scholarly journals Hold Back To Move Forward? Early Grade Retention And Student Misbehavior

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umut Özek
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Grade Retention ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Male Students ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Student Misbehavior ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Early Grade ◽  
Below Grade Level

Test-based accountability has become the new norm in public education over the last decade. In many states and school districts nationwide, student performance on standardized tests plays an important role in high-stakes decisions, such as grade retention. This study examines the effects of grade retention on student misbehavior in Florida, which requires students with reading skills below grade level to be retained in the third grade. The regression discontinuity estimates suggest that grade retention increases the likelihood of disciplinary incidents and suspensions in the short run, yet these effects dissipate over time. The findings also suggest that these short-term adverse effects are concentrated among economically disadvantaged and male students.

Dropout Rates After High-Stakes Testing in Elementary School: A Study of the Contradictory Effects of Chicago’s Efforts to End Social Promotion

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine M. Allensworth
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Grade Retention ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Dropout Rates ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

Across the country, grade promotion is tied increasingly to performance on standardized tests. One concern about such policies is that they might increase dropout rates. Policy proponents counter that adverse effects of grade retention should be more than offset by beneficial effects from rising achievement. Using data from Chicago, this study examines dropout rates after implementation of an eighth-grade promotion standard. The results indicate that retention by the policy did have adverse effects on dropping out, but the relationship was smaller than seen with traditional teacher-initiated retention and was unrelated to the timing of dropping out. Systemwide, slight decreases in dropout rates among the 90% of students who were not retained counterbalanced the higher dropout rates among those retained.

scholarly journals Which Data Do Elementary School Teachers Use to Determine Reading Difficulties in Their Students?

2021 ◽  
pp. 002221942098199
Author(s):  
Alexandra M. A. Schmitterer ◽  
Garvin Brod
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Elementary School Teachers ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Reading Intervention ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Reading Assessments ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Third Grade Students ◽  
Teacher Training Programs

Small-group interventions allow for tailored instruction for students with learning difficulties. A crucial first step is the accurate identification of students who need such an intervention. This study investigated how teachers decide whether their students need a remedial reading intervention. To this end, 64 teachers of 697 third-grade students from Germany were asked to rate whether a reading intervention for their students was “not necessary,” “potentially necessary,” or “definitely necessary.” Independent experimenters tested the students’ reading and spelling abilities with standardized tests, and a subsample of 370 children participated in standardized tests of phonological awareness and vocabulary. Findings show that teachers’ decisions with regard to students’ needing a reading intervention overlapped more with results from standardized spelling assessments than from reading assessments. Hierarchical linear models indicated that students’ spelling abilities, along with phonological awareness and vocabulary, explained variance in teachers’ ratings over and above students’ reading skills. Teachers, thus, relied on proximal cues such as spelling skills to reach their decision. These findings are discussed in relation to clinical standards and educational contexts. Findings indicate that the teachers’ assignment of children to interventions might be underspecified, and starting points for specific teacher training programs are outlined.

Inclusive Reform as a Response to High-Stakes Pressure? Leading toward Inclusion in the Age of Accountability

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
George Theoharis ◽  
Julie Causton ◽  
Chelsea P. Tracy-Bronson
Keyword(s):  
School Reform ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Inclusive School ◽  
Age Of Accountability ◽  
General Education Classrooms

Students identified with disabilities are increasingly being educated with the assistance of support services within heterogeneous (i.e., general education) classrooms. Yet, in this era of high-stakes accountability, students are labeled, sorted, and differentially treated according to their academic achievement as reflected on standardized tests. We engaged in a project to better understand how educators grapple with these externally imposed pressures as they work to change the organizational structure of their schools to be able to implement greater inclusion of their students served by special education. We spent four years in two elementary schools engaged in inclusive school reform (shifting from exclusionary model to an inclusive one) specifically as a response to the pressures of test-based accountability mandates. Our work was guided by the following questions. In this era of high-stakes testing accountability: • What does school-wide inclusive reform for students with disabilities involve? • What kinds of changes can result from inclusive reform? • What role does leadership play in inclusive reform? The article focuses on what inclusive reform involved, the resulting changes, and the role distributed leadership played in moving toward more inclusive service in the age of high-stakes accountability.

scholarly journals Math and science outcomes for students of teachers from standard and alternative pathways in Texas

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Michael Marder ◽  
Bernard David ◽  
Caitlin Hamrock
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Algebra I ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Alternative Pathways ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
University Preparation ◽  
Alternative Routes ◽  
Almost All ◽  
High Stakes Exams

Texas provides a unique opportunity to examine teachers without standard university preparation, for it prepares more teachers through alternative pathways than any other state. We find two advantages for mathematics and science teachers prepared in the standard way. First, since 2008 they have been staying in the classroom longer than those who pursued alternative routes. Second, we analyze student performance on Algebra 1 and Biology exams over the period 2012-2018. Algebra I students with experienced teachers from standard programs gain .03 to .05 in standard deviation units compared to students whose teachers were alternatively prepared. For Biology students there are fewer statistically significant differences, although when differences exist they almost all favor standard programs. These effects are difficult to measure in part because teachers are not assigned to teach courses with high-stakes exams at random. Nevertheless, we find strong evidence in Algebra I that students learn more when their teachers have standard preparation. In Biology there is also evidence but less compelling. Thus, we recommend that all states bolster traditional university-based teacher certification, that Texas not take drastic action to curtail alternative certification, and that other states not allow it to grow too quickly.

scholarly journals Identifying Levers Related to Student Performance on High-Stakes Science Exams: Examining School, Teaching, Teacher, and Professional Development Characteristics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Fischer ◽  
Brandon Foster ◽  
Ayana McCoy ◽  
Frances Lawrenz ◽  
Christopher Dede ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Level ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Reform Implementation ◽  
School Teaching

Background: Many students enter into postsecondary education without the college readiness skills that allow them to face the demands of postsecondary education. Increasingly, policymakers and educational researchers are responding to calls for reforming secondary education to provide more opportunity for all students to receive high quality education and to become career and college ready. Purpose: This study attempts to identify levers to increase student performance in secondary education. In particular, it examines relationships of school, teaching, teacher, and teacher professional development characteristics with student scores on high-stakes Advanced Placement (AP) examinations in the sciences.Setting: This study is situated in the context of the large-scale, top-down, nationwide AP curriculum and examination reform in the sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) in the United States. This is an unprecedented opportunity to analyze changing educational landscapes in the United States with large-scale national student-, teacher-, school-, and district-level data sets across multiple science disciplines and different stages of the curriculum reform implementation connected to a standardized and high-stakes student outcome measure.Population: This study analyzes nationwide data samples of the AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics population during the first, second, and third year of the curriculum reform implementation. Across disciplines and years, the analytical samples include a total of 113,603 students and 6,046 teachers. Research design: This empirical quantitative study uses data from web-based surveys sent to all AP science teachers. Additionally, College Board provided student- and school-level data for all students taking AP examinations. Data preparation methods included exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Associations towards student achievement were analyzed through multi-level ordered logistic regression analysis separately by science discipline and year of the curriculum reform implementation. Afterwards, the results were aggregated through a meta-analysis. Findings: Student performance is not pre-determined by students’ background, leaving roughly 60% of the AP score variance potentially malleable for teacher and school-level factors. In particular, teachers’ perceived administrative support, self-efficacy, teaching experience, and elements of classroom instruction were related to student performance. Notably, teachers’ professional development participation has a small, mixed impact on student achievement. Conclusion: The identified levers for improving student achievement provide a strong rationale for the continued efforts of policy makers to improve school environments and to support science teachers to ultimately both increase student learning and help all students graduate prepared for college and ready for their future careers.

scholarly journals Looking Beyond the Household: The Importance of School Factors in Understanding Elementary Grade Retention in Rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bushra Rahim
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Grade Retention ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Factors ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ◽  
The Impact

This paper contributes to the limited literature on the educational outcomes of children in rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. It explores the impact of school-level factors such as physical resources, teachers and school characteristics on retention to the last grade of primary in the KP province for the time period 2007-12. Two sources of data were used to measure the retention rates. One of which is an official compilation of institutional data on education known as Education Management Information System (EMIS). The second data source, Annual Status of Education Reports (ASER), is a household data set with a rich set of household covariates, teachers’ characteristics and student performance data on reading and mathematics. The results from regression analyses indicate that children are more likely to complete primary education cycle when they receive instructions in local language and when the pupil-teacher ratio is below a certain threshold. Results also reveal that a continuous increase in school size beyond a certain threshold (> 400 enrollment) is related to a decrease in retention rate. Further, mixed schools (all-boys’ schools having girls enrolled in them) were found to have better retention rates than boys’ schools.

scholarly journals Why Graded Assessment for Undergraduates During the COVID-19 Lockdown? An Experience Introspection

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-75
Author(s):  
Abdullatif Alshamsi ◽  
Alex Zahavich ◽  
Samar El-Farra
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Technology Infrastructure ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Assessment Development ◽  
Student Efficacy ◽  
Institutional Accountability ◽  
To Come

This paper presents a retrospective evaluation of the Higher Colleges of Technology’s student assessments during the COVID-19 lockdown, reflecting the justified decision to deploy graded assessments during the lockdown for students to academically progress and/or graduate on time, while maintaining the quality and rigor of academic awards. The outcome-based evaluation of this paper is intended to provide lessons for any future situations of this significance and magnitude. While online education was the obvious response to the pandemic, the provision of assessments was not possible without risk. Taking a high-stakes decision that would affect the future of thousands of students, for years to come, involved complex steps of reasoning and justification. Addressing the role of graded assessment in supporting institutional accountability and transferability of students’ achievements, student efficacy and informed pedagogy alterations were the main objectives. To meet those objectives, the Higher Colleges of Technology was able to deploy an off-campus student assessment model that builds upon three pillars of adjustments (assessment development and deployment; technology infrastructure; and governance resilience) to support students’ learning, while mitigating vulnerabilities. The evaluation of student performance indicators and stakeholders’ satisfaction rates revealed a successful deployment of off-campus assessment while maintaining the traditional conventions pertaining to evaluation of assessments.

The Opt-Out Movement in New York: A Grassroots Movement to Eliminate High-Stakes Testing and Promote Whole Child Public Schooling

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Zhe Chen ◽  
David Hursh ◽  
Bob Lingard
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Long Island ◽  
New York State ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Whole Child ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
York State ◽  
Opt Out

Purpose Over the last five years, approximately 50% of the students in Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island and 20% across New York State have opted out of the yearly standardized tests for third through eighth grade. This article focuses on two grassroots organizations, New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) and Long Island Opt Out (LIOO), the two parents who have been central to the organizations’ success, and the strategies and tactics that the two organizations have adopted to achieve such a high opt-out rate in New York. Context Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), third through eighth grade public school students have been required to take yearly standardized tests. The most recent version of the exams focused on assessing students, their teachers, and schools based on the Common Core State Standards. Many educators and parents have argued that the standards and assessments negatively affect student learning. In response, educators, parents, teachers, and students have lobbied and publicly testified in an effort to reduce the length of the exams, if not eliminate them. However, the testimonies have had almost no impact on the policymakers. Consequently, some parents concluded that the only way to influence policymakers is to get enough students to opt out of the tests so that the scores were not valid and thus could no longer be used to compare students and teachers within and across schools for accountability purposes. Research Design This study is drawn from a qualitative research project in which we conducted interviews to understand how the opt-out movement developed and the strategies it adopted in relation to high-stakes testing in New York. The interviews with two parent leaders from NYSAPE and LIOO are the main data source for this article. Findings NYSAPE and LIOO can be characterized as real grassroots social movements in that all members have input in the goals and organizing strategies, and unpaid leaders emerge from the membership. Further, because the organizations lack permanent funding, they have to be innovative in using media. By motivating and empowering others and using social media such as Facebook and Twitter, they built a large network and a strong base so that they could influence policymakers and respond quickly at the local and state levels. Conclusion Their organizing strategies exemplified the participatory and grassroots nature of the new social movements as theorized by McAlevey. The opt-out movement is pushing back not only against high-stakes testing but also against the larger neoliberal construction of parents as simply consumers of schooling, rather than as active, informed citizens. The movement also supports whole-child schooling.

Technology-Infused Balanced Literacy for Enhancing the Reading Skills of Early Grade Children

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Amar Ali Khan ◽  
Manzile Maqsood ◽  
Sajid Umair
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Balanced Literacy ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Conventional Teaching ◽  
Early Grade ◽  
Global Language ◽  
Different Cultures

English is considered as a universal and global language. It serves as a bridge between different cultures and countries. Owing to its great importance research studies are being carried out across the world in order to find out the best ways of teaching English Language at earlier stages of schooling. One such identified way is balanced literacy. This is a systematic approach towards teaching English not as a subject but as a language. This study was conducted to see the effect of technology infused balanced literacy approach on the learning skills and engagement level of English learners in context of Pakistani schools where English is taught as a second Language. An intervention of six weeks was carried out. During the study the conventional teaching methodology of English was also observed. The results of the study suggest the use of balanced literacy for improvement of reading skills.

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