Classroom Assesment

APPLIED MEASUREMENT IN EDUCATION, 16(1), 27–54 Copyright © 2003, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Classroom Assessment, Student Motivation, and Achievement in High School Social Studies Classes
Susan M. Brookhart
School of Education Duquesne University

Daniel T. Durkin
School of Education Duquesne University

The purpose of this case study was to describe a variety of classroom assessment events in high school social studies classes. This study included data from 12 classroom assessment events in the classes of a teacher–researcher in an urban high school. Four assessments in each course of the teacher-researcher’s entire teaching load were studied. The courses were world cultures, honors U.S. history, and philosophy. The total number of students was 96; sample sizes for individual assessment analyses ranged from 11 to 39. Results supported the conclusion that even within the same classroom assessment environment, student perceptions of the assigned task and self-efficacy for the task, reported mental effort invested, goal orientations, and learning strategy use differed by assessment. The mean level of these variables differed by type of student. Observed correlations among these variables differed between paper-and-pencil tests and performance assessments. Potential implications for classroom assessment practices are discussed.

When researchers want to understand what students know, classroom assessment is not the tip but the bulk of the iceberg. Large-scale assessment is more carefully studied, better funded, and higher profile than is classroom assessment—but the lion’s share of assessment that students experience is classroom assessment. It is from frequent and regular classroom assessment and teacher feedback that
Requests for reprints should be sent to Susan M. Brookhart, School of Education, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282. E-mail: [e-mail]

28

BROOKHART AND DURKIN

students get a sense of what they know and do not

References: Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 261–271. Ames, C., & Archer, J. (1988). Achievement goals in the classroom: Students’ learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 260–267. Bergin, D. A. (1999). Influences on classroom interest. Educational Psychologist, 34, 87–98. Brookhart, S. M. (1997a, March). The relationship of classroom assessment to student effort and achievement in the college classroom: Pilot study technical report. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL. Brookhart, S. M. (1997b). A theoretical framework for the role of classroom assessment in motivating student effort and achievement. Applied Measurement in Education, 10, 161–180. Brookhart, S. M., & DeVoge, J. G. (1999). Testing a theory about the role of classroom assessment in student motivation and achievement. Applied Measurement in Education, 12, 409–425. CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT, MOTIVATION, AND ACHIEVEMENT 53 Brophy, J. (1999). Toward a model of the value aspects of motivation in education: Developing appreciation for particular learning domains and activities. Educational Psychologist, 34, 75–85. Covington, M. V. (1992). Making the grade: A self-worth perspective on motivation and school reform. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Elliot, A. J., & Covington, M. V. (2001). Approach and avoidance motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 73–92. Elliot, A. J., & Thrash, T. M. (2001). Achievement goals and the hierarchical model of achievement motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 139–156. Gipps, C. (1994, April). Quality assurance in teachers’ assessment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED372086) Haydel, J. B., Oescher, J., & Kirby, P. C. (1999, March). Relationships between evaluative culture of classrooms, teacher efficacy, and student efficacy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Hidi, S., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2000). Motivating the academically unmotivated: A critical issue for the 21st century. Review of Educational Research, 70, 151–179. Jackson, D. N. (1994, August). The exploration of a selection of conative constructs relevant to learning and performance (CRESST/Stanford Project 2.3 Final Rep.). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED379300) Lepper, M. R. (1988). Motivational considerations in the study of instruction. Cognition and Instruction, 5, 289–309. Linn, R. L., Baker, E. L., & Dunbar, S. B. (1991). Complex, performance-based assessment: Expectations and validation criteria. Educational Researcher, 20(8), 15–21. Meece, J., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Hoyle, R. (1988). Students’ goal orientations and cognitive engagement in classroom activities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 514–523. Meece, J. L., & Miller, S. D. (2001). Longitudinal analysis of elementary school students’ achievement goals in literacy activities. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 26, 454–480. Meyer, D. K., Turner, J. C., & Spencer, C. A. (1997). Challenge in a mathematics classroom: Students’ motivation and strategies in project-based learning. Elementary School Journal, 97, 501–521. Pajares, F. (1996). Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings. Review of Educational Research, 66, 543–578. Pintrich, P. R., & Schrauben, B. (1992). Students’ motivational beliefs and their cognitive engagement in classroom academic tasks. In D. H. Schunk & J. L. Meece (Eds.), Student perceptions in the classroom (pp. 149–183). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A. F., Garcia, T., & McKeachie, W. J. (1993). Reliability and predictive validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53, 801–813. Salomon, G. (1983). The differential investment of mental effort in learning from different sources. Educational Psychologist, 18, 42–50. Salomon, G. (1984). Television is “easy” and print is “tough”: The differential investment of mental effort as a function of perceptions and attributions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 647–658. Schunk, D. H. (1994). Self-regulation of self-efficacy and attributions in academic settings. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and educational applications (pp. 75–99). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Stiggins, R. J., & Conklin, N. F. (1992). In teachers’ hands: Investigating the practices of classroom assessment. Albany: State University of New York (SUNY) Press. Stodolsky, S. S. (1988). The subject matters: Classroom activity in math and social studies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 54 BROOKHART AND DURKIN Weiner, B. (1979). A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 3–25. Wiggins, G. (1998). Educative assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Wolf, L. F., Smith, J. K., & Birnbaum, M. E. (1995). Consequence of performance, test motivation, and mentally taxing items. Applied Measurement in Education, 8, 341–351. Yin, R. K. (1993). Applications of case study research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.