Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Angela M. Sewall, Ed.D.

Abstract

With the emphasis on accountability, student achievement has and continues to be a major focus in education. Balanced assessment, a classroom tool that supports learning, a vehicle for reporting individual achievement, and a means for public accountability, is increasingly viewed as essential to learning. However, research suggests that teachers do not fully understand or implement the formative and summative components of balanced assessment that result in greater student achievement on high stakes tests. The mixed methods study was designed to investigate a) the teacher's amount and extent of balanced assessment professional development, b) confidence of balanced assessment practice, c) implementation of balanced assessment practice, and d) what effects these have on high stakes testing. Using a sequential explanatory strategy, quantitative data was collected (assessment instrument) and analyzed, followed by qualitative data collection (observations) which served to confirm the findings. Finally, class summary results for the Benchmark Literacy Exam for participating fourth, fifth, and sixth grade literacy teachers were compared. Results indicated that teacher confidence was impacted by the extent of balanced assessment professional development (r = .59). However, correlations between training and classroom knowledge; and confidence and balanced assessment knowledge, revealed no statistical significance. Classroom observations of balanced assessment practice supported the relationship between the extent of professional development and the implementation of classroom practice. The impact of balanced assessment practice on high stakes testing also resulted in no statistical significance.

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