Current Issue
Fall 2007
VOLUME 36 # 1
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ABSTRACTS
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT PRACTICES
OF SECONDARY SCHOOL MEMBERS
OF NCTM
AUTHOR
MICHELE T. OHLSEN is Assistant Professor in the Education Department at
The University of Scranton in Scranton, PA.
ABSTRACT
In the current high-stakes educational environment, emphasis is on measurable
student learning outcomes. The focus remains on single high-stakes
tests, but most assessments of student learning occur in the classroom. In
a survey of secondary mathematics teachers, the teachers self-reported
their use of classroom assessment methods. The classroom assessment
picture depicted is one of continued reliance on traditional assessments
such as quizzes and major examinations as the main determinant of
student grades. However, traditional assessments are not the only indicators
that determine student grades. Secondary mathematics teachers use
multiple assessments to determine student grades at the end of a semester.
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RETAKING A HIGH STAKES MATHEMATICS TEST:
EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL INTERVENTIONS
AND ENVIRONMENTS
AUTHOR
EUGENE JUDSON is the Lead Researcher for the School Effectiveness
Division of the Arizona Department of Education in Phoenix, AZ.
ABSTRACT
Many states allow those high school students who have failed a high
stakes tests to retake the exam. At stake can be the student’s eligibility to
receive a diploma and the accountability status of the school. This study
examined how high schools supported students who retook the mathematics
portion of a high stakes exam. Ten schools that had relatively high
success were compared to ten schools with relatively low success. The
two groups of schools employed a similar array of intervention strategies,
and no general differences were discerned among approaches such as
schedule changes, choice of mathematics program, or tutoring. A strong
difference was detected between the two groups in how they decided on
their intervention strategy and the degree to which authority was shared.
Other differences included the number of data sources used for decision
making and the support of external resources.
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THE EFFECT OF
TEACHER COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS
ON STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT
AUTHOR
HOSIN SIRVANI is Assistant Professor at the University of Texas - Pan
American in Edinberg, Texas.
ABSTRACT
The study examined the effect of parental involvement on students' mathematics
achievement. The investigator selected four Algebra I classes
taught by one teacher and randomly placed two classes in the control
group and two classes in the experimental group. The parents of the
students in the treatment group received monitoring sheets twice a week,
that contained students' scores on daily homework and test grades, but
the parents in the control group did not receive monitoring sheet.
Students in the experimental group outperformed the students in the
control group. With respect to gender, the results showed that parental
involvement did not affect student achievement differently. Lowerachieving
students, in the experimental group significantly outperformed
such students in the control group.
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THE ROLE OF DISCUSSION AND DISSENT
IN CREATING CIVIC UNDERSTANDING
AUTHOR
ANDREW J. MCMURRAY is a former social studies teacher in the public
schools of Indiana and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in history education at
Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. He also currently works
as a professional staff member and Adjunct Instructor of Social Science at
Oakland City University in Oakland City, Indiana.
ABSTRACT
Social studies teachers are charged with imparting an understanding of
what democracy entails. Unfortunately, a major component of any
authentic democracy, the acceptance of dissent in the face of majority
views, is often omitted from classroom discussions due to practical considerations
such as maintaing classroom order. Many scholars insist, however,
that civic understanding requires dissent to be part of classroom
discourse. This article provides an overview of the practical problems
associated with including dissent in classroom discussion as well as the
theoretical justifications for doing so. Several practical strategies for
including dissent in classroom discussions are offered.
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SOCIAL AND ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS
ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL
FOR AT-RISK RURAL YOUTH
AUTHORS
GABRIELA LIVAS STEIN is a postdoctoral scholar in the Psychology and
Neuroscience Department at Duke University, Durham, NC.
ANDREA HUSSONG is a professor in the Psychology Department at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC.
ABSTRACT
This study examines high school expectancies in a sample of at-risk, rural
youth, and how these expectancies relate to 8th grade functioning, 9th
grade functioning, and 9th grade experiences of high school. A total of 76
eighth-graders and their parents, drawn from a larger study of the transition
to high school, participated in interviews the summer before 9th
grade regarding students’ expectations about high school. 59 of these
students and their parents were again interviewed the summer following
9th grade to examine adjustment to high school. Overall, 8th grade
students, such with greater academic competence and a more positive
view of the school environment had more positive high school expectancies.
High school expectancies did not predict change in socio-emotional
functioning in high school, but they were associated with more positive
experiences of high school. The study suggests that high school expectations
may play an important role in high school experiences, and thus
serve as a valid target for programs aimed at easing the high school
transition.
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REASSIGNING THE IDENTITY OF THE PREGNANT
AND PARENTING STUDENT
AUTHOR
HEIDI L. HALLMAN is Assistant Professor of English Education at the
University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS.
ABSTRACT
Learning about students’ literacy practices at a school for pregnant and
parenting teens is a tool for educators and scholars in rethinking the identity
of the pregnant and parenting student. Though this population of
students has been historically marginalized in U.S. school settings,
programs such as the one described here have the potential to provide
unique, alternative learning spaces for students. Findings illustrate the
salience of three themes in reconceptualizing the identity of the pregnant
and parenting student: (1) positioning students as both mothers and
students; (2) viewing the school as both a place of learning and a place of
community; and (3) positioning the students’ young children as both the
hope for the future and the hope for their mothers’ future. The findings
contrast with research that has claimed separate schools for teen mothers
are most often characterized by a “remedial” approach to learning.
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