Spring
Measurement, Assessment, and Action
Research for the 21st Century
EDUC 632
Spring, 2012
12
1
Measurement, Assessment,
and Action Research for the 21st Century
Instructor: Instructor information here
Name
Email address
Phone numbers – 704-477-6636 H – 704-739-8926
Gardner-Webb University
Technical Support for the Blackboard (886-523-9982) and GWU Help Desks (704-406-4647).
Texts
 Pearson Custom Education: Measurement, Assessment, and Action Research for 21st Century.
(2011) Boston, Massachusetts; Pearson Learning Solutions.
 Rethink, Rebuild, Rebound, A Framework for Shared Responsibility and Accountability in
Education, ISBN 10: 1-256-32560 – 0
 A Short Guide to Action Research, 3rd edition, ISBN – 13: 978-0-205-50931-7
 Various articles
Course Description
EDUC 632: Survey of a wide range of standardized testing instruments, including ability tests,
interest inventories, and personality tests. Individual research projects will link assessment with
classroom practices.
Effective leaders are key to effective schools. Applying the theories and research of measurement
and assessment will help candidates to collect, analyze and interpret data, apply them in the
classroom and use them to develop as teacher leaders of 21st Century schools that produce 21st
Century Learners.
A study of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and techniques applicable to
practicing educators in 21st Century schools. These include defining a researchable problem;
gathering baseline data to establish the context of the problem; choosing a methodology and
designing a study that should lead to positive change; and collecting, analyzing and interpreting
the resulting data to determine the positive impact on student learning.
This hybrid class will provide 6 semester hours of credit when completed. The course consists of
4 hours of face-to-face time each week and there is an additional part of the class that is on line
(a minimum of 2 hours). All students are expected to complete all components for the weekly
face-to-face and on line portions of the class for full credit.
Attendance
Class attendance is expected. Unavoidable absences should be discussed with the instructor. It
is the student’s responsibility to obtain materials/notes for missed session. Be aware that the
graduate catalogue states policy that students must attend 75% of scheduled classes.
Academic Integrity
EDUC 632
Spring 2012
2
Measurement, Assessment,
and Action Research for the 21st Century
Students have the responsibility to know and observe the requirements of the Code of Student
Conduct. This code forbids cheating, fabrication or falsification of information, multiple
submissions of academic work, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials, and complicity in
academic dishonesty.
Grading System
A
95-100
=
A90-94
=
B+
85-89
=
B
80-84
=
B76-79
=
C
75-79
=
F
74 and below =
Excellent Work
Exceeds Expectations
Good Solid Work
Meets Expectations
Does Not Fully Meet Expectations
Not Graduate Quality Work
Unacceptable Work
Evidence for Analysis and Action Plan for Capstone Standards
1. Teacher Leadership
Candidate:
 Demonstrates effective ongoing communication, collaboration, and teambuilding
 Facilitates mentoring and coaching with novice teachers
 Promotes educational initiatives that affect student learning
 Participates in professional learning communities
2. Respectful Educational Environments
Candidate:
 Facilitates the development of inviting, respectful, supportive, inclusive, and flexible
educational communities
 Facilitates and models caring and respectful treatment of individuals within the learning
community
 Creates collaborative partnerships with families, schools, and communities to promote a
positive school culture
 Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of diverse world cultures and global issues
 Encourages high expectations from all students
 Collaboratively designs and implements curriculum and instruction that is responsive to learner
differences
3. Content and Curriculum Expertise
 Demonstrates in depth knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment
 Models the integration of 21st century content and skills into educational practices
 Develops relevant, rigorous curriculum
EDUC 632
Spring 2012
3
Measurement, Assessment,
and Action Research for the 21st Century
4. Student Learning
 Seeks out and uses existing research to inform school practices
 Designs action research to investigate and improve students learning and school policies and
practices
 Models technology integration that supports student learning
 Critically analyzes student and school performance data to determine needs and plan instruction
that is rigorous, coherent, and substantiated within a theoretical and philosophical base.
5. Reflection
 Promotes an educational culture that values reflective practice.
 Models the development of meaningful professional goals
 Models personal and professional reflection to extend student learning and school improvement
Assignments
% of Final Grade
On Line Posts (Discussions/Articles)
15
Capstone Reflections Journal
15
Article Summaries
10
IRB Submission / CITI Completion on line/Approval
10
Formative Assessments/Presentation (4 Modules)
20
Annotated Bibliography
10
Action Research
20
(Chapters 1 – 3 & Presentation)
Assignment Details
1. On-line Posts in Discussion Board: Will be used for students to post responses to cited
resources. (10%)
A) Post five original informed opinions to the cited resources posted for the Discussion
Board.
B) Post at least five responses to posts by other students to each of the
statements/questions/article summaries in BlackBoard.
2. Capstone Journal Reflections: (weekly) Students are expected to keep a journal of their
capstone process that reflects that reflects each of the NC Professional Teaching Standards.
Those standards are listed in the syllabus above. Each week, students will post a reflection
from your journal for review by classmates. Reflections as they relate to capstone and NC
Teaching Standards will be incorporated in a weekly fast-write. Journals will be submitted at
the end of the semester for review. Classmates are to post a total of 5 peer responses to the
posted journal reflections according to the posted schedule. (10%)
EDUC 632
Spring 2012
4
Measurement, Assessment,
and Action Research for the 21st Century
3. Article Summaries: Post the citations (urls, journals, etc.) along with a thought-provoking
brief summary of 5 articles (one from each of these categories: Educational Assessment;
Formative Assessments; Action Research; Performance Assessments/Portfolios; Standards
Based Grading. Articles must come from peer-reviewed journals. Article reviews must be
posted by designated dates in order for classmates to read for class. These articles will be
used in class for discussions and seminars. (10%)
4. Formative Assessment Project: Students will log on to NCFALCON (North Carolina
Formative Assessment Learning Network On-Line Community). Username and Passwords
can be obtained through your local LEA from NCDPI. Each of 4 modules will be completed
according to the schedule provided in the course syllabus schedule below. At the end of each
module a certificate of completion can be completed. Turn in a copy of the certificate for class
credit. At the completion of the 4 modules, create a Formative Assessments presentation to
share with the class. This presentation should focus on how you are incorporateing formative
assessments in your classroom. Your 15-minute presentation should be interactive and
utilize web 2.0 technologies. (NO POWERPOINTS) (10%)
Alternative Assignment: (If you do not have access to NCFALCON) Research best practices
in formative assessment and write a summary of two articles in place of each of the four
modules discussed above. After summarizing all eight articles, create a Formative Assessment
presentation to share with the class. Your 15-minute presentation should be interactive and
utilize web 2.0 technologies. (NO POWERPOINTS) (10%)
5. IRB Submission and Approval – Student will complete the Citi training module found on the
web site at GWU. From the GWU website, read the Institutional Review Board handbook
which is used by the committee to review applications. Then complete Basic Citi Learner
portion of the IRB process. Students must show proof of successful completion of the Citi
portion with your application. Students will complete and submit an IRB to Gardner Webb
University and obtain approval for the Action Research Project. (You either complete this
assignment or you do not. Failure to complete the Citi training module will result in the
reduction of your grade to the next letter grade. For example if you have an A-, your grade
will drop to an A+. You must also have your IRB ready to submit in order to not have your
grade reduced by a letter grade. Failure to complete both will result in the reduction of two
letter grades. (10%)
6. Item Analysis Project – Students will choose the subject area they teach and track progress
with a weekly item analysis and lesson analysis report. The end product will be an analysis of
how student learning over a six week period. The focus of the lesson analysis report should
be on the items analyzed with the goals and objectives of the lessons taught, culminating in
an examination of needs for adjustment within the lessons on a weekly basis.
EDUC 632
Spring 2012
5
Measurement, Assessment,
and Action Research for the 21st Century
7. Capstone Chapter 2 & begin Chapter 3: After the development of a research question for
extensive study and the writing of Chapter 1, write Chapter 2 (Literature Review) that includes the
following:
Chapter 2 – Study of the Problem/Literature Review
a) Overview – From this point on, overviews are introductions to the chapter. Give the reader a
little reminder of the study and then let the reader know the structure of the chapter.
b) Problem Documentation – A more fleshed out review of the research you provided in Chapter
1. What research led you to know there was a problem?
c) Literature Review – A thorough review of research related to your topic and your research
questions.
d) Causative Analysis – What does the research say are the causes of the problem?
EDUC 632
Spring 2012
W
e
e
k
Topics
Calendar of Weekly Requirements
1
Understanding Action Research, Ethics,
Area of Focus
Peer Editing Chapter 1
Introduction to Educational Assessment
Research Writing Assignments
The Basic Mathematics of Measurement
Article #1: Action Research
Data Collection Techniques
The Meaning of Test Scores
Pearson:
Chapters 1 - 3
Reliability for Teachers
Article #2: Authentic Assessments
Data Collection Considerations
Pearson: Chapter 16
2
3
4
5
Readings
Pearson: Chapter 13
Pearson: Chapter 14
Pearson: Chapter 4
Pearson: Chapter 15
Pearson: Chapter 5
Validity for Teachers
7
Item Analysis for Teachers
Pearson: Chapter 18
Article #3: Formative Assessments
Data Analysis & Interpretation
Pearson: Chapter 6
Developing Classroom Tests
Action Planning for Educational Change
9
Selected Response Items /Constructed
Response Items
Writing Up Action Research
Pearson: Chapter 17
Pearson: Chapter 19
Pearson: Chapter 7
Pearson: Chapter 20
& 21
Pearson: Chapter 8
1
0
Performance Assessments / Portfolios
Article #4 Performance Assessments &
1
1
Portfolios
Assigning Grades in the Classroom
Article #5 Standards Based Grading
Pearson: Chapter 23
Standardized Tests / Aptitude Tests
Pearson: Ch. 24 & 25
Peer Editing Chapter 2
Evaluating Action Research
Pearson; Ch. 9
1
2
1st opinion post:
Big Thinkers: Samuel Khan
Research Writing Assignments
6
8
Assignments
Bring laptops to class, if
available.
Pearson: Chapter 22
1
3
Assessment of Behavior & Personality;
Accommodations
Pearson: Ch 26 & 27
1
4
The Problem of Bias in Educational
Assessment; Peer Editing Chapter 3
Item Analysis Project
Pearson: Chapter 28
1
Best Practices in Assessments
EDUC 632
Pearson: Chapter 29
1st Article Post (Action
Research)
NC Falcon Module 1
2nd Article Post (Authentic
Assessments)
nd
2 opinion post: Three
Ways Student Data Can
Inform Your Teaching
NC Falcon Module 2
rd
3 Article Post (Formative
Assessments)
3rd opinion post:
The Best Value in Formative
Assessments
1st peer response
NC Falcon Module 3
IRB Submission
4th Article Post
(Performance Assessments
& Portfolios)
5th Article Post (Standard
Based Grading)
2nd peer response
4th opinion post:
Standards Based Grading
NC Falcon Module 4
Formative Assessment
Presentations
3rd peer response
5th opinion post:
Validity Within a World of
Cultural Bias
Formative Assessment
Presentations
Annotated Biography
4th peer response
5th peer response
Spring, 2012
Due
Date
1
Measurement, Assessment,
and Action Research for the 21st Century
5
Capstone Presentations
I. Video Clips for In-class Use
 Sir Ken Robinson, Changing education paradigms (11 minutes)
 Sir Ken Robinson, Do Schools Destroy Creativity (7 minutes)
 Sir Ken Robinson
http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html
II. On line Resources:
 Action Research
http://ucerc.edu/teacherresearch/muhsdar0110-99.html
 NCFALCON (N. C. Formative Assessment Learning Community On-Line Network)
https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/course/category.php?id=10
 NCDPI Teacher Code of Ethics
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/profdev/standards/codeofethics.pdf
 NC Teacher Professional Standards
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/profdev/standards/teachingstandards.pdf
 Standards Based Grading Powerpoint (Doug Reeves)
www.eahall.pvusd.net/ToxicGrading/GradingPractices.ppt
 Accountability in Action
http://www.middleweb.com/MWLresources/accountaction.html
 Formative Assessment Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsBMQUeGx1E&feature=related
 The Formative Classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL54bfmZPzY&feature=related
III. Discussion Posts Links:
 Big Thinkers: Salman Khan on Liberating the Classroom for Creativity
http://www.edutopia.org/salman-khan-academy-flipped-classroom-video
The founder of Khan Academy, a free educational video library that features over two
thousand titles and an interactive dashboard for formative assessment, discusses how his
videos can help create a "flipped classroom" that allows blended learning -- online lectures
can happen at home and project-based learning can happen during school. There is also a
link on this site that will take you to Kahn’s website. Investigate this site as well. This
resource contains numerous links to videos and articles to discuss a real reform in education.
Write an opinion post. What do you think of his methods and means of teaching reform.
 Three Ways Student Data Can Inform Your Teaching
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/using-student-data-inform-teaching-rebecca-alber
The Edutopia Website provides access to a blog by Rebecca Alber. In her work with UCLA's
Graduate School of Education, Rebecca Alber assists teachers and schools in meeting
students' academic needs through best practices. Alber also instructs online teacherEDUC 632
Spring 2012
2
Measurement, Assessment,
and Action Research for the 21st Century
education courses for Stanford University.
Read this article from her blog on Formative Assessments. Then read the additional
resources listed at the end of the article. Write an opinion post sharing your thoughts
and ideas from the information shared in the resource about assessments.
 The Best Value in Formative Assessment Stephen Chappuis and Jan Chappuis
Ready-made benchmark tests cannot substitute for day-to-day formative assessment
conducted by assessment-literate teachers.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/dec07/vol65/num04/The-Best-Value-in-Formative-Assessment.aspx
Formative Assessment: Robert Marzano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfOnyrWtPu0&feature=related
The Formative Classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL54bfmZPzY&feature=related
 Standards Based Grading
Doug Reeves, Toxic Grading Practices
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=29656
On January 8, 2008, Dr. Douglas Reeves delivered the keynote address at the Assessment
and Evaluation Symposium.
Education Leadership
February 2008 | Volume 65 | Number 5 Teaching Students to Think Pages 85-87
Leading to Change / Effective Grading Practices
http://www.leadandlearn.com/sites/default/files/articles/leading-to-change-effectivegrading-practices.pdf
Douglas B. Reeves, "The Case Against the Zero," Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 86, No. 4, December 2004,
pp. 324-325.
http://schools.esu13.org/bannercounty/Documents/caseagainstzero.pdf
Watch the video and read the articles. This is probably quite a jump from the norm in
your classroom and school. Then write an opinion post. What are your impressions of
the information presented? What might be the implications for your classroom
and/or action research and why?
 Validity Within a World of Cultural Bias:
Critical Attributes of 21st Century Schools, chapter 16, Rethink, Rebuild, Rebound
EDUC 632
Spring 2012
3
Measurement, Assessment,
and Action Research for the 21st Century
Read the chapter and watch the video, then post an opinion. As the world in which we
teach and learn narrows, educators need to consider the bias that a portion of our
students experience. How does cultural bias affect testing and assessment?
The danger of a single story
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.
html
EDUC 632
Spring 2012