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Increasing the Volume of Student Voice: Perceptions of Personalization in High Poverty/ Minority Schools
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| Presenter(s):
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| Sabrina F Sembiante, University of Miami, s.sembiante@umiami.edu
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| Ann G Bessell, University of Miami, agbessell@miami.edu
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| Cathleen Armstead, University of Miami, carmstead@miami.edu
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| Abstract:
“Data-in-a-Day” methodology is an innovative means to gauge the often elusive voice of students in evaluation. Smaller Learning Communities (SLC), a School-Within-a-School approach, includes personalization, a central component of secondary school reform with its’ positive effects on overall student behavior, achievement, attendance, and graduation rates. Within the context of the larger SLC evaluation of 28 large, urban high schools, this study examined the impact of personalization and the roles of ethnicity, poverty, and fidelity of implementation from the perspective of the students. A mixed method approach utilized quantitative covariates (i.e., student ethnicity, free/reduced lunch, extent of implementation, a personalization composite, overall school performance, student behavior indices) and qualitative data points (i.e., classroom interactions, student focus group, questionnaire responses). Preliminary findings suggest that students’ perceptions of personalization vary dramatically across Hispanic, African-American, and Black non-African-American student populations. The utility and process of Data-in-a-Day to gauge student voice will also be discussed.
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The Evaluation of a Model for Alternative Education
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| Presenter(s):
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| Jessaca Spybrook, Western Michigan University, jessaca.spybrook@wmich.edu
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| Margaret Richardson, Western Michigan University, richardsonm@groupwise.wmich.edu
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| James Henry, Western Michigan University, james.henry@wmich.edu
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| Abstract:
The rate of expulsion of students in the United States has increased 15 percent since 2002. Only ten states in the United States mandate educational alternatives for expelled students. There is some movement toward educational alternatives for expelled students, with the Strict Discipline Academy (SDA) as developed in Michigan as one alternative. SDAs are schools with strict behavioral rules and disciplinary practices in place. This study reports on the evaluation of one SDA. The results suggest that expelled students can be academically and behaviorally successful with flexible structure, student skill building, and teacher/staff relational support. The session will include details of this particular SDA’s practices and student outcomes as well as provide suggestions for developing alternative education models from the lessons learned through the evaluation of this SDA.
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Cognitive Labs to Evaluate Test Items for Use on an Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS)
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| Presenter(s):
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| Tammiee Dickenson, University of South Carolina, tsdicken@mailbox.sc.edu
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| Karen Price, University of South Carolina, pricekj@mailbox.sc.edu
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| Heather Bennett, University of South Carolina, bennethl@mailbox.sc.edu
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| Joanna Gilmore, University of South Carolina, jagilmore@mailbox.sc.edu
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| Abstract:
This study evaluated the benefits of item enhancements applied to science inquiry items for incorporation into an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) for high school students. Six items were included in the cognitive lab sessions involving both students with and without disabilities. The enhancements (e.g. visuals, removal of a distractor, reading support) were intended to improve access to the items for students who had grade-level science content knowledge, but whose disability may hinder their ability to answer the items in the original form. Students were asked to think aloud while answering items and answer follow-up questions about specific item enhancement features. Achievement did not show much improvement, but reported cognitive effort suggests reduction in perceived difficulty of enhanced items. The results were also used to make decisions on revisions to items and enhancements in constructing a pilot test consisting of 40 items.
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Assessing the Effectiveness of a School Connectedness Scale for Evaluation
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| Presenter(s):
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| Jill Lohmeier, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, jill_lohmeier@uml.edu
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| Steven Lee, University of Kansas, swlee@ku.edu
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| Abstract:
Evaluators are frequently asked to assess the effectiveness of school programs implemented to show increases in academic achievement. School connectedness has been shown to be directly related to academic achievement (McNeely, Nonnemaker & Blum, 2002) and is therefore also of interest to evaluators. The construct of school connectedness has been shown to consist of three elements: connectedness to adults in schools, connectedness to peers and connectedness to the school (Karcher & Lee, 2002). This presentation will report the psychometric properties and factor analyses findings from a School Connectedness Scale given to adolescents in two high schools, one a large urban school and one a medium sized suburban school. Issues related to implementation of the instrument in different districts will be discussed as well as the similarities and differences of the resulting factor structures from the two sets of data.
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