Multi-Level Assessment for Enhancing Mathematical Discourse, Curriculum, and Achievement in Diverse Elementary School Classrooms.

智力价值建议的研究利用当代关于评估、语言、数学教育、心理测量学理论和教育研究的见解，在有价值的数学教学和高风险的测试之间弥合鸿沟。这项工作建立在国家研究中心几个专家小组总结的研究和跨学科努力中出现的想法的基础上，以期更广泛地了解教育考试对教学的影响。该项目将以一个多层次的形成性评估模型开始，该模型出现在之前的两项由NSF资助的研究中。在一次史无前例的合作中，这一方法将由一个代表数学教育、数学科学、语言学、教育测试和教育评估的专家团队进行改进和验证。项目顾问团由每个领域的国际领导人组成，其中包括在这些领域也带头跨学科发展的个人。广泛的影响是预期的，因为这种方法满足了NCLB法案的要求，即在不损害其他教育目标的情况下，在所有学生的标准参考测试中立即和持续地获得收益。除了直接推进小学数学教学，该项目还提供了一个可扩展的、有价值的替代方案，以取代无处不在的“备考”干预措施，这些干预措施往往弊大于利。该项目将扩大课堂评估，直接提高学生的话语、流利性和理解力，并指导教师进行补救和课程完善。因此，该项目将形成新的见解，利用课堂话语和形成性反馈来实现这些广泛的目标，这些目标往往被视为相互冲突。该方法具有两个水平的课堂评估(半正式和正式)和创新的“对话式”形成性反馈方法。现有的(商业和公共领域)评估将用于创建26个开放式测验和2个多项选择题。这些测验与现有课程相一致，在适当的常规课程之后完成，并且不评分。考试由与相关标准参考测试的子域一致的项目组成，在学期末完成，并正式评分。面向学习者的形成性反馈规则将针对这两个方面进行开发。这些习语对这些问题提供了详细的、技术上准确的解释，但没有直接说明“正确”的答案。学生使用他们完成的评估和习语来讨论他们对评估主题的集体理解。简单的基于视频的教练将引导他们进行有价值的反馈对话；材料和指导方针将帮助教师(1)将评估与现有课程保持一致，(2)使用初始表现和数学话语来改进课程，(3)提供非正式和正式的辅导。研究将集中在五年级的数学，在佐治亚州的两所小学进行，这两所小学服务于很大比例的少数民族和语言少数群体。在为期三年的实施中，通过使用基于设计的和语言学的方法来直接提高学生的数学语篇和教师对形成性反馈的使用，同时间接地最大限度地提高学生在四个结果指标(创新的基于语篇的评估、CTB的开放式数学平衡评估、佐治亚州的标准参考内容测试和爱荷华州基本技能测试)上的表现，以确保成功。学校将被随机分配到实施或比较条件。第一年将包括试点和迭代改进，只有一名实施教师。在第二年，在实施学校参加的三到四名五年级教师将被分配到不同的条件下，测试测验和考试的个人和集体影响。结果指标的收益将与比较学校的类似五年级教室进行比较。这些结果将用于确定最终版本，该版本将由执行学校的所有五年级教师执行。实施学校的学生的表现将与比较学校的所有五年级学生在所有四项结果指标上的表现进行比较。

Intellectual MeritThe proposed study uses contemporary insights about assessment, language, mathematics education, psychometric theory, and educational research to "bridge the gap" between worthwhile mathematics instruction and high-stakes testing. The effort builds on the research summarized in several NRC expert panels and the ideas which have been emerging in interdisciplinary efforts to develop a broader understanding the impact of educational testing on teaching and learning. The project will start with a multi-level model of formative assessment that emerged in two prior NSF funded studies. In an unprecedented collaboration, this approach will be refined and validated by a team of experts representing mathematics education, mathematical sciences, linguistics, educational testing, and educational assessment. The project advisory panel consists of international leaders in each area, including individuals who are also spearheading interdisciplinary advance across these areas.Broader ImpactBroad impact is expected because the approach meets the demand of the NCLB act for immediate and continual gains on criterion-referenced tests for all students, without undercutting other educational goals. In addition to directly advancing elementary mathematics instruction, the project offers a scalable, worthwhile alternative to the ubiquitous "test-prep" interventions that often do more harm than good. The project will broaden classroom assessment to directly advance students' discourse, fluency, and understanding, and guide teachers' remediation and curricular refinement. As such the project will forge new insights for using classroom discourse and formative feedback for accomplishing these broad goals which oftentimes are treated as if they are in conflict.The approach features two levels of classroom assessments (semi-formal and formal) and an innovative "conversational" approach to formative feedback. Existing (commercial and public domain) assessments will be used to create 26 open-ended quizzes and 2 multiple-choice exams. The quizzes are aligned to existing curriculum, completed after appropriate regular lessons, and are ungraded. The exams consist of items that are aligned with the subdomains of the pertinent criterion referenced test, are completed at the end of the semester, and are formally graded. .Learner oriented formative feedback rubrics will be developed for both. The rubrics offer detailed, technically accurate explanations of the problems, without directly stating the "correct" answer. Students use their completed assessments and the rubrics to discuss their collective understanding of the assessed topics. Simple video-based coaches guide them toward worthwhile feedback conversations; materials and guidelines will help teachers (1) align assessments to their existing curriculum, (2) use initial performance and mathematical discourse to improve that curriculum, and (3) provide informal and formal remediation.The study will focus on fifth-grade mathematics, and take place in two Georgia elementary schools that serve a high proportion of ethnic and linguistic minorities. Across three year-long implementations, success is ensured by using design-based and linguistic methods to directly enhance students' mathematical discourse and teachers use of formative feedback , while indirectly maximizing students' performance on four outcome measures (an innovative discourse-based assessment, CTB's open-ended Balanced Assessment in Mathematic, Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Content Test, and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills). The schools will be randomly assigned to implementation or comparison conditions. The first year will consist of piloting and iterative refinements with just one implementation teacher. During the second year, the three or four fifth grade teachers participating at the implementation school will be assigned to different conditions to test the individual and collective impact of the quizzes and exams. Gains on the outcome measures will be compared to similar fifth-grade classrooms at the comparison school. These results will be used to define a final version that will be implemented by all fifth-grade teachers at the implementation school. Students' performance at the implementation school will be compared to the performance of all of the fifth-graders in the comparison school on all four outcome measures.