Opportunity to Learn, Curriculum Alignment and Test Preparation: A Research Review (SpringerBriefs in Education)

This book provides a review of the effectiveness of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) operationalized as the association between OTL and student achievement. In addition, it presents an elaborate conceptual map in which OTL is regarded as part of a larger concept of curriculum alignment. Major components of this framework are national goals and standards, school curricula, formative tests, textbooks, actual delivery of content as part of teaching, and summative tests and examinations. Alignment between educational goals, intended and implemented curricula, and educational outcomes is considered an important prerequisite for effective education. The expectation is that better alignment leads to better student performance. The concept of OTL is commonly used to compare content covered, as part of the implemented curriculum, with student achievement. As such it is to be seen as a facet of the broader concept of "alignment". As it comes to enhancing OTL in educational policy and practice, proactive curriculum development is compared to a more retroactive orientation. Legitimate forms of test and examination preparation belong to this retroactive orientation, and are seen as favorable conditions for optimizing OTL. This book reviews the research evidence on the effects of OTL on student achievement by means of detailed descriptions of key-empirical studies, a review of meta-analyses, a "vote count" syntheses of 51 empirical studies, conducted between 1995 and 2015, and a secondary analysis based on TIMSS 2011, and PISA 2012 data. It concludes that the effect size of OTL, at about 30, is modest, but comparable in size to other effectiveness-enhancing conditions in schooling. The final chapter of the book provides suggestions for educational policy and practice to further optimize OTL. [Publisher summary] Acknowledgments 6 Contents 7 About the Book 8 1 Focus and Design of the Review Study 9 Abstract 9 Study Aims and Research Questions 9 Alignment Within the Context of Systemic Reform 10 Accountability and Its Influence on Teaching 10 Task Related Cooperation Between Teachers 11 Methods 12 Conceptual Analysis 12 Literature Search 12 Analyses of Research Literature and Available (International) Data Sets 12 Exploration on How OTL and Educational Alignment Are Addressed in the Practice of Dutch Primary Education 13 Structure of the Report 13 References 14 2 Conceptualization 15 Abstract 15 Introduction 15 Building Blocks for a Conceptual Framework 16 OTL in the Context of Educational Effectiveness Research 17 OTL in Curriculum Research 18 OTL as Test Preparation 21 An Overarching Model of “Didactic and Evaluative Specification of Educational Goals” 22 Should Evaluative Specification Precede Didactic Specification or Vice Versa? 23 Should Evaluative Specification and Didactic Specification be Carried Out in Different Organizations? 24 How Feasible is Optimizing Alignment in a Leaner Organizational Structure? 24 Hypothetical Solutions to the Alignment Problem in Educational Systems 25 Centralism and Synoptic Planning 25 Retroactive Planning, Combined with High Stakes Accountability 26 Ways to Empirically Assess OTL 27 Scope of the OTL Definition 27 Data source 28 The level of the Curricular Unit Envisaged 28 Exposure or Alignment 28 Conclusion 29 References 29 3 Meta-Analyses and Descriptions of Illustrative Studies 31 Abstract 31 Introduction 31 Meta-Analyses of OTL Effects 32 Meta-Analysis of Test Preparation Effects 36 Descriptions of Illustrative Studies 37 Scope 37 Instrument Development 38 Research Design 38 Results: Validity of the TCO Measures 39 Abstract, General Description 39 Conceptual Model and Measures 40 Results Concerning Curriculum Variability and Alignment Between Intensions and Implementations 41 Association of Curriculum Aspects and Measured Achievement Gain Across Countries 42 Scope 43 Conceptual Framework and Measurements 44 Types of Results 45 District-Level Variation in OTL 45 Relationship of OTL and Achievement at the District Level 46 Relationship of SES and OTL 46 Differentiating Between Classroom and District-Level Relationships 46 Abstract 47 Scope 47 Conceptual Framework 47 Types of Results 48 Comment 49 Abstract 50 Conceptual Framework 50 Method 51 Results 52 Discussion 52 The way OTL was Measured in PISA 2012 53 Results 54 Comments 55 General Description 56 Research Questions 56 Data and OTL Measurement 56 Main Results 57 Conclusions 59 References 60 4 Review and “Vote Count” Analysis of OTL-Effect Studies 62 Abstract 62 Introduction 62 Methods 63 Identification and Collection of Studies 63 Description Categories for Basic Description of the Identified Studies 63 Results 64 The Identified Studies 64 Schematic Summary Description 66 Proportions of Significant and Insignificant Effects (Vote Counting) 102 Annex: Descriptors Used in the Literature Search 105 References 105 5 Predictive Power of OTL Measures in TIMSS and PISA 109 Abstract 109 Introduction 109 Assessing Opportunity to Learn (OTL) in TIMSS and PISA 110 Data Analysis 111 Descriptive Statistics Per Country and Correlations of Country Means 112 Predictive Power of OTL Measures Per Country 117 Predictive Power of OTL Measures Aggregated at Country Level 121 Discussion 122 References 125 6 Recapitalization, Implications for Educational Policy and Practice and Future Research 126 Abstract 126 Summary of Main Findings 126 Implications for Educational Policy 130 Implications for Teachers 134 Implications for Further Research 137 References 139 "His book provides a review of the effectiveness of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) operationalized as the association between OTL and student achievement. In addition, it presents an elaborate conceptual map in which OTL is regarded as part of a larger concept of curriculum alignment. Major components of this framework are national goals and standards, school curricula, formative tests, textbooks, actual delivery of content as part of teaching, and summative tests and examinations. Alignment between educational goals, intended and implemented curricula, and educational outcomes is considered an important prerequisite for effective education. The expectation is that better alignment leads to better student performance. The concept of OTL is commonly used to compare content covered, as part of the implemented curriculum, with student achievement. As such it is to be seen as a facet of the broader concept of "alignment". As it comes to enhancing OTL in educational policy and practice, proactive curriculum development is compared to a more retroactive orientation. Legitimate forms of test and examination preparation belong to this retroactive orientation, and are seen as favorable conditions for optimizing OTL. This book reviews the research evidence on the effects of OTL on student achievement by means of detailed descriptions of key-empirical studies, a review of meta-analyses, a "vote count" syntheses of 51 empirical studies, conducted between 1995 and 2015, and a secondary analysis based on TIMSS 2011, and PISA 2012 data. It concludes that the effect size of OTL, at about.30, is modest, but comparable in size to other effectiveness-enhancing conditions in schooling. The final chapter of the book provides suggestions for educational policy and practice to further optimize OTL"--Publisher's description Annotation This book provides a review of the effectiveness of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) operationalized as the association between OTL and student achievement. In addition, it presents an elaborate conceptual map in which OTL is regarded as part of a larger concept of curriculum alignment. Major components of this framework are national goals and standards, school curricula, formative tests, textbooks, actual delivery of content as part of teaching, and summative tests and examinations. Alignment between educational goals, intended and implemented curricula, and educational outcomes is considered an important prerequisite for effective education. The expectation is that better alignment leads to better student performance. The concept of OTL is commonly used to compare content covered, as part of the implemented curriculum, with student achievement. As such it is to be seen as a facet of the broader concept of alignment . As it comes to enhancing OTL in educational policy and practice, proactive curriculum development is compared to a more retroactive orientation. Legitimate forms of test and examination preparation belong to this retroactive orientation, and are seen as favorable conditions for optimizing OTL. This book reviews the research evidence on the effects of OTL on student achievement by means of detailed descriptions of key-empirical studies, a review of meta-analyses, a vote count syntheses of 51 empirical studies, conducted between 1995 and 2015, and a secondary analysis based on TIMSS 2011, and PISA 2012 data. It concludes that the effect size of OTL, at about .30, is modest, but comparable in size to other effectiveness-enhancing conditions in schooling. The final chapter of the book provides suggestions for educational policy and practice to further optimize OTL." Front Matter....Pages i-ix Focus and Design of the Review Study....Pages 1-6 Conceptualization....Pages 7-22 Meta-Analyses and Descriptions of Illustrative Studies....Pages 23-53 Review and “Vote Count” Analysis of OTL-Effect Studies....Pages 55-101 Predictive Power of OTL Measures in TIMSS and PISA....Pages 103-119 Recapitalization, Implications for Educational Policy and Practice and Future Research....Pages 121-135