Building Capacity for Educational Assessment Research in Geography

该项目将使职业生涯中期的首席调查员能够获得成功构思和执行基础研究所需的教育研究专门知识，并有可能在地理评估方面有意义地增进心理测量学和大规模数据分析方面的知识。首席调查员的个人职业发展计划包括一名导师和具有该专题专门知识的咨询委员会成员，他们将在整个颁奖期间提供指导和反馈。具体而言，首席调查员将设法提高以下领域的能力：(1)大规模数据操作；(2)定义和衡量地理结构；(3)抽样和总体建模问题；(4)项目反应理论；(5)分析分组评估数据集的统计方法；(6)分析数据的专门软件包；(7)分层线性建模；(8)与成绩测试有关的认知诊断建模。将通过专题会议、讲习班、短期课程、研讨会、网络研讨会、辅导和联网，获得完成试点研究所需的专业知识所需的专业发展计划活动。在心理测量学理论的指导下，首席调查员将分析通过国家教育进步评估(NAEP)最近几届政府收集的地理数据，以解释不同学校社区青年的地理学习模式。这一分析很重要，因为NAEP数据显示，少数民族学生的地理成绩继续保持在基础水平或更低。因此，首席调查员将检查所有年级的地理成绩的变异性，这些年级的数据与学生的背景特征、学校层面的背景属性和课堂学习机会有关。参与NAEP管理的教师和学校管理人员的调查数据也将被分析。通过这个项目，首席调查员将获得在地理教育背景下规划、设计和进行关于教育评估和测量的研究所需的专业知识，并为未来的干预措施奠定基础，使更多的少数族裔学生能够在地理方面取得更高的成就。该项目通过STEM教育研究竞赛中的EHR核心研究能力建设得到支持，该竞赛旨在建设个人在STEM学习和学习环境中开展高质量基础STEM教育研究的能力，扩大对STEM领域的参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will allow a mid-career principal investigator to acquire education research expertise needed to successfully conceive and execute fundamental research with the potential to meaningfully advance knowledge about psychometrics and large-scale data analysis as it relates to geography assessment. The principal investigator's individual professional development plan includes a mentor and advisory board members with expertise specific to this topic who will provide guidance and feedback throughout the award period. Specifically, the principal investigator will seek to increase capacity in the following areas: (1) large scale data operation; (2) defining and measuring geography constructs; (3) issues of sampling and population modeling; (4) item response theory; (5) statistical methodologies for analyzing clustered assessment datasets; (6) specialized software packages for analyzing data; (7) hierarchical linear modeling; and (8) cognitive diagnostic modeling relative to achievement testing. Activities in the professional development plan needed to gain required expertise to complete the pilot study will be obtained through subject-specific conferences, workshops, short courses, seminars, webinars, mentoring and networking. Guided by the psychometric measurement theory, the principal investigator will analyze geography data collected through the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) recent administrations to explain patterns of geographic learning among youth in diverse school communities. This analysis is important since NAEP data show that students from minority populations continue to score at or below basic in geography. Hence, the principal investigator will examine variability in geography achievement for all grade levels on which data are available relative to student background characteristics, school-level contextual attributes, and classroom opportunity to learn. Survey data from teachers and school administrators who participated in NAEP administrations will also be analyzed. Through this project, the principal investigator will gain expertise needed to plan, design, and conduct studies on educational assessment and measurement in the context of geography education and set the stage for future interventions to enable more minority students to achieve at higher levels in geography. The project is supported through the EHR Core Research Building Capacity in STEM Education Research competition that is designed to build individuals' capacity to carry out high quality fundamental STEM education research in STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.