Meeting the Challenges to Measurement in an Era of Accountability

Meeting the Challenges to Measurement in an Era of Accountability
Author: Henry Braun
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 437
Release: 2016-01-29
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135040168

Under pressure and support from the federal government, states have increasingly turned to indicators based on student test scores to evaluate teachers and schools, as well as students themselves. The focus thus far has been on test scores in those subject areas where there is a sequence of consecutive tests, such as in mathematics or English/language arts with a focus on grades 4-8. Teachers in these subject areas, however, constitute less than thirty percent of the teacher workforce in a district. Comparatively little has been written about the measurement of achievement in the other grades and subjects. This volume seeks to remedy this imbalance by focusing on the assessment of student achievement in a broad range of grade levels and subject areas, with particular attention to their use in the evaluation of teachers and schools in all. It addresses traditional end-of-course tests, as well as alternative measures such as portfolios, exhibitions, and student learning objectives. In each case, issues related to design and development, psychometric considerations, and validity challenges are covered from both a generic and a content-specific perspective. The NCME Applications of Educational Measurement and Assessment series includes edited volumes designed to inform research-based applications of educational measurement and assessment. Edited by leading experts, these books are comprehensive and practical resources on the latest developments in the field. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Hard Living in America's Heartland

Hard Living in America's Heartland
Author: Paula vW. Dáil
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2015-01-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1476618380

Despite living hard, endlessly challenging lives, the rural poor remain tirelessly optimistic, believing things will get better next year. As one struggling farmer explained, "Sometimes I feel like a jackass in a hailstorm--I just have to stand here and take it...but what the hell--it'll stop hailing sooner or later." The struggle to survive on the richest farmland in America has produced some of the nation's poorest people. However, rural poverty is not the same as urban poverty: the usual definitions and criteria do not always apply, the known predictors do not necessarily hold up, and again and again the rural poor save themselves because they know no one else will. This book refutes the common image of the poor as lazy slackers averse to work. In reality, fiercely independent, politically astute, hard-working men and women who possess a wide array of useful skills populate the rural heartland--and they struggle to stay afloat in small-town economies that rise and fall on the whims of remote farm policy decisions, a volatile world marketplace and Mother Nature, who is a fickle, wildly unpredictable business partner.

Literacy Teaching and Learning in Rural Communities

Literacy Teaching and Learning in Rural Communities
Author: Lisa Schade Eckert
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 173
Release: 2014-12-17
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1317587421

This definitive look at teaching English in rural secondary schools contests current definitions and discussions of rural education, examines their ideological and cultural foundations, and presents an alternative perspective that conceptualizes rural communities as diverse, unique, and conducive to pedagogical and personal growth in teaching and learning. Authentic narratives document individual teachers’ moments of struggle and success in learning to understand, value, and incorporate rural literacies and sensibilities into their curricula. The teachers‘ stories and the scholarly analysis of issues raised through them illuminate the unique challenges and rewards of teaching English in a rural school and offer helpful insights and knowledge for navigating the pedagogical landscape.

Digest of Education Statistics

Digest of Education Statistics
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 392
Release: 1987
Genre: Education
ISBN:

Contains information on a variety of subjects within the field of education statistics, including the number of schools and colleges, enrollments, teachers, graduates, educational attainment, finances, Federal funds for education, libraries, international education, and research and development.

Acts

Acts
Author: Indiana
Publisher:
Total Pages: 754
Release: 2016
Genre: Session laws
ISBN:

The TurnAround ToolKit

The TurnAround ToolKit
Author: Lynn Winters
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2011
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1412975018

Lynn Winters's and Joan Herman's The Turnaround Toolkit is written for school leaders who are focused on transforming instruction, and who may be working under significant time constraints to reverse declining student achievement or public perceptions of school failure. Based on the evidence that simply implementing “continuous improvement” is not enough to close the achievement gap, The Turnaround Toolkit provides a nine-step formative evaluation program designed to achieve an immediate and consistent focus on improving instruction in order to bolster student achievement. In a straightforward and accessible fashion, Herman and Winters explain three overarching “Turnaround Tasks” that frame these steps and the necessary-and sometimes drastic-actions that must be taken by school leaders as they use data to strategically choose, implement, monitor, and revise school interventions. A dedicated, online “toolkit” offers numerous worksheets and templates that support each stage of the process and help school leaders scaffold the work of educators to put an aggressive turnaround plan into action while a leadership guide at the end of the book provides guidance to turnaround teams and facilitators.

Digest of Education Statistics

Digest of Education Statistics
Author: Thomas D. Snyder
Publisher: Claitor's Pub Division
Total Pages: 540
Release: 1997-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780160452512

This edition is the 30th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from kindergarten through graduate school. The "Digest" includes a selection of data from many sources, and draws especially on the results of surveys and activities of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The publication contains information on a variety of subjects, including: (1) numbers of schools and colleges; (2) numbers of teachers; (3) enrollments; (4) graduates; (5) educational attainment; (6) finances; (7) Federal funds for education; (8) employment and income of graduates; (9) libraries; and (10) international comparisons of education. Supplemental information is provided on population trends, attitudes toward education, educational characteristics of the labor force, government finances, and economic trends. Some information is also given on preschool and adult education. Data are presented in 411 tables, with an additional 20 tables in an appendix. (SLD)