Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Gaging The Education Abroad Perception: A Survey Of Personnel At The University Of Wisconsin-Platteville, Jennifer R. Krahn

Capstone Collection

As higher education institutions nationwide are striving to increase the number of U.S. students having international experiences, it is important that international programs professionals are not the only advocates for education abroad on campus. Administration, faculty, and staff buy-in is invaluable as the policy makers and leaders across campus, and their personal experiences, opinions, and endorsements are powerful. The University of Wisconsin system has a system-wide goal for each campus to have 25 percent of their students study abroad, and therefore, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (UW-Platteville) is looking to administration, faculty, and staff for support in increasing education abroad participation. …

The Problem Of Too Many Statistical Tests: Subgroup Analyses In A Study Comparing The Effectiveness Of Online And Live Lectures, David M. Lane

Numeracy

The more statistical analyses performed in the analysis of research data, the more likely it is that one or more of the conclusions will be in error. Multiple statistical analyses can occur when the sample contains several subgroups and the researchers perform separate analyses for each subgroup. For example, separate analyses may be done for different ethnic groups, different levels of education, and/or for both genders. Media reports of research frequently omit information on the number of subgroup analyses performed thus leaving the reader with insufficient information to assess the validity of the conclusions. This article discusses the problems with …

Beyond “Remember” And “Understand”: Can Online Homework Tools Augment Students’ Higher Order Thinking Skills?, Crystal Carlson, Genevieve M. Henricks-Lepp, Sarah Grison

Psychology Faculty

We studied the effectiveness of an Introductory Psychology online homework tool with questions that required lower or higher level thinking skills (Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate). Interestingly, results suggested that both student performance and attitudes are influenced by question level and question type (Matching, Multiple Choice, Drag and Drop, etc.).

Predicting Proficiency On The Ohio Achievement Assessments Using I-Ready Diagnostic, Terra Ann Jones

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Ohio’s schools are held accountable for ensuring that students become proficient in reading by the end of third grade. Curriculum-based measures are often utilized to help monitor student progress toward proficiency goals and pinpoint those students who are at risk for falling below state standards on standardized tests. Using data from third grade students in a rural county in southern Ohio, this research determines what score on the I-Ready Diagnostic must be obtained in order to achieve proficiency on the Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAA) reading component. Data were compared and a Pearson Product Moment Correlation of 0.71 was determined. A …

Effects On Student Achievement Of Changing Cognitive Strategies During Targeted Tier Ii Interventions, Angela M. Mellace

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to determine whether changing cognitive based strategies is more effective than not changing strategies when a student fails to respond to an intervention. Ninety students who performed in the bottom third on a state reading test from a rural school district in Virginia were randomly placed into three groups: 1) students who received traditional evidence-based reading interventions 2) students whose teachers were trained in Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory and whose teacher chose an intervention that she considered being the most suited to the student’s cognitive profile 3) students who were assessed using the Woodcock Johnson III …

An Analysis Of Targeted Tier Ii Cognitive Interventions On Reading Achievement, Shannon K. Kovack

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to determine which cognitive intervention based on Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory was most effective at increasing student reading achievement. Ninety students who performed in the bottom one-third on the Virginia Standards of Learning (VA SOL) test from a rural school district in VA were placed into three instructional groups: 1) a control group, in which the teacher utilized the same instructional strategies from previous years, 2) a “teacher selected” treatment group, in which the teachers determined the students’ cognitive processing deficits and chose an intervention, and 3) a “tested” treatment group, in which students were …

Measuring Team Cohesiveness In The Marshall University Summer Enrichment Program, Sara Fragale

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The present study investigates team cohesion among graduate students participating in the Marshall University Graduate College (MUGC) summer enrichment program. The purpose of the study was to use a team cohesiveness evaluation and expert ratings to determine if this evaluation is an accurate measure of team cohesiveness. A Spearman’s rho correlation showed low correlation and non-significance between the team cohesiveness evaluation survey ratings by students in a consultation class and practicum class for each week that was examined. Results also showed low correlation and no significance between the ratings of students in a consultation class and practicum class and the …

Concept/Context: Information Literacy And Assessment In The First Year, Stefanie R. Bluemle, Amanda Y. Makula, Margaret W. Rogal

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

At Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where the academic calendar consists of trimesters, all first-year students enroll in a year-long sequence of three "Liberal Studies First Year" (LSFY) courses, which are taught by faculty from a variety of disciplines. LSFY emphasizes core competencies in reading, writing, oral communication, and information literacy.

Since 2011, the Augustana librarians have been using performance-based assessment to evaluate their work with LSFY classes. This qualitative approach, which encourages real-life application of skills, has proven well-suited to an information literacy program in which concepts carry more weight than the mechanics of searching. Each term, the …

The Joy Of (Performance) Assessment, Amanda Y. Makula, Stefanie R. Bluemle, Margaret W. Rogal

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

How can librarians assess student learning in a way that is organic to the assignment and instruction session, yet gives results that are comparable across classes?

Performance Assessment is a qualitative method of assessment in which students demonstrate learning by completing specific tasks related to targeted learning outcomes. Performance Assessment encourages real-life application of skills and is well-suited to an information literacy program in which concepts carry more weight than the mechanics of searching.

The Augustana College instruction librarians use performance assessment to evaluate their work with a three-term sequence of required first-year general education classes (”Liberal Studies First Year” …

Assessing The Research Process Improves The Product: Results Of A Faculty-­Librarian Collaboration, Divonna M. Stebick, Janelle L. Wertzberger, Margaret E. Flora, Joseph W. Miller

Education Faculty Publications

When an education professor and a reference librarian sought to improve the quality of undergraduate student research, their partnership led to a new focus on assessing the research process in addition to the product. In this study, we reflect on our collaborative experience introducing information literacy as the foundation for undergraduate teacher education research. We examine the outcomes of this collaboration, focusing on the assessment of the process. Using a mixed methods approach, we found that direct instruction supporting effective research strategies positively impacted student projects. Our data also suggest that undergraduate students benefit from not only sound research strategies, …

Sexting: You Found The Sext, What To Do Next? How School Psychologists Can Assist With Policy, Prevention, And Intervention, Morgan J. Aldridge, Kelli Jo Arndt, Susan C. Davies

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

Early Monday morning, it is brought to the school psychologist’s attention that Katie, a 15-year-old student, engaged in “sexting” over the weekend; she sent a naked picture of herself to her boyfriend. The boyfriend immediately forwarded the picture to a group of his friends. At school on Monday, many students were talking about the picture, and Katie was humiliated. The school is unaware of how many students this sext message has reached. What can the school psychologist do to intervene with the female student, her boyfriend, and his friends? What, if anything, can be done to prevent this message from …

Childcare And Youth Training And Technical Assistance Project (Cyttap) January 2013 Evaluation Report, Kit Alviz, Tonia Durden

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

From November 2011 through December 2012, 181 face-to-face trainings and 25 train-the-trainer events were offered to individuals as part of the Childcare and Youth training and Technical Assistance Project (CYTTAP) across 13 states. The trainings include Better Kid Care (face-to-face sessions that cover a wide range of topics from arts and math to challenging behaviors and physical activity); I Am Moving, I Am Learning (about preventing childhood obesity); and Rock Solid Foundations (on supporting young children's social and emotional growth and development). Positive ratings and significant change were the results across all projects.

Student Characteristics And Targeted Based Cognitive Tier Ii Interventions, Patrick M. Billups

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Tier II student characteristics and outcomes on a standardized reading assessment. Ninety students who scored in the lowest third on a Virginia standardized reading test were placed into one of three instructional groups: 1) a control group consistent with instruction from previous years, 2) a “teacher selected” treatment group in which teachers determined students’ cognitive processing deficits and administered a chosen intervention, and 3) a “tested” treatment group in which students were administered the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III) and assigned interventions based on the results. …

Teacher Outreach Efforts And Reading Achievement In Kindergarten, Eunjoo Jung, Heejeong S. Han

Child and Family Studies

To estimate the overall relationship between teachers’ outreach efforts and the reading achievement of diverse kindergarteners over the school year, multilevel modeling techniques were applied using a large sample of kindergarten students. The results showed that, in schools with greater outreach efforts by teachers, there were sharper gains in the reading scores of students with low initial reading ability and students who frequently read outside of school. Minority students with low initial reading ability did not show much gains in schools where teachers engaged more in outreach. These findings demonstrate that teacher outreach efforts, student minority status, and reading outside …

Indiana, Susan R. Adams

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Indiana was admitted to the Union as the 19th state on December 11, 1816. Corydon, Indiana, located in southern Indiana, was the first state capitol until 1825, when the capital was moved to a more central location in Indianapolis. Indiana, located in the midwest, was formerly part of the Indiana Territory, dissolved in 1798. The first governor of the territory was William Henry Harrison, who served from 1800 until 1813. Harrison later became the into president of the United States, in 1840. Two constitutions have been ratified in Indiana: the first in 1816, and the current constitution in 1851. Indiana …

English Proficiency / Fluent English Proficient Students, Susan R. Adams

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

K-12 students whose first language is not English are identified upon enrollment in U.S. schools through a home language survey and are immediately assessed to determine whether English as a second language (ESL) services are required. Students who do not pass this initial screening assessment are classified as English Language Learners (ELLs), or as limited English proficiency (LEP) students, and are identified to receive school-provided English language development (ELD) and accommodations. Students who pass the initial screener or who demonstrate English proficiency two years in a row on state-mandated annual assessments are deemed fluent or fully English proficient (FEP) students …

School Psychology Programs: Graduate Preparation In Traumatic Brain Injury, Susan C. Davies

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

Although traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among children and adolescents, it remains a low incidence category for special education identification. Students with TBI can present with unique educational and psychosocial needs. Using surveys administered to program directors and interns, this study explored how school psychologists are prepared to identify and facilitate appropriate services for students with TBI.

The Impact Of University Rankings On Higher Education Policy In Europe: A Challenge To Perceived Wisdom And A Stimulus For Change, Ellen Hazelkorn, Martin Ryan

Books/Book chapters

The arrival of global rankings in 2003 was a clarion call for urgent reform of European higher education. The results of the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities and the Times Higher Education QS World University Ranking, first published in 2003 and 2004 respectively, challenged the perceived wisdom about the reputation and excellence of European universities. Since then, the EU and its Member States have sought to reshape and modernise higher education in Europe. This paper argues that the emergence of global rankings was not only a challenge to perceived wisdom, but also a stimulus for change in European higher …

A Study Of The Associations Between Conditions Of Performance And Characteristics Of Performers And New York State Solo Performance Ratings, Elizabeth Curran Vonwurmb

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation undertakes an analysis of 1,044 performance evaluations from New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Spring Festival solo adjudication ratings of student performers from a large suburban school district. It relies on results of evaluations of observed performances, and takes these evaluations as assessments of what the student performers know and are able to do in this field. The analyses undertaken in this study seek to uncover patterns in performance ratings by identified conditions of performance (time of day of performance, level of music performed, and performance medium) and characteristics of performers (gender, race/ethnicity, and grade level). The …

An Implementation Study Of The Science And Technology Entry Program (Step) In New York State, Susan C. Perkins

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As global demands for workers in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields persist, there are increased opportunities for historically underrepresented African-American and Latino youth to fill STEM career pipelines. African-American and Latino youth have long faced disproportionately high unemployment rates. Joblessness has been complicated by lower high school graduation rates for African-American and Latino youth. Significant federal and state funding has been allocated to address this state of affairs. Research findings on STEM career development programs for historically underrepresented youth can inform public policy and resource allocation.

Assessing Critical Thinking Skills In First-Semester Freshmen: A Case Study: A Collaboration Between St. John Fisher College Freshmen Seminar Faculty And Lavery Library Librarians, Nancy M. Greco, Melissa Jadlos

Lavery Library Faculty/Staff Publications

First-year programs assist new students in adapting to college life, developing skills for academic success and increasing retention. The Freshmen Seminar course at St. John Fisher College is such a course, taught by college faculty and staff with collaboration from departments across campus. Participants will experience a stand-alone lesson created by the college archivist with the objective of identifying a baseline assessment of critical thinking skills. Presented as a complete package from learning objectives to assessment tools, the class session is purposely designed to be easy to replicated.

Strategy Use Of Russian Pre-Service Tefl University Students: Using A Strategy Inventory For Program Effectiveness Evaluation, Alla Zareva, Anna Fomina

English Faculty Publications

The focus of the present study is on identifying categories of learning strategies that are mostly used by Russian university students in an English Linguistics Program with a TEFL concentration. The more specific goal of the study is to offer a model of evaluation of the effectiveness of TEFL-oriented programs in terms of the language learning strategies their students use and recognize as pedagogically applicable to their EFL environment. To this end, two groups of students were compared on their self-reported frequency of strategy use -- 1st year students (n = 23), who had just entered the program, and 4th …

The Relationship Between Curriculum-Based Measures In Oral Reading Fluency And High-Stakes Tests For Seventh Grade Students, Sawyer Hunley, Susan C. Davies, Christina R. Miller

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral reading fluency and performance on a statewide reading achievement test for middle grades students. Participants in this study were 75 seventh-grade students. One month before the students were administered the state test, each student read three probes from their current basal reader to determine an oral reading fluency rate. The Ohio Grade 7 Reading Test scores were correlated with oral reading fluency rates to determine the extent of the relationship between the results. Results support the use of oral reading fluency assessment as a valid tool for identifying …

International Computer And Information Literacy Study: Assessment Framework, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, John Ainley

ICT - Digital Literacy

The purpose of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013 (ICILS 2013) is to investigate, in a range of countries, the ways in which young people are developing computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. To achieve this aim, the study will assess student achievement through an authentic computer-based assessment of CIL administered to students in their eighth year of schooling. It will also collect and report on analyses of data about student use of computers and other digital devices as well as students’ attitudes toward the use of computers and …

Homeschool Participation In Public School Extracurricular Activities In Tennessee: A Case Study, Elizabeth Rockholt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The study describes a qualitative collective case study regarding the possibility of homeschool participation in public school extracurricular activities in West Tennessee. Literature exists on extracurricular activities but not on the effect on the homeschooled student specifically. The research questions addressed: How do homeschool parents in west Tennessee whose children are involved in one or more extracurricular activities outside of the public school system feel about current legislation regarding homeschool students being excluded from participation in public school extracurricular activities other than sports? Why would homeschool parents in west Tennessee allow their child to participate or why would they not …

Variable Appropriation Of An Online Resource Discovery And Sharing Tool, Victor R. Lee, Mimi Recker, Tamara Sumner

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Even when following best practices for participatory design, the appropriation of tools in formal education settings can be hampered by a number of factors. Drawing from a case of a web tool built to help teachers in five school districts find and share free resources in an educational digital library, we describe patterns of tool use and provide some explanations for variability in tool appropriation. We also suggest that future research consider school districts as complex systems of professionals whose interactions and inter-relationships may yield unexpected technology adoption behaviors.

Picking Up The Mantle Of “Expert”: Assigned Roles, Assertion Of Identity, And Peer Recognition Within A Programming Class, Deborah A. Fields, N. Enyedy

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Changing an established role in a classroom is difficult. It involves constructing a new set of relations within a community. In this article we investigate how students with newly developed interest and experience in programming developed outside the classroom pick up and establish their roles as experts in programming within the classroom community. More specifically, we focus on how two 11-year-old software designers shifted their established roles in their classroom to gain status as expert programmers. We use an identity lens to understand how peer expertise was established in the context of a classroom community, adopting a multifaceted perspective of …

As Seen Through The Lens: Students’ Encounters And Engagement With Science During Outdoor Field Trips, Jonathan Z. Boxerman, Victor R. Lee, J. R. Olson

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Correlation Between Literacy Rates In Africa And Latin America And Economic Stability, Shawn Jordan

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Literacy rates in Africa and Latin America are on different ends of the spectrum. Africa is home to some of the poorest countries in the world and Latin America is not too far behind. Literacy rates generally correlate to wealth as a country. The plights of Africa and Latin America are a no different. In general, Africa has some of the lowest literacy rates in the world and has been the place for horrific fighting for decades. This epidemic has hit the women and children especially hard. Women in Africa have an illiteracy rate of 50% (allafrica.com 2010). This is …

Acoustic And Perceptual Measurements Of Prosody Production On The Profiling Elements Of Prosodic Systems In Children By Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Joshua John Diehl, Rhea Paul

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Prosody production atypicalities are a feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but behavioral measures of performance have failed to provide detail on the properties of these deficits. We used acoustic measures of prosody to compare children with ASDs to age-matched groups with learning disabilities and typically developing peers. Overall, the group with ASD had longer utterance durations on multiple subtests on a test of prosodic abilities, and both the ASD and learning disabilities groups had higher pitch ranges and pitch variance than the typically developing group on one subtest. Acoustic differences were present even when the prosody was used correctly.These …