Empowerment, Vision, and Voice

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Empowerment, Vision, and Voice

• Building an Assessment System for Professional
  Development Schools

Jonatha W. Vare, PhD, Winthrop University,
Rock Hill, SC 29733 American Educational Research
Association, Chicago, IL, April 24, 2003
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• Winthrop University partnership
• since 1993
• 15 PDSs
• 4 counties
• 7 school districts

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Rationale for Assessment System

• Goal Assess impact of PDS on students and
  educators.
• Goal Create culture of inquiry.
• Backward-mapping (Teitel)
• NCATE PDS Standards
• Learner-involved assessment (Stiggins)
• Empowerment evaluation (Fetterman)

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Empowerment Evaluation

• Facets
• Training in evaluation methods
• Facilitation by internal coaches
• Transformation through advocacy, illumination,
  and liberation
• Goal
• Internalization of process

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Steps in the Empowerment Evaluation Process

• Empowerment
• Establish mission,vision, or purpose.
• Take stock of strengths and weaknesses.
• Plan goals and strategies.

• WU Partnership
• NNER mission and conceptual framework
• Post-then-pre self-assessment with NCATE
  standards
• Action plan of goals and strategies

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Self-assessment Plan

• Post-then-pre self-assessment using NCATE
  standards
• Training in collecting evidence
• Action plan of goals and strategies
• Evaluation portfolio keyed to NCATE standards
• Alignment of NCATE standards with NNER mission

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Results of Self-assessments Using NCATE Standards

• No PDS was sufficiently at standard after three
  years.
• No PDS was leading in an element after two years.
• Time as a PDS enables growth.
• Question for investigation
• Can a PDS sustain itself or grow apart from the
  network?

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2000-2001
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2000-2001
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2001-2002
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2001-2002
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2001-2002
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Areas of Weakness

• Weakness lack of movement or lack of
  development
• For two consecutive years, weaknesses were
• I. D. Learning Community Serve as Instrument of
  Change
• II. D. Accountability and Quality Assurance
  Develop Assessments, Collect Information, and Use
  Results

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Areas of Strength

• Strength growth of at least one developmental
  level
• For two consecutive years, a strength was II.C.
  Accountability and Quality Assurance Set PDS
  Participation Criteria.

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Influence of Partnership and Political Activities

• Four or five schools moved 2 levels.
• V.E. Structures, Resources, and Roles Use
  Effective Communication
• I.E. Learning Community Extended Learning
  Community
• II.B. Accountability and Quality Assurance
  Assure Public Accountability
• III.C. Collaboration Systematically Recognize
  and Celebrate Joint Work and Contributions of
  Each Partner

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National Network for Educational Renewal

• MISSION
• Enculturating the Young into a Social and
  Political Democracy
• Providing Access to Knowledge to All Children and
  Youth
• Engaging in Nurturing Pedagogy
• Ensuring Responsible Stewardship of Schools

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Content Analysis
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Representation of NNER Mission in NCATE PDS
Standards
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ImplicationsSelf-assessment using NCATE
standards

• Helps schools and the partnership set goals.
• Deepens understanding of PDS language.
• Is easier with scaffolds in place.
• Can inform decisions about changes in governance
  structure.
• Incompletely represents the partnerships
  mission.
• May be most useful for new and developing PDSs.

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Aligning Vision and Giving Voice

• Possibilities
• Expand NCATE standards.
• Align PDS assessments with other partnership
  documents.
• Use NCATE standards with beginning and developing
  PDSs.
• Expand standards for longer-standing, mature, or
  leading PDSs.

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Limitations

• Empowerment Evaluation
• Address relativity.
• Add external evaluator or panel (e.g., to review
  portfolios).
• Pre-then-post
• Use quantifiable outcomes to check
  self-perception of growth.