From Testing to Teaching: The Use of Interim Assessments in Classroom Instruction

Abstract

The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) unites seven of the nation's leading research institutions to improve elementary and secondary education through research on policy, finance, school reform, and school governance. Members of CPRE are the University of Pennsylvania, Teachers College Columbia University, Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Northwestern University.CPRE is currently examining how alternative approaches to education reform--such as new accountability policies, teacher compensation, whole-school reform approaches, and efforts to contract out instructional services--address issues of coherence, incentives and capacity. The results of this research are shared with policymakers, educators, practitioners, and other interested individuals and organizations in order to promote improvements in policy design and implementation.Want to learn more about new and upcoming CPRE publications, project research findings, or where CPRE researchers are presenting? Please visit our Web site at http://www.cpre.org or sign up for our e-newsletter, In-Sites, at insites@gse.upenn.edu. CPRE Research Report SeriesResearch Reports are issued by CPRE to facilitate the exchange of ideas among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers who share an interest in education policy. The views expressed in the reports are those of individual authors, and are not necessarily shared by CPRE, or its institutional partners.For more information, visit our website www.cpre.org, or call us at (215) 573-0700. Consortium for Policy Research in EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania | Teachers College | Harvard University | Stanford University | University of Michigan | University of WisconsinMadison | Northwestern University From Testing to Teaching: The Use of Interim Assessments in Classroom InstructionBy Margaret E. Goertz Leslie Nabors Oláh Matthew Riggan CPRE Research Report # RR-65Our research was funded by a National Science Foundation grant (#REC-0529485) to the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). Opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, the study districts, CPRE, or its institutional members. December 2009Copyright 2010 by Margaret E. Goertz, Leslie Nabors Oláh, and Matthew Riggan About the AuthorsMargaret E. Goertz is co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) and a professor of education policy in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn GSE). She specializes in the study of state and federal education finance and governance policy. She has conducted extensive research on state education reform policies, state teacher policies, and state and federal programs for special-needs students. Her current research activities look at the impact of standards-based reform in elementary schools and high schools, the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and state and ...

Policy incentives in Canadian large-scale assessment: How policy levers influence teacher decisions about instructional change

“…Datnow, Park and Kennedy-Lewis (2012) point out that being driven by data does not fix all in the education system, nor does simply accessing data change instructional practices for the better. Goertz, Oláh and Riggan (2009) support this thesis, stating that assessment literacy and professional development are necessary to make effective use of these data. An expansive perspective on DDDM is shown in Mandinach and Gummer (2016) who noted 53 skills and sources of knowledge required by teachers to effectively and appropriately use data.…”

The Effects of Training School Staff for Utilizing Student Monitoring System Data

“…Goertz, Olah and Riggan [5] show that leadership and an achievement-oriented school culture in combination with support from local government are critical factors in assisting teachers with AOW. The literature on school improvement stresses the positive relationship between distributed leadership and school innovation.…”

“…This especially applies to analyzing student performance and diagnosing causes of underperformance, formulating challenging goals for all students, and adapting instructional activities to students' educational needs. Promoting AOW requires teacher professional development, and the development of an achievement oriented school organization [3,4,5,6]. Based on the research of the Inspectorate with regard to the level of AOW, the conclusion can be drawn that in most Dutch primary schools AOW is not a reality yet.…”

Intermediate assessment of students within the framework of the cycles of continuous improvement of teaching

“…Tout ceci tend à montrer que les évaluations intermédiaires structurent et guident d'autres types de pratiques formatives. En ellesmêmes, elles n'éclairent guère la réflexion des élèves et leur résolution de problèmes (Goertz, Oláh & Riggan, 2010), mais elles donnent des indications utiles aux enseignants en phase de contrôle continu. Un des enjeux de l'analyse des résultats est d'examiner la façon dont les enseignants approfondissent cette analyse une fois qu'ils ont observé les grandes tendances des résultats de leurs classes.…”