Findings From a District-Level Multiple-Case Study of a Statewide Performance Assessment Collaborative in California

• In Event: Cultivating a Collaborative: Emphasizing Stakeholder Trust to Develop and Research High-Quality Performance Assessments in California

Abstract

Purpose, Perspectives, & Significance

This presentation will feature findings from a multiple case study on conditions for effective implementation of performance assessments in three California school districts which have been active partners in a statewide collaborative. This study adds to existing research on the influence of performance assessment on teaching practice and provides an actionable framework for districts to adapt in implementing high-quality performance assessments. This presentation will highlight the steps taken by a non-profit research organization to cultivate trusting relationships between stakeholders in the collaborative and to develop a mutually beneficial research agenda. Doing so provided the organization with access to collect school- and district-level data across multiple sites and in turn to share constructive feedback with practitioners who participated in the study.

High-quality performance assessment supports students’ critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and development of social emotional skills, such as growth mindset. Therefore, both the research process and product provide important lessons on how cultivating trusting relationships can influence systems change by supporting high quality teaching, learning, and assessment practices.

Methods, Data Sources, & Results

The district-level multiple case study emerged from collaborative members expressing a need for research on how to build and sustain high-quality performance assessment practices within differing district contexts. While developing this research-practice partnership, stakeholders identified district-level innovation as a vehicle for systems-level change in California. While many California schools and districts take part in the collaborative, the research team selected three districts for the research study based on their active engagement in the professional learning community and their unique district conditions (e.g., size, geographic location, existing districtwide initiatives, and their approach to implementing performance assessments through 12th grade portfolios or capstone defenses of learning).

Data collection for this qualitative multiple case research study occurred over the course of one and a half years and consisted of researchers conducting nearly 40 interviews with district- and site-level administrators, over 20 focus groups with students and teachers, and observing over 30 professional learning sessions and student presentations across multiple school sites. This research process resulted in three individual case studies examining the key conditions supporting district-level implementation of performance assessments, and a multiple case study highlighting the shared strengths and challenges to implementation across diverse school districts.

Additionally, to ensure that the research process was mutually beneficial to researchers and practitioners, each participating school site and district received a formative memo identifying levers for continuous improvement of their performance assessment practices. The research team included observational, focus group, and interview data in each formative memo and recommended areas for reflection for each teaching or district team to consider when improving professional learning and teaching practice. Thus, the research not only examined how stakeholders at each level of the system implement high quality teaching and learning through performance assessments, but also contributed to stakeholders’ abilities to reflect on and improve practice through a reciprocal partnership. Findings from this multiple case study emphasize the implications of high-quality performance assessment systems on student learning, teacher practice, and policy.

Authors

• Maya Kaul, University of Pennsylvania

• Charlotte Thompson, Learning Policy Institute

• Dion Burns, Learning Policy Institute

• Anna Maier, Learning Policy Institute

• Marisa Saunders, University of California - Los Angeles

• Julie Adams, Learning Policy Institute