Broadening the Scope of Assessment in the Schools: Building Teacher Efficacy in Student Assessment

Abstract

Two surveys were administered to middle school mathematics teachers participating in professional development workshops on performance-based assessment (PBA); veteran teachers, dubbed implementers of PBA, who led those workshops; and university-based teacher educators. The surveys focused on classroom assessment variables and on teachers' needs for and views about the importance of PBA experiences. Teachers indicated perceptions of high efficacy regarding their ability to effect instructional change. Most indicated experiencing freedom in instructional decisions and reported improved interactions with colleagues and students due to their use of PBA. High use of other reform-based instructional practices and high interest in more professional development on alternative assessments was also reported. Implications of these findings for teacher retention and educational reform are discussed. INTRODUCTION Educators have long recognized that their successes lie largely in the proper alignment of three fundamental components: curriculum, instruction, and assessment (Crowell & Tissot, 1986; Leitzel & Vogler, 1994; Melnick & Gable, 1989). From the standpoint of students, who may not even realize it themselves at the moment, the third component, particularly teachers' assessments of their academic work, is the most important. Children begin school wanting to learn, and the high expectations and approval of their teachers serve as strong positive reinforcers of student achievement. Conversely, low teacher expectations, lack of teacher approval, or overt teacher disapproval can serve as negative reinforcers, with related negative consequences on student performance (Aaronsohn, Holmes, Foley, & Wallowitz, 1994; Cooper, 1983; Nafpaktitis, Mayer, & Butterworth, 1985). Much of this reinforcement, in either direction, comes as the result of students' performance on assessments that seek to measure their grasp and mastery of what has been taught, which is essentially the primary significance of assessment in the educational enterprise. However, in the complicated zeitgeist of school reform, with its promotion of standards of many types and its penchant for innovative approaches to student assessment, many teachers find that their preparation for and comfort with new forms of assessment is often disturbingly low (Fuhrman & O'Day, 1996). Notwithstanding, assessment is understandably a major focus of school reform. Teachers' discomfort with assessment can be closely related to their senses of competence and efficacy, which in turn influence the quality of their instruction and which also bear upon those whom they teach and assess. A teacher's sense of efficacy and empowerment can also be a deciding factor in whether or not he or she remains, or should remain, in the teaching profession. As Woodruff (1999) has maintained, teacher efficacy is a major element in teacher job satisfaction and retention. Though teachers may leave the profession for a variety of reasons, efficacy in the major areas of functioning seems to have a motivational effect and thus encourages continuation. In their study of 10,544 classroom teachers employed in 307 Venture Capital Schools funded to implement restructuring by the state legislature in Ohio, Klecker and Loadman (1996) measured dimensions of teacher decision making, self-efficacy, autonomy, professional growth, and impact. They also measured teacher satisfaction in a number of areas including: opportunities for advancement, degree of challenge, interaction with colleagues, general working conditions, and interaction with students. They found a high, positive linear correlation between teacher empowerment and job satisfaction. School districts across the nation lose a large number of teachers in their first years of teaching, and many of these are lost to the profession permanently. Kirby and Grissmer (1993) and Murnane, Singer, Willett, Kemple, and Olsen (1991), in their studies of teacher attrition, indicated that between a fourth to a third of those teachers who leave in any given year return to teaching in subsequent years. …