Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
T. Olin Huffman
Committee Member
James Ann Lynch
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
criterion referenced competency test, educational technology, Elementary Schools, Georgia, lesson planning, online practice tests, professional development, staff development, standardized tests, student achievement, teacher training, test preparation, testing vocabulary, sixth-grade teachers, sixth-grade students, worksheets
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to provide training for sixth-grade teachers who administer the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test in the spring of the school year. The teachers and students in sixth grade were unfamiliar with the standardized test materials, format, or vocabulary. The teachers had no idea how to prepare for the new test for the spring of the school year. The students and teachers had no knowledge of practice sites or software that was available for students to prepare for the test.
The researcher developed strategies and interventions to help train the teachers better on lesson plan preparation, staff development, testing vocabulary, practice work sheets, and on-line practice tests. Training was provided to the teachers who, in turn, worked with the students to prepare for the test. The teachers were encouraged to have the students continue to practice the tests on-line.
An analysis of the data revealed that students were given the opportunity to practice the test questions on-line, but little carryover knowledge was evident when the test scores were returned. The teachers’ intentions to provide meaningful connecting activities were short of the interventions that were planned by the researcher due to unforeseen illnesses by a large population of the sixth-grade teachers. The students did not increase their test scores based on data from prior years of testing. The students enjoyed the challenge of the on-line testing software but were restricted on how much time they could be on the computers because substitute teachers are not allowed to supervise computer usage by students.