Alignment across K-12 Writing Standards, Assessments, Achievement, and Postsecondary Expectations: A State-by-State Analysis
PI(s): Natalie Olinghouse, Ph.D
Sponsor: Grant proposal in process
Research Question: RQ1: (a) What aspects of writing receive the most emphasis in states' content standards? (b) How do states' content standards reflect evidence-based practices in writing?
RQ2: (a) What aspects of the writing assessment program receive the most emphasis in states' content standards?
(b) How do states' assessment programs reflect evidence-based practices in writing assessment?
RQ3: (a) How are states' writing content standards aligned with their assessment programs? (b) How are states' writing content standards aligned with postsecondary expectations? (c) How are states' writing assessment programs aligned with postsecondary expectations?
RQ4: Do states with stronger alignment between the writing assessment program and standards produce writers with higher levels of achievement based on 2007 Grade 8 NAEP data?
RQ5: Do variables such as (a) number of content standards, (b) degree of elaboration of content standards, and (c) grade at which specific aspects of content standards are introduced explain a significant proportion of variance in writing achievement based on 2007 Grade 8 NAEP data?
PI(s): Donald Compton, Ph.D. (Vanderbilt University)
Co-PIs: Natalie Olinghouse, Ph.D.
Description: The process through which students embark on in this study describes its purpose. Students write a report before and after reading the books in the intervention. Reports are scored for length, quality, and several measures assessing the declarative knowledge and vocabulary gained from reading the informational text. Two additional studies explore the vocabulary characteristics in the reports and the type of main ideas and details remembered from the text and included in the reports.
Sponsor: U. S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, and Core Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to Vanderbilt University.
Research Question: What is the transfer of knowledge and vocabulary from reading informational text to report writing?
Design: Students in grades 2 - 5, identified as having word reading or reading comprehension deficits, are randomly assigned to one of three reading interventions (control, comprehension strategies, or vocabulary strategies).
University of Connecticut | 