2016 - When Do Students in Low-SES Schools Perform Better-Than- Expected on a High-Stakes Test? Analyzing School, Teacher, Teaching, and Professional Development Characteristics

Attribution: Fischer, Christian, Fishman, Barry, Levy, Abigail Jurist, Eisenkraft, Arthur, Dede, Christopher, Lawrenz, Frances, Jia, Yueming, kook, Janna Fuccillo, Frumin, Kim, and McCoy, Ayana
University Affiliation: University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Email: chrisfi@umich.edu
Research Question:
How do school, teacher, teaching, and PD participation characteristics compare across three AP science teacher subgroups; teachers whose students perform on average lower-than-expected, as- expected, and better-than-expected? What are associations between school, teacher, teaching, and PD participation characteristics on students’ AP performance gains controlling for student demographics?
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Urban Education
Journal Entry: DOI: 10.1177/0042085916668953 2016
Year: 2016
Findings:

– The analyses indicated that districts per-student funding allocations, the days of instruction, teachers’ knowledge and experience, and some aspects of teachers’ professional development participation were significantly associated with student performance on AP science examinations that was better than predicted by students’ Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) scores.

– Districts’ per-student total funding allocations and the length of the school year have positive significant associations with students’ AP performance gains.

– Teachers’ knowledge and experience had positive significant associations with students’ AP performance gains. Therefore, incentivizing experienced and skilled teachers to be recruited and retained within low-SES urban schools (and schools with urban characteristics) should be further explored.

– Participation in Professional Development(PD) activities that teachers rated as effective for helping them teach redesigned AP science courses and participation in unconventional face-to-face PD activities such as teacher-initiated meetings, mentoring or coaching activities, and conference participations were positively and significantly associated with students’ AP performance gains

Scholarship Types: Journal Article Reporting Empirical ResearchKeywords: AttachmentContextSATSchool CharacteristicsSchool QualityScienceSESSES CompositionRegions: NationalMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: Secondary DataAnalysis Methods: Hierarchal Linear Modeling Sampling Frame:Students taking AP exams in low SES schools
Sampling Types: Nationally Representative
Data Description:

-The data used in this study were gathered from web-based surveys sent to AP Biology and AP Chemistry teachers in May 2014 inquiring about teacher demographics (e.g., age, gender), teaching background (e.g., teaching experience, university education), PD participation (e.g., “high-quality” PD features), general attitudes toward PD (e.g., perceived PD effectiveness, belonging to professional organizations), AP science course characteristics (e.g., length of instruction, number of students/sections/preps), AP science instruction and school context (e.g., teaching practices, administrative support), and concerns (e.g., challenges with the AP redesign).

– The College Board provided student- and school-level data for all students taking AP science examinations, which included student demographics (e.g., racial/ethnic background, parental educational attainment, English-language learner status), students’ PSAT and AP science scores, school characteristics (e.g., enrollment in free- and reduced-price lunch programs, school neighborhood), and district-level information (e.g., per- student funding allocations).

– The overall student population consisted of all students taking the AP Biology and AP Chemistry exams in May 2014. Web-based surveys were sent to every AP Biology and AP Chemistry teachers in the nation. The survey was completed by 2,482 AP Biology and 2,563 AP Chemistry

– The dependent variable was a continuous variable comparing students’ actual performance on the AP science examination with their predicted performance based on their PSAT examination scores. Students’ PSAT performance was used as an academic achievement measure prior to students’ enrollment in AP science courses. This difference between students’ actual AP science scores and students’ predicted AP science scores was called “AP performance gain”

-Independent variables were on the student, teacher and school level.

-Student-level variables included students’ English-language learner status and dichotomous variables capturing students’ racial/ethnic background.

-School-level variables included districts’ per-student funding allocations, the length of the school year, and whether enrollment criteria for AP science courses existed.

-Teacher- and teaching-level variables included teachers’ gender, major, and the number of completed laboratory investigations from the AP laboratory guide.

Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts