Teachers' Judgment Accuracy: Results From Studies With the Simulated Classroom

• In Event: 46.030 - Owning the Reform: Teacher Use of Data for Instructional Improvement

Abstract

Teachers’ judgments about students’ academic achievement significantly affect students’ academic careers. Research on teachers’ judgment accuracy shows large interindividual differences between teachers’ ability to assess their students’ performance accurately. We conducted several studies to explore the influence of teacher as well as student characteristics on teachers' judgment accuracy. To account for confounding variables, we used an experimental setting, the Simulated Classroom. We found no advantage of cooperating teachers but a relationship between higher judgment accuracy and higher cognitive abilities. On the side of student characteristics we found an influence of previous information about the students, higher judgment accuracy for minority students and mutual influences of students’ achievement and engagement on teachers’ judgments. Further research steps and implications are discussed.

Authors

• Johanna Kaiser, University of Kiel

• Jens Moeller, University of Kiel