Educational Researcher 42卷2期文章

1.The Common Core State Standards’ Quantitative Text Complexity Trajectory: Figuring Out How Much Complexity Is Enough

Author: Gary L. Williamson, Jill Fitzgerald, and A. Jackson Stenner

Source: Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(2):59-69

Abstract:The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) set a controversial aspirational, quantitative trajectory for text complexity exposure for readers throughout the grades, aiming for all high school graduates to be able to independently read complex college and workplace texts. However, the trajectory standard is presented without reference to how the grade-by-grade complexity ranges were determined or rationalized, and little guidance is provided for educators to know how to apply the flexible quantitative text exposure standard in their local contexts. We extend and elaborate the CCSS presentation and discussion, proposing that decisions about shifting quantitative text complexity levels in schools requires more than implementation of a single, static standard. A rigorous two-part analytical strategy for decision making surrounding the quantitative trajectory standard is proposed, a strategy that can be used by state policy makers, district officials, and educators in general. First, borrowing methods from student growth modeling, we illustrate an analytical method for creation of multiple trajectories that can lead to the CCSS end-of-high-school target for text complexity exposure, resulting in trajectories that place greater burden for shifting text complexity levels on students in different grades. Second, we submit that knowledge of the multiple possibilities, in conjunction with a set of guiding principles for decision making, can support educators and policy makers in critiquing and using the CCSS quantitative standard for text complexity exposure to establish particular expectations for quantitative text complexity exposure for particular students in situ.  

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2.Barriers to International Student Mobility: Evidence From the Erasmus Program

Author: Manuel Souto-Otero, Jeroen Huisman, Maarja Beerkens, Hans de Wit, and SunČica VujiĆ

Source: Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(2):70-77

Abstract:In this article, we look at the barriers to international student mobility, with particular reference to the European Erasmus program. Much is known about factors that support or limit student mobility, but very few studies have made comparisons between participants and nonparticipants. Making use of a large data set on Erasmus and non-Erasmus students in seven European countries, we look at the barriers for participation. Results reveal the overall impact of financial barriers but suggest that it is personal barriers that help us to better differentiate between Erasmus and non-Erasmus students. The analysis suggests a two-pronged approach to increase participation: one focusing on better information and communication and the other stressing the benefits of Erasmus mobility.   

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3.Evidence-Based Standard Setting: Establishing a Validity Framework for Cut Scores

Author: Katie Larsen McClarty, Walter D. Way, Andrew C. Porter, Jennifer N. Beimers, and Julie A. Miles

Source: Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(2):78-88

Abstract:Performance standards are a powerful way to communicate K–12 student achievement (e.g., proficiency) and are the cornerstone of standards-based reform. As education reform shifts the focus to college and career readiness, approaches for setting performance standards need to be revised. We argue that the focus on assessing student readiness can move performance standards toward an increasingly empirical grounding, leading to more meaningful and understandable standards for student achievement and better guideposts for instructional improvement. Specifically, we describe and illustrate the processes and practices associated with evidence-based standard setting, taking as our example a specific application in the American Diploma Project Algebra II End-of-Course Exam, which was developed as an indicator of college readiness.   

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4.Charter Management Organizations and the Regulated Environment: Is It Worth the Price?

Author: Joan F. Goodman

Source: Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(2):89-96

Abstract:Urban minority children are increasingly being educated at public schools run by charter management organizations (CMOs) characterized by a highly rule-ordered and regulated environment. These rules, enforced through continuous streams of reinforcements and penalties, while contributing to a tight focus on academics and a safe culture, have associated costs. The article scrutinizes four CMO commonalities, along with their implications: the pervasive adult monitoring of students, targeting behaviors tangential to learning, attributing independent agency to children who deviate, and student derogation by adults. It is concluded that rules can indeed be protective, but if not counterbalanced with opportunities for genuine choice and personal agency, the rules may quell students’ desires and shrink their aspirations. A blanketing emphasis on obedience can create conditions for accepting instruction, but alone, it is dangerous, for students will not have developed their own compass to resist negative models.  

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5.Systematic Review of Design-Based Research Progress: Is a Little Knowledge a Dangerous Thing?

Author: Susan McKenney and Thomas C. Reeves             

Source: Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(2):97-100

Abstract:Sufficient attention and resources have been allocated to design-based research (DBR) to warrant review concerning if and how its potential has been realized. Because the DBR literature clearly indicates that this type of research strives toward both the development of an intervention to address a problem in practice and empirical investigation yielding theoretical understanding that can inform the work of others, thoughtful assessment of DBR progress must devote substantial attention to each of these aspects. This requires an in-depth analysis of full-text reports of DBR, framed by a refined conceptualization of the intended outputs of DBR, and ideally, complemented by empirical investigation involving design-based research participants directly.   

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6.Fully Accounting for English Learner Performance: A Key Issue in ESEA Reauthorization

Author: Megan Hopkins, Karen D. Thompson, Robert Linquanti, Kenji Hakuta, and Diane August           

Source: Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(2):101-108

Abstract:This article presents a set of recommendations that promote a more nuanced, meaningful accountability policy for English learners in the next authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The authors argue that the ESEA reauthorization must strengthen the law’s capacity-building purpose so that federal, state, and local leaders support continued attention, direction, and innovation in effectively educating ELs. The recommendations put forth in this article focus on monitoring both current and former ELs, establishing time frames for the attainment of English language proficiency, and setting expectations for academic achievement that are reflective of English language proficiency level and time in the state’s school system.