Education Commons^™

Teacher Use Of High-Stakes Test Score Data To Improve Instruction, James H. Mcmillan, Susan P. Mckelvey

MERC Publications

Across the United States most school districts and state departments of education have embraced high-stakes testing for their public schools and students. This has led to widespread school reform since many students have not reached the standards that the states and/or districts have set. Teachers increasingly focus on making sure that their students have enough knowledge to pass these tests, and some states and districts have made passing scores a requirement for graduation. Many states and districts have invested considerable time aligning their standardized tests with the objectives of the curriculum.

One of the consequences of high-stakes testing is that …

Stories Of Student Success In Title I Elementary Schools, Rachel Mccay, Rachel Savage

MERC Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine factors present in schools with students who performed higher or demonstrated greater improvement on SOL(Standards of Learning) tests that might have been expected based on student demographics. The study identified factors present in these schools that contributed to their success. The study examined four Title I elementary schools, including three designated as high achieving and one as low achieving for purposes of comparison. The study was initially designed to examine equal numbers of schools representing each phenomenon (high and low achieving); however, the perceived pressure associated with state and local reform efforts …

Accountability Tests And Assessment Of Students With Disabilities: High-Stakes Are For Tomatoes! A Review Of Literature, Paul J. Gerber

MERC Publications

Since the landmark work A Nation at Risk (1998), a report that warned about “the rising tide of mediocrity in American public education”, school systems in the United States have been evolving by way of myriad of reform efforts, particularly with regard to the “standards movement.” There has been much scrutiny of student achievement by variety of constituencies – policymakers, school boards, and unions; school administrators, teachers, and parents. Each has viewed the metamorphosis of the K-12 system through its own lens. Moreover, each group has been most interested in the “bottom line” of educational efforts. That is, the outcomes …

Using The Internet To Support K-12 Teaching And Learning: A Review Of Literature, Rachel A. Karchmer, Leanne Eberly

MERC Publications

The purpose of this literature review is to examine what research and theory has informed us about using information and communication technologies (ICT), specifically the Internet, to support K-12 instruction. In the fall of 2000, 77% of K-12 classrooms in the United States has at least one computer with Internet access (Cattagni & Farris, 2001). This number has surely risen especially as programs such a E-rate, funded by the federal government, provided billions of dollars to schools for the purpose of establishing Internet connections (see www.fcc.gov/learnet).

When reviewing the existing literature, it becomes clear that while great emphasis has been …

The Effectiveness Of Summer Remediation For High-Stakes Testing, James H. Mcmillan, Angela Snyder

MERC Publications

Summer school has been an integral part of American education for many years. Historically, summer school was used to prevent delinquency, to keep children “off the streets.” While this function is still served, the purposes of summer school now include academic enrichment, summer employment for teachers, supervision for children during the summer months for working parents, the mitigation of summer learning loss, and what can be teamed remediation of student knowledge and skills to meet high academic standards (Hirschman, 200; New York State United Teachers, 1999); the National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations, 2000). For some students, summer …

Teachers' Use Of High-Stakes Test Results To Improve Instruction: A Review Of Literature, James H. Mcmillan, Susan P. Mckelvey

MERC Publications

Across the United States many school districts and state departments of education have embraced high-stakes testing for their public schools and students. This has led to widespread school reform since many students have not reached the standards that the states and/or districts have set. Teachers increasingly focus on making sure that their students have enough knowledge to pass these tests, and some states and districts have made passing scores a requirement for graduation. Many states and districts have invested considerable time aligning their standardized tests with the objectives of the curriculum.

One of the consequences of high-stakes testing is that …

Retaining Teachers Across The Professional Continuum: A Review Of Literature, Jill Englebright Fox, Janine Certo

MERC Publications

Teacher induction is best understood in the larger context of teacher education. The education of teachers is a continuum of on-going activities and experiences, including pre-service preparation, induction, and in-service development.

Viewed in this context, it is clear that programs addressing the induction period (induction and mentoring programs) need to function as logical extensions of the preservice program and as entry pieces in a larger career-long professional development program. Induction programs acknowledge that beginning teachers have recently completed teacher-preparation programs. Such support enables beginning teachers to continue to develop their teaching skills while confronting the adjustment difficulties often encountered during …

Dropping Out: Why Students Leave School, Joseph R. Boyle

MERC Publications

Previous research has indicated that students permanently leave school for a number of reasons including low grades, overage, high absentee rate, behavior problems, pregnancy, work, family problems, or drugs/alcohol. While many of these factors are often described in nebulous terms, the purpose of this study was to examine specific academic factors within the classroom that lead up to students’ permanent departure from school, and to learn firsthand, from students who have dropped out of school.

The purpose of this study was to use qualitative in-depth interviews of students who had left school for academic reasons, to identify specific factors in …

The Effectiveness Of Remedial School Summer Programs: Review Of Literature And Annotated Bibliography, James H. Mcmillan, Dawn Bonanno Fitzelle

MERC Publications

Summer School has been an integral part of American education for many years. Historically, summer school was used to prevent delinquency, to keep children “off the streets.” While this function is still served, the purposes of summer school now include academic enrichment, summer employment for teachers, supervision for children during the summer months for working parents, the mitigation of summer learning loss, and what can be termed remediation of student knowledge and skills to meet higher academic standards (Hirschman, 2000; New York State United Teachers, 1999; The National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations, 2000). For some students, summer …

Students' Perspectives On Their High School Experience, Kathleen M. Cauley, Carl Chafin, Janine Certo

MERC Publications

This study explored what it is like to be a high school student today. Our purpose was to describe the extent to which the schools in the metropolitan area are meeting the needs of their diverse body of students.

Knowing whether disengagement and alienation are widespread is important if we are to determine whether systemic change is needed or a more localized approach that targets particular students. We looked at those internal (school) factors related to instructional time; non-instructional time in school, extracurricular activities and school climate that help or hinder students’ perceived levels of engagement. Obtaining a snapshot of …

Retaining Quality Teachers, Janine Certo, Jill Englebright Fox

MERC Publications

At this time, when the need for good teachers and good teaching is unprecedented, America is experiencing a shortage of qualified individuals prepared to take on the challenges of the profession, particularly in critical shortage areas, such as math and science or special education. Moreover, there is continuing concern that processionals are leaving the teaching field much earlier in their careers than are professionals from other fields. The National Center for Education Statistics (1997c) reports that across the nation 9.3% of public school teachers leave their positions within their first three years of teaching. Additionally, nearly 30% of teachers leave …

Why Students Leave School: A Review Of Literature, Joseph R. Boyle, Tara Anderson

MERC Publications

This review of the literature is an analysis of research concerning students who drop out of school. The review will present an overview of the prevalence of the problem, common characteristics of students who are at-risk for dropping out, why students drop out, how students drop out, drop-out prevention programs, and implications of research on future prevention programs.

Approximately five out of every 100 young adults enrolled in high school in 1997 dropped out of school before October 1998 without successfully completing a high school program (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999). Over the past decade, 300 to 500 thousand …

Development Of A Model To Evaluate A Multi-Agency Attendance Improvement And Truancy Reduction Initiative: Phase I (A Merc Technical Report), Suzanne Nash, Ann S. Allen

MERC Publications

Students must be in attendance daily to benefit fully from public school academics and socialization through both regular and extra-curricular activities. The reality is that many public school students are at-risk of school failure and eventually dropping out partially because of poor attendance behaviors. These poor attendance behaviors can usually be traced to challenged communities and families whose children face multiple at-risk factors. Urban inner-city schools with high percentages of minority students are among those with the highest risk factors and they experience the greatest problems with attendance and, eventually, truancy. The Richmond Public Schools (RPS) has worked diligently for …

Report On The Implementation Of Alternative High Schools, Nora Alder, Terry Brown

MERC Publications

The Richmond Academy opened in January 1999 to accommodate ninth and tenth graders whose behavior had been problematic in regular school settings. Created with a mission to support these students' academic and social growth, the Richmond Academy's goals include preparing students to successfully return to their home schools and complete high school.

The purpose of this report is to describe the Richmond Academy as it had been implemented in its opening semester and to make recommendations for subsequent semesters. This report beings with a review of the literature that focuses on evaluations of similar alternative settings. Next, a description of …

Teachers' Classroom Assessment And Grading Practices: Phase 2, James H. Mcmillan, Daryl Workman

MERC Publications

A significant amount of recent literature has focused on classroom assessment and grading as essential aspects of effective teaching. There is an increased scrutiny of assessment as indicated by the popularity of performance assessment and portfolios, newly established national assessment competencies for teachers (Standards, 1990), and the interplay between learning, motivation, as assessment (Brookhart, 1993, 1994; Tittle, 1994). In Virginia, the Standards of Learning and associated tests highlight the importance of assessment.

Previous research documents that teachers tend to award a "hodgepodge grade of attitude, effort, and achievement" (Brookhart, 1991, p. 36). It is also clear that teachers use a …

Report On The Implementation Of The Richmond Academy, Nora Alder, Terry Brown

MERC Publications

The purpose of this report is to describe the Richmond Academy as it had been implemented in its opening semester and to make recommendations for subsequent semesters. This report begins with a review of the literature that focuses on evaluations of similar alternative settings. Next, a description of the methodology used in this report is outlined. A description of the basic components of the Richmond Academy follows the methodology. Finally, recommendations for the future of the Richmond Academy are made.

Recruiting And Retaining Teachers: A Review Of The Literature, Jill Englebright Fox, Janine Certo

MERC Publications

The National Center for Education Statistics (1998) predicts that by 2008 approximately 2.4 million teachers will be needed in this country, at a rate of over 200,000 per year. Several factors contribute to this prediction. First, due to increased birth rates and immigration (Darling-Hammond, 1999), student enrollment is expected to pass 54 million by that time -- its highest in the history of this country (NCES, 1998). Second, more than 33% of the current teaching force is age 50 or older (Recruiting New Teachers, 1998) and likely to retire within the next decade. Third, recommendations, if not regulations, reducing the …

Testing, Accountability And Accrediation, Sanford D. Snider

MERC Publications

The primary purpose of this case study was to describe the implementation of the Virginia Standards of Learning in seven public school systems in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. Implementation includes the application of the grade level and subject objectives to daily classroom instruction, organization of instruction, and preparation of students for administration of the tests.

The Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) is made up of Virginia Commonwealth University and seven school systems in the vicinity of Richmond. A Policy and Planning Council, which governs the consortium, is made up of the school superintendent, a representative member of each school …

Enhancing Parental Involvement In Urban Schools: Types Of Programs, Characteristics Of Successful Programs, And Proven Strategies, Suzanne Trevett, James H. Mcmillan

MERC Publications

Numerous students and reports document the fact that parental involvement in education is positively related to higher student achievement. A review of the literature also reveals that educators regard parental involvement in a variety of ways, ranging from a traditional concept of inviting parents to back-to-school night, to more participatory efforts such as parental membership on decision-making committees and executive councils. Studies also show that parental involvement relates to enhanced community satisfaction with education and to better physical facilities. None of these is an inconsequential or isolated factor; each impinges the other, and taken together they constitute major challenges facing …

Classroom Assessment And Grading Practices: A Review Of The Literature, James H. Mcmillan, Daryl Workman

MERC Publications

This review of literature is an analysis of completed research on the nature and effect of classroom assessment practices and grading. In recent years the assessment of student performance has become a central focus of efforts to reform education (Cizek, 1997). Policy-makers have increasingly seen assessment as a measure of student and school accountability, influencing curriculum and teaching. At the center of this movement is the classroom teacher. It is the teacher who communicates standards and expectations through the assessments students experience, and it is the teacher who makes decisions daily about what students learn. Classroom assessments, because students experience …

Teachers' Classroom Assessment And Grading Practices: Phase 1, James H. Mcmillan, Daryl Workman

MERC Publications

Classroom assessment and grading practices are becoming a greater focus of educational inquiry as teachers and policymakers become more accountable to the public for educational outcomes via assessment driven instructional practices. This study was an attempt to better understand the classroom assessment and grading practices of teachers, which have previously been described as a "hodgepodge" mix of student attitude, effort and achievement. Specifically, the following questions regarding teachers' assessment and grading practices were addressed:

What is the current state of assessment practice and grading by teachers?

What assessment and grading topics do teachers identify as needs to be addressed in …

Differentiation Of Instructional Methodologies In Subject-Based Curricula At The Secondary Level, Edward Hootstein

MERC Publications

Currently, efforts to detrack secondary schools have called attention to the need for instructional practices to address the increase academic diversity within many classrooms. The purpose of this student was to examine how teachers address that diversity and what steps they take to meet students' instructional needs. The purpose of the study was brought into focus by posing the following research questions: How important is addressing students' diverse academic needs to secondary school teachers? (b) Which instructional methods do secondary school teachers use to address students' academic differences? (c) which instructional methods do secondary school teachers think are effective in …

High School Follow-Up Surveys: What Works?, James H. Mcmillan, Suzanne Trevvett

MERC Publications

Increasing demand for accountability have prompted a renewed interest in determining effective methods of obtaining data from high school graduates and former students. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the methods and objectives of high school graduate/former student follow-up activities to identify procedures that resulted in high response rates and helpful information.

Information was obtained from three sources: local school systems in the Richmond metropolitan area, selected school systems in other areas of Virginia, and school systems in other states as identified through a search of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database.

The purposes of the follow-up …

A Study Of The Impact Of Overage Middle School Students On Middle Schools, Daisy Reed, Caroline Kirkpatrick

MERC Publications

A continuing issue in school reform efforts is the need to decrease dropout rates for students. Many dropouts are at-risk students who have failing grades, inadequate academic sills, and low levels of literacy. These students are often retained in grade, and eventually drop out. While students may actually drop out in high school, dropping out behaviors begin to occur in middle school or even earlier, in elementary school. Middle School students who are retained and become overage have the potential for having a negative impact on the school district and the school. More importantly, these students often suffer a decrease …

Disruptive Students In The Classroom: A Review Of The Literature, Daisy Reed, Caroline Kirkpatrick

MERC Publications

Classroom discipline and school violence continue to be major issues in American education today. Rose and Gallup (1998) in the most recent Gallup Poll, respondents were asked to identify the biggest problems with which the public schools in their communities must deal. The results showed that concern about "fighting/violence/gangs" was at the top of the list, followed closely by "lack of discipline/more control." The metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher (1993) reports that while the majority of teachers (77%) feel safe in their schools, only 50% of students feel that way. A substantial proportion of students say they often …

The Elementary Classroom Computer Initiative: Teacher Perceptions Of Three Years Of Implementation, John Pisapia, Kim Knutson

MERC Publications

Henrico County Public School received funding in 1995 to place five computers and an ink jet color printer in each of its regular elementary classrooms fist through fifth grade. The goals of the initiative were numerous but focused on: (1) increasing student performance, (2) addressing different learning styles, (3) providing students with daily access to computers, (4) increasing student proficiency with computers, and (5) preparing students for the future. To accomplish these goals, teachers were required to acquire the capacity to integrate computers into their daily classroom lessons and the school division needed to install, maintain the technical hardware and …

The Elementary Classroom Computer Initiative: Software Survey Report, Kim Knutson, John Pisapia

MERC Publications

Henrico County Public School received funding in 1995 to place five computers and an ink jet color printer in each of its regular first through fifth grade elementary classrooms. The goals of the initiative were numerous but focused on: (1) increasing student performance, (2) addressing different learning styles, (3) providing students with daily access to computers, (4) increasing student proficiency with computers, and (5) preparing students for the future. This report examines the type of courseware/software being used by teachers to implement the initiative.

The Integration Of Academic And Vocational Education, John Pisapia, Earl Riggins

MERC Publications

Vocational and academic education in U.S. high schools became separate entities around the turn of the century. Academic education has historically conisted of courses including English, history, mathematics, science, foreign languate, and fine arts. Such an education prepares studens for further education at the college or university level. Such an education may be supplemented with courses which familiarize students with the uses of technology. Occupational skills trining hs not been a component of academic education. Traditionally, vocational education has focued on specific skill training for entry-level jobs by offering students training in occupationally specific areas. While a large number of …

Alternative High School Scheduling: Student Achievement And Behavior Research Report, John Pisapia, Amy Lynn Westfall

MERC Publications

In 1995, the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) commissioned a study of alternative high school schedules to determine their effects on teaching strategies, teacher and student satisfaction, and student and school performance. Two previous papers emanating from this study reported the views of teachers and students regarding alternative schedules in twelve high schools utilizing different scheduling alternatives to address. This paper uses commonly collected statistical data, and survey and interview responses from those same schools to determine the impact of alternative schedules on student achievement and behavior.

Alternative High School Scheduling: A View From The Teacher's Desk, John Pisapia, Amy Lynn Westfall

MERC Publications

in 1995, the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) commissioned a study of alternative high school scheduling models to determine the effects of different high school schedules on teaching strategies, teacher, and student satisfaction, and student and school performance. Specifically, it was hypothesized that block schedules would (1) improve teacher classroom and work behavior, (2) improve the working conditions for teachers and students, and (3) improve student and school outcomes. This paper presents the first report of the data. It presents the results of the analysis of the survey administered to teachers, students and administrators in the Spring of 1995. The …