Dynamic Instruction for and Assessment of Developing Expertise in Four Ethnic Groups

Robert J. Sternberg
Elena L. Grigorenko
Damian P. Birney
Nancy Fredine
Linda Jarvin
Ida Jeltova

The goal of this research project was to investigate the use of dynamic assessment to increase equity, fairness, and accuracy in the testing of abilities and achievement. Dynamic tests have been found to reveal developing expertise in underrepresented minorities around the world that is not revealed by conventional static tests. The gender-balanced fourth grade participants were divided into three main groups: Experimental, Irrelevant Treatment Control and No Treatment Control group. We sampled students from four ethnic groups: European American, Asian American, African American, and Hispanic American. All students were given instruction and/or dynamic assessments (either individually or group administered) nurturing (instruction) and measuring (assessment) their developing expertise in mathematics. The data collected from participating students and teachers show that (a) it is possible to develop dynamic assessments that can be used to asses groups of and individual students in a regular classroom setting, (b) such dynamic assessments with a process oriented (rather than a filler) activity between post tests tends to lead to higher student achievement, and (c) dynamic instruction tends to reduce the achievement gap between minority and non-minority students.

Reference:

Sternberg, R. J., Grigorenko, E. L., Birney, D. P., Fredine, N., Jarvin, L., & Jeltova, I. (2007). Dynamic instruction for and assessment of developing expertise in four ethnic groups (RM07226). Storrs: University of Connecticut, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented.

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Dynamic Instruction for and Assessment of Developing Expertise in Four Ethnic Groups
Robert J. Sternberg
Elena L. Grigorenko
Damian P. Birney
Nancy Fredine
Linda Jarvin
Ida Jeltova

 

Conclusions

  1. Infusion of triarchic ideas into mathematics curriculum shows an advantage over standard instructional practices.
  2. The advantage of dynamic instruction takes time to emerge.
  3. Day to day practical constraints in classroom should not be used as an excuse to prevent the application of a combined dynamic/assessment curricula.
  4. While performances in the dynamic instruction conditions were superior to the Group-Administered Dynamic Assessment performance, the advantage was generally not pronounced for the dynamic + triarchic condition, implying further research is needed for group administrated assessment.
  5. When compared with White and Asian groups, there is still a significant bias against the traditionally disadvantaged minority groups, with African American and Hispanic groups performing significantly poorer than the White group for math post-secondary performance.
  6. Analyses to date suggest no significant minority bias in performance for the dynamic instruction condition, after controlling for baseline math achievement.
  7. It is possible to develop dynamic assessment that can be used to assess groups and individual students in regular classroom settings.
  8. Dynamic instruction trends to reduce the achievement gap between minority and non-minority students.