Reports 762-753

#762 – Moving to the Next Generation of Standards for Science: Building on Recent Practices
Joan L. Herman

Summary

In this report, Joan Herman, director for the National Center for Research, on Evaluation, Standards, & Student Testing (CRESST) recommends that the new generation of science standards be based on lessons learned from current practice and on recent examples of standards-development methodology. In support of this, recent, promising efforts to develop standards in science and other areas are described, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009 Science Assessment Framework, the Advanced Placement Redesign, and the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). From these key documents, there are discussions about promising practices for a national effort to better define science standards. Lastly, this report reviews validation issues including the evidence that one would want to collect to demonstrate that national science standards are achieving their intended purposes.

To cite from this report, please use the following as your APA reference:

Herman, J. L. (2009). Moving to the next generation of standards for science: Building on recent practices (CRESST Report 762). Los Angeles: University of California, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).

#761 – Using Classroom Artifacts to Measure the Efficacy of Professional Development
Yael Silk, David Silver, Stephanie Amerian, Claire Nishimura, Christy Kim Boscardin

Summary

This report describes a classroom artifact measure and presents early findings from an efficacy study of WestEd's Reading Apprenticeship (RA) professional development program. The professional development is designed to teach high school teachers how to integrate subject-specific literacy instruction into their regular curricula. The current RA study is notable in that it is the first to include random assignment in its design. The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) designed a teacher assignment instrument to address the question of whether treatment teachers demonstrate greater integration of literacy into their instructional practice than control teachers. Early findings based on preliminary data from participating history teachers indicate that treatment teachers outperformed control teachers on 6 out of 11 rubric dimensions. These dimensions address opportunities for reading in the assignment, the strategies in place to support successful reading, teacher support for reading engagement, and student feedback. Data collection will conclude at end of the 2008-2009 school year, followed by a final report.

#760 – Third Year Report: Evaluation of the Artful Learning Program
Noelle C. Griffin, Judy N. Miyoshi

Summary

The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA was contracted to undertake a three-year external evaluation of the Artful Learning program, an arts-based school improvement model developed from the work and philosophy of the late composer Leonard Bernstein. This is the third-year report of evaluation findings, with a primary focus on Artful Learning participants in the 2003–2004 school year. The purpose of this report is to provide information about the implementation and impact of the program at current participating school sites, as well as place these findings within the context of the overall findings from the three-year evaluation as a whole. Multiple quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were employed throughout this evaluation. Overall, the findings suggest that the Artful Learning program was a useful tool for teachers with a variety of previous teaching experience, district and state contextual demands, grade/content areas taught, and student populations. Teacher satisfaction with the professional development components of the program were high, although assessment was an area singled out as needing additional support. Recommendations, drawing from all three years of the evaluation, are also discussed.

#759 – Evaluation of the WebPlay Arts Education Program: Findings from the 2006–07 School Year
Noelle Griffin, Jinok Kim, Youngsoon So, Vivian Hsu

Summary

This report presents results from the second year of CRESST’s three-year evaluation of the WebPlay program. WebPlay is an online-enhanced arts education program for K–12 students. The evaluation occurred during the three-year implementation of the program in Grades 3 and 5 in California schools; this report focused on results from the second year of program implementation, 2006–07. Results show that WebPlay participation was significantly related to positive educational engagement/attitude. In terms of California Standards Test (CST) English Language Arts (ELA) scores, despite no overall WebPlay effects, a significant difference was found for limited English proficiency (LEP) students. The results support that a well-designed, theater-based education can improve student engagement; and that it may have academic benefits in language arts content, particularly for those students who are struggling with English proficiency.

#758 – A Circle of Learning: Children and Adults Growing Together in LA's BEST
Denise Huang, Deborah La Torre, Nikki Duong, Lindsay Perez Huber, Seth Leon, Christine Oh

Summary

Afterschool programs offer an important avenue for enhancing educational opportunities. Federal, state, and local educational authorities increasingly see them as environments to improve attitudes toward school, achievement, and academic performance (Fashola, 2002; Hollister, 2003) with higher levels of student participation and engagement in these programs correlated to even greater improvements (Huang, Leon, La Torre, & Mostafavi, 2008; Mahoney, Lord, & Carryl, 2005). This is particularly true among low-performing, underserved, or at-risk students who can benefit greatly from additional academic help and social support (Afterschool Alliance, 2003; Muñoz, 2002). However, not all programs are equally effective, and no program can be effective if students only attend sporadically (Granger & Kane, 2004). Research has suggested that student engagement in afterschool programs—as indicated by their sense of belonging to and their interest in the programs—may be an important contributor to the program's influence on their achievement, behaviors (Arbreton et al., 2008), and regular attendance (Finn, 1992). Consequently, federal, state, and private organizations including the Verizon Foundation have provided ample financial support to afterschool programs in recent years.

#757 – Exploring the Relationships between LA's BEST Program Attendance and Cognitive Gains of LA's BEST Students
Denise Huang, Seth Leon, Aletha M. Harven, Deborah La Torre, Sima Mostafavi

Summary

The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which participation in the Los Angeles Better Educated Students for Tomorrow (LA's BEST) afterschool program leads to positive achievement outcomes in math and English-language arts. A quasi-experimental design is utilized, and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is employed to examine the relations between intensity of program participation and achievement outcomes across 4 years of data using two cohorts of students. Results reveal that regular attendance (over 100 days per year) in the LA's BEST afterschool program leads to higher achievement in California Standards Test (CST) math performance but not in CST English-language arts performance. Therefore, LA's BEST can improve their program outcomes by setting program structures, activities, and policies to encourage all students to attend regularly.

#756 – Development of Sensor-Based Measures of Rifle Marksmanship Skill and Performance
Paul D. Espinosa, Sam O. Nagashima, Gregory K. W. K. Chung, Daniel Parks, Eva L. Baker

Summary

Measures of rifle marksmanship skill and performance were developed using a prototype instrumented laser-based training system. Measures of performance were derived from laser strikes on a video-projected target. Measures of rifle marksmanship skill—breath control, trigger control, and muzzle wobble—were developed from shooters' breathing and trigger squeeze patterns. Existing marksmanship instructional materials and expert shooters' breath and trigger control profiles guided the development of the skill measures. A shooter's breath control was described as where and how long into the respiratory cycle the trigger broke. A shooter's trigger control was described as the duration of the trigger squeeze. A shooter's muzzle was described as the total acceleration during the two seconds prior to the shot. The use of sensor-based measures provides insight into exactly how a shooter is executing two of the three skills considered to be the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship.

#755 – Assessment of Rifle Marksmanship Skill Using Sensor-Based Measures
Sam O. Nagashima, Gregory K. W. K. Chung, Paul D. Espinosa, Chris Berka, Eva L. Baker

Summary

The goal of this report was to test the use of sensor-based skill measures in evaluating performance differences in rifle marksmanship. Ten shots were collected from 30 novices and 9 experts. Three measures for breath control and one for trigger control were used to predict skill classification. The data were fitted with a logistic regression model using holdout validation to assess the quality of model classifications. Individually, all four measures were significant; when considered together, only three measures were significant predictors for level of expertise (p < .05). Overall percent correct in shot classification for the testing data was 90.0%, with a sensitivity of 67.5%, and 96.0% specificity.

#754 – An Exploratory Investigation of the Effect of Individualized Computer-Based Instruction on Rifle Marksmanship Performance and Skill
Gregory K. W. K. Chung, Sam O. Nagashima, Paul D. Espinosa, Chris Berka, Eva L. Baker

Summary

In this report, researchers examined whether individualized multimedia-based instruction would influence the development of rifle marksmanship skills in novice shooters with little or no prior rifle marksmanship experience. Forty-eight novice shooters used an M4 rifle training simulator system to shoot at an 8-inch target at a simulated distance of 200 yards. Participants received either (a) no instruction, (b) only an overview of rifle marksmanship, or (c) an overview and instruction targeted at particular skill gaps. Support was found for the idea that multimedia-based instruction can be highly effective for novices, with a large increase in shooting performance observed after 10 to 15 minutes of multimedia instruction. Subsequent individualized instruction using very short multimedia instruction appeared to be effective in shaping participants' skills toward an "ideal" state consistent with shooting doctrine.

#753 – The Influence of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Factors on the Development of Rifle Marksmanship Skills
Gregory K. W. K. Chung, Sam O. Nagashima, Paul D. Espinosa, Chris Berka, Eva L. Baker

Summary

In this report, researchers examined rifle marksmanship development within a skill development framework outlined by Chung, Delacruz, de Vries, Bewley, and Baker (2006). Thirty-three novice shooters used an M4 rifle training simulator system to learn to shoot an 8-inch target at a simulated distance of 200 yards. Cognitive, psychomotor, and affective measures were gathered in addition to measures of performance and component skills. Partial support was found for rifle marksmanship skill development following Ackerman's (1988) skill development theory. Support was found for the idea that known distance rifle marksmanship can transition rapidly from a learning phase to a practice phase, and that the cognitive and affective variables have a substantial influence on performance and skill development during the learning phase.

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