Suzanne Lane

Instructional Tasks and the Development of Student Capacity to Think and Reason: An Analysis of the Relationship between Teaching and Learning in a Reform Mathematics Project

Abstract In the present study the relationship between teaching and learning was examined using a conceptual framework that links dimensions of instructional tasks with gains in student learning outcomes. The greatest student gains on a performance assessment consisting of tasks that require high levels of mathematical thinking and reasoning were related to the use of instructional tasks that engaged students in the “doing of mathematics” or the use of procedures with connections to meaning. In addition, student performance gains were greater for those sites whose tasks were both set up and implemented to encourage the use of multiple solution strategies, multiple representations, and explanations. Whereas, student performance gains were relatively small for those sites whose tasks tended to be both set up and implemented in a procedural manner and that required a single solution strategy, single representations, and little or no mathematical communication.

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.

Providing Subscale Scores for Diagnostic Information: A Case Study When the Test is Essentially Unidimensional

Although reliability of subscale scores may be suspect, subscale scores are the most common type of diagnostic information included in student score reports. This research compared methods for augmenting the reliability of subscale scores for an 8th-grade mathematics assessment. Yens Objective Performance Index, Wainer et al.s augmented scores, and scores based on multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models were compared and found to improve the precision of the subscale scores. However, the augmented subscale scores were found to be more highly correlated and less variable than unaugmented scores. The meaningfulness of reporting such augmented scores as well as the implications for validity and test development are discussed.

Assessment in the Context of Mathematics Instruction Reform: The Design of Assessment in the Quasar Project

Recent high-level political interest in the improvement of mathematics education in the United States has led to the increased prominence of reports by the National Academy of Sciences (National Research Council, 1989), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1989) and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1989). These reform-oriented reports have focused the attention of educational practitioners and policy makers on new goals for mathematics education and new descriptions of mathematical proficiency, in which terms like reasoning, communication, problem solving, conceptual understanding, and mathematical power are used frequently to describe an expanded view of mathematical proficiency that goes beyond memorization and mere competence in the basic skills of rational number computation. The reform discussion has thus led naturally to considerations of how to assess students’ attainments with respect to this new version of mathematical proficiency and how to assess improvements that may result from curricula and instructional reforms that might be undertaken3. This paper focuses on the efforts of one project to deal with the interface between assessment and instructional reform.

Validity evidence based on testing consequences

BACKGROUND Large-scale educational assessments in the U.S. are used as policy tools for improving instruction and evaluating educational programs and the effectiveness of educators. Because of the high-stakes nature of their use, it is imperative that validity evidence based on testing consequences is obtained to support their multiple purposes. METHOD A comprehensive review of the literature related to validity evidence for test use was conducted. RESULTS A theory of action for a testing program should be delineated. A theory of action reflects an interpretative and use argument and a validity argument for assessment programs and delineates the purposes and uses of the system as well as the outcomes of the system. The articulation of a validity argument allows for the accumulation of evidence not only for, but also against, intended score interpretations and uses. CONCLUSIONS As described in the paper, for assessment and accountability systems that are intended to have an effect on both instruction and student learning, the consequences, both positive and negative, of the systems need to be evaluated.

Reliability and validity of a mathematics performance assessment

The QUASAR Cognitive Assessment Instrument (QCAI) is designed to measure program outcomes and growth in mathematics. It consists of a relatively large set of open-ended tasks that assess mathematical problem solving, reasoning, and communication at the middle-school grade levels. This study provides some evidence for the generalizability and validity of the assessment. The results from the generalizability studies indicate that the error due to raters is minimal, whereas there is considerable differential student performance across tasks. The dependability of grade level scores for absolute decision making is encouraging; when the number of students is equal to 350, the coefficients are between .80 and .97 depending on the form and grade level. As expected, there tended to be a higher relationship between the QCAI scores and both the problem solving and conceptual subtest scores from a mathematics achievement multiple-choice test than between the QCAI scores and the mathematics computation subtest scores. Mathematics reformers (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989) suggest that the intent of mathematics instruction should be to promote

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.

Development of the Seating and Mobility Script Concordance Test for Spinal Cord Injury: Obtaining Content Validity Evidence

The appropriateness of a consumers seating and mobility system varies considerably depending on the competence, proficiency, and experience of the professionals assisting the user. At present, there is a scarcity of skilled and knowledgeable therapists to evaluate and recommend seating and mobility devices. There is also a lack of measurement tests available to evaluate the impact of educational experiences or clinical practice on the ability to make specialized clinical decisions about seating and mobility needs. The Seating and Mobility Script Concordance Test (SMSCT) is a new assessment tool, grounded in the hypothetico-deductive and schema theories of clinical reasoning. The test is designed to assess therapists by examining the organization of their knowledge, associations between items of their knowledge, and the adequacy of their clinical decisions as compared to expert consensus. This article describes the interview, test development, and content/item review processes used for the collection of content validity evidence. The iterative process employed and the appraisal of the content validity evidence that resulted in the final version of the SMSCT are presented. The SMSCT appears to be a promising assessment tool representing content within the domain of seating and mobility for individuals with spinal cord injuries. The process utilized to develop the SMSCT in spinal cord injury can be replicated for other diagnoses and domains.

Equity and Validity Considerations in the Design and Implementation of a Mathematics Performance Assessment: The Experience of the QUASAR Project

The attention of educational practitioners and policy makers has recently focused on mathematics education reform in the United States. Reports by the National Academy of Sciences (National Research Council, 1989) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1989) have specified a new vision of mathematical proficiency—sometimes referred to as “world class standards” for mathematics education—and they have been issued at a time when concerns have been expressed publicly about evidence that American students are unable to perform at acceptable levels in mathematics and about the implications of this low level of performance for the nation’s long-term economic competitiveness.

Implementing Curriculum-Based Measures of Reading in an Adult Literacy Program

In this study, curriculum-based measurement (CBM) procedures were implemented with adults attending a basic literacy program. The specific purposes of the study were to obtain reliability and validity information regarding CBM with adults, to determine the sensitivity of CBM to student growth in reading, and to assess the value and utility of such a system. Alternate form reliability data indicated greater consistency across narrative rather than expository passages and high reliability regardless of level of difficulty. Interrater reliability was also high. Validity data indicated some inconsistency between scores obtained on CBM and those on various standardized tests. Students showed significant gains on both CBM and the California Comprehension subtest. CBM procedures were more highly related to teacher judgment of progress than were standardized measures. Both teachers and students were positive about CBM procedures, including the tasks, graphing of scores, and perceived influence on student performance.