Multilevel Factor Analysis of Class and Student Achievement Components

This article analyzes mathematics achievement data from the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS; Crosswhite, Dossey, Swafford, McKnight, & Cooney, 1985) in which U.S. students are measured at the beginning and end of eighth grade. The aim of the article is to address some substantive analysis questions in the SIMS data and show the potential of multilevel factor analysis methodology. Issues related to between- and within-class decomposition of achievement variance and the change of this decomposition over the course of the eighth grade are studied. As a starting point, random effects ANOVA is considered for each achievement score. Each score contains a large amount of measurement error. The effects of unreliability on variance decomposition are shown with the help of a multilevel factor analysis model. Unreliability has severely distorting effects on this type of ANOVA while multilevel factor analysis gives results corresponding to what would be obtained with perfectly reliable scores.     

因子分析在学生成绩综合评价中的应用

采用因子分析法并利用SPSS软件对学生在校期间的各科成绩进行分析,得出累计贡献率达到69.753的9个主要因子.指出因子分析和平均成绩在学生评价中存在差异,并据此对学生成绩进行一个客观、综合的评价.     

Negative Keying Effects in the Factor Structure of TIMSS 2011 Motivation Scales and Associations with Reading Achievement

ABSTRACT

The Student Background survey administered along with achievement tests in studies of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement includes scales of student motivation, competence, and attitudes toward mathematics and science. The scales consist of positively- and negatively keyed items. The current research examined the factorial structure of the 18-item motivational scales in fourth-grade mathematics in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Survey data from six European countries were analyzed. In comparisons of alternative models, the fit was adequate when three correlated factors were specified and negative keying was taken into account as a latent factor, or with correlated uniquenesses among negatively keyed items. Participants reading achievement scores correlated systematically to negative keying with coefficients ranging from .254 to .395 in the six samples. Unlike their higher-scoring peers, fourth-graders with lower reading achievement responded differentially to similar items depending on the direction of item keying, in such a way that their motivation scores were biased downward. Implications about the use of reverse keying in surveys for young students are discussed.     

数学元认知、学业成就与数学问题提出三者关系的研究

应用数学元认知问卷和数学问题提出能力测试卷,以203名高中生为被试对象,测量研究了数学元认知、学业成就与数学问题提出能力之间的关系,结果表明：高中生数学元认知知识水平较高,元认知体验水平略低,元认知监控能力较差,数学问题意识淡薄,提问能力较差;数学元认知、学业成就与数学问题提出三者显著相关,元认知、学业成就与提问水平和总体提问能力呈正相关,学业成就与提问意识呈负相关;高、中、低元认知组之间以及高、中、低学业成就组之间,学生数学问题提出能力都呈显著差异,其中高元认知组与高学业成就组的提问能力最高。     

借助SPSS软件的成绩因子分析

文中利用SPSS软件对学生的成绩进行因子分析,提取了七个因子,计算各自得分和综合得分及其排名,用这种方法计算学生成绩能够更加全面、合理地评价学生.     

影响研究生创新能力培养的经费因素分析

研究生创新能力的培养是研究生教育的核心,也是评价研究生教育质量的根本标准。在影响研究生创新能力培养的诸多因素中,经费是重要因素。本文以广西为视角,着重从国家经费投入、高校科研经费管理、研究生课题经费支配等几个方面分析了经费在研究生创新能力培养过程中的影响。     

The Development and Validation of Scales Assessing Students' Achievement Goal Orientations

Achievement goal theory has emerged as a major new direction in motivational research. A distinction is made among conceptually different achievement goal orientations including the goal to develop ability (task goal orientation), the goal to demonstrate ability (ability-approach goal orientation), and the goal to avoid the demonstration of lack of ability (ability-avoid goal orientation). Scales assessing each of these goal orientations were developed over an eight year period by a group of researchers at the University of Michigan. The results of studies conducted with seven different samples of elementary and middle school students are used to describe the internal consistency, stability, and construct validity of the scales. Comparisons of these scales with those developed by Nicholls and his colleagues provide evidence of convergent validity. Confirmatory factor analysis attests to the discriminant validity of the scales.     

Student Achievement: A Factor in Classroom Dynamics?

This study examined differences in interaction patterns between teachers and high and low achieving and high and low expectation students. Records of verbal teacher‐student interactions, both public and private, were obtained through videotaping ten grade 3 and grade 6 classes during mathematics and language lessons. Teachers tended to interact most frequently with high achieving and high expectancy students, particularly at the grade 6 level, but consistently spent more time waiting for and interacting with low achieving and low expectation students.     

因子分析在学生成绩综合评价中的应用

本文简介了运用因子分析法对学生成绩进行综合评价的基本原理及步骤,提出了因子分析过程中的注意事项,通过实例分析,证实因子分析在学生成绩综合评价中的可行性和必要性.     

英语翻译教学与学生能力分析及培养策略

英语专业翻译课程以提高英语专业本科生的翻译能力为主要目标,也就是通过加强学生的双语能力和双文化深度,从而改善提升其翻译层次。现阶段学生的翻译能力较差,主要表现在3个方面:在语言方面,表现在语言敏感度较差,汉式英语的现象严重;在文化方面,学生文化意识比较淡薄;在思维方面,受翻译习惯性思维影响严重。为提高学生的翻译能力,在课堂操作中,应该针对学生这3方面的情况,来确定具体的教学实践方法。     

初中生学习行为动机因素分析

通过对初中学生进行学业成就动机测验,经过因素分析得出影响初中生学习行为动机的三个主要因素:行为取向、心理倾向、价值取向。     

制约大学生体育能力发展的因素分析与对策研究

运用问卷和建模等方法,对制约大学生体育能力发展的因素进行了分析讨论。结果表明：在高中阶段,切勿随意调停体育课,学校和家长要积极鼓动他们体育锻炼,努力营造良好的体育氛围;大学阶段,优化教师队伍,大力发展体育社团,加强身体健康的重要性教育;临近毕业阶段,通过各种途径积极提高大学生自我认知能力。同时也提出了针对性的发展对策。     

浅议智力因素、非智力因素与创造力的关系

在现今社会中，人们对个人素质提出更高的要求以适应时代对高素质人才的需求。为此，在学校教育中，应在开发智力的基础上，注重学生非智力因素和创造力的培养。     

A Review of Conceptions of Ability and Related Motivational Constructs in Achievement Motivation

Over the past 20 years, many theories on achievement motivation have been established to understand the complex interaction of motivational variables and identify the conditions that can enhance individuals' motivation. This review explores the role of conceptions of ability, its relations to other major motivational frameworks and factors affecting individuals' conceptions of ability, with the goal of identifying the major contributions to the research knowledge base. Research findings show that beliefs about the nature of ability are critical elements to all other major theories. Conceptions of ability and all other major theories directly affect motivational patterns and outcomes. Finally, based on the literature reviewed, a conceptual theoretical model is proposed.     

Personality Ability and Achievement in Primary School Children

This study investigated the relationship of personality, ability and school achievement. The findings here were that:

1. intelligence is the major determinant of school achievement;

2. bright children tend to come from smaller families than dull children;

3. relatively unstable children have a better level of school achievement than stable children;

4. extraversion‐introversion had no effect on school achievement.

     

Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test,Stanford Achievement Test,and Three Demographic Variables as Predictors of Achievement in Grades 2 and 4

Abstract

A series of multivariate statistical analyses was used to determine what relationships exist among three demographic variables, the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test (OLMAT), and the Stanford Achievement Test (SA T) at Grades 2 and 4. Data were obtained from the second grade classes in 1977-78 (V = 91) and 1979-80 (V = 103), and from the 1979-80 fourth grade class (/V = 91) in a rural middle income school district in southeastern New Hampshire. The best predictor of achievement at either Grade 2 or Grade 4 was the IQ variable alone. The correlations among the SAT subtests led to questions concerning that test’s construct validity and its use for differential diagnosis of educational problems of children. Among the Grade 2 variables, the best predictor of achievement at Grade 4 was the SAT; IQ was a negligible factor. Detailed study of the correlations between the OLMAT and SAT did not support the continued use of the group IQ test as part of the district’s comprehensive testing program; the costs expended cannot be justified by the value of the information obtained.     

Comparing Class- and Task-Level Measures of Achievement Goals

Models of achievement goals suggest that different tasks and contexts influence the goals students adopt at a given time. However, many studies of achievement goals rely on measures assessed at the class level, analyze results with a variable-centered approach, and employ self-report questionnaires, which may reduce understanding of the contextual factors that arise as students interact with tasks. We compared a behavioral, task-level measure of middle school students' achievement goals to a self-reported, class-level measure and analyzed both measures' relations to task performance and quarterly grades using both variable-centered and person-centered approaches. Task-level goals predicted task performance but not quarterly grades, while class-level goals predicted grades but not task performance. The two measures of achievement goals were not related. This work demonstrates the importance of measuring goals at multiple levels and suggests opportunities for changing students' behaviors and achievement through motivation at the task level.