Toni A. Sondergeld

Elementary Teachers’ Beliefs About Teaching Science and Classroom Practice: An Examination of Pre/Post NCLB Testing in Science

The impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandated state science assessment on elementary teachers’ beliefs about teaching science and their classroom practice is relatively unknown. For many years, the teaching of science has been minimized in elementary schools in favor of more emphasis on reading and mathematics. This study examines the dynamics of bringing science to the forefront of assessment in elementary schools and the resulting teacher belief and instructional shifts that take place in response to NCLB. Results indicated that teachers’ beliefs about teaching science remained unchanged despite policy changes mandated in NCLB. Teacher beliefs related to their perceptions of what their administrators and peer groups’ think they should be doing influenced their practice the most. Most teachers reported positive feelings and attitudes about science and reported that their students had positive feelings and attitudes about science; however, teachers reported teaching science less as a result of NCLB. Implications for elementary science education reform and policy are discussed.

Overcoming Barriers to College Enrollment, Persistence, and Perceptions for Urban High School Students in a College Preparatory Program

Although research shows college preparatory programs’ effectiveness regarding academic achievement and college awareness, much less is known about whether programs affect college attendance and persistence. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) and other college preparatory programs claim that this is a primary outcome, yet very few studies on persistence in higher education have been done. Through the use of an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, our study found that significantly more students (including low-socioeconomic background) from a GEAR UP college preparatory program showed greater college attendance and persistence outcomes over those who did not participate and also provides potential explanations why this may be the case. Mixing quantitative and qualitative data allowed for meta-inferences about the isolation of poverty, goal setting, resilience, and program impacts on minorities to be drawn.

Evaluating Teachers' Self-Perceptions of Their Knowledge and Practice after Participating in an Environmental Education Professional Development Program.

Building teachers’ confidence in their understanding of nature and encouraging the use of field experiences with students are important factors in increasing environmental awareness in students. A River Runs Through It (ARRT) is an integrated environmental education professional development program, immersed practicing teachers in hands-on field inquiry while providing them with valuable experiences, tools, and support necessary for raising teacher enthusiasm and self-confidence. The authors begin by taking a broad look at environmental education. They then narrow the focus to their environmental education professional development program – ARRT – and the positive knowledge and attitudinal impacts found from allowing teachers to explore local outdoor environments with a support system that aided them in bringing their ARRT experiences into their own classrooms.

Applying the Mixed Methods Instrument Development and Construct Validation Process The Transformative Experience Questionnaire

Onwuegbuzie and colleagues proposed the Instrument Development and Construct Validation (IDCV) process as a mixed methods framework for creating and validating measures. Examples applying IDCV are lacking. We provide an illustrative case integrating the Rasch model and cognitive interviews applied to the development of the Transformative Experience Questionnaire (TEQ). TEQ measures student engagement with the content they are learning. IDCV process yielded a high degree of utility for informing the psychometric properties of the TEQ. The quantitative data yielded supportive content, construct, and concurrent-related validity evidence using a sample of middle (n = 115) and high school students (n = 81). The qualitative data revealed item rewording was needed. Moderate to strong test–retest reliability was found for both forms.

Evaluating the Influence of an Urban High School Reform Effort on College Readiness and Access Outcomes: A Quasiexperimental Cohort Study

It is widely accepted that postsecondary education has become a necessity for US youth. College access, however, has been found not to be equal for all. As a result, federally funded college-readiness programs, such as Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), have been established to increase the numbers of economically disadvantaged students with access to college. This quasiexperimental case study compared academic and nonacademic college-readiness indicators between cohorts of GEAR UP students and nonparticipants in 1 urban high school. Overall, cohorts of GEAR UP students outperformed their non-GEAR UP peers on all measures (grade-point average, attendance rate, behavior, graduation rate, and college enrollment) despite a dramatic demographic shift that led to greater proportions of educationally disadvantaged students in the GEAR UP cohorts.

Lessons from the Field: Examining the Challenges and Successes of a Mathematics and Science Program Using Acceleration and Enrichment for Gifted Urban Middle School Students

It has been clearly established over the last quarter of a century or so that science, mathematics, and technology education among precollege students in the United States is severely lacking (National Science Board, 2006; Carnegie-IAS Commission, 2009). Problem solving, analytical skills, and critical thinking associated with these content areas are necessary traits for our students to possess in order for the United States to successfully compete in the twenty-first century. While our nation at large struggles to provide quality K-12 education in mathematics, science, and technology, this situation is even more bleak for urban and low socioeconomic status students (National Science Board, 2006; National Center for Educational Statistics, 2009). At-risk children often face additional barriers including lower-quality teachers who are not adequately trained to teach mathematics and science (National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, 2006); limited advanced- or rigorous-course offerings in these content areas (Norman et al., 2001); and insufficient materials to support the needs of quality instruction (UNESCO, 2008).

A Validation Study of a Middle Grades Reading Comprehension Assessment

Abstract A student’s reading skill is essential to learning. Assessing reading skills, specifically comprehension, is difficult. In the middle grades, students read to learn; and their teachers need a quick, easy assessment that provides immediate data on reading comprehension skill. This study explores the holistic validation approach of one eighth-grade informational text with comprehension questions currently included in the Adolescent Comprehension Evaluation (ACE). Thirty-three eighth-grade students from four different schools participated in the study. Multiple forms of validity evidence were used including test content, response process, internal structure, relationship to other variables, and consequences of testing. These multiple forms of validity evidence provided the researchers with insights into comprehension questions that would not have been uncovered using psychometric means of validation alone. The results of this study support ACE as a direct measure of middle grades students’ reading comprehension.

Validating and Vertically Equating Problem-Solving Measures

This paper examines the validation of a measure for eighth-grade students related to problem-solving. Prior work discussed validity evidence for the Problem-Solving Measure series, but it is uncertain whether linking items appropriately vertically equates the seventh- and eighth-grade measures. This research connects prior work to the development of linked measures with anchor items that assess problem solving within the frame of the Common Core in the United States. Results from Rasch modeling indicated that the items and overall measure functioned well, and all anchor items between assessments worked satisfactorily. Our conclusion is that performance on the eighth-grade measure can be linked with performance on the seventh-grade measure.

Objective Standard Setting in Educational Assessment and Decision Making

Assessment and evaluation at all levels of educational systems have become policy priorities for many countries. Two common reasons for this are student learning expectations and accountability. Although much effort has been put into the creation and refinement of content standards, standardized tests, and methods for using testing results, there has been less attention paid to the development of performance standards (proficiency levels) that greatly affect policy decision making. The present study investigates the Objective Standard Setting Model (OSS) as an improved criterion-referenced method for setting multilevel performance standards. To demonstrate how OSS can be employed for performance standard setting, our study used data from preservice teachers completing an assessment literacy test in a pre- and posttest environment. Using OSS, performance standard levels of proficient and excellent were established with clear content-related descriptions of growth in student content mastery.

A Comparative Case Study of Student Preparation for Postsecondary Education: How GEAR UP, Socioeconomic Status, and Race Influence Academic and Non-Academic Factors.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of early preparation for postsecondary education and explore the effectiveness of Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). This comparative case study included 836 students from two cohorts (GEAR UP and Non GEAR UP). We compared high school attendance, retention, behavior incidents, GPA, graduation rates, and college attendance by GEAR UP, socioeconomic status, and race. GEAR UP students performed significantly better on all measures. There were differences found in both cohorts along SES and racial lines; these differences were less pronounced within the GEAR UP cohort. Recommendations for school reform, collaborations between education institutions, and further research are included.