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Session Title: Can Evaluation Policy and Practice Serve Rural Schools?
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Panel Session 322 to be held in the Granite Room Section A on Thursday, Nov 6, 1:40 PM to 3:10 PM
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Sponsored by the Pre-K - 12 Educational Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Louis Cicchinelli,
Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning,
lcicchinelli@mcrel.org
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| Abstract:
National education policy is often shaped to suit large schools with specialists on staff. The policy may contain criteria particularly difficult for rural schools to attain. In this session, three panelists will discuss issues related to evaluation policy and evaluation practice focused on rural education. The chair/discussant, Lou Cicchinelli, will introduce the topic with a description of the condition of rural education particularly as it is manifested in the Central Region of the US including the states of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Wyoming. Evaluation practice (of rural schools) must hold a tension between the criteria and the realities of rural education. Each panelist will discuss an area of educational policy and address two overarching questions: Could educational policy (and therefore its evaluation) be fine tuned to better serve small rural schools? What guidelines can be offered for evaluation practice in rural settings?
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The Highly Qualified Teacher Policy and its Implications for Rural Education
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| Andrea Beesley,
Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning,
abeesley@mcrel.org
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| Kim Atwill,
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning,
katwill@mcrel.org
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| Pamela Blair,
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning,
pblair@mcrel.org
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At a time when national education policies and goals present challenges to rural schools, evaluators must be sensitive to the particular characteristics of the rural education environment. Andrea Beesley will discuss the policies related to the 'highly qualified teacher' and how they impact rural schools, and will present findings from studies that surveyed preservice rural teacher programs and examined strategies for teacher recruitment and retention in rural schools. Beesley has been working in or studying rural schools for five years, as a National Science Foundation fellow and then as a researcher focused on high-performing high-needs rural schools, alternative schedules, rural school leadership and teacher quality, and rural student characteristics.
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All Students Proficient by 2014: Challenges and Opportunities for American Indian Education
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| Dawn M Mackety,
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning,
dmackety@mcrel.org
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Despite progress in the quality of American Indian education, American Indian student performance on key education indicators continues to lag behind the performance of white peers and national averages. Mackety will provide an overview of American Indian education policy and its effect on the educational conditions of American Indian students, trends in American Indian academic achievement, and the challenges of meeting the goal of 'all students proficient by 2014.' Opportunities and suggestions for culturally-relevant policies, practices and evaluations to improve American Indian student academic achievement will be presented, including findings from a recent study on parent involvement in the Central Region. Mackety has been involved in American Indian research, evaluation, and programming partnerships for over two decades and is a registered member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians in Michigan.
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Not Meeting Adequate Yearly Progress: Policy and Practice in Providing Supplemental Educational Services in Rural Schools
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| Zoe A Barley,
Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning,
zbarley@mcrel.org
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| Sandra Wegner,
Wegner Consulting,
sandrawegner611@hotmail.com
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Title I schools that have not met adequate yearly progress (AYP) for three consecutive years must offer supplemental services (SES) to their high needs students. Central Region rural schools have a lower SES student participation rate than national averages. In a 2007 study with state SES staff, barriers for rural schools were noted. Barley will discuss a 2008 study in the Central Region that examines the implementation of SES policy in rural schools. Comparisons of 2006-2007 rural and non-rural school reports will identify the differential presence of factors believed to support SES participation and follow up interviews with nine rural schools in their second year of required implementation will augment the findings. Barley will comment on how educational policy might be better adapted to rural education and suggest guidance for evaluative studies. Barley has studied rural issues for nearly a decade and is active in both NREA and AEA.
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