Connections Between Teachers’ Knowledge of Students, Instruction, and Achievement Outcomes

Both scholars and professional standards identify teachers’ knowledge of students as important to promoting effective instruction and student learning. Prior research investigates two such types of knowledge: knowledge of student thinking and teacher accuracy in predicting student performance on cognitive assessments. However, the field presents weak evidence regarding whether these constructs are amenable to accurate measurement and whether such knowledge relates to instruction and student outcomes. Without this evidence, it is difficult to assess the relevance of this form of teacher knowledge. In this article, evidence from 284 teachers suggests that accuracy can be adequately measured and relates to instruction and student outcomes. Knowledge of student misconceptions proved more difficult to measure, yet still predicted student outcomes in one model.

Teacher Compliance and Accuracy in State Assessment of Student Motor Skill Performance

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher compliance with state mandated assessment protocols and teacher accuracy in assessing student motor skill performance.Method:Middle school teachers (N = 116) submitted eighth grade student motor skill performance data from 318 physical education classes to a trained monitoring committee to evaluate compliance and data accuracy.Results:Eighty-four percent of the data sets met the requirements for acceptance and compliance by the monitoring committee. Accurate assessment of students proved more difficult for teachers when discriminating four performance levels within a rubric (M = 67.17%, SD = 19.79) than simply discerning between competent and incompetent motor skill performance (M = 93.92%, SD = 7.42). Teachers who attended data collection training sessions and curriculum inservice training submitted more compliant and accurate student performance data.Discussion:Teacher training is instrumental in the successful use of testing protocols and for discriminating levels within student skill competency. Training should be a part of any district or state mandated assessment program.

Teacher accuracy in the identification of pre-school pupils with hearing loss

Teachers of 110 pre-school pupils used a questionnaire to identify which children they thought would fail a hearing screening. Following screening, the data was compared to both audiometric only, and combined audiometric and tymponometric screening results. Teachers identified one out of six pupils who failed audiometric screening, and one out of seven who failed combined screening. We concluded that teachers could not accurately identify pupils with hearing problems and should not be used to detect hearing losses in pupils without prior education and training.

Classroom Teachers’ Accuracy in Observing Students’ Motor Performance

The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of classroom teachers in observing students’ motor performance. In order to assess teacher accuracy in rating motor performance, an analysis was conducted on students’ scores on the Short Form of the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-S) between those who were rated high as compared to those who were rated low in motor performance, as determined by a teacher observation form. The two-tailed t statistic indicated a significant difference between standard mean scores for upper and lower quartile performances on the BOT-S (P<.05). However, there was a high degree of variance within the high and low groups. The results suggest that classroom teachers are more accurate in observing high motor performance than in observing low motor performance.

Special Education Referrals as an Index of Teacher Tolerance: Are Teachers Imperfect Tests?

The academic performances and naturally occurring characteristics of students referred by regular education classroom teachers for possible placement in special education programs were examined. Curriculum Based Assessment procedures were used with 570 grade 2 through 6 students referred because of reading difficulties. Teacher bias was examined by comparing the reading performances of referred students as a function of their sex and ethnicity and by comparing the percentages of students to the base rate population of low reading performers. Teacher accuracy was investigated using “narrow band” or “broad band” definitions. Findings indicated that teachers are both accurate and biased in the referral process. The implications of the findings are discussed in relationship to current identification practices and to the suggestion that teachers be treated as tests in lieu of current practice.