Publications & Resources

Using Classroom Artifacts to Measure Instructional Practices in Middle School Mathematics: A Two-State Field Test

Dec 2005

Brian M. Stecher, Alice C. Wood, Mary Lou Gilbert, Hilda Borko, Karin L. Kuffner, Suzanne C. Arnold, and Elizabeth H. Dorman

The purpose of this research was to determine whether classroom artifacts may be used to make valid judgments about reform-oriented teaching practices in middle-school mathematics classes. The researchers compared ratings based on collections of artifacts assembled by teachers according to specific directions (the “Scoop Notebook”) with judgments based on direct classroom observation of these teachers, direct observation supplemented by artifacts, and transcripts of discourse recorded during classroom observations. Results indicated that the notebooks could be rated with acceptable reliability and that the notebook scores provided a reasonable estimate of the scores obtained by direct observation and by observation supplemented with the review of artifacts. Notebook scores also differentiated between teachers known to be using reform curricula and those known to be using traditional curricula. However, the reliability and validity were not high enough to justify using the Scoop Notebook for making judgments about individual teachers.

Stecher, B. M., Wood, A. C., Gilbert, M. L., Borko, H., Kuffner, K. L., Arnold, S. C., & Dorman, E. H. (2005). Using classroom artifacts to measure instructional practices in middle school mathematics: A two-state field test (CSE Report 662). Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).