Change and Continuity in Student Achievement from Grades 3 to 5: A Policy Dilemma

dc.creator	Mary McCaslin
dc.creator	Heidi Legg Burross
dc.creator	Thomas L. Good
dc.date	2005-01-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:12:17Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:12:17Z
dc.identifier	1068-2341
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/db791a0cc3da494e980057faeb8af42d
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/15116
dc.description	In this article, we examine student performance on mandated tests in grades 3, 4, and 5 in one state. We focus on this interval, which we term "the fourth grade window," based on our hypothesis that students in grade four are particularly vulnerable to decrements in achievement. The national focus on the third grade as the critical benchmark in student performance has distracted researchers and policy makers from recognition that the fourth grade transition is essential to our understanding of how to promote complex thinking and reasoning that are built upon a foundation of basic skills that may be necessary, but are not sufficient, for the more nuanced learning expected in subsequent grades. We hypothesized that the basic skills that define a successful third grade performance do not predict successful performance in subsequent years. We examined student performance over time using two measures of student success: the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS), a standards based test; and the Stanford 9 (SAT9), a norm-referenced test. Three groups of schools were included in these analyses. Schools were individually matched to the original sample of interest, which were schools serving students of poverty that received state funding to implement Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models that emphasize continuity across grade levels. The first comparison sample includes schools that also serve students of poverty but did not receive CSR funding, "nonCSR" schools. The second comparison sample includes schools individually matched on all variables except economic status. These schools, which we term "ow poverty" schools, are the wealthiest public schools in the state, with less than 10% of attending students receiving free or reduced lunch. Student test scores in math, reading, and writing (AIMS) or language (SAT9) were analyzed for the years 2000-2003. These intervals allowed the analysis of two cohorts of the fourth grade window. Our results suggest that the reliance on third grade performance to label students and schools is untenable.
dc.language	English
dc.language	Spanish
dc.language	Portuguese
dc.publisher	Arizona State University
dc.relation	http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/106
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1068-2341
dc.rights	CC BY
dc.source	Education Policy Analysis Archives, Vol 13, p 1 (2005)
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	Change and Continuity in Student Achievement from Grades 3 to 5: A Policy Dilemma
dc.type	article