EDUC 816 Interview Questions Assignment Instructions Overview Developing interview questions is an essential data collection skill in the applied research process. For this assignment, you will compos

IMPROVING OEA FOR SCIENCE TEST SCORES 1

Recommendations for Improving Students’ Test Scores on the Ohio Educational Assessment for Science at Hampton High School

Liberty Student

School of Education, Liberty University

In partial fulfillment of EDUC 816

Interview Questions Example

Central Research Question

How can the problem of students’ low test scores on the Ohio Educational Assessment for Science be solved at Hampton High School in Hampton, Ohio?

Interview Questions

1. What skills are assessed with the OEA for Science?

This question aimed to determine educators’ awareness of how the OEA for Science is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Understanding the alignment of an assessment with standards in terms of rigor and content is critical to ensuring the assessment accurately measures students’ abilities with the material and skills (Carnegie Mellon University, 2019). By asking this question, the researcher seeks to learn how familiar teachers are with which skills and concepts are assessed on the OEA.

2. How are these skills incorporated through students’ 9-12 curriculum map?

This question aimed to determine educators’ familiarity with the standards included on the OEA for Science and how they are incorporated into the science course offerings at Hampton High School. Ensuring that all concepts to be assessed are taught at an appropriate level of rigor throughout the courses that all students are required to take is necessary to provide students the academic experiences necessary to be successful on the test (Drake & Burns, 2018). Likewise, understanding the vertical alignment of science course offerings at Hampton High School may create a cohesive experience for students prior to taking the assessment (Case & Zucker, 2019).

3. How do the day-to-day instructional strategies in your classroom prepare students for the assessment?

The purpose of this question was to uncover the extent to which teachers work to teach standards within their course. Teaching the standards helps to ensure that the instructional practices are aligned with both the content and the rigor required of the standards (Wiggins & McTighe, 2020).

References

Carnegie Mellon University. (n.d.). Why should assessments, learning objectives, and instructional strategies be aligned? https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/alignment.html

Case, B., & Zucker, S. (2019). Horizontal and vertical alignment [Policy Report]. Pearson. https://images.pearsonassessments.com/images/tmrs/tmrs_rg/HorizontalVerticalAlignment.pdf?WT.mc_id=TMRS_Horizontal_and_Vertical_Alignment

Drake, S. M., & Burns, R. G. (2019). Meeting standards through integrated curriculum. ASCD.

Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2020). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). ASCD