Dissertationen zum Thema „Education, Tests and Measurements|Education, Evaluation|Education, Elementary“

The federal government, through NCLB legislation, has provided target proficiency goals schools will be accountable to meet. Missouri public elementary schools use these target goals to determine their success. The focus of this study was to examine the highly effective public elementary schools in Missouri that met or exceeded the 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets and determine the practices that contributed to their success. The overarching questions were: Can the actions, performance, and knowledge of schools achieving AYP assist other schools to improve their performance on AYP targets? Do Lezotte's correlates of effective schools provide a framework to view successful school performance? With these questions in mind, the purpose of the study was to explore the researched-based programs, characteristics, or reforms used by highly effective elementary schools in Missouri that mirror Lezotte's (2011) correlates of effective schools and comply with NCLB. It was determined that the principals' and teachers' high expectations for themselves and their students were a significant contributor to effective school results. The areas of school focus outlined in the correlates closely matches the goals and procedures effective schools are meeting to be successful. Principals and teachers reported communication arts programs were based on textbooks, with guided reading used to support reading instruction. The math program most used was also the adopted textbook series.

This qualitative, action-research study used themes from appreciative interviews of Texas elementary teachers to recommend a framework for a school-wide assessment model for a Texas elementary school. The specific problem was that the Texas accountability system used a yearly measurement that failed to track progress over time and failed to accurately provide elementary classroom teachers with information about student performance in ways to guide instructional decision making. Appreciative interviews of 22 participants were analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis. Findings revealed teachers valued teacher-made assessments, consistency and alignment, multiple assessment measures, multiple assessment formats, student-centered assessment, and data-centered assessment for classroom use. Themes were triangulated with literature and public testimony of Texas teachers. Recommendations were made for educational leaders and global leadership. The research method used in this study was an Appreciative Inquiry generative research approach within a larger continuous improvement change management cycle. This is significant for global leadership as a method for implementing a process of change in an organization.

Research has shown that there is a strong link between reading comprehension and vocabulary, yet many children lack the required vocabulary needed to perform adequately on reading comprehension assessments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the teaching of Larry Bell’s 12 Powerful Words vocabulary program in order to raise third, fourth and fifth grade test scores on the North Carolina Reading Comprehension End-of-Grade Assessments. This study surveyed third, fourth and fifth grade teachers concerning their beliefs of the efficacy of this vocabulary program, surveyed third, fourth and fifth grade students to determine their knowledge of these 12 words, and tallied the occurrence of these 12 words on formative and summative assessments administered within the district. A regression analysis was performed to determine if there was a relationship between teachers’ perceptions and student performance on the North Carolina Reading Comprehension End-of-Grade Assessments. Results of the regression analysis showed no significant relationship between teachers’ beliefs of the value of teaching these 12 words and students’ mean scores across 12 years of third, fourth and fifth grade North Carolina Reading Comprehension End-of-Grade Assessments in the district of study. Results of the word searches indicate that only five of these 12 words occurred frequently enough to impact reading assessments. An implication of this study is that teaching and learning a short list of vocabulary words may not result in higher scores on reading comprehension assessments.

In the context of a rapidly changing world, higher order thinking skills are necessary for sustainability of U.S. society. Beginning with the premise that U.S. public schools are charged with the constitutional duty of growing children into informed and educated citizens, prepared to thrive in the world of work and to participate in democratic processes; and, that higher order thinking is a core part of that mission, this study examined children’s perspectives on school climate and the environment for the teaching and learning of higher order thinking in twenty five public elementary schools in an urban Connecticut school district. This integrated program of research used an exploratory sequential/concurrent mixed methods design to construct a pair of new psychometric instruments to measure student attitudes toward school climate and the environment for teaching and learning higher order thinking in a public elementary school. The intended uses and interpretations of the scores reported by the Climate4Creativity Elementary (C4C/SPE) and Middle School (C4C/SPM) Student Perspectives measurement instruments, were validated to professional standards. The study concluded that these instruments have utility for public elementary schools, particularly in identifying areas of focus and in the management of strategic and tactical school improvement work as part of a wider program of transformation in a school. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability scores in excess of 0.90 were reported for all measures. This study supported the core idea that safer schools with stronger, more caring communities provide individual students with better learning environments, and that general learning and the learning of creativity are intrinsically linked in the minds of students in public elementary schools, even though these students may not always name these components as such. The environment for learning higher order thinking measure tends to deteriorate from the early grades to middle school grades, implying both raised expectations, and an increase in variability in the data due to more and more variety in classroom settings and teacher practices. Examination of reported bullying experience shows bullying victimization to be a powerful, pervasive determinant of school climate and feelings of safety and community in all grades, but, bullying victimization tends not to penetrate into perceptions of the classroom learning environment to the same degree. By exploring school safety, community, and the structure of the learning environment required for the teaching and learning of higher order thinking in a public elementary school, this work begins the creation of a framework to enable school leaders to make significant, transformational, strategic change in their schools.

English Language Learners (ELLs) are no longer a part of specific areas of America. They have crossed all classroom boundaries of the United States. This means as ELLs have integrated into the classrooms, educators are becoming versed in methods and strategies to help ELLs learn and achieve proficiency on standardized assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine if ELLs learned enough to be proficient in English to do well on a standardized test as their non-ELL peers. The Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) and the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State (ACCESS) were the two exams used to compare proficiency results. The MAP is the standardized test given to Missouri students beginning at Grade 3. The ACCESS is a language achievement test developed by the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium to track levels of English in students beginning in Kindergarten. Students in Grades 3 through 8 were the focus for this study. The exam results of ELLs who took both the MAP and ACCESS were analyzed and compared to their non-ELL peers. The results showed that ELLs who meet academic proficiency on their ACCESS test also have as much English comprehension to do as well on the MAP as the non-ELLs. All groups of students, Grades 3 through 8, showed that if ELLs have reached a level of bridging, or Level 5, they are capable of working with grade level material in English.

In this study, the researcher investigated cultural sensitivity within the mandated English Language Arts Common Core exemplar fictional texts that “serve as useful guideposts in helping educators select texts of similar complexity, quality and range” (Common Core State Standards, n.d., p. 2) for kindergarten through fifth grade, for the state of Missouri. The researcher utilized a modified version of Frances Ann Day’s children’s literature evaluation framework, “Evaluating Children’s Books for Bias,” an adaptation of the Council on Interracial Books for Children’s, “Guidelines for Selecting Bias-Free Textbooks and Storybooks,” to test for cultural sensitivity within 50 of the 90 suggested fictional texts. Day’s framework included investigating omission, illustrations, story lines, authenticity, relationships, depiction of heroes, self-image, author/illustrator background and perspective, language, and copyright date. From Day’s work, the researcher created two separate frameworks, Literature Analysis Framework-First Round, and Literature Analysis Framework-Second Round. Literature Analysis Framework-First Round consisted of passage title, race of author, race of illustrator, copyright date, whether minority characters were present, the number of minority characters, and the number of Caucasian characters. Literature Analysis Framework-Second Round consisted of titles with minority characters, illustrations, relationships/heroes, language, and storyline.

The purpose of this action-research case study was the investigation of possible pedagogical transformations teachers experienced through participation in professional development training of Essential Questions and student learning; specifically student questioning, reading, and math achievement. The research in this study investigated two core focal points: the possible shift in a teacher’s transformational practices after participation in professional development on Essential Questions (McTighe & Wiggins, 2013) and whether the implemented transformational practices led to a possible difference in student questioning skills in grades two through eight on the Measure of Questioning Skills, student achievement in STAR Math, and STAR Reading in grades two through eight. The researcher designed and implemented professional development for the faculty during one school year, based on Essential Questioning (McTighe & Wiggins, 2013) utilizing an enhanced digital lesson planner and on-line web forum, each designed by the researcher to support the components of professional development and collect data during the research period.

The researcher utilized the Measure of Questioning Skills (1993) pre and post-assessments with teachers of grades kindergarten through eight and students in grades two through eight, a qualitative survey of participants comprised of a questionnaire, interview, observation, lesson plans, and discussion boards, as well as classroom observations, teacher interviews, pre and post-survey questions, and reflective journaling to measure possible change in the level of implementation of Essential Questions demonstrated by teachers. Secondary student data included STAR Math and STAR Reading pre and post-assessments from grades two through eight.

Teacher perceptions reflected positive adoption of Essential Questions into lesson planning and teaching practice. Teacher participants demonstrated transformed practices of lesson planning, room design, and teacher-student interactions. Gathered data revealed a statistically significant increase in student achievement in STAR Math and STAR Reading assessments. Teacher participant Measure of Questioning Skills reflected statistically significant changes, as well. Student Measure of Questioning Skills revealed a significant increase in Stage 1 - Organizing Information questions, categorized as factual and procedural questions and an observable increase in Stage 3 - Extending Information questions, categorized as hypothetical and speculative questions.

The purpose of this study was to determine if positive teacher-to-student relationships impacted student academic performance. This case study involved examination of the results of data collected from 43 students who participated in a mentor adoption program initiated with the intent to enhance positive teacher-to-student relationships for the 2013-2014 school year. Archival data of students who participated in the mentor adoption program were compared to data from a stratified group of students who did not participate in the mentor adoption program. Data from English language arts (ELA) and mathematics (MA) Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scale scores, attendance rate, and number of discipline referrals were compiled and analyzed using paired-samples t-tests. The results of the study showed students who participated in the mentor adoption program demonstrated a significant increase in MAP ELA scale scores, increase in MAP MA scale scores, and significant decrease in the number of discipline referrals. Students who did not participate in the mentor adoption program showed significant improvement only in MAP MA scale scores. Perceptual interview data were gathered and analyzed from 10 teachers who participated in the mentor adoption program to determine teacher perceptions and feelings about the program. The results indicated teachers believed the mentor adoption program had value and should be continued in Elementary School A. The analysis of these data showed student academic performance was significantly impacted by the use of a mentor adoption program in Elementary School A.

In this descriptive study, I researched five elementary general education teachers’ reading assessment practices as they worked within the context of IDEA (2004), NCLB (2002) and Response to Intervention (RTI). My own connection to the classroom and reading assessment practices brought me to this research. I presented my personal and professional connection through vignettes about my own classroom assessment practices. Relevant literature on both the context and culture of assessment were pertinent to this research.

I used a qualitative design, specifically, Colaizzi’s (1978) method of phenomenological analysis. Data were three in-depth phenomenological interviews, relevant documents and artifacts, and use of a researcher reflective blog. I summarized the initial findings of this research through 10 clustered themes; shift of focus, ever changing accountability, independent efforts with data, collaborative efforts with data, working environment, interventions and reading assessment practices in action, authenticity in practice, lack of decision making power, teacher emotion, and teacher needs and wants and a composite narrative in order to describe the lived experience of these teachers reading assessment practices.

Implications from my research with regard to policy include a perceived incongruence between an RTI framework and the teacher evaluation system with regard to active collaboration. Those toward practice include difficulty with the day-to-day implementation of an RTI framework and the perception of a singular focus of RTI as disability determination. My recommendations for future research include an action research agenda designed to explore increased involvement of stakeholders such as students, parents and other school personnel.

Since the landmark Coleman Report was issued in 1966 and questioned whether School Practice, or inputs, may have any effects on student performance, there has been considerable debate in the educational community regarding the role that School Practice may play in learning. More contemporary research has suggested that such factors as teacher training and retention, class and school size, and spending per student, may all have impacts on student academic achievement. Many of the studies that have found School Practice to be influential on higher levels of achievement proficiency have been criticized by others in the professional community for not considering School Context. School Context includes those features of schools over which teachers and administrators have little decision-making authority, such as the socioeconomic, ethnic, and linguistic background of the students at that school, or the school's attendance rate.

Others have found that for disadvantaged minorities, School Practice may have greater effects than for the general population. This study provides evidence that for Hispanic students, School Practice contributes a small amount to explaining differences in English language arts and mathematics achievement, considering the much larger effects of School Context.

Additionally, this research suggests that School Practice may have different effects based on geography and subject area content. Specifically, the results of this study suggest that School Practice may be more meaningful for mathematics than for English language arts. School Practice may also have greater effects in schools that are not located in wealthy suburban counties, such as those that surround New York City. In spite of the aggregate small effects of School Practice, there were two variables that were particularly important for their effects on both ELA and mathematics achievement. These variables were the percentage of teachers at a school with advanced levels of training, which had a small positive effect; and the teacher turnover rate, which to a degree had a negative impact on student achievement.

This quasi-experimental value-added study provided evidence for the predictive validity of the Massachusetts MTEL General Curriculum Mathematics Subtest by finding an association between the licensure test results of 130 teachers and the growth of their 2640 grade 4 and 5 students. The study took advantage of a natural experiment that arose due to a policy change made by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MADESE) in response to the initial administration of a new highly rigorous math-specific licensure subtest for elementary and special education teachers in March, 2008. The emergency amendment allowed test takers to conditionally pass the licensure test based upon a lower, temporary cut score, therefore providing a comparison group of teachers who received conditional licensure without fully passing the licensure test. The study sample used a cross-sectional data set acquired from MADESE for the 2010-11 school year, the first year for which data was available that linked individual teachers to their students. The dependent variable of students' mathematics Student Growth Percentile (SGP) score on the statewide test, the MCAS, incorporated prior achievement and was calculated by comparing each student to his or her academic peers. OLS regression analyses including student background variables, classroom variables, and teacher characteristic variables showed that teacher results on the MTEL math test were positively associated with student math SGP scores. The strength of the association found in this study was substantial relative to the research literature and comparable in magnitude with established factors such as student low-income status. The predictive power of the MTEL math test was strongest at the lower range of test scores, suggesting that policymakers should consider lowering the permanent cut score to the level set by the emergency amendment in order to avoid screening effective teachers out of the workforce and potentially decreasing student achievement.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)'s emphasis of reading, language arts, and mathematics (RLA&M) and its de-emphasis of science has been a source of great concern among educators. Through an objectivist and constructionist framework, this study explored the unforeseen effects of the NCLB on public science education among Title I (TI) and non-Title I (NTI) students. The research questions focused on the effects of NCLB on Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores in the high-stakes subjects of reading, language arts, mathematics and the low stakes subject of science among TI and NTI 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students in a north Georgia County during the 2010/2011 school year. This study also compared instructional time TI and NTI teachers dedicated to science. A causal-comparative quantitative methodology was used to analyze Georgia's public domain CRCT scores. Three independent-samples t tests showed that TI schools exhibited significantly lower Science CRCT scores than did NTI students at all grade levels (p < 0.0001). The data also showed CRCT scores in high-stakes subjects between TI and NTI students converging but science CRCT scores between TI and NTI students diverging. The self-report survey indicated no significant differences between TI and NTI teachers' instructional science time (t (107) = 1.49, p = 0.137). A teacher development project was designed to focus on improving teacher science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge through a formal introduction to the nature of science. With increasing global science competition, science is more relevant than ever, and communities need students with strong science foundations. Further study is recommended to analyze the factors associated with this science gap between TI and NTI students.

In this study, I examined the relation between various construct relevant and irrelevant variables and a math problem solving assessment. I used independent performance measures representing the variables of mathematics content knowledge, general ability, and reading fluency. Non-performance variables included gender, socioeconomic status, language proficiency and special education qualification. Using a sequential regression and commonality analysis, I determined the amount of variance explained by each performance measure on the Oregon state math assessment in third grade. All variables were independently predictive of math problem solving scores, and used together, they explained 58% score variance. The math content knowledge measure explained the most variance uniquely (12%), and the measures of math content and general ability explained the most variance commonly (16%). In the second analysis, I investigated whether additional variance was explained once student demographic characteristics were controlled and how this affected the unique variance explained by each independent performance measure. By controlling for demographics, the model explained slightly more than 1% additional variance in math scores. The unique variance explained by each independent measure decreased slightly.

This study highlighted the influence of various construct relevant and irrelevant variables on math problem solving scores, including the extent to which a language-free measure of general ability might help to inform likely outcomes. The use of variance partitioning expanded understanding of the unique and common underlying constructs that affect math problem solving assessment. Finally, this study provided more information regarding the influence demographic information has on outcomes related to state math assessments.

With increased dependence on computer-based standardized tests to assess academic achievement, technological literacy has become an essential skill. Yet, because students have unequal access to technology, they may not have equal opportunities to perform well on these computer-based tests.

The researcher had observed students taking the STAR Reading test (Renaissance Learning, 2009) and noticed a variance in scores in relation to classroom performance. The researcher intended, therefore, to explore variables that may affect the performance of students on a computer-based reading assessment. The researcher tested two different technology-related variables as students took a summative exam, the STAR Reading test. The purpose of this study was to explore how changes in visual stimuli affected the process of reading and student reading behavior. This quantitative study sought to ascertain whether changing the computer read-out to a black screen with white lettering made a difference in student engagement and comprehension among students in grades two through six during a computer-based adaptive test.

The research site was one K-6 elementary school in a large suburban school district. The participants of the study were 316 children in grades two through six. One hundred and sixteen students were randomly sampled for student engagement data analysis. The researcher conducted a stratified random process to further select data for analysis. Students were exposed to both color display background variables throughout the study process. Teacher observers collected tallies on student engagement behaviors during the test-taking process.

The researcher calculated the mean level of student engagement on each of five observed behaviors. The researcher also collected reading comprehension data for five subsequent benchmark sessions throughout the year. The engagement results of this study failed to support the hypothesis, which stated that elementary student behaviors during testing would verify a measureable difference in engagement when either a black or white display screen was presented. The results of the reading comprehension test also failed to support the hypothesis, which stated that there would be a measureable difference in elementary students' scores while taking computer-based tests when the computer screen was set to either black or white background.

The purpose of this study was to contribute to available literature by ascertaining student perceptions of benefits of student access to technology as correlated to students’ standardized test scores. Students and teachers were surveyed for perceptions of technology benefits. Survey results were analyzed and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated comparing student perceptions to standardized Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) grade-level assessment results. As described in specific detail in this paper, it was found student standardized MAP testing data were positively correlated to the introduction of technology-integrated instruction in the classroom setting. Student perceptions indicated a more positive linear association to the support of technology in the content area of mathematics than communication arts. Teacher perceptions of technology integration into the classroom indicated the influx of technology into classroom instruction benefitted lesson preparation and availability of supporting materials.

To address the problem of underperformance in mathematics, Trinidad & Tobago introduced national tests to provide feedback to stakeholders, so that well-targeted interventions can be planned. After more than a decade of generating and sharing reports on performance with these stakeholders, results of national tests remained much the same. It was evident that the feedback was ineffective in instituting the desired changes. In keeping with Vygotsky’s notion that instruction can be improved by teaching within the child’s Zone of Proximal Development, this study devised a model, incorporating the principle of assessment for learning to provide feedback on student performance.

Data from the 2015 mathematics (Standard 3) national test was analysed to describe the proficiencies of students within each of four performance levels. Using a mixed methods design, a sample of 180 scripts was analysed to determine content-specific proficiencies. These were categorised into (i) what students know and can do (Zone of Achieved Development), (ii) what they can do with help (Zone of Proximal Development) and (iii) what they cannot do.

The findings indicated that students in the lower performing groups had deficiencies in reading and comprehension skills and this impacted on their mathematics performance. Division and multiplication algorithms posed difficulties for these students. Performance in measurement was poor, with only the top performing group demonstrating proficiency in this strand. Items requiring higher order thinking were challenging for all students. Inability to carry out mathematical modeling prevented students from obtaining correct answers to questions covering almost half of the test.

A key recommendation is that teachers be given support in planning and instructional strategies to cater for all learners. Intense, ongoing professional development, targeting problem solving, mathematical modeling, and teaching algorithms was recommended. To enable learners to experience more depth and less breadth in achieving competence in measurement, reform in curricula demands, assessment techniques and instructional strategies was suggested.

The study also called for re-conceptualising the design and implementation of national assessment. Such approaches should incorporate models that provide feedback on all curricula outcomes on a continuous basis, and empower teachers to analyse classroom data so as to diagnose student deficiencies.

This study analyzed the results of undergraduate and graduate teacher candidate scores on the Elementary Missouri Content Assessment at a private Midwestern University. The intent was to examine the possibility of a difference between pre-service teachers who satisfied coursework requirements through an undergraduate program or through a graduate program. This study focused on the content knowledge domain of teacher knowledge that had been the focus of teacher competency studies since Lee Shulman’s research in 1986. This study used pre-service teacher Missouri Content Assessment scores, subtest scores, number of attempts to earn a passing score, number of years since a college math or science class was taken, cumulative grade point average, and grade point average in each content area in order to determine if any correlation existed between academic performance and performance on the Elementary Missouri Content Assessment.

The researcher anticipated that pre-service teachers with higher GPA would receive higher scores on the Missouri Content Assessment. The 12 hypotheses in this study tested the relationship of both undergraduate and graduate pre-service teacher academic performance and performance on the Missouri Content Assessment. The site of the study was a medium-sized Private Midwestern University. A random sample of 50 undergraduate and 35 graduate pre-service teachers were selected from a total population of 205 graduates, which included 169 undergraduate candidates and 36 graduate candidates. The study was quantitative utilizing the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient and a z-test for difference in means. The analysis of the 12 hypotheses revealed no statistically significant correlation between academic performance and the Missouri Content Assessment scores. The lack of a significant correlation suggests that further studies are conducted to determine what factors could be indicators that both the Researched University and future pre-service teachers enrolled at the Researched University use as predictors of readiness and success on the MoCA. Because the MoCA assessment has a limited implementation of four years, it may be beneficial to examine what changes the research university has made in course and program design to meet the requirements and then examine the MoCA scores after the changes.

The relationship between teacher-assigned standards-based grades and teacher-assigned traditional grades and student achievement on the Missouri Assessment Program was examined for all students of the sample. The 120 participants for this study were third graders during the 2012-2013 school year transitioned to fourth grade during the 2013-2014 school year. The students were enrolled in Elementary School A in rural Missouri. One hundred twenty students’ permanent traditional and standards-based grade cards and Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores provided the data to determine the relationship between teacher assigned standards-based grade cards or teacher-assigned traditional grade cards and student achievement. The findings of this study provide strong suggestions for school districts considering a standards-based grading and reporting system in response to the recent transition away from traditional grading practices. The results of this study showed a significant relationship between teacher-assigned standards-based grades and student achievement on the MAP in the content areas of English Language Arts and Mathematics. The results of the study suggest standards-based grade reporting offers precise information concerning student learning that can be used as a measure of student achievement.

This study focused on the relationships between educator reading fluency constructs, reading fluency instruction and oral reading fluency assessment. Survey responses from sixty-six elementary educators in rural and urban north Georgia were analyzed to reach an understanding of why educators are likely to equate reading fluency with reading fast (Rasinski, 2009) and focus reading fluency instruction on raising reading rates (Manzo, 2005). The mixed-methods survey analysis informed a grounded theory describing the relationships between factors related to educator misunderstanding.

The mixed-methods analyses of survey responses indicated educator reading fluency constructs may or may not be related to reading fluency instruction and interpretation of oral reading fluency assessment scores. Similarly, findings suggested that oral reading fluency assessment use may or may not be related to educator reading fluency constructs, reading fluency instruction and interpretation of oral reading fluency assessment scores. Although a single source for educator misunderstanding was not isolated, the significant role of misinterpretation of oral reading fluency assessment scores and misunderstandings about the intended purposes of reading fluency instruction was demonstrated. Evidence suggested the need to clarify the intended use of oral reading fluency assessment scores with educators and administrators to guide appropriate instructional decision-making.

Mental health screeners need to demonstrate measurement equivalence across the populations of their intended use in order to improve the fairness in the identification of students in need of social, emotional, and behavioral supports. This study examined measurement invariance on three mental screeners across five racial and ethnic groups. The Elementary Social Behavior Assessment measures academic enablers associated with the latent construct of teachability (ESBA). The Student Risk Screening Scale assesses externalizing problems (SRSS) and the Student Internalizing Behavior Screener measures internalizing problems (SIBS). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses tested for measurement invariance from the sample of African American (18%), Asian American/Pacific Islander (13%), Latino Hispanic (25%), European American (31%), and multiracial (11%) groups of students in elementary schools. Only the ESBA required respecification to establish an adequate baseline model. The ESBA, SRSS, and SIBS demonstrated metric invariance with ordinal ratings of never, occasionally, sometimes, and frequently in addition to scalar invariance with the thresholds between the ordinal ratings. Thus, the total scores from the ESBA, SRSS, and SIBS generalize across racial and ethnic groups and the student’s race or ethnicity is less likely to mask their true level of need for social, emotional, and behavioral supports. The results indicate that the ESBA, SRSS, and SIBS may help teachers to identify racially and ethnically students who need intervention, to customize the interventions, and to evaluate students’ response to intervention. Schools using these mental health screeners may reduce disproportionality in discipline and special education.

Personalized learning is not a new concept and can be traced back to the 1700s, but it has become increasingly popular in today’s schools (Bray & McClaskey, 2015). With the high rate of technology introduction into classrooms, the implementation of personalized learning has become easier as instruction shifts from teacher-led to student-centered (Grant & Bayse, 2014). The purpose of this study was to identify the role of technology in personalized learning and to determine if the implementation of the pedagogy had an effect on student achievement scores. Elementary classroom teachers and elementary principals served as the participants for this study, which was conducted in a southwest Missouri school district. Teachers rated their personal level of personalized learning implementation on a survey. The rating was compared to mean student scale score gains in reading and mathematics, as measured on the i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment. Teachers and administrators also identified how technology impacted personalized learning in their classrooms or buildings. After an analysis of the data, it was determined there was no statistically significant correlation between the degree of implementation of personalized learning and student achievement. According to survey responses, 89% of educators agreed technology eased the implementation of personalized learning, and the teachers and administrators indicated using technology for research and accessing resources outside of the classroom as the most frequent use for devices.

This program evaluation examined students that entered kindergarten not ready on the Brigance screener and received research based reading interventions to determine if an elementary school was successful in closing the achievement gap so that they would have the literacy skills needed to be successful in first grade. Evidence of success was based on progress monitoring through Brigance and MAP testing. The researcher concluded that while 50% of the students were ready at the end of kindergarten only 7% returned to first grade ready. Other results indicated that the achievement gap was closing for students in special education but not low income students as well as gains for students receiving intervention and those not receiving intervention were equivalent. Implications for practice include the importance of preschool and full-day kindergarten as well as ensuring that summer learning is considered between kindergarten and first grade.

Using de-identified data, this study investigated the relationship between racial categories with curriculum-based early writing measures (CBM-W), which included word dictation, picture word sentence writing, and story prompt tasks for over 300 participants in Grades 1, 2, and 3. Words written, words spelled correctly, correct letter sequences, incorrect letter sequences, and correct-minus-incorrect letter sequences were scoring procedures used to measure student performance in the data set. A one-way ANOVA tested for significant relationships between racial categories across all assessments, test forms, and scoring procedures. Fisher’s LSD was applied post hoc for further examination of significant relationships reported from the ANOVA. Overall, findings from this preliminary investigation into racial bias of CBM-W, revealed nonsignificant relationships between racial categories. However, further investigation regarding socioeconomic status, English as a second language (ESL) learners, and background knowledge variables is necessary.

This quasiexperimental single group design study investigated the validity of the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) to identify fourth and fifth grade students who are at-risk in vocabulary development. The subjects of the study were 88 fourth and fifth grade students at one elementary school in Washington State. The Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE), a previously validated vocabulary assessment with fourth and fifth grade students, was used to determine concurrent validity with two VLT subtests, the 2000 level and Academic Word Level. The two VLT subtests and GRADE vocabulary subtests were administered over one academic week near the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

Prior research has identified vocabulary knowledge and development as a key indicator in reading achievement. However, there is currently a lack of assessments able to identify students who are struggling with vocabulary development. The VLT is a well-established and researched vocabulary test which identifies levels of vocabulary knowledge, but it has been used exclusively with English language learners primarily at the university level. The study, therefore, expands on the current research base on the VLT with a new population to determine if the VLT is a valid vocabulary assessment for fourth and fifth grade students.

The United States' Public Education system shared concerns regarding declining achievement results across the nation. Numerous research studies suggested significant correlations to various variables, such as, SES (Socio-Economic Status), LEP (Limited English Proficiency), IEP (Individualized Educational Programs), ethnicity, and student mobility. The literature suggested these areas of concern need continued research to address specific issues, such as, how to close the educational gaps between students in these categories and students without these characteristics.

The Primary Investigator completed a case study to assist decision makers with transient students at a Midwest near-urban elementary school by specifically focusing on fifth grade students from the class of 2019. The methodology created by the Primary Investigator differentiated among Persistent, Transitional, and Transient mobility populations who entered a supplemental reading model program called, Blitz. The Primary Investigator divided mobility groups into specific categories to determine if needs were met for transient student populations, as compared to non-transient students. Few studies had addressed programs that specifically focused on methods of measurement tool that allowed for comparisons among mobile students in settings where non-mobile students reside.

The Primary Investigator's methods used in this case study allowed decision makers to continue to develop their program to fit the needs of all students at the case study school and to make decisions as to the effectiveness of their efforts to assist their Persistent, Transitional, and Transient students in their large near urban elementary school.

Results indicated there were improvements in each mobility group that participated in the Blitz supplemental reading model. Students in the most transient group significantly increased achievement and decreased variance in scores when compared to the Persistent population. The Primary Investigator's collected data suggested that students in the Persistent population averaged the highest achievement scores for all data sets. Achievement scores of students in the most Persistent populations who were of Caucasian and African American ethnicity and of low SES-socio-economic status did not have negative impacts on scores. Overall, this case study supported a positive effect of additional reading assistance on a student's independent reading ability and Communications Arts achievement in this large near-urban Midwest elementary school.

This study followed mindset changes in elementary teachers as they transitioned from traditional grading to standards based grading during the earliest stages of the change process. A pre- and post-survey of mindsets of participants, individual interviews, and a focus group interview were conducted. While the results of the pre- and post-survey did not reveal a significant mindset shift, interviews with participants revealed the role of hands-on professional development and interaction with instructional coaches in transitioning teachers to standards based grading and were accompanied by participant examples of shifts in mindsets. Future research recommendations include following this change process through the entire implementation phase, a study of parents’ understanding of standards based grading, a review of other factors that contribute to a shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, and finally, analyzing the unleashing phase of change to determine if it creates change initiatives beyond standards based grading.

Few empirical studies explore how socioeconomic status (SES) disadvantaged students perform academically in a 100% online school. This causal-comparative ex post facto quantitative study examined how SES-disadvantaged students at an online charter school performed academically when compared with both SES-disadvantaged and non-SES-disadvantaged students enrolled in a traditional public school. Choice theory and how it applies to education was foundational to the study. Using archival data from 2011–2012 for math and reading on state-standardized testing, research questions compared of SES-disadvantaged students scores to non-SES disadvantaged students within two schools in one school district. The test scores analysis was by independent t-tests. The results for SES-disadvantaged students indicate significantly lower performance by online students (n = 43) compared with their counterparts at a traditional elementary school (n = 43); t = 2.33 and p = 0.022 for math and t = 3.57 and p = <0.001 for reading. Among the non-SES-disadvantaged students, results also indicate lower performance at the online charter school (n = 20) than at the traditional public school (n = 20); t = 3.22 and p = 0.003 for math and t = 2.95 and p = .005 for reading. No significant differences emerged between SES-disadvantaged students and non-SES disadvantaged students enrolled in the online school for math (n = 63; t = 1.65 and p = 0.105) or for reading (t = 0.89 and p = 0.378 for reading). Comparing SES-disadvantaged students and non-SES-disadvantaged students enrolled at the traditional elementary school on math scores indicated a significantly lower difference (n = 63; t = 2.58 and p = 0.012), but not on reading scores ( n = 63, t = 0.74 and p = 0.461).