Date of Award
2001
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
EdD Program for Educational Leaders
Advisor
Anne Joslin
Committee Member
Charles L. Faires
Keywords
academic achievement, administrators, Baltimore, Baltimore City Public School System, Baltimore Quarterly Assessment, cadre, Chapter I teacher, classroom teachers, consultant teacher, content areas, critical thinking, data collection, educational assessment, elementary education, grade 5, homework packets, instructional support teacher, interviews, kindergarten, language usage, Maryland, master teacher, mathematics, parent liaison, parents, performance assessment tasks, practicum, product development, questionnaires, reading, research project, Rosemont Elementary School #63, science, school improvement, social studies, staff development, student achievement, student improvement, students, study groups, surveys, teacher training, teachers, test results, third-grade students, writing
Abstract
Performance assessment tasks are activities in which students demonstrate in a variety of ways their ability to think creatively and critically in producing a product. The research question that guided this. project was, Can the. implementation of performance assessment tasks improve 3rd-grade achievement as measured by the Baltimore Quarterly Assessment (Baltimore City Public School System, 1996a)? The participants in the program were 74 third-grade students, a cadre of 3 classroom teachers, 1 master teacher, 1 consultant teacher, 1 instructional support teacher, 1 Chapter I teacher, 1 parent liaison, and 2 administrators at Rosemont Elementary. School #63 in Baltimore, Maryland. Extensive training was given to teachers in the understanding and development of performance assessment tasks. The practicum was implemented during the 1997-1998 school year. Data were collected from teachers, parents, and students through surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and test results to measure the success of the program. Staff development training, study group sessions, and homework packets enhanced and supported this project.
As a result of this practicum experience, as measured by the Baltimore Quarterly Assessment (Baltimore City Public School System, 1996a), overall student improvement, compared with the 1997 test results, showed tremendous growth in every content area except social studies. In 1998, as compared with 1997, 70% more students scored at or above the satisfactory level in reading, 93% more in writing, 76% more in language usage, 100% more in mathematics, 78% more in science, and 1% more in social studies. The project manager concluded that performance assessment tasks do improve the academic achievement of 3rd-grade students. This project has been expanded to include all students in kindergarten through Grade 5 at Rosemont Elementary School #63.