research review provides a conceptual framework of five elements that school and district leaders can use to guide professional learning in data use. The framework provides a “mental map” for addressing the range of knowledge and skills teachers must learn to use data as a routine part of their daily practice. In particular, the Culture of Data Use Framework is designed to help school and district leaders and professional development providers tease apart the specific areas of focus for training and support. The author outlines considerations for professional learning for each of the five framework elements and closes with a set of questions that may help to highlight future research needs in the area of school-level data use.
The Development of Capacity for Data Use: The Role of Teacher Networks in an Elementary School
Authors: Farley-Ripple Elizabeth , Buttram Joan 
Published: November 2021

Background Amid calls for increased data use, there is little research or policy guidance for how to build schools’ capacity to leverage data to improve teaching and learning. Building on previous research highlighting the social nature of data use, we contend that in order to understand how capacity develops, research must focus on relationships and networks that support educators’ practice, conceptualizing capacity as socially embedded. Purpose This article explores the development of data use capacity in an elementary school through a social network approach. Our analysis focuses on the structure of data advice networks, the characteristics of perceived experts in the network, and the productiveness of the network in terms of influencing beliefs and practice. Population Data come from a sample of 42 educators from an elementary school exemplified by its district as a strong user of data to improve teaching and learning. Participants completed a survey about their data use beliefs, practices, and school context, as well as a social network questionnaire indicating from whom they sought advice on using data. Research Design We used the survey data to identify characteristics of the schools’ data use networks using descriptive statistics and social network analysis (SNA). SNA was also used to develop measures of structural location in those networks, which were then used to predict similarities in teachers’ beliefs and practices around data use. Findings Findings reveal that data use networks are influenced by the larger professional structure of the school, with data advice being from colleagues who are part of their larger professional network. Network structure reveals few highly central “advice givers” and many “advice seekers” connected by teachers and leaders who serve as brokers of advice. We find that brokers may play an important role in developing shared practices, given that the indirect relationships they support are predictive of shared data use practices. Conclusions This research is among the first to explore data use through a social network approach and offers early evidence about how educators’ networks enable schools to build capacity for data use. Our findings have implications for the design of professional development, for professional development for school leaders, and for successful implementation of reforms related to data use.
Differences in Intellectual Challenge of Writing Tasks among Higher and Lower Value-Added English Language Arts Teachers
Authors: Alston Chandra L. , Brown Michelle T. 
Published: November 2021

Background Writing is an essential literacy skill; however, public school students often receive inadequate writing instruction, particularly as they move into middle and high school. However, research has shown that the nature of writing tasks assigned can impact writing development and student achievement measured by standardized assessments. With the need to assess teacher efficacy, districts are increasingly using some form of value-added modeling, although researchers warn of relying solely on value-added scores to distinguish between more and less effective teachers. Purpose This study investigated the intellectual challenge of typical writing tasks and the intellectual quality of student work in classrooms of higher and lower value-added middle school English language arts teachers to understand what value-added modeling might capture in terms of writing instruction. In particular, this article investigates how higher and lower value-added teachers differ in terms of (1) the intellectual challenge of typical tasks assigned, (2) the quality of supports surrounding the tasks, and (3) the quality of student work produced. Research Design Data for this study were collected as part of a larger study that identified pairs of middle school ELA teachers within the same school who were in their third through fifth years of teaching. Within each school, we identified at least one teacher in the fourth (top) quartile and one in the second (lower) quartile based on their measures of value-added to student achievement. We analyzed the typical and challenging writing tasks and corresponding student work for the intellectual quality, looking within and across the two groups of teachers to document patterns of instructional practices. Conclusions We found differences in the consistency of challenge and scaffolds between the two groups, with higher value-added teachers more consistently providing challenging and supportive tasks. Teachers whose typical writing tasks maintain a high degree of challenge are associated with higher student performance, as defined by a measure of teacher value-added. This implies the importance of educating teachers regarding the importance and nature of challenging assignments.