Hey… its a start…
Wayman,et al. (2004)
Wayman, J. C., Stringfield, S. & Yakimowski, M. (2004). Software Enabling School Improvement Through Analysis of Student Data. http://www.csos.jhu.edu/crespar/techreports/report67.pdf
Hypothesis: getting data in teachers hands is important for improving academic success of students.
Data utilization is not wide spread.
? What is available in the way of electronic data from prior years for a teacher? The scenario highlights this as one of the most important pieces of data that should be available for a teacher.
“We believe that the potential for an impactful use of computers lies in putting the great quantities of student data already owned by schools into practical service.”
Software/Information management: The potential as their list shows is so more expansive than what is probably being done. I especially not that parents are one of the users of data. This will be the last user based on my perceptions, because schools are afraid to have parents see this data.
Article highights that the definition of what a data system interface/screens/reports etc should look like is not well defined. ?? This could be part of the project, I think this could be done and would provide an interesting article or presentation. Imagine a fabbed up example of what the teacher at the beginning of the article might have on her desktop.
N.L. Gage, editor of the first Handbook of Research on Teaching (1963), regularly states that he has been told throughout his long career: “Computers are going to totally transform education—it’s just around the corner.” He reports that a 50-year corner is something at which to gaze in wonder
Baker (2005)
Rob: Education accumulated/summative evaluations are made up of many small teaching/learning moments with or without their own evaluations. It is at the micro level that we make the learning that is later shown in assessment tests. This is the “nexus” of improvement.
Rob: The “RBR” result-based reform idea is what is missing from so much of the educational technology and general educational literature. It is not the program, curriculum, technology, objectives, educational philosophy, student activity that matters… it is the results that can be detected and measured in students that matters. Bakers does assert that for assessment to be most valuable it should be close to relevant instruction as possible but talks about terms rather than years.
Alignment is essential to the logic of RBR or valid assessments/testing of any type. Baker asserts that it cannot be done and therefore it is “hocus-pocus.”
alignment of standards, instruction and assessments
Rob: What diagnostic tools do teachers have to use in micro assessing students between group testing?
“Clearly the area that needs most attention is the measurement of instructional and learning processes.”
“Moving from measures of coverage to engagement to learning should be our goal.”
Baker does point to the important concept that alignment is seldom forever and is subject to falling out of alignment. Rob: Any system must be in constant tuning otherwise it gets terrible out of align. Sometimes this misalignment is not even noticed or understood.
Greg Schraw was mentioning that he works with doing the assessment/evaluation of whether the tests used in Nevada align with the curriculum. He stated that they did quite well. This was somewhat vague comments in EPY701 but might be worth following up on what exactly he was meaning. Also he mentioned some type of large teacher survey they have in the works or plans.
