The purpose of the research paper assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to pursue, in greater depth, a topic in classroom assessment/assessing young children that interests you. Your research topic might include describing or recognizing appropriate test formats and types of test items for assessing the major elements of reading growth in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension in PreK
through 3rd grade.
The topic is open, but the paper must examine a current claim or question in classroom assessment/assessing young children and the sources used as evidence for or against the claim/question must be empirical/scholarly studies drawn from standard peer reviewed professional journal articles in education.
Research Paper Criteria
Your paper:
Should be typed and doublespaced
using a 10 or 12point font.
Should be at least five full pages of text (at a minimum).
Should be typed and turned in as an MS Office Word document.
Must deal with an interesting, creative, and appropriate topic.
Must include an introduction that identifies the theme of your research and ends with a clearly stated thesis.
Must include a summary of the literature providing background and context for your study/research topic.
Must contain a clearly articulated and meaningful purpose, one that is appropriate for upper level course in our program.
Must utilize a body of research that is complete enough to fulfill the paper’s stated purpose, and do so in a logical, convincing
manner.
Must be coherently and logically organized in relation to the ideas discussed.
Must contain clear, smooth, and easily readable prose.
Must include conclusion that restates main points and reiterates your evaluation.
Must be free of grammatical, spelling, style, and format errors American Psychological Association (APA) style “ References
Cited” page.
Must contain at least six scholarly resources to support your study, and any references must be cited in your paper using the
correct APA style.
Suggested topics include, but are not limited to the following:
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT)
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Tests for Preschool Children (Screening, Diagnostic, and Language Tests)
Tests for SchoolAge
Children (Screening, Diagnostic, and Language Tests)
Examples of tests include: StanfordBinet
Intelligence Scales (SB5), Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence,
Preschool Language scale, Peabody Picture Vocabulary, IDEA Proficiency Tests)
You may also consider the following topics:
Early childhood assessments and options: What assessments to use and when?
How do we effectively assess young student learning outcomes?
What role do tests play in the assessment process?
Teachers need to establish developmentally appropriate assessment techniques. What guidelines will help teachers in this
endeavor? How do portfolios fit into these guidelines?
What issues are related to the development of a comprehensive assessment system for early childhood?
What techniques do early childhood teachers use in their assessment activities?
How can you, as an early childhood teacher, simplify assessment?
How can you, as an early childhood teacher, help parents understand your evaluations?
Why do you, as an early childhood teacher, assess young children?
