National assessment of arsenic within groundwater: A case study with Ireland

2016 ◽  
pp. 33-34
Author(s):  
L Morrison ◽  
E McGrory ◽  
C Brown
Keyword(s):  
National Assessment

scholarly journals Sub-national assessment of aid effectiveness: A case study of post-conflict districts in Uganda

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Freddie Ssengooba ◽  
Justine Namakula ◽  
Vincent Kawooya ◽  
Suzanne Fustukian
Keyword(s):  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Post Conflict

Sense Making and Professional Identity in the Implementation of edTPA

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Cohen ◽  
Ethan Hutt ◽  
Rebekah L. Berlin ◽  
Hannah M. Mathews ◽  
Jillian P. McGraw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Public University ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Organizational Complexity ◽  
Case Study Design ◽  
Teacher Professionalization ◽  
Mixed Methods Case Study ◽  
Internal Variation

edTPA is designed to strengthen teacher professionalization and provide a framework for program redesign. However, using a national assessment to shift the content of local programs is challenging because of their inherent organizational complexity. In this article, we focus on this complexity, using a systems lens to analyze edTPA implementation at a large, public university. Employing a mixed-methods case study design, we survey 250 teacher educators and candidates to understand how they interpret the demands of edTPA and how their varied perspectives impact each other. We interview a stratified, purposive subset of participants to explore mechanisms underlying quantitative findings. We find substantial internal variation in edTPA implementation that translates into differential support for candidates. This variation could not be explained by duration of implementation of edTPA. Varied perspectives may stem from distinct perceptions of teacher educators’ professional roles and the role they see edTPA playing in teacher professionalization.

Commentary on Reardon, Kalogrides, and Ho’s “Validation Methods for Aggregate-Level Test Scale Linking: A Case Study Mapping School District Test Score Distributions to a Common Scale”

2020 ◽  
pp. 107699862094826
Author(s):  
Daniel Bolt
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
State Level ◽  
State Assessments ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Common Scale ◽  
Scale Linking ◽  
Bias Evaluation ◽  
Preliminary Support

The studies presented by Reardon, Kalogrides, and Ho provide preliminary support for a National Assessment of Educational Progress–based aggregate linking of state assessments when used for research purposes. In this commentary, I suggest future efforts to explore possible sources of district-level bias, evaluation of predictive accuracy at the state level, and a better understanding of the performance of the linking when applied to the inevitable nonrepresentative district samples that will be encountered in research studies.

scholarly journals Foundation phase teachers’ use of manipulatives to teach number concepts: A critical analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindiwe M. Mntunjani ◽  
Stanley A. Adendorff ◽  
Sibawu W. Siyepu
Keyword(s):  
Poor Performance ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Proximal Development ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Number Concepts ◽  
Teaching For Understanding ◽  
Study Approach

Background: The poor performance of learners in mathematics has long been a matter of concern in South Africa. The Annual National Assessment (ANA) results reveal that the problem starts in the foundation phase with number concepts.Aim: This research sought to ascertain how foundation phase teachers used mathematical resources to teach number concepts as this may be one of the contributors to poor mathematics results.Setting: The purposively selected participants included five foundation phase teachers teaching Grades 1–3 at two schools in the Western Cape, in South Africa.Methods: The research was located within the interpretive qualitative research paradigm and used a case study approach. Data were collected through lesson observations and interviews and analysed through the lens of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory.Results: The findings of this study revealed that teaching for understanding was often compromised by teaching to enable learners to pass systemic assessments. Teachers are inclined to rote teaching with drill work in preparation for assessments such as the ANA and the systemic assessment. Consequently, manipulatives are not necessarily used optimally or opportunely.Conclusion: This study recommends that teachers should receive the necessary training to use and follow Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and also make an effort to follow the guidelines indicated in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement mathematics document in respect of how and when to use practical mathematical manipulatives.

Validation Methods for Aggregate-Level Test Scale Linking: A Case Study Mapping School District Test Score Distributions to a Common Scale

2019 ◽  
pp. 107699861987408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean F. Reardon ◽  
Demetra Kalogrides ◽  
Andrew D. Ho
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Test Score ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Random Effects Models ◽  
Validation Methods ◽  
Common Scale ◽  
Scale Linking

Linking score scales across different tests is considered speculative and fraught, even at the aggregate level. We introduce and illustrate validation methods for aggregate linkages, using the challenge of linking U.S. school district average test scores across states as a motivating example. We show that aggregate linkages can be validated both directly and indirectly under certain conditions such as when the scores for at least some target units (districts) are available on a common test (e.g., the National Assessment of Educational Progress). We introduce precision-adjusted random effects models to estimate linking error, for populations and for subpopulations, for averages and for progress over time. These models allow us to distinguish linking error from sampling variability and illustrate how linking error plays a larger role in aggregates with smaller sample sizes. Assuming that target districts generalize to the full population of districts, we can show that standard errors for district means are generally less than .2 standard deviation units, leading to reliabilities above .7 for roughly 90% of districts. We also show how sources of imprecision and linking error contribute to both within- and between-state district comparisons within versus between states. This approach is applicable whenever the essential counterfactual question—“what would means/variance/progress for the aggregate units be, had students taken the other test?”—can be answered directly for at least some of the units.

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