Educational Researcher 44卷5期

1. Describing Profiles of Instructional Practice: A New Approach to Analyzing Classroom Observation Data

Author: Peter F. Halpin and Michael J. Kieffer

Source: Educational Researcher 44.5(June/July 2015): 263-277.

Abstract: The authors outline the application of latent class analysis (LCA) to classroom observational instruments. LCA offers diagnostic information about teachers'instructional strengths and weaknesses, along with estimates of measurement error for individual teachers, while remaining relatively straightforward to implement and interpret. It is discussed how the methodology can support formative feedback to educators and facilitate research into the associations between instructional practices and student outcomes. The approach is illustrated with a secondary analysis of data from the Measures of Effective Teaching study, focusing on middle school literacy instruction.

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2. Minorities Are Disproportionately Underrepresented in Special Education: Longitudinal Evidence Across Five Disability Conditions

Author: Paul L. Morgan, George Farkas, Marianne M. Hillemeier, Richard Mattison, Steve Maczuga, Hui Li, and Michael Cook

Source: Educational Researcher 44.5(June/July 2015): 278-292.

Abstract: We investigated whether minority children attending U.S. elementary and middle schools are disproportionately represented in special education. We did so using hazard modeling of multiyear longitudinal data and extensive covariate adjustment for potential child-, family-, and state-level confounds. Minority children were consistently less likely than otherwise similar White, English-speaking children to be identified as disabled and so to receive special education services. From kindergarten entry to the end of middle school, racial- and ethnic-minority children were less likely to be identified as having (a) learning disabilities, (b) speech or language impairments, (c) intellectual disabilities, (d) health impairments, or (e) emotional disturbances. Language-minority children were less likely to be identified as having (a) learning disabilities or (b) speech or language impairments.

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3. Uneven Playing Field? Assessing the Teacher Quality Gap Between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Students

Author: Dan Goldhaber, Lesley Lavery, and Roddy Theobald

Source: Educational Researcher 44.5(June/July 2015): 293-307.

Abstract: Policymakers aiming to close the well-documented achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students have increasingly turned their attention to issues of teacher quality. A number of studies have demonstrated that teachers are inequitably distributed across student subgroups by input measures, like experience and qualifications, as well as output measures, like value-added estimates of teacher performance, but these tend to focus on either individual measures of teacher quality or particular school districts. In this study, we present a comprehensive, descriptive analysis of the inequitable distribution of both input and output measures of teacher quality across various indicators of student disadvantage across all school districts in Washington State. We demonstrate that in elementary school, middle school, and high school classrooms, virtually every measure of teacher quality we examine—experience, licensure exam scores, and value added—is inequitably distributed across every indicator of student disadvantage—free/reduced-price lunch status, underrepresented minority, and low prior academic performance. Finally, we decompose these inequities to the district, school, and classroom levels and find that patterns in teacher sorting at all three levels contribute to the overall teacher quality gaps.

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4. Equivalency of Paper Versus Tablet Computer Survey Data

Author: Russell D. Ravert, Jessica Gomez-Scott, and M. Brent Donnellan

Source: Educational Researcher 44.5(June/July 2015): 308-310.

Abstract: Survey responses collected via paper surveys and computer tablets were compared to test for differences between those methods of obtaining self-report data. College students (N = 258) were recruited in public campus locations and invited to complete identical surveys on either paper or iPad tablet. Only minor homogeneity differences were found between methods, whereas no significant differences were evident in terms of acceptance rates, proportion of missing data, words per text response, scale scores, or scale internal consistencies. Findings suggest that collecting data from students via computer tablet is a viable alternative to paper-based methods and results in similar psychometric survey properties.