Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Maryanne Roesch
Committee Member
Ann Barefield
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
accountability, achievement gap, adequate yearly progress, alternative high schools, assessment, classroom teachers, collaborative assessment, computer software development, data driven instructional decision making, differentiated instruction, educational accountability, elementary schools, English, high-stakes testing, instructional decision making, instructional strategies, mathematics, middle schools, No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, pedagogical strategies, proficiency assessment, school-based administrators, science, social studies, software programs, Standards of Learning, statewide accountability programs, student achievement, student learning, student self-evaluation, test-based assessment, United States, Virginia
Abstract
School-based educators face the task of aligning and integrating accountability measures such as high-stakes testing, state-mandated standards, and local curriculum programs with individual instructional strategies for student learning. In a pragmatic effort to compile and correlate the mandated accountability measures and numerous standards, a software program was designed. The intended outcome of the software program was twofold: to increase student mastery of the essential knowledge and skills in the four core content areas of English, mathematics, social studies, and science as legislated and measured by statewide accountability programs; and to establish the pedagogical strategies of using released, mandated high-stakes tests as a comprehensive diagnostic tool to differentiate instruction.
The design model of the software program is translucent across the accountability programs for all states within the United States; however, the study consisted of seven schools in Virginia with diverse demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The study group consisted of two high schools, one of which is an alternative high school; one middle school; and four elementary schools. The key tenets of the software program provided a tangible means for school-based administrators, classroom teachers, and students to employ assessment and instruction as a simultaneous process versus two separate entities in time and purpose.
The design model of the software program stems from the literary review of the tests and assessments over the past 50 years, the accountability reforms of the last 5 decades, the historical development of the Standards of Learning in Virginia, the effect of high-stakes assessments for classroom level instruction, and the intended impact of the current legislative actions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. At its basic level, the program provides immediate baseline assessment data for identification of students’ skill and concept proficiencies and deficiencies from which to make instructional decisions and strategically plan for a pragmatic and systemic approach for ongoing student learning. At an engaged level, the program provides opportunities for students and teachers to assess current student data collaboratively and academically establish clearly defined targets for what could be instructionally and to plan strategically for what should be for ongoing, improved student achievement. The program assists users to diagnose prescriptions of assessment; to identify students’ current levels of proficiency, knowledge, and skills; to provide immediate assessment; and to serve as a student self-evaluative tool to reduce student skill gaps for adequate yearly progress.