A Dissertation 94 Years in the Making...

In 1917, J. Carleton Bell published an article in The Journal of Educational Psychology lamenting the low performance of US History students in remembering historical facts.  94 years ago....  94 years ago, a researcher was testing male and female students about what they did and did not recall about US History AND the students failed the test in huge numbers. Over half of the students failed the test.  Wow... sounds familiar, especially since I am researching the problem of low academic performance in US History students on a test where over half the students fail. Why have we not fixed the problem yet?

Maybe 94 years from now, some doctoral student will find my article and say... man, I sure am glad she figured it out. :) Back to researching.

Do I or Don't I?

Commitment is hard.  You have to LOVE something or someone to stay totally committed for long periods of time.  I'm already waivering on my dissertation topic, and this is not a good thing. Results are not looking good.  Students are not happy.  Parents are not happy.  I am not happy. Even worse, when I explain what I am doing my dissertation on, I get responses that question whether or not this is something I am passionate about.

Maybe I should focus on vocabulary.  Students seem to be really struggling on the assessments because they do not understand what the question is asking.  They do not know basic historical words - cede, levy, defy.  How do you reach 11th grade and not know the word defy? They don't.  Student after student raised their hands and asked what the word meant... I use these words too when presenting new material, so did they not know the meaning when they wrote it down?  Did they do the assessment activity without knowing the content? Why didn't they ask?  What could I do to get them to ask? Is this the root of the low performance?  If I choose this, would I be committed?

What about grouping? We currently have advanced placement and everyone else.  The lower level students are lost.  The honor students are bored.  There is no happy medium. What if we implemented one?  What if we grouped by ability which you are never supposed to do?  Would scores come up?  Would they ask then or is that lowering expectations and setting kids up to fail like the High Schools that Work program says when they suggest that we remove the groups.  Was that a mistake? Do I have 500 pages of commitment to that?

I read an interesting article yesterday about the cost of testing and the impact on education. Is that more topical and less beat to death than plan old academic achievement? I have to commit to one idea and get started...  Comittment is hard though...

Lets Give Them Something to Talk About....

Dissertations are long... really, really long... Mainly because the researcher (that's ME!) has spent extensive time exploring a specific topic wherein a problem lies and then, implements a solution of some kind which may or may not work.

For my dissertation, the problem statement focuses on low standardized test scores.  Students across my state fail these tests.  Over 50% of the students who take the state-mandated end-of-course exam in US History fail.  This is unacceptable.  The exam counts 20% of their final grade for the course. Failing the exam causes students to fail the course in some cases. My dissertation will focus on a program implemented to address this issue. My problem statement is simple. 

50% of 11th grade high school social studies students perform below required academic achievement levels as measured by high stakes standardized testing.

What do you think??

Define Away...

Teachers have a language all their own.  We sit around and discuss scores from tests made up of various letters of the alphabet, spout percentages and numbers that hold great store to the listener, and use a lexicon all our own.  If you are not on the inside, it may sound like Greek.  However, if you are on the inside, sometimes it is still Greek. Thus, we need definitions.

I am working on creating definitions for my dissertation topic.  I think they are all self-explanatory, but today I was reminded that was not the case.  I am presenting tomorrow at the state social studies conference on the importance of accountability in assisting students reach higher levels of academic achievement on the standardized end-of-course tests.  I'm basically explaining my hopeful dissertation topic to a much larger, more diverse audience than when I presented it to the department heads of my school. At the pre-conference mixer, a fellow presenter asked me what my workshop was on and I responded accountability.  What do you mean, he asked.  It's a modified version of Gagne's Instructional design model where I have created a grid to allow teachers to track their assessments.  Like tests, he said.  No... more like formative assessments as well as summative assessments.  Blank look...  Embedded assessments, I modified.  Nothing...  Ummm...  Okay, maybe these terms really do need defining.

Modify and Adjust..

This summer, I created assessment grids for each standard.  I was excited.  If students know what is expected of them (not simply the expectations you have for them but the facts and concepts they must know) and are held accountable, they will succeed.  People place value on the things they are held accountable for. Simple premise, guaranteed results.

I combined the grids with Gagne's Instructional Design Model, pitched the program to my administration, and rolled it out.  Then, I gave the first test of the year.... The students failed miserably...

Okay.. this is still an implementation year and this is not my dissertation yet...  HOWEVER, my idea made so much sense to me..  How could it not work?

I, of course, cannot re-teach the same material this year.  There's an end-of-course exam and I must keep moving. Do I go back to the old way?  Do I keep going?  It matters because grades and GPAs and scholarships are effected... I have decided to look closer at how the program is being rolled out to see what we missed.  This is the answer.. Accountability is the answer... but maybe not..

What Do Police Cars and Education Have in Common?

This is my opening blog for my dissertation in an EdD Program.  I plan to focus on the importance of assessments in education. Really original, you scoff? Well, bear with me... I have a slightly different take on it.

To fully grasp why I think assessments are so important, I want you to imagine that you are driving down the road in your favorite car.  The weather is nice.  Your favorite song is on the radio.  You are cruising... How fast are you going?  Does it matter?  Yes (legally) but you are not concerned. Then, you see a police car in your rear view mirror. What do you do? Duh.. You check your speed to see if you are speeding.  Until then, you weren't worried about it.  The policeman is going to hold you accountable, so now you are concerned.  In education, that policeman is an assessment. Students cruise along, taking notes, listening to lecture, going through the day-to-day activities without concern until a TEST is announced.  Then, they hit the brakes and slow down.  They worry about getting hit with a bad grade like you worry about the cop giving you a ticket.

I can stretch the analogy...  Study Guides are the speed limit signs...  Think how panicked you would be if you saw blue lights approaching and you had no idea what the speed limit actually was. Drivers' Education class is the equivalent of lesson plans. You need to teach students how to safely drive...  This is, of course, done through small assessments along the way.  Formative embedded assessments.  I also plan to address speed traps.... otherwise known as standardized testing. Even when you do everything right, you can get tripped up.

Come back and join me on the journey.  Toot your horn at me to let me know what you like and blast your horn at me if you see me going off track.  It's a long process, but I believe that by implementing a program utilizing Gagne's Instructional Design Model and Standard-based Assessment Grids, I can help students along the way to graduation...