EVALUATING EQUITY IN ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT - AN ILLUSTRATION OF OPPORTUNITY-TO-LEARN ISSUES

Based on the 1993 California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) Middle Grades Mathematics Performance Assessment, an innovative alternative a ssessment, the study explores whether all schools, regardless of the c ultural, ethnic, or socioeconomic background of the students they serv e, provide students with equal opportunity to learn that which is asse ssed. Opportunity to learn was defined to include a range of variables likely to influence student performance, including access to resource s, access to high-quality instructional content and processes, extra-s chool opportunities, and direct preparation for the CLAS. Data collect ion efforts included teacher interviews, student surveys, student retr ospective think-aloud interviews, and classroom observations of the as sessment administration. Researchers chose 13 schools across the state to represent three broad categories of schools: affluent suburban; lo w-socioeconomic-status (SES) urban; and remote, mixed SES rural school s. Findings highlight some differences between school types in various opportunity-to-learn measures and suggest directions for future resea rch.