SRI-Teknisk rapport-sen.v13 - DPU

I.2 What is the sampling frame (if any) from which
the partipants are chosen?
I.3 Which method does the study use to select
people, or groups of people (from the sampling
frame)?
Given the high expectations for performance-based
assessments, the consequences of the uses and
interpretations of the assessments need to be
addressed,
including both (a) negative and positive consequences
and (b) intended and plausible unintended
consequences. (p.2)
Explicitly stated (please specify)
elementary and middle schools covered by the
MSPAP
Explicitly stated (please specify)
A stratified random sampling procedure was used to
select schools for the study.
As a way to implement this procedure, the schools
in the population were
first classified into one of three categories on the
basis of their percentile rankings
for the free or reduced-price lunches participation
variable and the
MSPAP performance gains variable: lower third,
middle third, and upper third.
On the basis of a cross-classification of these two
variables (nine combinations
or cells), the percentage of schools reflecting
combinations of the variables varied
from approximately 8% to 14%. Elementary and
middle schools reflecting
each of the combinations were then randomly
sampled. More elementary
schools were selected because they have fewer
teachers per grade than those in
the middle schools.
I.4 Planned sample size Explicitly stated (please specify)
The final samples for this study consisted of 86 of
90 schools for mathematics and language arts
(reading and writing), 116 of 161 schools for science,
and 111 of 161 schools for social studies.
More elementary
schools were selected because they have fewer
teachers per grade than those in
the middle schools.Additional schools were randomly
selected as potential replacements for
schools whose administrators declined the offer to
participate. Finally, because contact with schools
regarding their participation
in the study could not be initiated until January
1997, the sample size for the
1996–1997 instructional year was smaller than the
sample size for the
1998–1999 instructional year.
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