Open AccessWhen Pandora’s Box Is Opened: A Qualitative Study of the Intended and Unintended Impacts Of Wyoming’s New Standardized Tests on Local Educators’ Everyday Practices
Author(s) -
Jeasik Cho,
Brian Eberhard
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2013.1548
Subject(s) - unintended consequences , grounded theory , context (archaeology) , accountability , focus group , qualitative research , test (biology) , pedagogy , qualitative property , semi structured interview , mathematics education , interpretation (philosophy) , psychology , sociology , medical education , political science , social science , computer science , medicine , paleontology , machine learning , anthropology , law , biology , programming language
In the context of a newly adopted statewide assessment system, PAWS (Proficiency Assessment for Wyoming Students), this paper describes intended instructional changes and unintended outcomes in classrooms and schools as a result of an assessment policy involving an innovative online portion of the test. An elementary school was selected and prolonged qualitative fieldwork with in - depth and focus group interviews were conducted for 1½ years. A constant comparative data analysis and interpretation from grounded theory methodology led to the following themes: adaptive implementation policy, teachers’ dilemmas, instructional change, and school culture change. While observing an elusive role for teachers that involved external accountability factors, researchers also found a practical hope for future PAWS tests, foreshadowing the need for promptly delivered test results for realistic instructional improvement.