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Descriptors:
Rating Scales; Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance; Item Analysis; Test Items; Test Theory; Global Approach; Definitions; Summative Evaluation; Evaluation Utilization; Standards; Teacher Evaluation; Evaluation Criteria; Evaluation Problems

Abstract:
One of the simplest indicators of teaching or course effectiveness is student ratings on one or more global items from the entire rating scale. That approach seems intuitively sound and easy to use. Global items have even been recommended by a few researchers to get a quick-read, at-a-glance summary for summative decisions about faculty. The purpose of this article is to clarify the rating options available to administrators for making summative decisions from student rating scale results. The global item is first defined. Then the research literature related to its use for summative decisions is described. Finally, the critical issues pertaining to technical, professional, and legal standards in using global items for summative decisions are reviewed. Specific recommendations for several alternative types of ratings are proffered which are more defensible for summative decisions about faculty. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Student Evaluation; Academic Discourse; Program Effectiveness; Decision Making; School Policy; Science Teachers; Educational Assessment; English Language Learners; Middle School Students; Middle School Teachers; Inquiry; Content Area Writing; Evaluation Utilization; Science Instruction; Science Tests; Inservice Teacher Education; Diagnostic Tests

Abstract:
Grounded in Hallidayan perspectives on academic language, we report on our development of an educative science assessment as one component of the language-rich inquiry science for English-language learners teacher professional learning project for middle school science teachers. The project emphasizes the role of content-area writing to support teachers in diagnosing their students' emergent understandings of science inquiry practices, science content knowledge, and the academic language of science, with a particular focus on the needs of English-language learners. In our current school policy context, writing for meaningful purposes has received decreased attention as teachers struggle to cover large numbers of discrete content standards. Additionally, high-stakes assessments presented in multiple-choice format have become the definitive measure of student science learning, further de-emphasizing the value of academic writing for developing and expressing understanding. To counter these trends, we examine the implementation of educative assessment materials--writing-rich assessments designed to support teachers' instructional decision making. We report on the qualities of our educative assessment that supported teachers in diagnosing their students' emergent understandings, and how teacher-researcher collaborative scoring sessions and interpretation of assessment results led to changes in teachers' instructional decision making to better support students in expressing their scientific understandings. We conclude with implications of this work for theory, research, and practice. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Evidence; Program Implementation; Human Services; Performance Factors; Focus Groups; Brainstorming; Replication (Evaluation); Change Strategies; Best Practices; Thematic Approach; Research Utilization; Evaluation Utilization; Improvement Programs; Program Improvement; Guidance Programs

Abstract:
In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) hosted a Forum, Emphasizing Evidence-Based Programs for Children and Youth, to convene the nation's leading practitioners and researchers with experience using and evaluating an array of evidence-based programs. During the Forum, experts discussed challenges encountered when selecting and replicating evidence-based programs (EBPs) and also identified approaches for developing evidence-informed programs when EBPs are not available or applicable for a given population. This brief introduces key themes that emerged from the discussion. The remaining briefs in the series document the importance of implementation and provide guidance on ensuring quality program implementation identify, strategies for identifying a program's core components, and explore techniques that can be used to inform the development of new social programs. (Contains 5 resources.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Accountability; Feedback (Response); Teacher Improvement; Student Evaluation; Evaluation Utilization; Research Needs; Literature Reviews; Research Reports; Teacher Response

Abstract:
To improve the quality of teaching, educational accountability needs to include periodic external evaluations of students' performance. This requires evaluation formats which support the development of the educational process and provide information which is understandable for teachers. The aims of this study were to review: (i) how teachers understand the feedback they receive from external evaluations; (ii) how they use the feedback; and (iii) how teachers' understanding and use of such feedback affects the achievement of their students. None of the papers included contained simultaneous a study with all three of these aspects of external evaluations; the review shows that teachers have many problems understanding feedback and mainly focus their use of it on developing strategic teaching tactics. Research that focuses on teachers' understanding of external evaluation, their use of it, and how the use of the feedback can foster student achievement is needed. (Contains 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Algebra; Exit Examinations; Comparative Testing; Outcomes of Education; Evaluation Research; Evaluation Methods; Evaluation Utilization; Achievement Rating; College Outcomes Assessment; Instructional Effectiveness; Instructional Improvement; Educational Policy; Data Interpretation

Abstract:
College completion rates in the U.S. are stubbornly low despite the large and rising returns to a college degree. Efforts to increase student success in college have largely ignored a potentially key factor: the instruction that students receive in the sequence of courses that add up to a college education. Improving the quality of instruction may represent a promising path to increasing the number of students who earn high-quality degrees by decreasing frustration and failure, and improving the skills of college graduates. But it is nearly impossible to improve instructional quality without being able to measure it. This report describes a sophisticated set of common final exams implemented in two developmental algebra courses at Glendale Community College in California. These common finals enable instructors and administrators to compare student performance across different sections, and have earned broad faculty support by being implemented in a way that strikes a balance between standardization and the preservation of faculty autonomy. The author shows how data from common finals can be used to measure how much students learn in sections of the same course taught by different instructors, and how instructor characteristics such as education and full-time status are related to student mastery of algebra. The author concludes with four policy recommendations aimed at moving forward efforts to assess and improve the quality of postsecondary instruction and ultimately increase the number of students who earn high-quality credentials. (Contains 17 endnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Governance; Foreign Countries; Comparative Analysis; Research Administration; Comparative Education; Evaluation Utilization; Role Perception; Educational Practices; Educational Policy; Program Evaluation; Research Projects

Abstract:
Through a comparative study of the United Kingdom and Spain, this article addresses the effect of different research governance structures on the functioning and uses of research evaluation. It distinguishes three main evaluation uses: distributive, improvement, and controlling. Research evaluation in the United Kingdom plays important distributive and improvement roles while the Spanish evaluation system plays, mainly, a controlling function and a minor distributive role. The differences that the article identifies should not be attributed to alleged different positions of the two countries in a putative research evaluation learning curve. Evaluation practice fits its national research governance structure. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Educational Assessment; Decision Making; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Legislation; Student Evaluation; Evaluation Utilization; Inferences; Educational Policy; Educational Practices; Accountability; Influences; Role Perception

Abstract:
Assessment permeates many aspects of our educational society. With the passage of federal legislation (i.e., No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004), assessment in the form of accountability is ever present in our K-12 educational system. Current assessment practices should be used in an iterative process that is fueled and influenced by data-based decisions. This article provides illustrations of and a rationale for how current educational assessment practices can influence decision-making processes at the state and district, school, program, and classroom levels. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Faculty Publishing; Reputation; Standards; Evaluation Criteria; Scholarship; Faculty Evaluation; Periodicals; Evaluation Problems; Statistical Analysis; Outcome Measures; Evaluation Utilization; Higher Education; College Faculty; Qualifications; Faculty Promotion; Publish or Perish Issue; Publications

Abstract:
As publication pressure has increased in the world of higher education, more journals, books, and other publication outlets have emerged. Thus it is critical to develop clear criteria for effectively evaluating the quality of publication outlets. Without such criteria funding agencies and promotion committees are forced to guess at how to evaluate a scholar's portfolio. In this article, we explore the perils of evaluating journals based on a single quantitative measure (e.g., the Impact Factor rating of the Institute for Science Information). We then discuss key considerations for evaluating scholarship, including three main criteria: rigor, impact, and prestige. Finally, we conclude with examples of how these criteria could be applied in evaluating scholarship. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Leadership; Data Collection; Evaluation Utilization; Information Utilization; Program Effectiveness; Classroom Techniques; Educational Practices; Use Studies; Praxis; Theory Practice Relationship; Barriers; Educational Policy; Educational Improvement; Improvement Programs; Program Attitudes; Change Strategies; Management Information Systems; Interviews; School Visitation; Mail Surveys; Focus Groups; Semi Structured Interviews; School Districts

Abstract:
In the present study, an examination is conducted in three school districts of how data are used to improve classroom practice. In doing so, we explore the effects that attitudes toward data, principal leadership, and computer data systems have on how data are used to affect classroom practice. Findings indicate that educators are ambivalent about data: they see how data could support classroom practice, but their data use operates in the presence of numerous barriers. Many of these barriers are due to principal leadership and computer data systems; these barriers often have negative effects on attitudes toward data and disrupt the progression from using data to inform classroom practice. It is hypothesized that many of these barriers can be removed through effective district policies to improve structures and supports for using data. (Contains 1 figure, 8 tables and 6 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Politics of Education; Educational Indicators; Management Information Systems; Evaluation Utilization; Information Utilization; Data; School Districts; Data Collection; Evaluation Methods; Case Studies; Sampling; Performance Factors; Educational Assessment

Abstract:
Data have long been considered a key factor in organizational decision-making (Simon, 1955; Lindblom & Cohen, 1979). Data offer perspective, guidance, and insights that inform policy and practice (Newell & Simon, 1972; Kennedy, 1984). Recently, education policymakers have invested in the use of data for organizational improvement in states and districts with such initiatives as Race to The Top (United States Department of Education, 2010) and the development of statewide longitudinal data systems (Institute for Education Sciences, 2010). These and other initiatives focus attention on how data can be used to foster learning and improvement. In other fields, including economics and business, much work has been done to identify leading indicators that predict organizational outcomes. In this paper, we conceptualize how leading indicators might be used in education, using examples from a small sample of school districts with reputations as strong users of data. We define leading indicators as systematically collected data on an activity or condition that is related to a subsequent and valued outcome, as well as the processes surrounding the investigation of those data and the associated responses. Identifying leading indicators often prompts improvements in a district's system of supports. To develop this concept, we describe four examples of how districts identified and used key indicators to anticipate learning problems and improve student outcomes. We also describe the infrastructure and other supports that districts need to sustain this ambitious form of data use. We conclude by discussing how leading indicators can bring about more intelligent use of data in education. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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