Carol S. Parke

Student Attendance, Mobility, and Mathematics Achievement in an Urban School District.

ABSTRACT The authors aim to describe student attendance–mobility within a large urban district in ways that are meaningful and useful to schools and the community. First, the prevalence of mobility and nonattendance in Grades 1–12 across all students and by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic subgroups is presented. Second, the impact on student mathematics achievement is examined. Results show that nonattendance–mobility negatively impact mathematics achievement as measured by the states assessment, even after controlling for socioeconomic status and gender. Interestingly, there is not a differential impact across ethnicities. Black and White subgroups show similar patterns of achievement across attendance and mobility levels. Finally, the authors take a closer look at the 10 district high schools to determine where nonattendance–mobility is of particular concern. Implications for districts are discussed in terms of targeting the extent of the problem and where it is occurring, using that information to improve attendance and reduce mobility, and finally, instituting systematic approaches to deal with student movement in and out of schools.

The Impact of a State Performance-Based Assessment and Accountability Program on Mathematics Instruction and Student Learning: Evidence From Survey Data and School Performance

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) and the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs) on mathematics classroom instruction and assessment practices, professional development, and student learning. The data sources included questionnaires for principals, mathematics teachers, and students, as well as student performance on MSPAP over a 5-year period. Ninety elementary and middle schools in Maryland participated in the study. The results indicate that principals and teachers tended to support MSPAP as a tool for making changes in instruction, teachers were making some positive changes in mathematics instruction because of MSPAP (based on the questionnaire data), and the schools for which teachers reported that MSPAP had a greater impact on their mathematics instruction had greater MSPAP performance gains in mathematics over the 5 years.

Impact of a State Performance Assessment Program in Reading and Writing.

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) and the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs) in a number of areas including teacher, principal, and student beliefs, classroom practices, and student learning in reading and writing. A statewide sample of 90 elementary and middle schools in Maryland participated in the study. Questionnaires were administered to principals, teachers, and students. Additionally, classroom instruction and assessment materials were collected from teachers, and student performance on MSPAP over 5 years was obtained. Results indicated that principals and teachers tended to be supportive of MSPAP, reading and writing classroom practices were somewhat aligned with the goals of MSPAP, and greater performance gains in reading and writing tended to occur in schools that reported increased use of reform-oriented instruction. The methodology and interpretive outcomes in the study contribute to the growing literature base on the effects of high stakes testing.

An Approach That Examines Sources of Misfit to Improve Performance Assessment Items and Rubrics

This article discusses an approach to analyzing performance assessments that identifies potential reasons for misfitting items and uses this information to improve on items and rubrics for these assessments. Specifically, the approach involves identifying psychometric features and qualitative features of items and rubrics that may possibly influence misfit; examining relations between these features and the fit statistic; conducting an analysis of student responses to a sample of misfitting items; and finally, based on the results of the previous analyses, modifying characteristics of the items or rubrics and reexamining fit. A mathematics performance assessment containing 53 constructed-response items scored on a holistic scale from 0 to 4 is used to illustrate the approach. The 2-parameter graded response model (Samejima, 1969) is used to calibrate the data. Implications of this method of data analysis for improving performance assessment items and rubrics are discussed as well as issues and limitations related to the use of the approach.

Students' Perceptions of a Maryland State Performance Assessment.

The purpose of the study reported in this article was to provide empirical evidence of students’ views about a state performance assessment and its effects in science and social studies classrooms in Maryland. We developed 2 student questionnaires, 1 for each subject, and administered them to a statewide, stratified random sample of students in grades 4, 5, 7, and 8. These grades were selected to allow comparison of responses from students in tested grades (5 and 8) to those in nontested grades (4 and 7). A total of 19,645 students responded to the questionnaires (9,802 for science and 9,843 for social studies). The response rate was approximately equal across the 4 grades for each subject. Results are described in 5 areas: familiarity with the assessment, beliefs about assessment item formats, preparation for the assessment, effect on classroom practices, and effect on the school. Overall, students had a positive impression of the state assessment. We discuss implications of results within the context of the No Child Left Behind legislation and its effects on accountability and assessment systems.