A Mixed-Method Investigation of Common Assessments Within a Suburban Secondary School

The purpose of this mixed method case study, on the continued implementation of common assessments developed within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), was to investigate possible relationships between teacher collaboration, common assessments and End of Course (EOC) assessments. The researcher investigated the perceptions of teachers and administrators in a Midwest secondary setting on common assessment development and utilization on the culture of teaching and data-driven decision making. The information from this study will provide the researched school district as well as others with insights into their implementation of PLCs and specifically the development and utilization of common assessments. In order to evaluate student learning in a classroom setting, the state of Missouri piloted SLOs in public schools in the 2016-2017 school year. Common assessments are a staple of the SLO process to foster collaborative use of assessment results and data-informed instruction to address student learning outcomes. Data collection included each of the EOC assessed academic departments, the researcher surveyed teachers and interviewed supervising principals and participating teachers. In order to evaluate common assessments, the researcher collected student achievement data through SLO pre-assessments EOC scores during the 2015- 2016 school year. The study utilized the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to conduct analysis of the two data points to determine the strength of the relationship. Through evaluating common assessment utilization, this study intended to address potential modifications needed in common assessment and accompanying practices in the school’s PLC setting. By completing quantitative analysis of common assessment scores iii and qualitative data from surveys and interviews the researcher ascertained: Government and English PLC revealed a relationship between their instruction and corresponding assessments; Algebra had a modest relationship while Biology failed to connect classroom to assessments. Through qualitative data analysis, the researcher determined a need for continual professional development around assessment and data literacy to better support teachers with increased accountability of SLO implementation in future school years. Further, implications of the study could serve to assist schools in the implementation of SLOs and ancillary areas of assessment, teacher collaboration, and data use for school advancement and impacting student outcomes