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A STUDY OF AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY OF TEACHERS' HOLISTIC SCORES OF ELEMENTARY WRITING THROUGH IN-HOUSE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

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Date Issued:
2008
Abstract/Description:
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based training that attempted to improve the reliability of holistic scores teachers assigned to the writings of elementary school students. Seventeen teachers at one suburban elementary school located in the Southeastern United States participated in three training sessions that allowed for scoring practice and group discussions. The trainers, or presenters, were "faculty-experts." A comparison of scores the participants assigned to students' writings before and after the training was conducted. The analyses included t-tests that compared the participants' mean scores to the scores assigned by raters from the state, a within-group analysis of reliability as measured by Cronbach's Alpha, and percentage agreement analyses. The results suggested that the in-house training activities promoted higher inter-rater reliability of scores assigned to students' writings by the teachers in this study. This study also compared teachers identified as being highly confident writers with teachers who reported low levels of self-confidence related to writing. Prior to the training, the highly confident teachers' scores tended to be lower than the state scores and the scores assigned by their less confident peers. During group discussions, however, the "high-confidence" group was just as likely to change their scores to a higher level as to a lower level, and by the end of the training, both groups demonstrated more consistent score patterns.
Title: A STUDY OF AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY OF TEACHERS' HOLISTIC SCORES OF ELEMENTARY WRITING THROUGH IN-HOUSE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
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Name(s): Farmer, Lisa, Author
Hynes, Michael, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based training that attempted to improve the reliability of holistic scores teachers assigned to the writings of elementary school students. Seventeen teachers at one suburban elementary school located in the Southeastern United States participated in three training sessions that allowed for scoring practice and group discussions. The trainers, or presenters, were "faculty-experts." A comparison of scores the participants assigned to students' writings before and after the training was conducted. The analyses included t-tests that compared the participants' mean scores to the scores assigned by raters from the state, a within-group analysis of reliability as measured by Cronbach's Alpha, and percentage agreement analyses. The results suggested that the in-house training activities promoted higher inter-rater reliability of scores assigned to students' writings by the teachers in this study. This study also compared teachers identified as being highly confident writers with teachers who reported low levels of self-confidence related to writing. Prior to the training, the highly confident teachers' scores tended to be lower than the state scores and the scores assigned by their less confident peers. During group discussions, however, the "high-confidence" group was just as likely to change their scores to a higher level as to a lower level, and by the end of the training, both groups demonstrated more consistent score patterns.
Identifier: CFE0002297 (IID), ucf:47855 (fedora)
Note(s): 2008-08-01
Ed.D.
Education, Department of Teaching and Learning Principles
Doctorate
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): teacher training
elementary
writing
holistic scoring
teacher efficacy
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002297
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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