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

• In Event: Accepting Responsibility for Equitable Educational Opportunities Through a Statewide Collaborative to Support High-Quality Performance Assessments

Abstract

Purpose, Perspectives, & Significance

This presentation features 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 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 assessments support 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 when collaborative members expressed the need for research on how to build and sustain high-quality performance assessment initiatives within differing district contexts. While developing this responsive research 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 and their unique district conditions (e.g., size, geographic location, existing initiatives, and their approach to implementing performance assessments through 12th grade “portfolio” or “capstone” defenses of learning).

Data collection for this qualitative multiple case research study occurred over the course of one and a half years (with additional data collected to provide insight on districts’ COVID-19 responses). Researchers conducted 35 interviews with district- and site-level administrators, 18 focus groups with students and teachers, and observed 135 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 districts.

Additionally, to ensure that the research process was responsible to the educational communities in the study, the research team shared formative memos with participating practitioners that provided recommendations to consider when improving professional learning and teaching practices, based on the data collected. Thus, the research both examined how stakeholders at each level of the system implemented high quality teaching and learning through performance assessments and contributed to shareholders’ improvement of the educational opportunities available to students. The research team also summarized district approaches to implementing performance assessments during COVID-19 and shared updates within the collaborative to help inform practice. Findings from this multiple case study emphasize the implications of high-quality performance assessment initiatives for student learning, teacher practice, and policy, as well as the ways practitioners adapted these initiatives in response to school closures.

Authors

• Anna Maier, Learning Policy Institute

• Julie Adams, Learning Policy Institute

• Dion Burns, Learning Policy Institute

• Maya Kaul, University of Pennsylvania

• Marisa Saunders, University of California - Los Angeles

• Charlotte Thompson, Learning Policy Institute