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I spent the first part of my career working in a public
school and then in community agencies serving underprivileged children and
their families in San Francisco. I then worked at a research organization
that designed, demonstrated and evaluated innovative education, training
and employment programs. Subsequently, I completed my doctorate in educational
evaluation at Stanford and a post-doc at Harvard. Prior to my appointment
at the University of Minnesota, I worked on an evaluation of state-mandated
high-stakes testing programs at Boston College’s Center for the Study of
Testing, Evaluation and Educational Policy.
My approach to evaluation is somewhat unconventional.
Instead of asking, "how can I add to the literature on program
evaluation methods," I ask, "what is a critical problem in education,
what is a potentially promising approach to that problem, and how can I
apply evaluative methods in a way that sheds light on the effects of
that approach?" The focus on educational problems drives my research
agenda, rather than a focus on methods. My recent publications attempt
to identify and assess promising ways of improving student engagement,
raising student achievement, reducing student failure, and reducing
narrowing of the curriculum as a consequence of high stakes testing.
Earlier publications identified and evaluated promising approaches for
improving key phonemic awareness skills in Head Start programs and
critical thinking and argumentative writing skills in middle school.
I use a variety of research methods in unconventional
ways. I've developed and validated instruments for quantitative
assessments of critical thinking and argumentative writing, yet I also
used qualitative interview techniques to investigate processes through
which rapid assessment systems and high stakes testing programs
influence student engagement and achievement. Currently, I am conducting
cost-effectiveness analyses that combine estimates of effect sizes with
cost estimates, allowing comparisons of the "bang for the buck" of
alternative policies, including a 10 percent increase in educational
spending, voucher programs, charter schools, and increased
accountability—as well as programs that assess students 2 to 5 times
per week and provide rapid feedback of the results to students and
teachers.
I
recently published a book that synthesizes my research regarding rapid
assessment, pulls together meta-analyses of feedback interventions,
summarizes research suggesting that the operative factor involves
enhanced student feelings of control over academic achievement, and
compares the effectiveness of the rapid assessment approach with
alternative approaches (see
Raising Student
Achievement Through Rapid Assessment and Test Reform, available
through Teachers College Press).
I enjoy the collegial environment of our department. Whether
I talk with faculty members or students, I sense a genuine interest in sharing
ideas. And that’s why I look forward to teaching my classes and building
research collaborations. It’s very rewarding to be able to have thought-provoking
conversations on a regular basis.
Education
- Ph.D., Stanford University, design and evaluation of educational programs,
1998
- M.P.P., University of Michigan, public policy, 1984
- B.A., University of Michigan, economics, 1982
Professional experience
- 2002-present, assistant professor of evaluation studies, College of
Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota
- 2000-2001, senior research associate, Center for the Study of Testing,
Evaluation, and Educational Policy, Lynch School of Education, Boston
College
- 1998-2000, postdoctoral fellow in evaluating programs for children,
Harvard Children's Initiative, Harvard University
- 1994 consultant, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences,
Stanford University
- 1993-1994, consultant, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation
(MDRC)
Book
Yeh, S. S. (2006). Raising Student Achievement
Through Rapid Assessment and Test Reform. Teachers College Press.
Recent publications
Yeh, S. S. (2006). Can Rapid Assessment Moderate
the Consequences of High-Stakes Testing? Education and Urban Society
39(1).
Yeh, S. S. (2006). Reforming Federal Testing Policy
to Support Teaching and Learning. Educational Policy, 20(3),
495-524
Yeh, S. S. (2006). High Stakes Testing: Can Rapid
Assessment Reduce the Pressure? Teachers College Record, 108(4),
621-661.
Yeh, S. S. (2005). Limiting the Unintended
Consequences of High-Stakes Testing. Education Policy Analysis
Archives, 13(43).
Yeh, S. S., (2003) An Evaluation of Two Approaches
for Teaching Phonemic Awareness to Children in Head Start, Early
Childhood Research Quarterly, 18(4), 513-529.
Yeh, S. S., (2001). Tests Worth Teaching To:
Constructing State-Mandated Tests That Emphasize Critical Thinking.
Educational Researcher, 30(9).
Yeh, S. S., (2000). Improving Educational and Social
Programs: A Planned Variation Cross-Validation Model. American
Journal of Evaluation, 21(2).
Yeh, S. S., (2000). Building the Knowledge Base for
Improving Educational and Social Programs through Planned Variation
Evaluations. American Journal of Evaluation, 21(1), 27-40.
Paper presentations
Yeh, S. S., (2006). High Stakes Testing: Equity and
Accountability in Minnesota. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of
the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
Yeh, S. S., (2005). Three Ways of Assessing Program
Impact: John Snow, Donald Campbell, and Randomized Experiments. Minnesota
Evaluation Studies Institute, Minneapolis, MN.
Yeh, S. S., (2005). Raising Student Achievement. Center
for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, Richfield, MN.
Yeh, S. S., (2004). Closing the Achievement Gap: Is
Rapid Assessment the Answer? Minnesota Assessment Group, Roseville, MN.
Yeh, S. S., (2003). Using Rapid Assessment to Improve
Student Achievement. Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute-Rochester, Rochester,
MN.
Yeh, S. S., (2002). Evaluating Social and Educational
Programs. University of Minnesota Evaluation Studies Program-Rochester.
Rochester, MN.
Yeh, S. S., and Connell, D. B. (2001). Teaching Phonemic
Awareness to Children in Head Start: A Randomized Evaluation of Two Approaches.
Interagency Education Research Initiative, National Science Foundation,
Washington, DC.
Yeh, S. S., (1999). Building the Knowledge Base for
Improving Educational and Social Programs through Planned Variation Field
Experiments. Annual Meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Orlando,
FL.
Yeh, S. S., (1999). Improving Educational and Social
Programs through Collaborative Evaluation Research Partnerships: An Entrepreneurial
Model. Annual Meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Orlando, FL.
Connell, D., Yeh, S. S., Barnes, H. (1999). Designing
a Quality Enhancement Study in Head Start. Commissioner's Office of Research
and Evaluation, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.
Yeh, S. S., (1999). Educational Reform Via School/University
Partnerships: The Role of Evaluation. Annual Meeting of the American Educational
Research Association, Montreal, Canada.
Yeh, S. S., (1998). Empowering Education: Teaching Argumentative
Writing to Cultural Minority Middle School Students. Annual Meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
Yeh, S. S., Slovacek, S., Wong, P., Shepard-Williams,
T., (1996). Evaluating Accelerated Schools: The National Center for Accelerated
Schools Model. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association,
New York, NY.
Professional affiliations
Revised October 2006
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