Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Nwarkansas Education Report Card 2021, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene Reid, Christine L. Magness

Education Report Card

The goal of this report is to help parents, school personnel, community members, and policy makers understand how effectively the students in their community are being served by public schools. The past two years have been difficult for families, teachers, and students, but despite the challenging context, Northwest Arkansas students are demonstrating greater growth in achievement and earning higher scores on the ACT Aspire than are the students in the state overall. Schools in NWA also have received higher School Quality and Student Success scores and are graduating a greater percentage of high school students. Acknowledging the unprecedented circumstances presented …

Gender Gaps In Math Performance, Perceived Mathematical Ability And College Stem Education: The Role Of Parental Occupation, Lina Anaya, Frank P. Stafford, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Despite the promising future of employment opportunities in occupations related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), women remain underrepresented in some STEM occupational fields. We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to study the role of gender differences in achievement and self-perceived ability in math during childhood, along with parental occupation (science-related versus non-science-related jobs), in the subsequent decision of majoring in science in college. Our findings suggest a loss in STEM enrollment by otherwise qualified young women and highlight the potential importance of parental occupation in STEM in encouraging women's participation in certain STEM fields.

Investigating The Relationship Between Negative Selection Into Online Schooling And Achievement Growth, James D. Paul, Jay P. Greene

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Program evaluations that measure the effects of online charter schools on student achievement will be biased if they fail to account for unobserved differences between online students and students in the comparison group. There are theoretical and empirical reasons to believe that students who enroll in online schools disproportionately face challenges that are not accounted for in administrative data. This paper investigates some of the negative factors that motivate parents to enroll in online schools. We combine data from an online charter school survey—that asked why parents decided to enroll in online schooling—with three years of achievement and demographic data. …

Understanding How Covid-19 Has Changed Teachers’ Chances Of Remaining In The Classroom, Gema Zamarro, Andrew Camp, Dillon Fuchsman, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The 2020-2021 academic year was a trying year for teachers. We use a nationally representative sample of teachers from the RAND American Teacher Panel to document that teachers’ stated consideration of leaving the profession increased during the pandemic. We also study factors associated with teachers’ consideration of leaving the profession and high levels of job burnout during the pandemic. Approaching retirement age (being 55 or older), having to change instruction modes, health concerns, and high levels of job burnout all appear to be important predictors of the probability of considering leaving or retiring from teaching. Hybrid teaching increased consideration of …

Using Daily Learning Objectives To Guide Teaching And Assessment With Chris Estepp -New Faculty Lunch Discussion, Chris Estepp

TFSC Publications and Presentations

Daily learning objectives should drive instruction and assessment. This talk will discuss creating measurable, student-centered objectives and how to create assessments that can effectively measure student learning.

Examination Of School Value-Added Growth By Student Population, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene A. Reid

Policy Briefs

In this brief, we assess the relationship between Arkansas’ school-level value-added content growth scores for student racial and programmatic groups. We find that on average, African American students receive lower growth scores than other student groups, and that African American elementary students demonstrated large drops in growth since COVID

Quantifying Traditional Public School Opposition To Charter Schools: Double Whammy From School District Staffing And Funding?, Martha Bradley-Dorsey

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Using time series data with several OLS regressions and fixed effects models with suitable controls, I find that higher school district full-time equivalent staff counts (FTEs) are associated with lower charter share in states with Right-to-Work (RTW) laws. I find also that proportional expenditures per pupil are negatively associated with charter share in non-RTW (“union”) states. Charter schools have grown rapidly but not uniformly across states, with 2018 enrollment ranging from 0.0 to 17.1% of traditional public school enrollment. Researchers have generally focused on party, urbanicity, teacher union strength, and racial and ethnic politics to explain variations in charter enrollment. …

Increasing Student Comfort With Addressing Microaggressions: Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts, Devin Boggs Riley, Breanna Lewis, Bryan Hill, Jacquelyn D. Wiersma-Mosley

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Students on college campuses are not prepared or equipped to defend themselves or their peers when they experience or witness a microaggression. The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of the Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts program on s tudent comfort level when addressing microaggressions and other gender, racial and cultural insults. This educational program provides examples of different types of microaggressions seen in classrooms and workplace scenarios. The program is a 30 minute in dividual, self paced, guided eLearning program that enables learners to explore communication skills for promoting inclusion and respect among their peers. Participants were …

Examining Arkansas' Freshman Gpas And Long-Term Outcomes, Sarah R. Morris, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Charlene A. Reid

Arkansas Education Reports

This study examines the Grade Point Averages (GPAs) of high school freshman in Arkansas and their relationship with later outcomes. Using de-identified student-level data from 2009-10 to 2018-19 from the Arkansas Department of Education, this research investigates trends in freshman GPAs, how these trends vary for different demographic and socioeconomic groups, and the relationship of freshman GPAs to high school graduation and college enrollment.

We follow seven cohorts of Arkansas first-time freshmen who were enrolled in twelfth grade four years later. Using regression analyses controlling only for student demographic characteristics, we find a one-point gain in freshman GPAs to be …

Beating The Odds: High-Growth Schools Based On The Act Aspire Examinations, Serving Low-Income Communities, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high-growth schools across Arkansas based on the ACT Aspire examinations in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2020-2021 academic year. For these awards, we consider schools where at least 66% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL).

High-poverty schools are ranked by school level (Elementary, Middle, or High) based on Overall Growth (Math and ELA combined), as well as for growth in each content area independently. High-poverty schools are also ranked within each region of the state. Tables include the region in which the school is located, the number of …

Examining Arkansas' Ninth-Grade Gpas And Long-Term Outcomes, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah R. Morris

Policy Briefs

In this brief, we examine Arkansas’ students’ ninth-grade GPAs and their relationship to high school graduation and college enrollment. We follow seven cohorts of Arkansas first-time freshmen who were still enrolled in twelfth grade four years later. We find ninth-grade GPAs strongly influence future academic successes. We suggest policies to help all freshmen succeed.

"Blazing The Trail" For The Future: Bipoc Students' Experiences With Colleges Of Agriculture, Logan Moss

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Since its founding, the United States has faced a constant turmoil surrounding the equitable treatment of people from non-Caucasian backgrounds, especially regarding education. This study sought to examine BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) students experiences prior to entry and during their studies in colleges of agriculture within the State of Arkansas. Research has shown that across the country there are discrepancies between the percentage of BIPOC students in the State, university, and colleges of agriculture. This study used a qualitative interview method to determine the factors influencing minority students to enter and stay within a program of study …

Faculty Perception Of Inclusive Instruction At Three South-Central Community Colleges, Karen R. O'Donohoe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enrollment rates for student with disabilities in higher education continue to rise, particularly in 2-year colleges, but graduation rates have not kept pace due to barriers not addressed by traditional disability supports (Black et al., 2014; NCES, 2019; Smedema et al., 2015). Inclusive instruction is a low-cost, high-impact solution that can be implemented on any campus (Black et al., 2014; Lombardi et al., 2013; Roberts et al., 2011). This quantitative study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive non-experimental research design that explored faculty self-reported attitudes and actions associated with inclusive instruction at three of the largest degree-granting, two-year institutions in a single …

Does Self-Reference In Concept Mapping Influence Transfer?, Daniel A. Parker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Concept maps are a popular learning activity that have successfully demonstrated student learning outcomes. Research suggests that concept mapping has a positive effect on recognition, recall, and transfer. Likewise, researchers in cognitive psychology have shown the value of referencing oneself with a concept. Known as the self-reference effect, learners who connect their experiences or traits with new knowledge are more likely to remember that knowledge than if they used other mnemonic devices. Previous research suggests that integrating self-reference in concept mapping may improve recall. However, to date, no study has investigated the influence of this combination on higher order learning …

Teacher And Staff Perception Of School Climate: A Case Study, Michael Shane Hampton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine how different public-school teachers and staff perceive school climate at an achieving public middle school. The research sought to find relationships between teacher sub-groups and other staff members, and how they perceived the school climate, either negatively or positively. The researcher believed that there would be a positive perception of school climate, which coincided with high student achievement. Additionally, it was believed that there would be no relationship between teacher types or demographics, and how the climate would be perceived among the different groups. This paper also presents a review of the …

Examining The Relationship Between Library Services Use And Fall-To-Fall Retention In Community College Libraries, Eric Deatherage

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Community college libraries exist to support institutional outcomes. One such outcome is student retention. This study’s purpose was to fill the gap in the literature at the community college level, proposing that a model including all library service use types would explain variance in student retention beyond that explained by total library financial expenditure. Services included were numbers of physical materials circulated, digital books circulated, e-serials used, reference transactions, library presentations, attendees at presentations, gate counts, and interlibrary loan materials borrowed. Additionally, it was proposed that the relationship between gate counts of physical entry into the library and student retention …

Recalibrating Student Services: Examining Staff Perceptions Of Services During Covid-19, Justin White

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As a result of the 2019 global coronavirus pandemic, nearly every business and industry in the United States was forced to adapt its operations to accommodate the restrictions that a community health crisis necessitated. This study examined the experiences of front-line Enrollment Services staff while serving students during the pandemic at one community college in the Midwestern United States. The study focused on staff perceptions of how college policies, processes, and leadership affected the student onboarding experience that encompasses the complete path a student takes from beginning as an applicant to becoming an enrolled student in the classroom. The study …

The Effects Of Watching Text-Relevant Video Segments On Reading Comprehension Of Culturally Unfamiliar Texts With Adult English Language Learners Supported By The Schematic Information-Processing (Sip) Model Of Reading Comprehension, Amirreza Karami

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study was to investigate the effects of watching text-relevant video segments on reading comprehension of a culturally unfamiliar text when technical words are present or absent. Therefore, 44 adult English Language Learners (ELLs) with higher-intermediate to advanced English language proficiency levels from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) School of Languages located in the Dominican Republic were chosen and randomly assigned to two different groups: control vs. experimental.

First, the researcher compared two different types of reading instruction—traditional text-based vs. video-based reading instruction supported by the Schematic Information-Processing (SIP) model of reading …

Advising Student Veterans In Higher Education, Brett Edward Rankin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Student veterans are a growing population in higher education with over 650,000 veterans using education benefits in 2018. Student veterans are enrolling in colleges of all types, and many institutions have support services designed for them specifically. In most cases these support services are limited to veteran centers where officials certify credit hours for financial benefits and do not offer services to help them fully assimilate into higher education. Student veterans bring a wide range of life experiences, culture, and work ethic to college campuses which serves to build and diversify the student body. However, veterans have reported feeling isolated …

Parenting The Gifted: Caregivers’ Perspectives Of Challenges And Their Confidence To Support Their Exceptional Children, Kristi A. Mascher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study uses Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy (1977) to examine the lived experiences of eight parents of gifted children and how their experiences, both positive and negative, shape their perception of their confidence and may contribute to building future supports for gifted parents and caregivers. Qualitative data, collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with an interpretive/hermeneutic lens, provides seven major themes derived from the voices of parents with children of varying ages and exceptionalities. In addition, this study concludes with a discussion surrounding the additional challenges associated with parenting the exceptional, frameworks for gifted parent support systems, as well …

The Nature Of Informal Educators In Science Centers, Science Museums And Zoos: Case Studies Of Personnel, Practices, Programs, Outreach And Organization, Courtney Erickson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Informal Science Centers provide educational experiences for people across the country daily. While the terminology is often similar, there are differences between institutions, often determined by mission, organizational structure, and experience. The purpose of this study was to identify shared experiences and unique characteristics of eight informal science centers around the country. The significance of the study was to add to the understanding of informal science educators' responsibilities, organizational structure, decision-making process, and development. Data for the study was collected using qualitative measures through a researcher-created interview, sent to fifteen institutions, after the recommendation from two well-known informal science researchers. …

High-Growth High Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examinations, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2021 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

High-Growth Middle Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examinations, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights middle schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2021 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

High-Growth Elementary Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examinations, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights elementary schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2021 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

Teachers’ Knowledge About And Preparedness For Retirement: Results From A Nationally Representative Teacher Survey, Dillon Fuchsman, Josh B. Mcgee, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Adequately saving for retirement requires both planning and knowledge about available retirement savings options. Teachers participate in a complex set of different plan designs and benefit tiers, and many do not participate in Social Security. While teachers represent a large part of the public workforce, relatively little is known regarding their knowledge about and preparation for retirement. We administered a survey to a nationally representative sample of teachers through RAND’s American Teacher Panel and asked teachers about their retirement planning and their employer-sponsored retirement plans. We find that while most teachers are taking steps to prepare for retirement, many teachers …

Developmental Histories Facilitating The Emergence Of Creative Scientific Expertise: The Role Of Developed Cognitive Talents, Education, And Social And Cultural Contexts, Jonathan Wai, Matt I. Brown

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Understanding how individual and contextual factors collectively contribute to the developmental histories that facilitate the emergence of creative expertise in science is improved by considering the contribution of the broad structure of developed cognitive abilities to creativity, prospective research on the high achieving or gifted students who may choose careers in and end up as creative scientists later in life, as well as retrospective studies of established creative scientists themselves and what their educational histories reveal. We first review and elaborate on these connections as documented in research which explore the development of talent, including cognitive mechanisms that include math …

Contemporary Homeschooling Arrangements: An Analysis Of Three Waves Of Nationally Representative Data, Albert Cheng, Daniel Hamlin

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Homeschooling has increased dramatically in recent decades. During this period of expansion, scholars have reported on growing diversity in the ways that homeschool families educate their children. However, research tends to treat homeschooled children as a uniform group without accounting for differing homeschool arrangements. In this study, we examine the prevalence of four types of homeschool arrangements reported in prior literature as follows: (1) home education supplemented by the use of a private tutor or a homeschool cooperative, (2) home education supplemented by the use of online learning, (3) home education supplemented by part-time enrollment in a brick-and-mortar school, and …

The Impacts Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On First-Generation, Low-Income And Rural Students In Indonesia And Vietnam: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study, Rian Djita, Bich Thi Ngoc Tran, Nguyet Thi Minh Nguyen, Budi Wibawanta

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact worldwide, affecting 600 million students in higher education institutions across 200 countries. However, comparative studies by country on this topic are limited. In this paper, we explore the question: how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected higher education students and which ones have been impacted the most? Indonesia and Vietnam are our focus. We leveraged a rich set of data collected online from college/university students from both countries involving over 2600 participants, and used regression analyses to measure the students' outcomes, including the dimensions of their wellbeing, financial hardships, access to technology, and …

Understanding How Covid-19 Has Changed Teachers’ Chances Of Remaining In The Classroom, Gema Zamarro, Andrew Camp, Dillon Fuchsman, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The 2020-2021 academic year was a year like no other. After nationwide school closures during the spring of 2020, schools reopened in the fall of 2020 using combinations of in-person, hybrid, and remote learning models. Teachers had to adapt to unexpected conditions, teaching in unprecedented ways, using synchronous and asynchronous instruction, while also being challenged to establish connections with students, families, and colleagues. Health concerns added to the mix as some teachers went back to in-person education during the height of the pandemic. As a result, teachers' levels of stress and burnout have been high throughout these unusual pandemic times …

Homeschooling, Social Isolation, And Life Trajectories: An Analysis Of Formerly Homeschooled Adults, Daniel Hamlin, Albert Cheng

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

A longstanding critique of homeschooling is that it isolates children from mainstream society, depriving them of social experiences needed to thrive as adults. Although a small number of empirical studies challenge this criticism, this research tends to be derived from self-reports of homeschooling parents about their children. In this study, analyses of qualitative interviews (n = 31) and survey data (n = 140) of adults who were homeschooled as children are performed. Most interview participants described conventional and unconventional social experiences that they felt had satisfied their social needs while being homeschooled. Participants who were homeschooled for all or most …