Northwest Evaluation Association

Abstract Farmer seed purchase patterns historically drive end‐use quality into a subordinate position to yield enhancement and protection in hard red winter (HRW) wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) breeding programs. Evolving consumer food purchase decisions could conceivably swing this priority pendulum back near the center. ‘Paradox’ (Reg. no. CV‐1223; PI 705146), ‘Breadbox’ (Reg. no. CV‐1221; PI 705144), and ‘Firebox’ (Reg. no. CV‐1222; PI 705145) HRW wheat cultivars were developed with magnified dough strength as the first breeding priority and released in 2023. Our objectives herein were to document their novel rheology relative to contemporary HRW wheat, determine correlated changes in agronomic performance, and assess Paradox's potential as a strengthening component in bread flour blends. Marker‐assisted backcrossing with Glu‐B1al as the molecular target was conducted through the BC 2 F 2 generation, from which experimental lines OK15MASBx7 ARS 8–29 (Paradox), OK15MASBx7 ARS 8–20 (Breadbox), and OK15DMASBx7 ARS 6–8 (Firebox) were derived via conventional inbreeding or doubled haploidization. Relative to the HRW controls, Paradox and Breadbox produced a sevenfold greater peak time and fourfold greater stability time, whereas changes in Firebox were more moderate but still superior to the HRW controls. None of the cultivars was diminished for agronomic or milling characteristics, and their novel dough strength was unrelated to grain protein concentration. All three cultivars have entered non‐commoditized supply chains as ingredient flour intended for products requiring more gluten strength, including many formulations for pan bread.

To make up for pandemic-related learning losses, many U.S. public school districts have increased enrollment in their summer school programs. We assessed summer school as a strategy for COVID-19 learning recovery by tracking the academic progress of students who attended summer school in 2022 across eight districts serving 400,000 students. Using value-added models that control for students’ demographics and prior achievement, we estimated a positive effect of summer school on math test achievement (0.03 standard deviations) but not on reading tests. With only 13% of students participating, these districts’ summer programs closed ~2% of their total pandemic-related learning losses in math and none of their losses in reading.

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine the math requirements, including both math content knowledge and math pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), on certification exams for early childhood teachers across the United States. We analyzed the certification exams in all 50 states. Our findings reveal that nine states assess both math and math PCK, 15 states assess neither math nor math pedagogy and etc. which indicates low consistency across states regarding what math knowledge is valued for early childhood education teachers across the states, and also indicates literacy pedagogy (required by 22 states) seems to be more valued than math pedagogy (by 17 states). The math PCK questions were also coded into three categories: identifying, analyzing, and supporting; across all those categories, the questions focused on PreK or younger were considerably fewer than for older grades, which highlight the need to define and value math PCK for PreK and younger.

Abstract Prior studies have demonstrated how living in economically disadvantaged and dangerous neighborhoods is associated with poorer developmental outcomes including depressed academic achievement, poorer physical and mental health, and lower school engagement. At the same time, studies have shown peer acceptance and school belonging are closely connected such that when youth feel more accepted by their classmates, they feel happier and more secure and exhibit greater academic motivation and classroom engagement. Our study builds on these prior bodies of work by examining how neighborhood disadvantage and the quality of peer relationships in school influence students’ sense of belonging in middle school. This study utilized data from the last wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Cohort (1998–1999) when students were in eighth grade combined with tract-level data from the 2000 Census to conduct multilevel regression analyses. The findings suggest youth living in more structurally disadvantaged neighborhoods reported lower school belonging at the end of eighth grade. Consistent with prior studies, we also found youth who felt more accepted by their peers had a greater sense of school belonging, regardless of the kinds of neighborhoods, schools, and families they were living in suggesting that peer acceptance may play a powerful role in creating school attachment during adolescence. The demonstrated impact of peer acceptance on school belonging highlights the importance of fostering opportunities for socialization through school-based programs and practices which may foster greater school attachment and improve educational attainment.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated equity issues in education, spanning race, disability, language, and socioeconomic status. However, few studies examine the ways that district or state educational leaders consider equity in their decision-making during a crisis. The purpose of this study is to examine how K-12 state and local leaders conceptualized equity and actualized equitable policies and practices during the pandemic. We conducted a multi-level case study, interviewing state and local-level educational leaders ( n = 64) from five school districts in the state of Michigan. Our findings reveal that leaders formed equity visions focused on meeting students’ individual needs, which were enacted differently at the state and local levels. Our findings demonstrate the need for partnerships across educational levels to promote equity-oriented change in systems, practices, and policies. Implications of our study extend beyond the COVID-19 pandemic to other crises, such as natural disasters or acts of violence, that can exacerbate inequities within education.

Drawing on theories of framing and social networks, we examine how educators define policy goals in a technology rollout, and how this framing process shapes teacher attitudes for technology. We analyzed social network data and 37 interviews with district leaders, digital learning coaches, and school staff from six elementary schools in a mid-sized district in California. These data suggest that school leaders and teachers re-framed district reform messages in different ways depending on the density of dialogue in their networks and who had social influence. These framings supported teacher motivation for using technology in ways that aligned to or built upon the district's instructional goals, or prompted teachers to resist change and/or make compliance-oriented and superficial shifts in their practice. We argue that district leaders should attend to school context when implementing technology rollouts and proactively engage school actors to define the goals of technology. We caution that technology rollouts demand sudden and intensive shifts in teacher work roles and can foster resistance to change without adequate time and support. Structured Abstract Purpose: We examine how educators define policy goals in a technology rollout and how framing shapes teacher attitudes for using technology. Research methods: We situate our study in a California district that distributed tablets and laptops to support online-enabled instruction and assessment under the Common Core State Standards. Drawing on framing and social network theories, we analyzed social network data and 37 interviews with district leaders, digital learning coaches, and school staff from six elementary schools in the 2014–15 school year to describe how school actors framed the purpose of technology and expectations for instructional change across school networks. Findings: School leaders and teachers re-framed reform messages from the district central office in distinct ways depending on their social networks. We observed framings that motivated teacher engagement with the technology rollout in schools with denser social networks and where influence was shared with district actors such as digital learning coaches. Teachers in these networks had better access to information and instructional support. We found compliance, superficial, and rival framings of technology in schools with less dense social networks and where teachers solely exercised influence. Teachers in these networks had limited access to information and instructional support. Implications: Our findings suggest that district leaders should attend to school context when implementing technology rollouts. Technology rollouts require sudden and intensive shifts in teacher work roles and can foster resistance without adequate support. School leaders and teachers may need time to build the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to engage in productive framing about technology and instruction.

ABSTRACT Research Findings: The aim of this study was to investigate U.S. preschool teachers’ math pedagogical content knowledge in number comparison. Seventy-four in- and pre-service teachers completed a set of scenario-based questions from a researcher-designed questionnaire that is composed of learning scenarios. Through a mixed-method approach, the study revealed the following findings: a considerable portion of participants (89%) successfully identified the concept of number comparison embedded in a learning scenario, showcasing their specialized content knowledge. However, when it came to knowledge of content and students, only 24 participants (32%) were able to pinpoint both a child’s mathematical strength and area of need. In terms of knowledge of content and teaching, more than half of the participants (51%) recommended the utilization of hands-on materials and/or visual aids as part of their remediation techniques, while 49% did not reference these educational tools. Notably, no significant differences were observed between the pedagogical content knowledge of pre-and in-service teachers concerning number comparison. Practice or Policy: The findings indicate that teacher education and professional development should focus on helping teachers understand children’s learning trajectories on number comparison and include instructions on using concept specific developmentally appropriate strategies, and indicate that teaching experience cannot replace professional training.

The shift towards Next Generation Science Standards represents a paradigmatic change in teaching, transitioning from knowledge transmission to knowledge generation approaches. This reform underscores the complexity of teaching expertise, extending beyond mere knowledge to require a profound comprehension of generative learning environments. In this study, we explore Adaptive Teaching Expertise (AdTex), defining it as a teacher’s capacity characterized by fluidity and reflexiveness in teaching dynamics, rather than just flexibility. Through a complexity framing approach, we delineate three layers of AdTex: the visible actions of teachers, the semi-visible use of epistemic tools such as language, dialogue, and argument, and the tacit orientations towards learning that encompass epistemological, ontological, and axiological dimensions. Our research primarily investigates the intricate relationship between the epistemic tool and orientation layers. Our findings highlight the significance of an interconnected understanding and the impact of philosophical orientations on adaptive teaching practices. A notable contribution of this study is the development of a framework that articulates the belief and knowledge systems crucial for fostering generative learning environments, alongside the introduction of complexity maps to illustrate the interplay among these subsystems.

Using testing data from over two million students in nearly 10,000 schools in 49 states (plus the District of Columbia), we investigate the role of remote and hybrid instruction in widening gaps in achievement by race and school poverty. We find that remote instruction was a primary driver of the widening gaps. Math gaps did not widen in areas that remained in person (although reading gaps did). We estimate that high-poverty districts that went remote in 2020–2021 will need to spend nearly all of their federal aid on helping students recover from pandemic-related academic achievement losses. (JEL H75, I12, I21, I24, I32, J15)

This study is a conceptual replication of a widely cited study by Moffitt et al. (2011) which found that attention and behavior problems in childhood (a composite of impulsive hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive-aggressive behaviors labeled "self-control") predicted adult financial status, health, and criminal activity. Using data from longitudinal cohort studies in the United States (n = 1,168) and the United Kingdom (n = 16,506), we largely reproduced their pattern of findings that attention and behavior problems measured across the course of childhood predicted a range of adult outcomes including educational attainment (βU.S. = -0.22, βU.K. = -0.13) and spending time in jail (ORU.S. = 1.74, ORU.K. = 1.48). We found that associations with outcomes in education, work, and finances diminished in the presence of additional covariates for children's home environment and achievement but associations for other outcomes were more robust. We also found that attention and behavior problems across distinct periods of childhood were associated with adult outcomes. Specific attention and behavior problems showed some differences in predicting outcomes in the U.S. cohort, with attention problems predicting lower educational attainment and hyperactivity/impulsivity predicting ever spending time in jail. Together with the findings from Moffitt et al., our study makes clear that childhood attention and behavior problems are associated with a range of outcomes in adulthood for cohorts born in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s across three countries. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).