Using Interviews to Understand the Assignment Mechanism in a Nonexperimental Study: The Case of Eighth Grade Algebra

Autor/in	Rickles, Jordan H.
Titel	Using Interviews to Understand the Assignment Mechanism in a Nonexperimental Study: The Case of Eighth Grade Algebra
Quelle	In: Evaluation Review, 35 (2011) 5, S.490-522 (33 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0193-841X
DOI	10.1177/0193841X11428644
Schlagwörter	Assignments; Program Evaluation; Academic Achievement; Ability Grouping; Grade 8; Algebra; Inferences; Educational Policy; Interviews; Inquiry; Research; Data Collection + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Assignment; Auftrag; Zuweisung; Programme evaluation; Programmevaluation; Schulleistung; Homogene Gruppierung; Niveaugruppierung; Streaming; School year 08; 8. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 08; Inference; Inferenz; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Forschung; Data capture; Datensammlung
Abstract	Many inquiries regarding the causal effects of policies or programs are based on research designs where the treatment assignment process is unknown, and thus valid inferences depend on tenuous assumptions about the assignment mechanism. This article draws attention to the importance of understanding the assignment mechanism in policy and program evaluation studies, and illustrates how information collected through interviews can develop a richer understanding of the assignment mechanism. Focusing on the issue of student assignment to algebra in 8th grade, I show how a preliminary data collection effort aimed at understanding the assignment mechanism is particularly beneficial in multisite observational studies in education. The findings, based on ten interviews and administrative data from a large school district, draw attention to the often ignored heterogeneity in the assignment mechanism across schools. These findings likely extend beyond the current research project in question to related educational policy issues such as ability grouping, tracking, differential course taking, and curricular intensity, as well as other social programs in which the assignment mechanism can differ across sites. (Contains 2 tables, 4 figures, and 2 notes.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10