Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

An Assessment Of The Evaluation Process For Teacher Education Students At Western Michigan University, Lynn Nations-Johnson

Assessment Grants

No abstract provided.

Systemic And Personal Change: A Retrospective Case Study Of Balanced Literacy Implementation As Perceived By Those Involved, Donna J. Anderson

Dissertations

This retrospective critical case study was conducted to learn more about teacher perceptions of deep, systemic change experiences. This study examined the successful implementation of a balanced literacy program at one Title I elementary school several years after completion of the implementation period. Participants were teachers who reflected on their experiences with the balanced literacy initiative implementation and discussed personal change associated with their experiences. Analysis isolated elements of teachers' recollected experience and compared those elements with factors that previous research has associated with successful change. Additionally, this study explored the lasting effects the experience of being a part of …

Assessment Matters #6, Feb 2009, Assessment In Action Committee

Assessment Matters @ WMU

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Extended Meta-Ethnography And Meta-Analysis Based On The Fundamental Micro-Purposes Of A Literature Review, Rhae-Ann Richardson Booker

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the results of literature review methods operating out of interpretivist and positivist paradigms. Using existingstudies on racial and ethnic matching of African American and Caucasian American clients and clinicians as data, my investigation included an examination of the research processes and results of an extended meta-ethnography (EME) and a published meta-analysis (PMA). The premise of my investigation was that both review methods include and, furthermore, require some level of interpretation, as answers are sought by researchers for their questions or areas ofinterest. Furthermore, my exploration included comparing the EME and PMA results …

The Impact Of A Community Leadership Academy In A Midwestern County On Graduates' Attitudes And Behavior Toward Community Trusteeship, Robert Harrison

Dissertations

This qualitative case study was designed to investigate how graduates of a community leadership academy changed their attitudes and behaviors toward community trusteeship and changed their level of community involvement. The research was intended to determine whether participation in a community leadership academy builds in graduates an awareness of community issues, develops leadership skills and creates an understanding of the value of community trusteeship resulting in an increase in community involvement.

The findings of the study were based on a sample of graduates who did or did not perceive any change following participation. Data collection techniques included a participant information …

Assessment Matters #5, Nov 2008, Assessment In Action Committee

Assessment Matters @ WMU

No abstract provided.

Panels On Assessment, Training, Help And Support: "Assessment, What Is It Good For?", Office Of Assessment And Undergraduate Studies

Assessment Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Black Holes And Gaseous Processes: Big Mistakes In Assessment, Susan Hatfield

Assessment Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Panels On Assessment, Training, Help And Support: "Rubrics, Rubrics, Rubrics! (Rubrics Cubed)", Office Of Assessment And Undergraduate Studies

Assessment Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Assessment Matters #4, Apr 2008, Assessment In Action Committee

Assessment Matters @ WMU

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Teacher Leadership And Its Relationship With School Climate In American Public Schools: Findings From Sass 2003-2004, Donghai Xie

Dissertations

This study made inquiry into teacher leadership and its relationship with school climate in American public schools by using the data from SASS 2003-04 by National Center for Education Statistics. The study was focused on the statistical assessment of public school teachers' perceptions of teacher leadership in the areas of school operation and classroom operation. Another aspect to be inquired was teachers' perceptions of school climate in the dimensions of school leadership and teacher collaboration.

The results of descriptive analyses in the study indicated that the majority of public school teachers did not consider they had much influence over the …

Missing Data Treatment Of A Level-2 Variable In A 3-Level Hierarchical Linear Model, Xiaofan Cai

Dissertations

Data used in educational research often come with a hierarchical structure such as students nested in classrooms and classrooms nested in schools. Hierarchical linear model (HLM) analysis allows applied researchers to incorporate the hierarchical structure of the data into data analysis to examine effects of variables at each level. However, problems such as missing data pose analytical challenges of biased estimation. With missing data occurring in level-2 variables in a 3-level HLM analysis, the choice of the missing data treatment may affect parameter estimation at all levels.

This Monte Carlo simulation study was designed to compare performance of six missing …

Panels On Assessment, Training, Help And Support: "University Assessment Faculty Grant Winners: Where Are They Now?", Office Of Assessment And Undergraduate Studies

Assessment Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Assessment Matters #3, Feb 2008, Assessment In Action Committee

Assessment Matters @ WMU

No abstract provided.

Panels On Assessment, Training, Help And Support: "Beyond Accountability: Using Assessment To Promote Student Learning", Office Of Assessment And Undergraduate Studies

Assessment Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Assessment Matters #2, Dec 2007, Assessment In Action Committee

Assessment Matters @ WMU

No abstract provided.

Resilient Teachers: A Qualitative Study Of Six Thriving Educators In Urban Elementary Schools, Paul Giroux

Dissertations

This qualitative research study used elements of phenomenological and narrative research methodology to explore the common characteristics and experiences of a sample of resilient elementary teachers working in urban schools. The six research subjects in this study’s sample each had at least eight years of teaching experience, and each participated in a cycle of three in-depth interviews designed to determine their degree of resilience and to develop a portrait of their personal and professional characteristics, experiences, attitudes and beliefs. Once the data collection phase was complete, data was coded and then analyzed to identify which of the characteristics and experiences …

Moment Of Encounter: A Critical Exploration Of Parent-School Communication, Gary Samuel Marx

Masters Theses

Relationships among parents and schools are situated in a complex hegemony. Communication is central to the identification and construction of power in schools. Schools employ a model of communication that locates power predominately with their representatives and values parents for conformity to organizational expectations. Shared power relationships challenge actors to encounter one another and co-contribute to the development of children. The goal of this study is to uncover various meanings and understandings from what parents recall from Moments of Encounter with school personnel. Such an examination is designed to reveal power at the microlevel, in the encounter itself, as well …

The Influence Of Teacher Expectations On Black And White Students' Academic Achievement: A Hierarchical Linear Modeling Analysis, Syprose A. Owaja

Masters Theses

This study examined the influence of teacher expectations based on student's and teacher's race on academic achievement of white versus black students using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study. Modeling of interaction terms in level-1 resulted in six separate models (two for reading, and four for math). A two-level hierarchical linear modeling with students at level-1 and schools at level-2 was used in each model with application of a three-step modeling procedure in each analysis.

The results of the study were consistent with previous research that black students had lower achievement, and also elicited lower teacher expectations regarding achievement …

Michigan Elementary School Facility Quality And Its Impact On Student Achievement, Brett A. Geier

Dissertations

Studies on school facility quality and its impact on student achievement have been conducted throughout the nation with varying results. Some studies conclude a significant relationship exists between facility condition and student achievement, while others refute this potential phenomenon. Much of the research concludes that not enough analyses have been conducted to make appropriate generalizations. This research study focused on the condition ofelementary schools in Michigan and utilized the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (M.E.A.P.) examinations in reading and mathematics at the third, fourth and fifth grade levels as the dependent variable to assess the relationship between building condition and student …

Panels On Assessment, Training, Help, And Support: "Developing Rubrics For Assessment", Office Of Assessment And Undergraduate Studies

Assessment Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Assessment Matters #1, Nov 2007, Assessment In Action Committee

Assessment Matters @ WMU

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Interteach In Interteaching, Thorhallur Orn Flosason

Masters Theses

Interteaching is a relatively new instructional method, based on behavioral approaches to education, that has been offered as an alternative to the traditional lecture format in the college classroom. The present study examined the role of the cooperative learning component of interteaching in an undergraduate statistics class. An alternating treatments design, with conditions counterbalanced across two sections of the course, was used to determine whether or not the effectiveness of interteaching depends on the interteach (cooperative learning) component. Weekly exams were administered to measure student learning and social validity was assessed via a questionnaire that required students to rate their …

Mail And Web Surveys: A Comparison Of Demographic Characteristics And Response Quality When Respondents Self-Select The Survey Administration Mode, Dawn M. Mackety

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to use a nonexperimental, quantitative design to compare mail and web surveys with survey mode self-selection at two data collection waves. Research questions examined differences and predictabilities among demographics (gender, ethnicity, age, and professional employment) and response quality (pronoun use, item nonresponse, response extremity, yea-saying, item completion errors, response length, response equivalency, anecdotal comments, and multiple response use) by survey mode and response wave. Analyses were conducted using chi-squares, ANOVAs, t -tests, and binary logistic regressions.

A questionnaire in mail and web formats containing 48 forced-choice and open-ended items was administered to a nonrandom …

Evaluation Of Researchers And Their Research: Toward Making The Implicit Explicit, Chris L. S. Coryn

Dissertations

Due to its very nature, the evaluation of research permeates nearly every aspect of the work of researchers. They evaluate the work of others or have their own work evaluated. They evaluate hypotheses that come to mind, the previous literature, the quality of data, the explanatory power of theories, or the design of experiments or instruments. And this is not always casual evaluation. It is highly skilled evaluation, and becoming a first-rate or world-class researcher is a process of improving the quality of these evaluations. However, deciding when someone is or has become a first-rate or world-class researcher is an …

Effective Critical Thinking Teaching Strategies As Perceived By Affiliated Program Evaluation Faculty, Dhaifallah Almatrodi

Dissertations

Critical Thinking (CT) skills are important for effective evaluation. In order to increase CT competency and use in evaluation to improve evaluation results, training programs for evaluators should incorporate CT instruction.

This study focused on three areas of interest relative to CT strategies, teac practices, and assessments to measure CT performance. Six research questions were identified to investigate Program Evaluation (PE) faculty's perceptions of effective CT teaching strategies. They are: (1) How many CT teaching strategies are faculty members aware of in teaching graduate students?; (2) How often PE faculty utilize CT teaching strategies in their teaching profession?; (3) Which …

The Leadership Style Of An Administrator: Influence On Teachers' Willingness To Implement Selected Instructional Strategies, Brenda Lopez Martinez

Masters Theses

This project examined an elementary public school principal with regard to their leadership style and how it influences classroom culture or climate. A 45- questionnaire was administered to one principal in a public school setting and a classroom survey instrument was administered to nine teachers in his building.

Significant findings based on literature in this project indicated a transformational leader was more inclined to support teachers and utilize different instructional modalities than a principal whose leadership style is transactional. The teacher survey collected data from teachers' perception about their administrator across different instructional domains. The researcher utilized statistical means to …

Principals’ Leadership And Its Association With Whether Or Not Their Schools Meet District/State Peformance Goals, John Mark Rainey

Dissertations

The study focuses on the principals’ leadership and empowerment as a curriculum leader in meeting district and state mandated performance goals. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 represents a key increase in the role of the federal government in public education.

The research questions in the study addressed the levels of principals’ instructional leadership and empowerment as associated with number of years as teacher, number of years as principal, participation in an aspiring principal program, school size, school locale, and whether their school passed district or state accountability test.

As to principals’ leadership, principals reported that they …

The Association Between School Choice And School Climate: Comparing School Climate In Private Relgious, Charter, And Public Schools, Mark Krommendyk

Dissertations

The association between school climate and school choice was examined by conducting discriminant function analyses on data gathered from the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey. This study asked the question, "Does school climate in private religious, charter, and public schools differ?" Teacher and principal responses to survey questions were grouped to measure six characteristics of school climate. The school climate characteristics measured were: (1) supportive principal leadership, (2) teacher collegiality, (3) teacher-principal relationships, (4) teacher satisfaction, (5) student behavior, and (6) teacher empowerment. The study found that the school climate in private religious schools could be statistically distinguished from the …

Developing Social Work’S Self-Efficacy Model Of Student Assessment, Yvonne Unrau, Melinda Mccormick

Assessment Grants

No abstract provided.