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Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication., Teacher-assigned grades provide important information that is used by universities and colleges to make admission decisions and by employers to make hiring decisions. Besides grades, the results of standardized achievement tests are frequently used for student selection and allocation. However, correlations between the two achievement measures are far from perfect, and researchers have argued that this discrepancy can be at least partially attributed to norm-referenced grading, which is based on the composition of performance in a class. In this study, we investigated the results of a curricular intensification reform, which introduced changes in the distribution of student performance by making enrollment in certain courses mandatory. We investigated whether the reform resulted in changes in the relationship between standardized achievement-test results and teacher-assigned grades. We analyzed cohort control design data from two large representative samples of students from two German states (Baden-Württemberg: N = 5,574; Thuringia: N = 2,202) before and after the reform. Results indicated that students who received a certain grade before the reform (e.g., a grade of A, B, C, or D) differed in their standardized test performance from students who received the same grade after the reform. Furthermore, in math, course-level-specific reform effects on the association between grades and standardized test performance were found to vary between groups of students receiving good and poor grades. Implications for educational policy and school reforms and suggestions for grading are discussed.

Learning and Instruction, Vol. 60, S. 41-53, Instructional sensitivity is the psychometric capacity of tests or single items of capturing effects of classroom instruction. Yet, current item sensitivity measures’ relationship to (a) actual instruction and (b) overall test sensitivity is rather unclear. The present study aims at closing these gaps by investigating test and item sensitivity to teaching quality, reanalyzing data from a quasi-experimental intervention study in primary school science education (1026 students, 53 classes, Mage?=?8.79 years, SDage?=?0.49, 50% female). We examine (a) the correlation of item sensitivity measures and the potential for cognitive activation in class and (b) consequences for test score interpretation when assembling tests from items varying in their degree of sensitivity to cognitive activation. Our study (a) provides validity evidence that item sensitivity measures may be related to actual classroom instruction and (b) points out that inferences on teaching drawn from test scores may vary due to test composition.

Teachers' accuracy in judging students' achievement is often assumed to be a general ability of teachers. Based on this assumption, teachers should be at least consistent in their accuracy across different content domains within a school subject. Yet, this assumption has rarely been investigated empirically so far. Data from 54 mathematics teachers (N = 1170 students) and 55 language teachers (N = 1255 students) were analysed using a Bayesian multivariate multilevel modelling approach. Results indicate that latent accuracy measures across content domains indeed are substantially correlated within both investigated subjects, but may still be considered to represent different dimensions. (DIPF/Orig.)

Although formative assessment is regarded as a promising way to improve teaching and learning, there is considerable need for research on precisely how it influences student learning. In this study we developed and implemented a formative assessment intervention for mathematics instruction and investigated whether it had effects on students' interest and achievement directly and via students' perception of the usefulness of the feedback and their self-efficacy. We conducted a cluster randomized field trial with pretest and posttest. The 26 participating classes were randomly assigned to a control group or the intervention group. Results of path analyses indicate that feedback was perceived as more useful in the formative assessment condition, self-efficacy was greater, and interest tended to increase; learning progress did not differ between the groups. The assumed indirect effects were partly confirmed: formative assessment showed an indirect effect on interest via its perceived usefulness. (DIPF/Orig.)

Testergebnisse von Schulerinnen und Schulern dienen regelmasig als ein zentrales Kriterium fur die Beurteilung der Effektivitat von Schule und Unterricht. Gultige Ruckschlusse uber Schule und Unterricht setzen voraus, dass die eingesetzten Testinstrumente mogliche Effekte des Unterrichts auffangen konnen, also instruktionssensitiv sind. Jedoch wird diese Voraussetzung nur selten empirisch uberpruft. Somit bleibt mitunter unklar, ob ein Test nicht instruktionssensitiv oder ein Unterricht nicht effektiv war. Die Klarung dieser Frage erfordert die empirische Untersuchung der Instruktionssensitivitat der eingesetzten Tests und Items. Wahrend die Instruktionssensitivitat in den USA bereits seit Langem diskutiert wird, findet das Konzept im deutschsprachigen Diskurs bislang nur wenig Beachtung. Unsere Arbeit zielt daher darauf ab, das Konzept Instruktionssensitivitat in den deutschsprachigen Diskurs uber schulische Leistungsmessung einzubetten. Dazu werden drei Themenfelder behandelt, (a) der theoretische Hintergrund des Konzepts Instruktionssensitivitat, (b) die Messung von Instruktionssensitivitat sowie (c) die Identifikation von weiteren Forschungsbedarfen.

In this study we examine the interplay between curriculum-embedded formative assessment—a well-known teaching practice—and general features of classroom process quality (i.e., cognitive activation, supportive climate, classroom management) and their combined effect on elementary school students’ understanding of the scientific concepts of floating and sinking. We used data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial and compared curriculum-embedded formative assessment (17 classes) with a control group (11 classes). Curriculum-embedded formative assessment and classroom process quality promoted students’ learning. Moreover, classroom process quality and embedded formative assessment interacted in promoting student learning. To ensure effective instruction and consequently satisfactory learning outcomes, teachers need to combine specific teaching practices with high classroom process quality.

In this study, we investigated effects of the proportion of language minority students in classrooms on the development of students’ intrinsic motivation in language lessons and the mediating role of instructional climate (e.g., teacher support, focus on student interests). In addition, we explored the interaction between the proportion of language minority students and individual language background affecting students’ motivation. Analyses were based on data collected in 352 German 9th-grade classrooms across 2 measurement points in a multilevel framework. We found that students in classrooms with a higher proportion of language minority students were more intrinsically motivated to learn. However, we found no statistical evidence for the prediction that the compositional effect should be mediated by the instructional climate in the classroom. Cross-level interaction analyses revealed that only language minority students were increasingly motivated in classrooms with a higher proportion of language minority students. Our findings add to the growing evidence indicating that the nature and quality of the social environment are important determinants of school-related motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

In the present study we compared comprehensive education systems and education systems using between-school tracking with regard to disparities in the quality of student–teacher relations between low and high achieving students, between students with different socioeconomic backgrounds, and between schools with different achievement and social compositions. Data from 271,760 students in 10,125 schools in 40 of the 41 education systems that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment 2003 was analysed using three-level regression models. The results document differences between comprehensive education systems and those using between-school tracking: In the former, but not the latter, high achievers and students with higher socioeconomic backgrounds had better student–teacher relations than their schoolmates. In education systems with between-school tracking, but not in comprehensive education systems, the quality of student–teacher relations was higher in schools with a disadvantaged...

Students’ performance in assessments is commonly attributed to more or less effective teaching. This implies that students’ responses are significantly affected by instruction. However, the assumption that outcome measures indeed are instructionally sensitive is scarcely investigated empirically. In the present study, we propose a longitudinal multilevel-differential item functioning (DIF) model to combine two existing yet independent approaches to evaluate items’ instructional sensitivity. The model permits for a more informative judgment of instructional sensitivity, allowing the distinction of global and differential sensitivity. Exemplarily, the model is applied to two empirical data sets, with classical indices (Pretest–Posttest Difference Index and posttest multilevel-DIF) computed for comparison. Results suggest that the approach works well in the application to empirical data, and may provide important information to test developers.

In this study, we investigated effects of socioeconomic and language minority classroom composition on students' reading achievement and explored the mediating role of central features of instructional quality, namely focus on language, student-oriented climate, and structured classroom management. Analyses were based on data collected from 352 German ninth-grade classrooms across two measurement points (t 1 , t 2 ) in a multilevel framework. We found socioeconomic composition to be related to individual reading achievement at t 2 after accounting for the corresponding baseline assessment at t 1 . However, the proportion of German language learners had no additional effect on reading achievement. Our results also suggest that the effect of the socioeconomic composition on achievement may be mediated partially by the teacher's focus on language during instruction. We conclude that more attention has to be paid to providing equal opportunities to all students in language classes.

The present study examined the extent to which the relationships between student self-reported math grades and different types of student variables (standardized math test scores, interest and effort in math, parental education) are predicted by classroom composition and teachers’ classroom management. Based on a representative sample of 31,038 8th-grade students from 1,470 classrooms, multilevel regression analyses revealed that grades were less strongly related to students’ test scores and more strongly related to students’ effort in classrooms with an unfavorable academic composition (i.e., low average test performance). Classroom management was found to moderate the association between academic classroom composition and the parental education–grade relationship, indicating a noticeable grade advantage of students with high parental education in classrooms with both an unfavorable academic composition and ineffective classroom management. Our findings highlight the relevance of classroom composition and classroom management to research on teachers’ grading and point toward possible ways to improve current grading practices.

Although feedback is a popular topic in educational research, the question of how and on what conditions feedback in mathematics affects learning seldom has been addressed. In this study, we investigated: (1) whether process-oriented feedback in mathematics leads to greater interest and higher achievement development compared to social-comparative feedback; (2) whether students' perception of feedback with regard to usefulness and competence support mediates these effects; and (3) whether the impact of feedback is moderated by students' mastery approach goal orientation. To answer these research questions, 146 ninth-grade intermediate school students in Germany were randomly assigned to both feedback conditions. Results of path analyses revealed (1) no significant total feedback effects on interest and achievement development, but (2) indirect effects on the development of interest via perceived competence support and usefulness, and on achievement development via perceived usefulness, as well as (3) a moderation effect of mastery approach goal orientation on the impact of feedback on perceived usefulness.

Although there is a common understanding of instructional sensitivity, it lacks a common operationalization. Various approaches have been proposed, some focusing on item responses, others on test scores. As approaches often do not produce consistent results, previous research has created the impression that approaches to instructional sensitivity are noticeably fragmented. To counter this impression, we present an item response theory-based framework that can help us to understand similarities and differences between existing approaches. Using empirical data for illustration, this article identifies three perspectives on instructional sensitivity: One perspective views instructional sensitivity as the capacity to detect differences in students' stages of learning across points of time. A second perspective treats instructional sensitivity as the capacity to detect differences between groups that have received different instruction. For a third perspective, the previous two are combined to consider differences between both time points and groups. We discuss linking sensitivity indices to measures of instruction. (DIPF/Orig.)

Zusammenfassung. Für den Bereich „Sprache und Sprachgebrauch untersuchen” der KMK-Bildungsstandards wurden basierend auf Kategorien sprachbewusster Tätigkeiten neun schwierigkeitsbestimmende Aufgabenmerkmale abgeleitet. Auf Grundlage einer Stichprobe von 3.276 Schülerinnen und Schülern der dritten und vierten Klassenstufe wurde im ersten Analyseschritt der Zusammenhang der Aufgabenmerkmale mit den Schwierigkeiten von 107 Testaufgaben untersucht. Im zweiten Schritt wurde untersucht, inwieweit die schwierigkeitsgenerierenden Effekte der Aufgabenmerkmale von der sprachlichen Herkunft der Schülerinnen und Schüler unter Berücksichtigung des kulturellen Kapitals sowie der Klassenstufe moderiert werden, d.h. Differential Facet Functioning (DFF) vorliegt. Für Schritt 1 wurde das linear-logistische Testmodell (LLTM) in der Formulierung als generalisiertes lineares gemischtes Modell (GLMM) verwendet, welches für Schritt 2 um Schülermerkmale als Prädiktoren ergänzt wurde. Die Aufgabenmerkmale weisen einen sehr hohen Erklärungswert für die Aufgabenschwierigkeiten auf (R2 = .695), wobei die Beziehung zur Aufgabenschwierigkeit bei acht der neun Aufgabenmerkmale von mindestens einem der Schülermerkmale oder der Klassenstufe abhängt.