May, H., & Robinson, M. A. (2007, December). A randomized evaluation of Ohio’s personalized assessment reporting system (PARS). Consortium for Policy Research in Education.
May and Robinson present findings from the first year pilot of Ohio’s personalized assessment reporting system (PARS) for the Ohio Graduation Tests. The PARS includes detailed constructive feedback regarding student performance on the test and suggestions to support improvement. One hundred high schools (in 60 school districts) participated in the program, and approximately half (randomly assigned) received the PARS. Results indicate that while teachers report liking the PARS test reports, they had insufficient time and support to fully utilize the system. Those who reported the greatest use were often tutoring students to retake the exam. Additionally, many students and teachers were largely unaware of the PARS resources. Although the PARS had little impact on overall student performance, students in PARS schools who retook the test scored significantly higher than students in control schools. These early results suggest that Ohio’s PARS is a promising program to improve student test performance though more resources (e.g., professional development, student training) are needed to better support teachers and students in their use of the program.
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