Valid inferences of teachers’ judgements of pupils’ reading literacy: does formal teacher competence matter?

AbstractThe primary aim of this study was to investigate whether and, if so, how formal teacher competence relates to the relationship between pupil reading achievement and teachers judgements' of pupils' reading achievement. The data come from the Swedish participation in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001 in Grade 3. Information was obtained from pupils (N = 5271) and teachers (N = 351). Analyses were conducted using multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) with random slopes. Teacher competence was operationalized using multiple observed indicators and defined as a latent variable. A higher correspondence between teacher judgements and pupil reading achievement for teachers with higher competence was found. The results highlight the importance of teacher competence in assessment practice.Keywords: teacher judgementteacher competencereading literacyPIRLS 2001multilevel structural equation modeling Additional informationNotes on contributorsStefan JohanssonStefan Johansson is a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Education and Special Education at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In his dissertation project, he used large-scale data to investigate different aspects of teacher competence and its effects on pupils' reading literacy.Rolf StrietholtRolf Strietholt is a PhD student in Educational science at the Institute for School Development Research at Technische Universität Dortmund. His research focuses on educational capabilities, international comparative studies, and methodology issues involved in measuring trends in pupil achievement.Monica RosénMonica Rosén is Professor of Education at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Since 1990, she has worked on large-scale national and international assessments of schools in a range of research projects. Her research has mainly focused on studies of reading literacy, international comparisons and change across time, issues of educational policy and equity, and on methodological issues involved in the analysis of educational assessment data.Eva MyrbergEva Myrberg is a senior lecturer and researcher at the Department of Education and Special Education at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She has studied the effects of educational resources on educational achievement and has a special interest in the influence of different aspects of teacher competence.