<p>The use of quantitative data-driven instruction and assessment in the visual arts curriculum could impact the outcome of student creativity if employed within the visual arts, a content area that uses primarily qualitative pedagogy and assessment. In this paper I examine the effect upon measured creativity resulting from the use of Quantitative Data-Driven Assessment compared to the use of Authentic Assessment in the Visual Arts curriculum. This initial experimental research exposed eighth grade Visual Arts students to Authentic Assessment in one group, and Quantitative Data-Driven Assessment in another. Two experiments were conducted from the results. In the first experiment, both groups of student post-test art works are compared for mean creativity scores as defined by an independent expert panel of Art Educators. The second experiment compares for gains in pre-test/post-test creativity as the teacher assessed. Gains in mean creativity scores are compared between groups. Difference in assessment motivations are discussed as possible influencing factors.

<p> Educational organizations are being scrutinized for developing accredited programs that provide students with gainful employment. As industry prepares to face the forecasted gaps of an aging workforce, educational organizations are also pressured to provide corporations with critical thinking problem solvers who can think analytically and actively participate in the global economy by producing change that will improve organizational performance. This study exposes an existing gap in literature regarding perception and its effect on adult online students' critical thinking skills as opposed to their perceived beliefs. This study's exploration is grounded on a self-perception and social-cognitive theoretical framework that supports knowledge and reality-based assumptions. This quantitative study assumes we are all works in progress; therefore, it is possible to direct learning outcomes and drive economic change with strategies that build on life's experiences for valuable contributions to society. By employing a non-experimental quantitative correlational design, this study found a cause and effect relationship between adult online students' gender and adult online students' critical thinking skills.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research study was to investigate how school districts, in the state of Missouri, dispersed funds from the American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 to help drive educational reform, with respect to reading achievement and Response to Intervention strategies. The difference between the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other pieces of legislation aimed at educational accountability was that states were only given two years to spend the monies associated with this legislation. This quantitative research study examined 60 school districts in the state of Missouri to determine if there was a relationship between the stimulus funds provided for personnel, intervention support and professional development, and student achievement as measured by the MAP assessment. The researcher divided schools into strata of large and small districts based on enrollment of more than 3,000 students and fewer than 3,000 students respectively. Data collected included three ARRA budget codes (1100) for regular instruction, (2100) for non-instructional support, (2210) for professional development for the 2009-2010 and the 2010-2011 school years, as well as communication arts data from the MAP assessment. The literature review outlined legislation framed for educational accountability, changes in practice for students identified at-risk, and best practices in reading instruction. The researcher examined patterns in spending in non-instructional support and professional development to determine if school districts provided materials for intervention and professional development to support teachers in implementing the interventions. Using multiple regression data analysis, the researcher did not find any significant relationship between ARRA stimulus funds and student achievement as measured by the MAP assessment. Data indicated that additional funding was not the answer to improved student achievement.</p>

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of an experimental condition of failure on the subsequent motor performance of learning disabled students. A total of 123 subjects were assigned to one of three groups based on their specific subscale patterns. Group I consisted of those LD students whose Verbal IQ scores were significantly above their corresponding Performance IQ scores. Group II contained those LD students whose Performance IQs were significantly above their Verbal IQs. Group III was made up of learning disabled students whose Verbal and Performance IQ scores were statistically equivalent. All subjects were then assigned randomly to either an experimental or control condition. Following pretesting on a motor task, the experimental group received verbal feedback suggesting failure. The control subjects received no verbal feedback. The dependent measure was their posttest scores on an identical motor task.The significance of the difference between group means was determined using a two by three analysis of covariance. The research hypotheses predicted the high verbal groups to demonstrate a significant increase in their mean posttest scores, when compared to posttest scores of the high performance group, following failure experience. Statistical analysis of the data, however, did not support these assumptions. LD children, regardless of verbal ability, were found to be unmotivated by their failure. These findings were interpreted within the context of social learning theory and learned helplessness.A two item questionnaire was administered to the subjects following posttesting. Results suggested that those children receiving the failure condition perceived their pretest performance as significantly lower than the subjects in the control group. Furthermore, the failure group's reported perceptions of their effort on the final posttest was significantly above the claims made by the no feedback group despite a measured performance which did not significantly differ.Demographic information relative to educational and vocational levels of the parents was also collected. From this data it was determined that the average parent's occupation was skilled/unskilled labor. As a group, their total number of years in school did not exceed the eleventh grade. These findings suggested that current LD eligibility criteria are not being closely adhered to.

The purpose of the study was to determine if preference level of a class from which a student was removed would affect performance on an abbreviated psycho-educational test battery. It also examined the effect of a student's cognitive style on performance on the test battery.Subjects were 76 seventh-grade students. On the base of a double median spilt of time and error sores from the MFFT, 37 of these students had been identified as reflective and 39 as impulsive. The students were randomly assigned to be removed from either their favorite or least favorite class. The students were then removed from the assigned class and individually administered an abbreviated psycho-educational test battery by a certified psychometrist/psychol.ogist.The three null hypotheses were tested using a multivariate analysis of variance with univariate F-ratios to further investigate significant differences. The .01 level of significance was used.There was no significant difference found between performances of those students removed from preferred classes and those students removed from non-preferred classes. Reflective students, however, performed better on a linear com-posite of achievement, ability, and visual-motor tests. When this relationship was examined further, reflective students were found -to do better on the math and reading achievement and visual-motor tests, but not on the subtests measuring verbal intelligence.The results of this study suggested that school psychologists, teachers, and others who interpret the results of achievement tests need to be cautious. Errors on these kinds of tests have been frequently interpreted in the past to be indicative of low ability. Rather, errors may be explained by a student's tendency to respond hastily, and thus inaccurately.

<p> Online gradebooks have gradually become a staple of schools in the 21st century. Students and parents have immediate access to grades, and the composition of these grades is transparent. While the purpose of the online gradebook may have initially been for the conveniences such systems offer the school and its stakeholders, it has also served as a catalyst for gradebook reform. Gradebook construction strategies have been called into question, and solutions which allow gradebooks to provide more accurate and specific information have been developed.</p><p> This study explored student learning growth through the use of two different online gradebooks: a traditionally averaged gradebook and a standards-based gradebook. While the quantitative results of the study showed that students demonstrated a little more growth with an online standards-based gradebook than with an online traditional gradebook, the qualitative portion of this study explored student, parent, and teacher preferences for gradebook construction and suggested that online standards-based gradebooks may result in greater learning increases for students if they are consistently used. </p><p> For instance, "organization and clarity benefits" were among the positives students referenced concerning the standards-based gradebooks. One student recognized the benefit such a gradebook may provide at final exam time, as the gradebook clearly showed the skills in which the student was strong and weak. Likewise, the parents also preferred the clarity of the standards-based gradebook. However, they also liked the traditionally averaged gradebook as it provided information they were familiar with and to which they could relate. </p><p> The teacher input echoed thoughts of the students and parents. They liked the idea of the standards-based gradebook and could see how it helped students learn. However, they also recognized the great deal of work that may go into developing such a system for classroom use, and the great deal of work that may accompany such a system in day-to-day use. This ominous amount of work, they opined, would likely decrease once they used the system consistently, allowing results of this study to support that such a system can only work to its intended extent once it has been implemented and consistently practiced over multiple semesters.</p>

<p> Few classroom measures of English language proficiency have been evaluated for reliability and validity. This research examined the concurrent and predictive validity of an oral language test, titled A Developmental English Language Proficiency Test (ADEPT), and the relationship to the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) in the receptive/listening and expressive/speaking domains. Four years of retroactive data representing 392 student records were obtained from a local urban school district in Los Angeles County with a significant proportion of English language learners. After preparing the data file for analysis, data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) system. Cronbach's alpha was used to analyze the internal consistency of ADEPT. Pearson r analysis was performed to examine concurrent validity and predictive validity. Findings indicated moderate to high correlation coefficients of internal consistency in the first three levels of ADEPT. Concurrent validity results varied depending on the school year. In the most recent school year, 2012-2013, positive moderate to strong correlations were found. This relationship was weaker in each previous year. Overall, correlations increased and remained positive as sample size increased but predictive validity was weak for all three sets of comparative years. These findings support the use of ADEPT as a multiple measure, as a monitoring tool and to inform instruction. </p>

<p> A college education is essential to the future. Those with a college degree will make a higher income and be affected less by economic instability. Employment requiring a college degree will grow, while jobs that do not require postsecondary education will decline. Yet barriers exist that keep all students from attaining a college education. </p><p> It is the charge of schools to prepare students so they not only enter college, but also have the necessary skills to be successful in college-level courses. Federal initiatives mandate periodic assessments to ensure student learning and to hold schools accountable. However, scores from these assessments do not help students gain college entrance nor do they evaluate college readiness. Some states now provide the ACT to all high school students as part of the required state assessment. By doing so, all students will have a common measure of academic achievement in terms of college readiness in time to close achievement gaps before leaving high school. </p><p> This study examined the effects of increased ACT testing on college enrollment and readiness for students graduating in 2010. State testing percentages were obtained from the 2010 ACT Profile Reports for each state in the sample. College enrollment information was obtained from the Digest of Education Statistics. College readiness was measured by the percentage of students who met or exceeded the ACT benchmark scores in English and Mathematics. </p><p> Results revealed a relationship between increased testing and college enrollment, especially in Caucasian/White students, although the degree to which testing was responsible for this increase was limited. Strong relationships were found between increased testing and college readiness in both English and Mathematics. A negative correlation was found between the percentage of students who took the ACT and the percentage of students who met benchmark scores. Results suggested a disconnect between what high school students are taught and what they need to know for college success. Additional study should be pursued to investigate possible reasons for these findings. Recommendations for improvement and suggestions for future research are presented. </p>

<p> While many pre-service teachers successfully passed the state licensure test, a large percentage of students from diverse school districts continue to score below average on their ending standardized state test. Instruction in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) might diminish the discrepancy between student performance and teacher performance. The research question was: How do the three university teacher education programs prepare pre-service teachers to teach CRP? The purpose of this qualitative study was to compare three distinctive TEPs regarding how they prepare pre-service teachers to respond to the learning needs of culturally diverse student populations using CRP. Three distinct Midwest TEPs participated in this study: a Black urban and public university, a White private suburban university, and a White private rural university. The participants included three chairs/deans and 103 pre-service teachers. A qualitative case study design was selected because it can describe a real-life phenomenon. Data sources were triangulated and included interviews of chairs/deans, Culturally Relevant Teacher Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) survey results of pre-service teachers, and mission statements from the three universities. Results included ten interview themes: caring, respect, trust, relationship, student diversity, family values, sensitivity and cultural differences, student centeredness, vicarious experience, and infusion of CRP in TEP. </p><p> The results revealed that there were no important differences between the three TEPs and that they (a) comply with the state diversity standard in varying ways; (b) have chair/deans who understand CRP and are confident their TEPs prepare students to use CRP; and (c) have pre-service teachers who have above average self-confidence in all four categories of Culturally Relevant Teaching (CRT). The only mal-alignment was chair/deans confidence that they were developing pre-service teachers who are sensitive to cultural differences, but pre-service teachers lacked confidence (lowest scores, though still above average) in having the skill to create a culturally enriched environment. There appeared to be a discrepancy in what they believe they are doing and what they are actually doing. TEPs should realign the mal-alignment discovered in the interview and survey data by providing pre-service teachers the opportunity to develop skill in being sensitive to cultural differences (doing it) through cultural enrichment (having it).</p>

<p> The performance of the United States' students on international tests remains an ongoing source of concern, division, and anxiety for government, educational, and business leaders, teachers (and their unions), as well as the general public. These selfsame test results have been used as evidence to support diametrically opposed political and educational strategy and policy for decades. All too often the performance of students is discussed with a single test score number that is used to represent the entirety of the education system's students without accounting for geographical, demographic, or socioeconomic differences among the student test takers. The contributing factors of the national level performance are often summed up simplistically as resulting from underfunded school systems or under qualified teachers. These generalized assessments and underlying national angst are also often based on the mistaken perception that the United States once led the world in international testing and that the declining performance is a grave indicator of the nation's economic and social future. </p><p> Researchers have begun to produce studies showing a far more nuanced interpretation of national level scores that point to much different contributing factors; in particular, poverty. Somewhat unexpectedly for the world's largest economy, the United States' poverty level is nearly the highest of all nations taking standardized international tests. These studies show that when international test results are controlled for certain socioeconomic factors that the United States scores are at, or very near, the top of the international tables. This study supported the body of evidence that poverty is the greatest hindrance to the academic achievement of the nation's students and sought to better understand the unique contributors to achievement of the nation's poor on the mathematics portion of the Program for International Student Assessment test depending upon the socioeconomic composition and geographical location of a student's school.</p>