Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Volume 03, Number 02, Don Forrester Editor

Reaching Through Teaching

Full text of Volume 03, Number 02 of Reaching Through Teaching.

Preface, Barbara S. Plake

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

The Buros-Nebraska annual Symposia on Measurement and Testing are aimed at providing a forum for discussing important issues in the field of measurement and testing. The topic for the 1987 Symposium was "Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession." This topic was selected because of the current interest in developing, designing, and implementing accountability programs for teaching that are present in many states and education programs. The complex nature of teaching, combined with the unique measurement issues for assessing outcomes in the teaching context, provided the basis for identifying the topic of teacher assessment for the 1987 …

1. Face Validity: Siren Song For Teacher Testers, W. James Popham

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

The sirens of Greek mythology were a seductive set of women who, by singing melodies that apparently topped even those of Diana Ross and the Supremes, could lure mesmerized men to their doom. Greek mythology, it is clear, was solidly sexist, for the sirens used their supernatural singing talents to entice only unsuspecting males into trouble. Gender-equity considerations were conspicuously absent from the forays of Greek fablemakers. Sexism aside, however, it is certain that the sirens of yesteryear knew how to sing some truly enticing tunes.

FACE VALIDITY'S ALLURE

In today's current frenzy to develop teacher assessment devices that tap …

10. Appraisal: The Teachers' Perspective, Peg Shafer

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

The Discovery Channel on TV has some terrific programming. Not too long ago I watched a scientist explain why it is that the position of a stranded boat will not change even when it is tossed around by giant storms. The theory is that waves move across the water rather than the water itself moving. The wave moves along in a circular motion, propelled by big or small forces depending on what started it in the first place. As long as nothing interrupts the roll of the wave, it will pass and leave everything as it was before.

At the …

9. Teaching Assessment: The Administrator's Perspective, John R. Hoyle

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

School administrators, especially principals, are under great pressure to insure high levels of teacher competence. Because the school effectiveness research has demonstrated convincingly that effective schools begin with effective principals, Peterson and Finn (1985) drew a less than surprising conclusion by stating that "Practically never does one encounter a good school with a bad principal" (p. 42). A less pedantic east Texas superintendent put it this way, "Bad principals are like fish; you either can 'em or smell 'em for a long time." It is in the complex area of teaching assessment or teacher evaluation that principals draw the most …

6. Measuring Performance In Teacher Assessment, Richard J. Stiggins

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

In performance assessment, the examinee is called upon to display behaviors or produce products which an observer evaluates in terms of pre-specified performance standards. This kind of measurement plays a major role in many school evaluation contexts, including both student and teacher evaluation. The observation and evaluation of a teacher's performance in the classroom represents one of many excellent sources of information on teacher capabilities and the effectiveness of instruction. The purpose of this chapter is to review the various ways performance assessment methodology can serve in teacher-assessment contexts.

The review begins with a summary of the range of settings …

3. Improving Teaching Through The Assessment Process, Donald M. Medley

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

The first opportunity to use teacher evaluation to improve teaching arises when a student applies for admission into an undergraduate teacher preparation program. At this time it is the responsibility of the program faculty to determine whether each candidate possesses those abilities and other personal characteristics that every teacher needs, but cannot expect to acquire in such a program, and to deny admission to those who lack one or more of them. The second opportunity arises when the student has completed the program. At this time it is the responsibility of the state certification agency to find out whether each …

8. Limitations Of Using Student-Achievement Data For Career-Ladder Promotions And Merit-Pay Decisions, Ronald A. Berk

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

A study of U.S. school districts conducted 70 years ago reported that 48% of the districts sampled used merit pay (Evendon, 1918). Since then, the quantity as well as quality of teacher-compensation systems has fluctuated markedly (for details, see Cohen & Murnane, 1985; Murnane & Cohen, 1986; Porwoll, 1979). At present, 29 states are implementing large-scale teacher-incentive programs (a.k.a. career ladder, merit pay, pay for performance), funding local plans, piloting testing models, or using state board of education or legislative mandates to develop programs for teachers and administrators (Southern Regional Education Board, 1986) The status of these programs is summarized …

4. Assessing The Quality Of Teacher Assessment Tests, William A. Mehrens

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

This chapter discusses some of the types of evidences that are appropriate for assessing the quality of teacher-licensure tests. Licensure tests are used to make dichotomous decisions, so reliability estimates of the consistency of decisions are needed. Because the inference of interest has to do with the minimum competency necessary to prevent harm from coming to the clients, it is argued that content validity is the type of validity evidence most appropriate for licensure tests. However, evidences for criterion-related validity, construct validity and "curricular validity" are also discussed. The issue of whether the cut score on a licensure test should …

11. The Assessment Of Teacher Assessment: Concluding Thoughts And Some Lingering Questions, James V. Mitchell Jr.

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

In a recent update on teacher testing practices across the United States, Rudner (1988) reported that 44 states have developed teacher-certification-testing programs, with 26 states currently testing prospective teachers as a certification requirement and another 18 states scheduled to implement such programs in the near future. It is obvious that teacher testing has become a very extended endeavor- It has also stimulated extended debate.

It was in acknowledgment of the importance of this extended teacher testing and associated debate that the Advisory Committee of the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements decided to devote its 1987 annual symposium to the topic …

An Administrative Guide For Effective Use Of Standardized Test Results, Connie J. Miller

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a reference guide for administrators to use with standardized test data. Standardized tests are regularly given to students in our public schools. Often, the results are published for the community. It is important for the building principal to use these data in positive ways to enhance student growth. The suggestions in the guide are meant to facilitate effective use of standardized test data by administrators.

Title And Contents, Jane Close Conoley, James Y. Mitchell Jr, Steven L. Wise, Barbara S. Plake

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

Buros-Nebraska Symposium on Measurement & Testing

Contents

Preface vii

1. Face Validity: Siren Song for Teacher-Testers 1
W. James Popham

2. Teacher Performance Assessments: A New Kind of Teacher Examination 15
Edward H. Haertel

3. Improving Teaching Through the Assessment Process 37
Donald M. Medley

4. Assessing the Quality of Teacher Assessment Tests 77
William A. Mehrens

5. Teacher Evaluation in the Organizational Context 137
Linda Darling-Hammond

6. Measuring Performance in Teacher Assessment 183
Richard J. Stiggins

7. Legal and Professional Issues in Teacher Certification Testing: A Psychometric Snark Hunt 209
George F. Madaus

8. Limitations of Using Student Achievement …

7. Legal And Professional Issues In Teacher-Certification Testing: A Psychometric Snark Hunt, George F. Madaus

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

The validation of teacher-certification tests has become a snark hunt. The snark pursued by test contractors however, is not nearly as elusive, nor fanciful as Carroll's shadowy beast. Their snark is a "legally defensible" test. Test contractors are-merely from nervousness (not from goodwill)-marching along shoulder to shoulder with jurists. I will argue that hunting the shadowy snark through the dark wood of the court room cheapens the conceptualization of validity and delimits the conduct of validation studies to minimalist exercises designed to obtain a positive result.

I start from the basic premise that the most important feature of any test …

Author Index

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

Author Index (8 pages)

A-Z

A

Abeles, S., 18,35
Aburto, S., 22, 34
Acheson, K. A., 311, 326
Adams, N. E., 173,176
Adams, P. T., 47, 75
Aickin, M., 217, 257
Airasian, P. W., 283, 303
Alabama State Board of Education, 81, 129
American Educational Research Association, 8, 14, 28, 34, 83, 85, 86, 88, 97, 98, 102, 105, 106, 107, 109, 119, 125, 126, 127,129,227,246,247,256,267,268, 269, 277, 282, 286, 298, 300, 359, 375
American Psychological Association, 8, 14, 28,34,83, 85, 86, 88, 92, 97, 98 , 102, 105, 106, 107, 109, 119, 125, 126, 127, 129,227,246,247,256,267,268,269, 277,282, 286, 298, …

Subject Index

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

Subject Index (6 pages)

A-Z

A

AASPB,114
Academic Learning Time (ALT), 324
Administrators, 316-317, 321, 324 See also Principals
Admissions Research, 45-46
Adverse Impact, 217-225, 227
Affective Variables, 355-356
Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 217, 232
Allen v. The Alabama State Board of Education, 129, 214-215, 227, 232, 234-236, 238, 241n, 242, 248
Applied Testing, 242-245, 255
Appraisal Reform, 330, 341
Arkansas Educational Skills Assessment (AESA), 11

...

WY

Washington v. Davis, 228-231
Wesman Personnel Classification Test (WPCT),104
Wisdom, 41, 48
Wisdom of Practice, 23
Withitness, 51, 61
Work Environment Variables, 272
York v. Mobile, 238n

Implementation Handbook For A High School Advisory Program, Patrick Mark Lyons

All Graduate Projects

An implementation handbook for principals who wish to begin an advisory program at the secondary level was developed. Thirtynine principals from middle schools and high schools in Washington State were surveyed concerning the need for advisement programs at the secondary level. Questions concerning need, scheduling, evaluation, in-service, and program administration were asked in the survey. The information from the survey, as well as information contained in the literature, was used in the development of the implementation handbook.

2. Teacher-Performance Assessments: A New Kind Of Teacher Examination, Edward H. Haertel

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

During the last week of July 1987,20 fourth- and fifth-grade teachers spent four days at a simulated assessment center in an elementary school. Each teacher completed 10 performance exercises on the teaching of equivalent fractions. The following week, 20 high school teachers of United States history spent four days completing a like number of exercises on the American revolution and the formation of the new government. These field tests were the culmination of over a year's work by the Teacher Assessment Project (TAP), sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, under the direction of Professor Lee S. Shulman at …

5. Teacher Evaluation In The Organizational Context, Linda Darling-Hammond

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

Personnel evaluation in an organization provides a powerful metaphor for what is valued in the organization, how roles are construed, and which goals have de facto priority in the management of organizational affairs. The importance attached to this function says much about the organization's relationship to its clients, as well as the relationships among organizational members. The same can be said about the importance of evaluation in an occupation whose members share a common service mission. Indeed, evaluation plays a particularly critical role in an occupation that claims to be a profession. This chapter explores the role of teacher evaluation …

Assessment-Of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, And Implications For The Profession- Complete Work, Jane Close Conoley, James Y. Mitchell Jr., Steven L. Wise, Barbara S. Plake

Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession

The Buros-Nebraska annual Symposia on Measurement and Testing are aimed at providing a forum for discussing important issues in the field of measurement and testing. The topic for the 1987 Symposium was "Assessment of Teaching: Purposes, Practices, and Implications for the Profession." This topic was selected because of the current interest in developing, designing, and implementing accountability programs for teaching that are present in many states and education programs. The complex nature of teaching, combined with the unique measurement issues for assessing outcomes in the teaching context, provided the basis for identifying the topic of teacher assessment for the 1987 …

Case Studies On Teaching, Theodore J. Kowalski, Roy A. Weaver, Kenneth T. Henson

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Case Studies on Teaching is a unique book designed to infuse reality into the process of preparing teachers. The contents are based on real issues and needs faced by new teachers at they commence their professional careers in elementary and secondary school classrooms. The thirty-six cases offer myriad opportunities for utilizing the case method of instruction. This method has received acclaim in law, medicine, and business curricula. Regardless of the professional context, case studies create interactions that mandate active learning.

Student Support: A K-6 At-Risk Program Model, Patricia Arthaud

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to identify priority components and measurement standards of an effective K-6 At-Risk Program, then develop a resource guide for At-Risk program managers. A survey was sent to the Washington school districts with at-risk programs in place, as identified by the "Student Retention and Retrieval Program" handbook issued by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The survey was successful in helping identify the most effective program components: individual and small group counseling, classroom presentations with published materials, parent education, attendance monitoring, and peer/adult tutors. Evaluation standards vary according to program components and generally …

A Description Of The Changing Role Of The Elementary Principal, Joe Martinez

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was as follows:

a. to demonstrate the changing role of principals.

b. to describe the characteristics of this new role.

c. to contribute with research and literature in education.

Parents' Perceptions Of School-Community Reations Within One Elementary School Attendance Area, Lisa Hoffman

All Graduate Projects

The relationship between the school and its community is enhanced through effective communication. Parents were interviewed to discover their perception of effective communication and to understand, from their perspective, what is needed to improve communication. The interviews and implications thereof are discussed as well as the results.

A Handbook For High School Activities Coordinators, Douglas W. Helgeson

All Graduate Projects

A handbook for activities coordinators in AAA-size high schools was developed. The result of the study indicated that management of student activities was moving to the supervision of an assistant principal, and that a representative document for implementation and organization of student activities was needed. Further, the study demonstrated that a handbook for advisors and for students needed to be developed to complete the organizational loop.

Data were collected from all AAA-size high schools. Representative common job responsibilities for a half-time activities coordinator were provided. Recommendations from the conclusions were discussed.

Job Sharing Among Elementary School Teachers, Denise Ione Walsh

All Graduate Projects

The practice of job sharing, in which two teachers share the responsibilities of one teacher, is described. A comprehensive review of related literature is presented. Perceptions of those directly affected by the practice in one school district were gathered through 70 structured interviews with elementary principals, job sharing teachers, full-time teacher colleagues, students in job sharing classrooms, and parents. The study reveals predominantly positive reactions to the practice, and supports continuation of job sharing as an employment option for teachers.

The Effects Of A Program To Develop Collaboration On Teacher Interactions And Norms Of Collegiality Within The School As A Workplace, Michael E. Sicignano

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of the Effective Teaching Network (ETN), a program designed to develop collaboration among teachers. This study employs the pretest/posttest nonequivalent comparison group design. The treatment group (n = 75) represents an intact group of teachers who participated in the ETN pilot program. Thirty teachers participated in the direct level of treatment, and 40 teachers participated in the indirect level of treatment. The comparison group (n = 77) represents an intact group of teachers who were matched with the treatment group on teacher characteristics and pretest scores. The Professional Collegiality Questionnaire …

The Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Junior High School Study Skills Program For A Small Rural School, Donald Lawrence Burton Ii

Masters Theses

The purpose of this field experience project was to develop a junior high school study skills program for a small rural school. Upon completion of its development, the study skills program was pilot-tested in the Tower Hill Junior High School in Tower Hill, Illinois. After the background and possible significance of this field study is discussed, specific project objectives and research hypotheses are listed along with the appropriate operational definitions, assumptions and delimitations for this field experience. A representative review of the literature and research is given on the subject of study skills and study skills programs. Field experience activities …

Koinonia, Jill Briscoe, Darrel G. Shaver, Lee Demarais, Jim Krall

Koinonia

Running on Empty, Jill Briscoe

Presidents and Student Development, Darrel G. Shaver

Annual ACSD Executive Committee Meeting

South Central Regional Conference, Lee Demarais

Appalachian Regional Conference, Jim Krall

A Follow-Up Study Of A Dropout Intervention Program Utilizing Experimental Counseling Strategies, Cynthia Sue Ferguson

Graduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the long range effects of a seven week summer dropout intervention program. The program featured academic remediation, job skills training and random assignment to one of three counseling models: Multidimensional, group or individual. Twenty-four male and 24 female economically and academically disadvantaged students averaging 15.5 years of age were tested in a pre-test, post-test, follow-up format on measures of dropout potential, locus of control and academic achievement. The Demos Dropout Scale revealed no change in attitude over the nine month period. Results obtained from Rotter's Internal/External Scale revealed a general movement to …

Volume 03, Number 01, Don Forrester Editor

Reaching Through Teaching

Full text of Volume 03, Number 01 of Reaching Through Teaching.