Download or read book A Study of Formative Assessment and High Stakes Testing Issues of Student Efficacy and Teacher Views in the Mathematics Classroom written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the age of high stakes testing, research shows that the focus on summative assessment is overshadowing the importance and use of formative assessment. According to Black and Wiliam (2005), interim assessments coupled with large-scale assessments represent substantial and well-entrenched obstacles that prevent the growth of formative assessment use in the United States. Exploring ways to overcome these obstacles, this research introduced teachers to the concept of a comprehensive balanced assessment system that values accountability statewide assessment (summative), interim/benchmark assessment (summative), and classroom assessment (summative and formative). The methodology of the study involved four teachers from two high schools in North Carolina who participated in a 16-week Formative Assessment (FA) Project led by the researcher. The study included professional development consisting of four modules, application in practice, and participation in a learning community. Formative assessment, in short, was defined as a process used during instruction to adjust teaching and learning. A grounded theory approach was employed to determine (1) what themes emerge as teachers implemented formative assessment in the age of high stakes testing; and (2) what new behaviors and/or attitudes students exhibit as a result of the implementation of formative assessment. Data was collected using field observations, interviews, and artifact reviews. The data supported the conclusion that teacher's views about assessment were changed to become more inclusive of students as partners in the assessment process. Students' self-efficacy increased as evidenced by their increased commitments to the learning process, use of metacognitive strategies, and levels of engagement. Based on the six themes that emerged from the data, the researcher identified four steps in the formative assessment process and three essential elements that need to be present for successful implementation in high scho.

Download or read book A Study of Formative Assessment and High Stakes Testing written by Sarah McMillian McManus and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Keywords: Formative Assessment, Mathematics, High Stakes Testing.

Download or read book Dissertation Abstracts International written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Educators Perceptions of the Impact of High stakes Testing on Instructional Practices in Mathematics written by Gail Carroll Peck and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: High-stakes testing remains one of the most controversial aspects of No Child Left Behind legislation. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of teachers regarding the impact of high-stakes testing on instructional practices in the area of mathematics. A secondary purpose was to explore the relationship between personal beliefs and instructional practices. For the purpose of this study, the standardized test utilized was Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), which significantly differed from most high-stakes tests in that it is a diagnostic growth measure. Forty first and second grade teachers completed two surveys utilizing a forced choice format, one indicating personal beliefs and one indicating actual practices. Participants also completed a Likert scale survey to identify perceptions specifically related to mathematics instruction, student engagement, and assessment. Teachers also responded to interview probes. Common threads emerged in the reviewed literature. The majority of researchers identified narrowing of the curriculum, loss of teacher efficacy, increased teacher and student stress, and a move back to a traditional 'skill and drill' methodology as the major consequences of high-stakes testing. Results obtained in this study supported previous research. Three themes emerged in this study: a) change occurred in actual practice more significantly in instructional practice than student engagement practices, b) the impact was not as negative as teachers perceived, and c) teachers had a significant emotional response to the culture of high-stakes testing.

Download or read book Using Formative Assessment to Drive Mathematics Instruction in Grades PreK 2 written by Jennifer Taylor-Cox and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-27 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provide targeted mathematics instruction for every child. These books combine formative assessment with practical activities to differentiate the elementary classroom. The formative assessments include student work samples at varying levels. The authors...Illustrate the distinction between a "traditional" assessment and an "enhanced" assessment. Describe specific differentiated activities so each student may consistently receive instruction geared to specific need. Provide teachers with "Questions to Assess" to determine what each child understands about the math concept. Show how to move students to higher-level mathematics thinking and to apply math concepts. Include extension activities to offer challenging work for children who have achieved skill mastery level. Each activity states a goal, the materials needed, a description of the activity, as well as specific questions to ask students. The assessments and activities are aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and the expectations described by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This resource will help teachers, principals, and curriculum directors identify students' levels of understanding about mathematics and provide concrete resources for remediation, instruction, and enrichment. These books are also an excellent resource for use during workshops and in-class observations. Provide targeted mathematics instruction for every child. These books combine formative assessment with practical activities to differentiate the elementary classroom. The formative assessments include student work samples at varying levels. The authors... Illustrate the distinction between a "traditional" assessment and an "enhanced" assessment. Describe specific differentiated activities so each student may consistently receive instruction geared to specific need. Provide teachers with "Questions to Assess" to determine what each child understands about the math concept. Show how to move students to higher-level mathematics thinking and to apply math concepts. Include extension activities to offer challenging work for children who have achieved skill mastery level. Each activity states a goal, the materials needed, a description of the activity, as well as specific questions to ask students. The assessments and activities are aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and the expectations described by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This resource will help teachers, principals, and curriculum directors identify students' levels of understanding about mathematics and provide concrete resources for remediation, instruction, and enrichment. These books are also an excellent resource for use during workshops and in-class observations.

Download or read book Using Formative Assessment Despite the Constraints of High Stakes Testing and Limited Resources written by George Viche Akom and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Formative assessment, as a strategy used to improve student learning, encounters several obstacles in its implementation. This study explores changes in teachers' views and practices as they are introduced to formative assessment in a high stakes testing and limited resource environment. The study examines the extent to which teachers use the technique of formative assessment to engage students in authentic learning even while not sacrificing high test scores on summative assesments. A case study methodology was employed to address the research topic. Science teachers in the West African country of Cameroon were engaged in a process of lesson planning and implementation to collaboratively build lessons with large amounts of formative assessment. Qualitative data from written surveys, group discussions, classroom and workshop observations, and from teacher reflections reveal the extent to which lesson fidelity is preserved from views to planning to implementation. The findings revealed that though the teachers possess knowledge of a variety of assessment methods they do not systematically use these methods to collect information which could help in improving student learning. Oral questioning remained the dominant method of student assessment. The study also showed that the teachers made minimal to big changes depending on the particular aspect of formative assessment being considered. For aspects which needed just behavioral adaptations, the changes were significant but for those which needed acquisition of more pedagogic knowledge and skills the changes were minimal. In terms of constraints in the practice of formative assessment, the teachers cited large class size and lack of teaching materials as common ones. When provided with the opportunity to acquire teaching materials, however, they did not effectively utilize the opportunity. The study revealed a need for the acquisition of inquiry skills by the teachers which can serve as a platform for the implementation of formative assessment. Another implication of the findings is for teacher professional development to be on-going and classroom-based providing opportunities for teachers to experience and try new teaching methods.

Download or read book Testing Student Learning Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness written by Williamson F. Evers and published by Hoover Institution Press. This book was released on 2013-09-01 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes a hard look at the professional, technical, and public policy issues surrounding student achievement and teacher effectiveness—and shows how testing and accountability can play a vital role in improving American schools.

Download or read book The Knowledge Gap written by Natalie Wexler and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.

Download or read book Knowing What Students Know written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-10-27 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Education is a hot topic. From the stage of presidential debates to tonight's dinner table, it is an issue that most Americans are deeply concerned about. While there are many strategies for improving the educational process, we need a way to find out what works and what doesn't work as well. Educational assessment seeks to determine just how well students are learning and is an integral part of our quest for improved education. The nation is pinning greater expectations on educational assessment than ever before. We look to these assessment tools when documenting whether students and institutions are truly meeting education goals. But we must stop and ask a crucial question: What kind of assessment is most effective? At a time when traditional testing is subject to increasing criticism, research suggests that new, exciting approaches to assessment may be on the horizon. Advances in the sciences of how people learn and how to measure such learning offer the hope of developing new kinds of assessments-assessments that help students succeed in school by making as clear as possible the nature of their accomplishments and the progress of their learning. Knowing What Students Know essentially explains how expanding knowledge in the scientific fields of human learning and educational measurement can form the foundations of an improved approach to assessment. These advances suggest ways that the targets of assessment-what students know and how well they know it-as well as the methods used to make inferences about student learning can be made more valid and instructionally useful. Principles for designing and using these new kinds of assessments are presented, and examples are used to illustrate the principles. Implications for policy, practice, and research are also explored. With the promise of a productive research-based approach to assessment of student learning, Knowing What Students Know will be important to education administrators, assessment designers, teachers and teacher educators, and education advocates.

Download or read book Teacher Perceptions of Formative Assessments on Student Learning in K 12 Classrooms written by Stacey Leigh Robinson and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A mixed methods design was utilized to examine teacher perceptions of formative assessments and its impact on student motivation. Teachers from 32 public schools in a southeastern school district were invited to participate in a formative assessment survey using a Likert scale to share their perceptions of their understanding and use of formative assessments in the classroom. The survey and interview items addressed teachers’ own self-efficacy values as they relate to their implementation of formative assessments and their relationship with motivating students to learn. Data analysis indicated most teachers had a strong understanding of formative assessments, but some of their responses showed they confused formative assessments with summative assessment measures. Although most of the participating teachers indicated they shared learning goals with their students, some of the data showed the learning goals were directly related to proficiency goals on state-mandated tests. Additionally, teachers who had established protocols for self-assessment practices in their classroom did not include one form of self-assessing with students actually grading their own work. Finally, even though half of the teachers interviewed stated formative assessment practices had the greatest impact on motivating their students to learn, the other half of the teachers contributed it to other factors. Based on the findings of the research study from the district data, recommendations, professional development needs, and ideas for future research needs were identified and shared in detail.

Download or read book Educational Psychology written by Angela M. O'Donnell and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-12-06 with total page 1343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teachers help students learn, develop, and realize their potential. To become successful in their craft, teachers need to learn how to establish high-quality relationships with their students, and they need to learn how to implement instructional strategies that promote students' learning, development, and potential. To prepare pre-service teachers for the profession, the study of educational psychology can help them to better understand their students and better understand their process of teaching. Such is the twofold purpose of Educational Psychology – to help pre-service teachers understand their future students better and to help them understand all aspects of the teaching-learning situation. The pursuit of these two purposes leads to the ultimate goal of this text – namely, to help pre-service teachers become increasingly able to promote student learning, development, and potential when it becomes their turn to step into the classroom and take full-time responsibility for their own classes.

Download or read book A Case Study of Mathematics Teachers Use of Short Cycle Formative Assessment Strategies written by Adreana A. Davis and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A single case study was used to examine two middle grades mathematics teachers' use of short-cycle formative assessment strategies. Data was collected using multiple sources to provide a description of this single case. Participant change in knowledge of short-cycle formative assessment strategies was collected and analyzed through participant pre- and post-interviews and targeted instructional support was provided through professional development sessions designed to meet diverse needs of participants. Participant change in use of short-cycle formative assessment strategies was collected and analyzed through classroom observations using Assess Today observation protocol and targeted instructional support was provided through post-observation conferences with written feedback. Findings from the study verified that changes in teachers' use of short-cycle formative assessment strategies were positively influenced by the targeted instructional support provided to each participant during the study. The study further indicated that an assessment of teacher's present knowledge and use of short-cycle formative assessment strategies should be considered before providing targeted instructional support to maximize the learning potential for each teacher. Future research is needed regarding the importance of building student self-efficacy through teacher use of short-cycle formative assessment, as well as the importance of involving students in the formative assessment process.

Download or read book Teachers Perceived Understanding of Formative Assessment and how this Understanding Impacts Their Own Classroom Instruction written by Melanie K. Brink and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The key purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of classroom teachers' perceptions of the process and impact of formative assessment on classroom instruction in a secondary school. The study was designed to obtain information about how teachers view formative assessment as part of their everyday planning and preparation, as well as sought to determine whether or not there was a correlation between teachers' perceived understanding of formative assessment and their implementation of formative assessment in the classroom. The three main research questions that guided this study were: 1) How do teachers' perceptions of their own understanding of formative assessment affect their instructional practice? 2) How do teachers' perceptions of their own understanding of formative assessment evolve over time? 3) What supports exist to help teachers implement formative assessment at the high school level? The case study focused on participants who were current 9-12 public school teachers representing mathematics, physical education, and foreign language. To triangulate the data, multiple types of data were collected from the teachers. Pre- and post-surveys, unstructured interviews, focus groups, classroom observations with participant observation notes, and logs were used to collect the data. Data was then analyzed using analysis of the pre-surveys and compared with information gained from the other data sources. Data was later analyzed using the post-survey and compared with the information from other data sources to determine individual teacher growth over time. The results from the first research question indicated that teachers understood the accountability of both teachers and students in the assessment process, but required additional support in determining how student learning becomes the basis for use of formative assessment, types of different methods used, and overall teacher competencies about formative assessment. The second research question indicated that growth occurred when professional supports were given in areas where weaknesses were identified. Initially, formative assessment was viewed by many as a means of compliance with the new teacher evaluation system. With continued professional development, teachers' acceptance of formative assessment increased as their understanding of the process dually increased. In addition, as teachers began to see growth in student achievement, their overall acceptance of formative assessment also increased. The third and final research question indicated that supports must not only be global in nature, but must also be focused on the individual. When teachers know where they are and know the target of where they want or need to be, instructional growth does occur. Supports for teacher instructional practice will vary based on identified needs, understanding of formative assessment, and the type of supports available. Recommendations for follow-up study include the use of additional focus groups, extending the formative assessment survey to include lengthening the time of the study, and a change in setting to avoid certain nuances that can occur with studying the same school district. Additionally, research should be completed on the long-term effects of personalized professional development and whether teachers continue to use formative assessment practices as they gain more extensive experience. Since this particular school was undergoing a complete system change while the study was being completed, it would be dually important to investigate a school that was not in the midst of such a change. With all the additional supports available to the teachers in this study, it is important to see if a teacher's perceived understanding of formative assessment would continue to translate into instructional practice if whole school and individual supports were not as prevalent.

Download or read book Investigating Formative Assessment written by Assuntina Del Gobbo and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Will the Use of Formative Assessment Practices in the Math Classroom Raise Student Achievement written by Tara Raymond and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Formative assessments have been proven to increase students' scores, yet many teachers do not understand what formative assessments are or how to use them. Through professional development of teachers on how to use the practice of descriptive feedback and the use of the completion of monthly constructed response problems by students, this action research project will set out to answer the question "Will the use of formative assessment practices in the math classroom raise student achievement?"

Download or read book Assessment as Learning written by Lorna M. Earl and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book for teachers and school leaders on formative assessment i.e., assessment as learning where assessment occurs throughout the learning process to inform learning as opposed to assessment that occurs at the end of a learning unit to measure what students have learned (summative assessment). Formative assessment emphasizes the role of the student, not only as a contributor to the assessment and learning process, but the critical connector between them. It defines assessment of learning, assessment for learning and assessment as learning, making a case for assessment as learning. It addresses assessment in the context of what learning is. It shows how to use formative assessment to motivate student learning, help students make connections so that they move from emergent to proficient, extend their learning and to help them become reflective self-regulators of their own learning. It explores how teachers can make the shift to formative assessment by engaging in conceptual change.

Download or read book Experience of Education written by Johanna Wyn and published by . This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: