Students with learning disabilities are increasingly included in state accountability systems. The purpose of this study was to investigate disability-based differential item functioning (DIF) on a statewide high-stakes mathematics test administered in the Spring of 2003 to all students seeking a high-school diploma in one state in the eastern part of the U.S. Overall performance scores for all students in grade 10 taking the test for the first time were examined. Item performance scores for students with specific learning disabilities who took the test with and without state mandated accommodations were compared with that for students without disabilities after matching on total test score. It was hypothesized that more DIF items will favor students who received packages of accommodations. The standardization method for DIF analysis by Doran and Holland yielded the presence of items in two directions. This study revealed that more DIF items favored students without disabilities, and with substantially high indexes that could be problematic for understanding the meaning of scores for students with specific learning disabilities.

This study was an exploration of what English language content was represented in a classroom in which English was taught as a foreign language (EFL). The purpose of this study was to explore the way EFL teachers represent English language content/constructs in a classroom setting. The motivation behind this exploration is to contribute to the understandings of EFL teachers' practices in classroom settings. Doyle's task framework was employed, specifically with the intention to map what content representations emerged out of the teachers' classroom practices. All in all, the teachers' classroom content representations were found to be entrenched with the idea of high-stakes test preparation in Turkey.

Under våren 2020 ställdes det nationella provet i matematik, för årskurs 9, in som en följd av Coronapandemin. Det nationella provet i svenska genomfördes som vanligt. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilken roll det nationella provet i årskurs 9 har för slutbetyget för elever i läs- och skrivsvårigheter, samt att synliggöra de faktorer som avgör vid betygsättning. Vidare vill studien undersöka hur bortfallet av ett nationellt prov påverkar gruppens slutbetyg samt se om skillnader finns i slutbetyget mellan flickor och pojkar.   För att besvara studiens frågeställningar används metoden mixed methods, det vill säga en kombination av kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod. Den kvantitativa delen bygger på 221 elevers betygshistorik och nationella provresultat. Den kvalitativa delen består av intervjuer med en matematiklärare, en svensklärare samt en specialpedagog i syfte att fördjupa förståelsen för den kvantitativa delen. Studien visar att elever med läs- och skrivsvårigheter, framför allt pojkar, fick ett lägre slutbetyg i ämnet matematik under vårterminen 2020 jämfört med tidigare fem år. Avsaknaden av det nationella provet i matematik kan ha varit en bidragande orsak till detta. Studien visar att korrelationen mellan nationellt prov och slutbetyg är lägre för elever med läs- och skrivsvårigheter än för övriga elever. Många elever ur denna grupp får först efter avklarat nationellt prov ett godkänt matematikbetyg. Studiens kvalitativa del visar att det sena uppnådda betyget även påverkas av yttre faktorer såsom gymnasieantagningen som motivator samt att lärare som tidigare varit avvaktande med att ge betyg för dessa elever nu känner att tillräckligt underlag finns. Diskussionsdelen lyfter de möjligheter ett nationellt prov ger, trots de svårigheter gruppen har för proven. Vidare diskuteras ersättningsprovens utformande, språkliga påverkan samt de konsekvenser som uppstår om bortfallet av provet påverkar gruppens meritvärde negativt.

The reauthorized No Child Left Behind requirement for annual state-mandated student examinations led some teachers to believe that they must teach solely for test preparation. This case study explored teachers' perceptions of preparing students for the state-mandated tests at an economically disadvantaged high school in the southeastern United States. Ten teachers were interviewed to understand their perceptions of 'teaching to the test,' feelings of pressure and stress, motivation to teach, and recommendations for integration of creative teaching strategies. The researcher collected demographic data, such as gender, grades taught, and subjects taught, and manually calculated frequencies and percentages. With an electronic software program for qualitative data management, the researcher analyzed the data manually by iterative review of the interview transcripts for codes and themes. Teachers' perceptions of standardized test preparation were both positive and negative. Preparation fostered discipline and content mastery but inhibited teacher creativity and stressed students. Teachers experienced pressure and stress with unhealthy physical reactions, lack of competence, and responsibility to students. Teachers' motivations were both positive and negative. Some experienced increased self-efficacy, and other experienced decreased motivation; commitment to students; and inadequate institutional support. Teachers recommended incorporation of creative teaching strategies and professional development (PD) programs. Findings led to a PD for addressing the problems and creative strategies (e.g., reciprocal teaching, graphic organizers). Findings may help teachers reduce negative feelings toward standardized test preparation and use innovative strategies for students' more effective learning.

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 22-23).

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