Classroom Assessment for Student Learning (CASL)

This study examines the impact of CASL on the primary outcome of student achievement in mathematics. Although the intervention is applicable to all content areas, mathematics was chosen in view of the regional needs identified through REL Central’s need-sensing process. In addition, the focus on this single content area was intended to reduce the data collection burden on participants and to prevent the intervention’s impact from being dispersed across multiple content areas or focused on different content areas in different schools. Student mathematics achievement was measured by the statewide test administered under the NCLB Act; as a result, the impact estimate provides information about whether or not the intervention is effective in helping schools meet the goals of the NCLB Act. The research team developed a theory of action to guide the design of the study and the development of research questions. This theory of action hypothesizes that teacher participation in CASL leads to increases in teacher knowledge of classroom assessment practices and principles, improvements in the quality of classroom assessment practice, and increases in the extent to which students are involved in classroom assessment. According to the theory of action, improvements in these three proximal outcomes lead to improved student motivation to learn and, in turn, to improved student achievement. The primary research question for this study was: 2 • Does CASL have a significant impact on student mathematics achievement?

According to the hypothesized theory of action that guided the design of this study, additional research questions were posed to address the impact of CASL on several intermediate outcomes, to provide additional information on the impact of the intervention, and to provide contextual information to aid in the interpretation of the impact on the primary outcome. The first intermediate outcome and its respective research question relate to student motivation: • Does CASL have a significant impact on the extent to which students are motivated to learn mathematics?

CASL is unlikely to impact student achievement or motivation without first having an impact on teacher understanding and practice of formative assessment. The study, therefore, also addressed the following research questions about intermediate teacher outcomes: • Does CASL have a significant impact on teacher knowledge of classroom assessment practices? • Does CASL have a significant impact on the quality of classroom assessment practices? • Does CASL have a significant impact on the extent to which teachers involve their students in formative assessment?