National Geographic Society and Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
2002
The National Geographic Society commissioned Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), formerly the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory, to determine whether 8th graders taught by teachers who took part in the Society's "Alliance" training programs do better on NAEP geography assessments than 8th graders in general. The conclusion is that they do. This looks like good news for anyone who thinks that young Americans need to learn lots more geography. It's good news for those seeking evidence that staff development programs for teachers can work when gauged by improved student achievement. And it represents a rare and imaginative use of NAEP test items and national NAEP results for purposes of program evaluation. That said, I have two reservations. First, the margin by which the pupils of Geographic trained teachers surpassed their peers, while statistically significant, isn't very wide. (Neither group knows much geography.) Second, despite painstaking efforts to match the school and students samples and to make the testing circumstances similar, one large difference remains. Whereas the national NAEP is a no-stakes test administered by someone other than the regular classroom teacher, the test given to 8th graders in the McRel sample was administered by their very own geography teacher, included stakes (at least for a program the teacher was invested in), and provided plenty of warning for teachers to pep and prep their students. A better study would have the test given by disinterested persons and the students (and teachers) would not know about it ahead of time, or would not know what was being tested until it happened. Still, this paper is worth a look if you care about geography or program evaluation or in-service training. You can obtain a copy by contacting McRel, 2550 South Parker Rd., Suite 500, Aurora, CO 80014. Phone (303) 337-0990, fax (303) 337-3005, e-mail [email protected] or surf to www.mcrel.org. The text itself will soon be available at www.mcrel.org.
