Understanding the effects of state standardized testing for k-12 in Louisiana

Introduction
This assessment provides you with an opportunity to explore an area of interest that could lead you closer to identifying what you will do for your doctoral applied improvement project (AIP). Organizations typically have multiple performance issues, any of which could serve as your area of interest or problem of practice for this course. Or you may have identified an area of interest in your previous courses that can continue to serve as your area of interest.

Preparation
To get started:

Identify an organizational issue that, if addressed, could positively impact organizational effectiveness or outcomes.
Then, review What Are Problems of Practice? [PDF] for guidance on how to identify problems of practice.
Important note: The area of interest you identify in this assessment will inform the selection of the six research studies you locate for the Assessment 5 literature review and the content of the hypothetical intervention you develop for Assessment 6.

Gap Analysis
You will complete a gap analysis as part of Assessment 1 and include it in an Appendix in your assessment submission. Refer to the Gap Analysis Resource activity for more in-depth guidance on the components of a gap analysis.

Read the Example Gap Analysis Worksheet [DOCX].
In this example, a large regional call center is losing too many new agents the first year the new agents are employed. The call center ideal is to have a 90 percent retention rate of new call center agents for the first year they are employed. Currently, only 65 percent of the new call center agents are retained. This problem-of-practice gap reflects a 25 percent shortfall of the organizational ideal.

Complete the Blooming Park: Gap Analysis activity.
In this example, at Blooming Park State University, there’s a significant gap in the success rate between students who take college algebra online versus students who take it in a traditional classroom setting. As the first step in addressing this problem, the university would like you to perform a gap analysis. A gap analysis uses qualitative and/or quantitative measurements to determine the gap between expected performance and current performance—and its effect on the organization.

When preparing to complete this assessment, consider performance gaps related to your chosen organizational issue. Then:

Complete your own gap analysis using the Gap Analysis Worksheet [DOCX]. You will need to have a complete gap analysis in order to address Part 2 of this assessment. As you complete the gap analysis worksheet, be sure to:
Justify your selection of the elements that are part of the problem, process, or program and your decision to frame the gaps the way you did. Use data to support your description of the gaps.
Take care to avoid including solutions to the problem or elements of the problem in your worksheet.
Include your gap analysis as an Appendix to Assessment 1. You will discuss your gap analysis in Part 2.

Instructions
Develop this assessment using the Annotated Template With Instructions for u01a1 [DOCX]. Then complete and submit the Assessment Template for u01a1 [DOCX] to describe this research area of interest and explain why you find it interesting.

Complete the following:

Describe an area of research interest.
Explain why you chose this area to study.
Although you will not begin planning your AIP in this course, try to identify an issue that could eventually serve as the basis for your AIP or be part of the library research you will eventually need to conduct for your project.
Describe how you might apply the skill set learned from conducting a gap analysis to the design of an AIP.
What role does the process of conducting a gap analysis play in the development of an AIP?
Do you think it is possible to develop a problem of practice without first conducting a gap analysis?
Explain and defend your answers by referencing scholarly sources.