Qualitative Interview Studies for Formative Assessment of Middle School

• In Event: Formative Assessment for Mathematics and Science Standard Test

Abstract

While teachers’ uses of assessment information varied, few gained substantive insights about students’ mathematical understanding. The purpose of the study is to gather information about the supports and barriers associated with FA system. We present findings from two-stage interviews with 24 teachers in seven elementary and middle schools in California. The results of the presentation will provide the rubrics and guidelines for the teacher professional development model. From the principal and the teachers’ levels, we could know that how the middle school instructors could set up the learning goals with exercises and activities that were well-organized, sequenced, and clear in their purposes.
The theoretical framework in the current study is a comprehensive assessment system and focuses on how interim assessments may be used to inform the instruction with the intention of helping students meet learning goals (Chappuis, Stiggins, Chappuis, & Arter, 2006). Moreover, extant literature has not explored the feedback and expectations that teachers and school administrators harbor with regards to FA and particularly so in the subject of mathematics (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). This data-driven research has also been associated with the professional and collaborative program for teachers’ development (Feldman & Tung, 2001). Therefore, the qualitative data can inform administrators’ and teachers’ current understanding and practices of FA.
This study presents perspectival data from a larger study of classroom use of FA in Mathematics. We discuss findings from interviews with 7 principals in seven schools and California state and 24 teachers. The inductive coding process was applied and the interview data were transcribed and analyzed using Dedoose Analytics software. Transcripts were first independently read and coded using thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998). Thus, four emerging themes yielded from a data-driven, inductive process, whereby the transcripts were and the developed initial codes including (1) teachers’ and principals’ current perceptions of FA; (2) processes and tools for assessing students’ learning; (3) current plan and prototype for FA; (4) support for professional development of FA.
Our findings suggested consistency in understandings of purpose among school principals and teachers, and even between principals and teachers in the two different districts. Across the seven schools, they all mentioned consistent understandings of purpose related to mastery of standards, feedbacks to the instruction, or teachers’ training for the state test. In some schools, principals and teachers indicated support for daily classroom planning and student learning activities which are the essential components for teachers’ professional development opportunities.
The study sheds light on how to evaluate student understanding in relation to a goal, provide feedback to students, and continually work to bridge the gap between a student’s performance and the instructional goal. These studies could also enact mathematics curricula that have great implications both pre-service and in-service teacher programs and professional development for practicing teachers as well. The adoption and enactment of such actions should be vigorously encouraged by the stakeholders of mathematics education.

Authors

• Roxanne Rashedi, University of California - Davis

• Yu Zhang, University of California - Davis

• Bahareh Abhari, University of California - Davis

• Kimberly Mundhenk, California Department of Education

• Nancy A. Ewers, University of California - Davis

• Leslie C. Banes, University of California - Davis