Every three years, several Minnesota state departments (Education, Employment and Economic Development, Health, Human Services, and Public Safety) collaborate to administer the Minnesota Student Survey. The survey was last administered in 2010 to primary and secondary students (grades 6, 9, and 12) to assess their attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors on a variety of topics. The survey covers areas such as students’ background, school, activities, heath, and behavior. A total of 335 school districts participated in the survey with a total of 130,908 students taking the survey across the state.
Results are reported by grade and the corresponding trends between grades are very similar; students appear to be changing attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors nearly simultaneously. Many positive changes can be seen between recent years. For example, when comparing twelfth graders’ answers on the 2010 administration with the 2007 responses, several positive differences can be seen:
More twelfth graders reported they were planning to attend college (88.9% in 2010 compared to 85.8% in 2007)
More twelfth graders reported being physically active on five or more days in the past week (43.4% compared to 41.4%)
Less twelfth graders reported alcohol usage in the past year (55.3% compared to 62.5%)
Less twelfth graders reported binge drinking (five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks; 23.4% compared to 29.0%)
Less twelfth graders reported driving a motor vehicle after drug or alcohol usage (18.0% compared to 23.9%)
Less twelfth graders reported smoking in the past 30 days (19.2% compared to 22.8%)
The November 2010 issue of the Educational Researcher included an article titled “Attribution Error and the Quest for Teacher Quality.” The author discusses how traditional research has tried to link student achievement with teacher quality, but what may be missing is examination of the impact of teaching quality. For example, studies have focused on labeling teachers based on personal qualities (e.g., engaging, efficient, caring) and linking those qualities with student academic performance on standardized tests. Visually, the traditional map is:
Teacher personal characteristics → Teaching practices → Student learning
The author, Mary Kennedy, points out several things that cast doubt into this strict model. First, studies that have focused on personal qualities of teachers have generally had low correlations with outcomes. In other words, in classrooms with highly engaging, efficient, and caring teachers, there isn’t always an improvement in student academic achievement. Second, the statistical models used to make inferences about personal qualities in teachers and student achievement rates can generally only be attributed to small amounts of student achievement at best. That is, there are a lot of differences in student achievement that aren’t attributable to teacher personal qualities (there is a lot else that is influencing achievement). Lastly, the observed effects of teacher personal characteristics are not stable across years; just because a teacher’s personal qualities may show an effect on student achievement one year does not mean the same effect will be shown in subsequent years. Thus, instead of emphasizing teacher quality, Kennedy suggests we think about teaching quality as it impacts student learning:
The main difference between this model and the traditional model is the addition of “situational characteristics.” Situational characteristics are external to the teachers (not a personal characteristic) but have an impact on teaching practices, overall teaching quality, and student learning. Examples are broad and would include:
Availability of time (e.g., for lesson planning, for specific subject areas, to fulfill state requirements)
Availability of materials for teaching (e.g., materials helpful/necessary for science and math education)
Differences in work assignments (e.g., other job responsibilities outside of the classroom)
The main conclusion of the article is that situational characteristics may actually be more impactful than teacher personal characteristics on student academic achievement.
For the full article see the “Attribution Error and the Quest for Teacher Quality” by Mary M. Kennedy in the Educational Researcher, November 2010, Volume 39, Number 8, pages 591-598.
We are pleased to introduce our new Research Assistant, Audrey Peer. Audrey brings with her a wealth of knowledge in health policy research. She provides research support to our team in the development of measures to monitor progress, organization of data sets, and analyses using quantitative data. Currently, she is completing her Master’s degree in Public Policy at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. In her spare time, Audrey likes to run, bake, spend time with friends, and explore new restaurants around the cities.
Want to join our team in a leadership role? ACET is currently looking to hire a Senior Research Associate. Please click here to review the posting: Senior Research Associate
Staff at Taproot are actively working to change education by creating a mobile media arts lab for schools in rural towns. Taproot worked with children who were struggling within traditional learning programs and found that all students – not just those who were struggling – engaged more in their studies when they have the opportunity to create videos and share them with their classmates. Movies tackled topics such as bullying and harassment, sexual assault, and drug use and addiction. Taproot wants to expand on this idea by building a mobile media arts lab for use especially in rural towns.
