Running heau: REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A
S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY
Reading Teachers Perceptions of High-Stakes Testing in a Successful Elementary School: A Case Study Emily Kyle Thompson University of North Texas
2 REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY !"#$%!&'( *+,-. &/0012345. +-67 Reading Teachers Perceptions of High-Stakes Testing in a Successful Elementary School: A Case Study Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of how teachers perceive high-stakes testing and the impact of high-stakes tests and test scores on students. Currently there are no case studies that exist on this topic and a majority of the research that is available use only quantitative data. By using case study design teachers voices can be heard. By combining current research with findings from this case study, policy makers will have a clearer picture of what is happening in the classroom when it comes to high-stakes assessment. Over-arching/Guiding Research Question and Sub-questions How do reading teachers view high-stakes testing? a. How do reading teachers perceive the effects of high-stakes test scores? b. What are reading teachers perceptions about the effects of high-stakes tests on their students? c. What teaching practices do classroom reading teachers report using in preparation for high-stakes tests? Research Context/Setting The research study will be conducted at a successful public elementary school in the Denton Independent School District. For this study successful is defined as having earned an academic achievement distinction in reading/English language arts by the Texas Education S REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY !"#$%!&'( *+,-. &/0012345. +-67 Agency. To earn a distinction the school collectively must score in the top quartile in at least two categories. Categories are defined as student achievement, student progress, and closing performance gaps. The school will include but is not limited to students in grades three through five as those are grades participating in state mandated high-stakes testing. The research study will take place from February first through the week of STAAR reading testing. For the 2013 school year there are two elementary schools in the Denton Independent School District that earned academic achievement distinctions in reading/English language arts. Nelson elementary is located in southeast Denton, Texas and serves 651 students in Kindergarten through fifth grade. In the 2013 school year 32.3 percent of students were labeled as economically disadvantaged and 6.6 percent of students were labeled as English language learners. Wilson elementary is located in northeast Denton, Texas and serves 603 students in Kindergarten through fifth grade. In the 2013 school year 46.3 percent of students were labeled economically disadvantaged and 18.7 percent of students were labeled as English language learners. Research Participants Participants recruited for this research study will be teachers of third through fifth grade reading/English language arts classes. Participants should have a current Texas teaching certificate. The number of research participants will vary based on the number of teachers in each grade level and subject area. Other participants involved in the research study will be individuals from the school that meet with the teachers regarding educational decisions based on assessment data collected. These participants could hold the title of interventionist, reading specialist, or inclusion teacher. There is no specific gender, racial/ethnic composition, or age 4 REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY !"#$%!&'( *+,-. &/0012345. +-67 range for participants. Table one shows the breakdown of teachers by grade level at both Nelson elementary and Wilson elementary that are potential research sites based on criteria stated above. Table 1 Teachers by Grade Level At Nelson and Wilson Elementary Schools Grade Level Nelson Elementary Wilson Elementary 3 rd grade 4 4 4 th grade 5 5 5 th grade 5 4 Total 14 13 Note: The number of teachers from each grade level that specifically teach reading is not known at this time.
S REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY !"#$%!&'( *+,-. &/0012345. +-67 Data Collection Methods Semi-Structured Qualitative Interview Document Analysis Participant Observation Survey How do reading teachers view high- stakes testing?
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How do reading teachers perceive the effects of high- stakes test scores?
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* What are reading teachers perceptions about the effects of high-stakes tests on their students?
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* What teaching practices do classroom reading teachers report using in preparation for high-stakes tests?
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Anticipated Procedures for Data Gathering 1. I plan on conducting two one-hour semi-structured interviews with each participant. By using a semi-structured interview protocol I can ensure that all participants are asked the same questions but there is still freedom to ask follow-up or probing questions based on participant responses (Brenner, 2006). Each interview will cover two of the research questions. The reason for breaking up the interviews into two sessions is to protect against participant exhaustion that could result in a longer one-time interview. Interviews will be audio recorded so that transcripts 6 REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY !"#$%!&'( *+,-. &/0012345. +-67 can be made from the conversation. Due to the use of audio recording an expedited IRB application will be needed prior to research. 2. An analysis of school and district documents will be conducted to see how test preparation is suggested from both the campus and district level. This will allow for comparison between what teachers report they do to prepare students for high-stakes testing and what is suggested/mandated from a higher authority. By analyzing these documents further questions can be developed based on interview responses about test preparation. In order to generate data from the analysis field notes will be taken. 3. When attending data meetings between teachers and interventionists/reading specialists/inclusion teachers, data will be gathered through field notes taken at the meeting. These field notes will be a combination of literal accounts of what took place at the meeting along with researcher thoughts, feelings, and wonderings. Upon completion of the meeting the researcher will add more detail to the notes while it is still easily remembered. The goal is to provide thick descriptions of what took place (Denzin, 2001). 4. A likert scale survey will be developed to collect data from teachers regarding their perceptions of the effects of high-stakes testing and test scores on students. This data will be used to triangulate findings from the semi-structured qualitative interviews and participant observation of data meetings. Anticipated Procedures for Data Analysis General inductive analysis will be used to generate findings from the semi-structured interview transcripts, field notes, and document analysis. The steps for analysis will come from Thomas (2006) procedure for using a general inductive analysis for qualitative data. 7 REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY !"#$%!&'( *+,-. &/0012345. +-67 1. Data cleaning: This step prepares the raw data files (transcripts and field notes) for analysis. Data that has been cleaned has similar font sizes, margins, and interviewer questions/comments highlighted for easy recognition. 2. Close reading of text: Once data has been cleaned the researcher reads data files thoroughly until the researcher is familiar with the content and a general understanding of themes and events within the data emerges. 3. Creating of categories: When the researcher has a general understanding of themes he/she then defines categories/themes. Themes are more general and are derived from the evaluation aims. Categories are lower-level and come from multiple readings of the raw data. 4. Overlapping coding and uncoded text: Raw data may be coded into more than one category which is different than the quantitative coding rules. Additionally, a considerable amount of the text may not be included in any category as it may be irrelevant to the research aims. 5. Continuing revision and refinement of category system: When data has been placed in a category the researcher must continue to search for subtopics, new insights, and contradictory points of view. When continually looking at the categories it may been seen that two categories can be combined and linked when meanings are similar. Anticipated Audience/Purpose/Format of Report Research will be conducted with test administrators, test developers, and policy makers in mind. The goal of this research project is to affect change regarding high-stakes testing therefore it is important to have individuals that are capable of making these changes as an audience. The research report will review literature of similar studies that are mainly quantitative in nature. 8 REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY !"#$%!&'( *+,-. &/0012345. +-67 Then the current research will be explained and findings will be presented. The discussion will combine research findings from the present study with research presented in the literature review to make a clearer well rounded picture of the perceptions and effects of high-stakes testing. This case study design will be able to provide voice to the teachers as their responses will be included as part of the report.
9 REABINu TEACBERS' PERCEPTI0NS 0F BIuB-STAKES TESTINu IN A S0CCESSF0L ELENENTARY SCB00L: A CASE ST0BY !"#$%!&'( *+,-. &/0012345. +-67 Reference Brenner, M. E. (2006). Interviewing in educational research. In J. L. Green, G. Camilli & P. B. Elmore (Eds.), Handbook of complimentary methods in education research (pp. 357- 370). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Denzin, N. K. (2001). Interpretive interactionism. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc. Thomas, D. R. (2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237-346. doi: 10.1177/1098214005283748