Assessment of literacy learning has been a long-standing focus for future teachers in elementary education. Teacher educators use ongoing written reflection to promote learning before, during, and after coursework and field experiences. In this study, the researchers examined the effects of ongoing written reflection on two groups of novice…

Large-scale summative assessment results are typically used for program-evaluation and resource-allocation purposes; however, stakeholders increasingly desire results from large-scale K-12 assessments that inform instruction. Because large-scale summative results are usually delivered after the end of the school year, teacher use of results is…

Preservice teachers (PSTs) often feel unprepared to utilize digital tools in meaningful ways that support learning in the elementary classroom. It is imperative that teacher preparation programs provide support in this area so that children can learn to use digital tools to communicate in the 21st century. Previous research suggests that the…

Educators use an increasingly wide range of data to inform decision-making, performance management, and accountability at various levels of the education system. Studies emphasize the impact of data-use cultures in schools, a data-rich environment, although little is known about how educators use data. Therefore, this exploratory study examined…

Formative assessment helps teachers make effective instructional decisions to support students to learn mathematics. Yet, many teachers struggle to effectively use formative assessment to support student learning. Therefore, teacher educators must find ways to support teachers to use formative assessment to inform instruction. This case study…

This study sought to determine (a) the decision-making processes administrators and teachers followed when purchasing and implementing a sensory path intervention in elementary schools and (b) the perceived supports and barriers to the effective use of the sensory path as a means to positively impact student outcomes. Five elementary school…

This study is concerned with how teachers use data about students' ideas in science, elicited from embedded formative assessment probes, to make decisions about next steps in instruction. Since Black and Wiliam's (1998) seminal work on formative assessment, researchers and practitioners alike concerned themselves with formative assessment and its…

Educational policies and initiatives continually influence the instruction in classrooms across the nation. At the time of this study, the Common Core State Standards Initiative was in its first full year of implementation in schools across the country. Using ethnographic methods (Foley, 1990; Heath, 1983; McLaren, 1986) and a critical theory…

Early literacy and reading skills are both important predictors of an individual's future success in school and employment settings (Moats, 1999). Moreover, poor reading performance in elementary school has been associated with future conduct problems and juvenile delinquency by age fifteen (Williams, 1994). Research supports the notion that…