The Association between Standards-Based Grading and Standardized Test Scores as an Element of a High School Reform Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Marty Pollio ◽  
Craig Hochbein
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High Schools ◽  
School Reform ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
The State ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Grading Practices ◽  
Standards Based Grading

Background/Context From two decades of research on the grading practices of teachers in secondary schools, researchers discovered that teachers evaluated students on numerous factors that do not validly assess a student's achievement level in a specific content area. These consistent findings suggested that traditional grading practices evolved to meet the variety of educational stakeholder expectations for schools, teachers, and students. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The purpose of this study was to examine the role of standards-based grading in a high school reform by assessing the relationships between differing grading approaches and standardized test achievement. Setting The study examined student performance from 11 high schools operating in a large metropolitan school district. Population/Participants/Subjects The sample of students included two cohorts of 1,163 and 1,256 11th grade students who completed an Algebra 2 course and the state standardized test. Intervention/Program/Practice Each of the high schools implemented a locally designed reform known as Project Proficiency. A key component of the reform included utilizing standards-based grading to assess student proficiency of the content. Research Design This study utilized a non-equivalent control group design and quantitative analyses to compare the association between classroom grades and standardized test scores. Data Collection and Analysis The data for the study included the students’ final grades, standardized test scores, and basic demographic information. Findings/Results Results indicated that the rate of students earning an A or B in a course and passing the state test approximately doubled when utilizing standards-based grading practices. In addition, results indicated that standards-based grading practices identified more predictive and valid assessment of at-risk students’ attainment of subject knowledge. Conclusions/Recommendations The article demonstrates the benefits of using standards-based grading in reforms attempting to improve the academic performance of secondary schools, but also notes how restriction of grades to mastery of standards will challenge educators’ perception of their abilities and students’ efforts. The article also notes the methodological limitations of prior grading research and suggests the need for more robust studies assessing grading practices, student achievement, and school performance.

Predicting academic success for students of color within STEM majors

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gipson
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
College Success ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Cumulative Effect ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Gpa ◽  
High School Gpa

Purpose The aim of this study is to determine what pre-college characteristics predict college success for students of color enrolled within science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs, as measured by cumulative grade point average (GPA) after three years of initial enrollment. Design/methodology/approach To increase the generalizability by avoiding a single-year focus, the sample includes 954 first-year students entering one predominantly White research university during Fall 2010, Fall 2011 and Fall 2012 (Allen and Bir, 2011); GPAs were collected following three years of initial enrollment. IBM statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) Statistics 22 was utilized to conduct correlation and multiple linear regression analyses. Findings Within all conditional models, after controlling for multiple variables, the number of advanced placement (AP) credits, standardized test scores and specific type of high school GPA were significantly related to cumulative college GPA after three years of enrollment. However, when multiple forms of high school GPA were included within a full model, only the number of AP credits and standardized test scores remained statistically related to cumulative college GPA. Further, high school core GPA is more strongly correlated with cumulative college GPA after three years of enrollment than overall high school GPA, high school science GPA and high school mathematics GPA. Originality/value This study adds to prior research by identifying that high school core GPA is an important predictor of college success and that the cumulative effect of enrollment within AP credits may be more beneficial than the cumulative effect of involvement within dual enrollment courses.

Predicting success in teacher education: Revisiting the influence of high school GPA, admission, and standardized test scores on academic and licensure performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Apler J. Bansiong ◽  
Janet Lynn M. Balagtey
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Grade Point Average ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Licensure Examination ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Admission Variables

This predictive study explored the influence of three admission variables on the college grade point average (CGPA), and licensure examination ratings of the 2015 teacher education graduates in a state-run university in Northern Philippines. The admission variables were high school grade point average (HSGPA), admission test (IQ) scores, and standardized test (General Scholastic Aptitude - GSA) scores. The participants were from two degree programs – Bachelor in Elementary Education (BEE) and Bachelor in Secondary education (BSE). The results showed that the graduates’ overall HSGPA were in the proficient level, while their admission and standardized test scores were average. Meanwhile, their mean licensure examination ratings were satisfactory, with high (BEE – 80.29%) and very high (BSE – 93.33%) passing rates. In both degree programs, all entry variables were significantly correlated and linearly associated with the CGPAs and licensure examination ratings of the participants. These entry variables were also linearly associated with the specific area GPAs and licensure ratings, except in the specialization area (for BSE). Finally, in both degrees, CGPA and licensure examination ratings were best predicted by HSGPA and standardized test scores, respectively. The implications of these findings on admission policies are herein discussed.

scholarly journals The Impacts of Remote Learning in Secondary Education: Evidence from Brazil during the Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Lichand ◽  
Carlos Alberto Dória ◽  
Onício Leal Neto ◽  
João Cossi
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Secondary Education ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
School Students ◽  
Primary And Secondary Education ◽  
Remote Learning

Abstract Background: The transition to remote learning in the context of Covid-19 could lead to dramatic setbacks for school enrollment and learning outcomes, especially in developing countries – where a multiplicity of challenges, from limited connectivity to little support from parents, are bound to limit its effectiveness. To date, however, no study has rigorously documented the educational impacts of remote learning relative to in-person classes within primary and secondary education. Quantifying the extent of those losses, as well as the extent to which resuming in-person classes in the pandemic could at least partially offset them, is urgent, as governments worldwide struggle evaluating the trade-offs between the health and educational risks of reopening schools, with vaccination rates still dragging.Methods: Taking advantage of the fact that São Paulo featured in-person classes for the lion’s share of the first school quarter of 2020, but not thereafter, we estimate the effects of remote learning on secondary education, using a differences-in-differences strategy that contrasts variation in dropout risk and standardized test scores between the first and the last school quarters in 2020 to that in 2019, when all classes were in-person. We estimate heterogeneous effects by grade, student characteristics and school characteristics. We also estimate intention-to-treat (ITT) effects of reopening schools in the pandemic through a differences-in-differences strategy, contrasting differences between middle- and high-school students within municipalities that authorized in-person classes to partially return for the latter over the last quarter of 2020, to those within municipalities that did not.Findings: Dropout risk increased by 365% under remote learning. While risk increased with local disease activity, most of it can be attributed directly to the absence of in-person classes:we estimate that dropout risk increased by no less than 247% across the State, even at the low end of the distribution of per capita Covid-19 cases. Average standardized test scores decreased by 0.32 standard deviation, as if students had only learned 27.5% of the in-person equivalent under remote learning. Learning losses did not systematically increase with local disease activity, attesting that they are in fact the outcome of remote learning, rather than a consequence of other health or economic impacts of Covid-19. Authorizing schools to partially reopen for in-person classes increased high-school students’ test scores by 20% relative to the control group.Interpretation: Results show that the societal costs of keeping schools closed in the pandemic are very large. While the learning losses that we document are at least as large as those documented in developed countries on the aftermath of the first Covid-19 wave, the dramatic surge in dropout risk is unique to developing countries. Such massive impacts are likely to bring about long-lasting effects on employment, productivity, and poverty levels. Our findings highlight that reopening schools under safe protocols can prevent those costs from growing even larger. They also caution against recent enthusiasm for remote learning in primary and secondary education outside the context of Covid-19.Funding: Research funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) as part of a partnership between IADB and the São Paulo State Education Secretariat.

Race, Test Scores, and Educational Outcomes

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Stuart Yeh
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
White Students ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Educational Preparation ◽  
Nationally Representative

Background Policymakers wish to know what changes must be made to the primary and secondary education system so that when students apply to college they are highly prepared, ready to perform at high levels, and likely to be successful in college. Purpose The purpose of the current study was to investigate the significance of strong educational preparation for all students—and especially for minority students—as measured by standardized test scores. While the importance of educational preparation may already seem well established, previous studies have tended to minimize or obscure the significance of the type of preparation that is measured by test scores. Existing studies are not adequate for the purpose of estimating the total effect of a hypothetical intervention that raises student achievement by one standard deviation (SD). Research Design The current study employed logistic regression with a nationally-representative dataset, controlled for key covariates, and analyzed the hypothetical effect of raising student test scores by one SD. Findings Raising test scores by one SD would substantially reduce the probabilities that black, Hispanic, Asian, and white students would drop out of high school, and would greatly increase the probabilities that both minority and white students would compile a rigorous high school record, complete algebra 2 in high school, enroll at a 4-year institution, and attain a baccalaureate degree. Recommendation The results reported here underline the importance of swiftly adopting the most efficient approaches for raising student achievement. To the extent that existing approaches for raising student achievement are unproductive, inefficient, and disproportionately affect minority students, current policies may serve to depress baccalaureate attainment rates and to perpetuate the disadvantaged status of minorities.

scholarly journals Combining Outcome-Based and Preference-Based Matching: A Constrained Priority Mechanism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Avidit Acharya ◽  
Kirk Bansak ◽  
Jens Hainmueller
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Real World ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Market Design ◽  
Standardized Test Scores ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Refugee Families ◽  
Strategy Proof

Abstract We introduce a constrained priority mechanism that combines outcome-based matching from machine learning with preference-based allocation schemes common in market design. Using real-world data, we illustrate how our mechanism could be applied to the assignment of refugee families to host country locations, and kindergarteners to schools. Our mechanism allows a planner to first specify a threshold $\bar g$ for the minimum acceptable average outcome score that should be achieved by the assignment. In the refugee matching context, this score corresponds to the probability of employment, whereas in the student assignment context, it corresponds to standardized test scores. The mechanism is a priority mechanism that considers both outcomes and preferences by assigning agents (refugee families and students) based on their preferences, but subject to meeting the planner’s specified threshold. The mechanism is both strategy-proof and constrained efficient in that it always generates a matching that is not Pareto dominated by any other matching that respects the planner’s threshold.

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