The Effect of Teacher Assessment Practices

Following the development of a methodology to measure teachers’ assessment practices, we will use it to conduct evaluation and research studies to examine the impact of teachers' assessment practices. We are currently selecting research locations and creating study designs for future studies. A possible setting for the study is the CAESL Science Assessment Leadership Academy. The measurement of assessment practice will become part of the evaluation of the Academy’s efforts to strengthen teachers’ capacity in classroom assessment. This might involve administering the survey and collecting artifacts from teachers’ classroom instruction. This would have the dual purpose of supporting the professional development process and help build capacity for research purposes. Data on assessment practices could then be linked to student performance data, if district data sets permit such a link between teacher and student data.

While large-scale science assessment data is currently available in California only at the high school level and the relationship between those data and California standards is suspect, new California Standards Tests in science will be coming on line across all subject areas in the coming years. Linking teachers' assessment practices to students' results on the Golden State Examinations in science is another possibility, since those tests are aligned with the standards and include open ended as well as multiple choice items. However, the tests are voluntary and only available at the high school level.

Researchers: Joan Herman: UCLA/CRESST; Ellen Osmundson: UCLA/CRESST