Evaluating Equating Results: Percent Relative Error for Chained Kernel Equating

This article presents a method for evaluating equating results. Within the kernel equating framework, the percent relative error (PRE) for chained equipercentile equating was computed under the nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) design. The method was applied to two data sets to obtain the PRE, which can be used to measure equating effectiveness. The study compared the PRE results for chained and poststratification equating. The results indicated that the chained method transformed the new form score distribution to the reference form scale more effectively than the poststratification method. In addition, the study found that in chained equating, the population weight had impact on score distributions over the target population but not on the equating and PRE results.     

化学实验的误差分析及其优化设计

物理化学和分析化学实验数据的处理和表达与数据的误差分析紧密相关.通过对实验数据的误差分析有利于优化实验设计,使实验具有更高的可信度和达到良好的实验结果.     

The Effectiveness of Interventions Aimed at Reducing Teacher Burnout: a Meta-Analysis

We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing teacher burnout. Online and reference list searches yielded 513 unique results, and the final sample contains 23 controlled trials (19 journal articles and 4 unpublished dissertations). More than two thirds of the studies had optimal quality, and the risk of bias was not related to the overall effectiveness of the interventions. The overall effects were small, but statistically significant (d = 0.18, SE = 0.05, Z = 3.26, p < 0.001, k = 23). Separate analyses on each burnout component showed similar intervention effects on emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment, but almost null effects on depersonalization (d = 0.03, SE = 0.06, Z = 0.53, p > 0.05, k = 11). Additional moderator analyses suggested that mindfulness interventions had significant effects on exhaustion and personal accomplishment. Interventions on primary and middle school teachers reported effect sizes below the average effect. Similar to previous findings, interventions that lasted less than 1 month had the smallest levels of efficacy.     

Teachers as evaluators: Results from a systematic literature review

Teacher professional standards globally now include a stronger emphasis on teacher research and evaluation skills. Yet, little is known about how to build these capacities through teacher education. This paper reports on a systematic literature review conducted to synthesize the literature about approaches to improving research and evaluative skills and attitudes in teachers. A total of 19 studies were included. The field is largely dominated by small qualitative studies that focus on teacher action research as a facilitator of professional development. There is a substantial and highly problematic gap in the research specifically in relation to building evaluation skills in teachers. Recommendations include a stronger investment in teacher education focussed on evaluation and evaluative thinking, which holds significant potential to positively impact the professional practice of teachers and student learning outcomes.     

Studying and Constructing Concept Maps: a Meta-Analysis

A concept map is a node-link diagram in which each node represents a concept and each link identifies the relationship between the two concepts it connects. We investigated how using concept maps influences learning by synthesizing the results of 142 independent effect sizes (n = 11,814). A random-effects model meta-analysis revealed that learning with concept and knowledge maps produced a moderate, statistically significant effect (g = 0.58, p < 0.001). A moderator analysis revealed that creating concept maps (g = 0.72, p < 0.001) was associated with greater benefit relative to respective comparison conditions than studying concept maps (g = 0.43, p < 0.001). Additional moderator analyses indicated learning with concept maps was superior to other instructional comparison conditions, and was effective across science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and non-STEM knowledge domains. Further moderator analyses, as well as implications for theory and practice, are provided.     

Exploring the Effectiveness of a Measurement Error Tutorial in Helping Teachers Understand Score Report Results

The goal of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a short web-based tutorial in helping teachers to better understand the portrayal of measurement error in test score reports. The short video tutorial included both verbal and graphical representations of measurement error. Results showed a significant difference in comprehension scores between each of two tutorial groups (basic and enhanced) and the control group (no tutorial) but not between the two tutorial groups. Results also provided evidence of teachers' misconceptions about the meaning of measurement error and confidence bands.     

Predicting Engineering Student Attrition Risk Using a Probabilistic Neural Network and Comparing Results with a Backpropagation Neural Network and Logistic Regression

As the need for engineers continues to increase, a growing focus has been placed on recruiting students into the field of engineering and retaining the students who select engineering as their field of study. As a result of this concentration on student retention, numerous studies have been conducted to identify, understand, and confirm relationships between student attributes and attrition. Methods of prediction have also been evaluated and compared. Utilizing the attributes found in previous studies to have correlation with student attrition, this study considers the results of three different prediction methods—logistic regression, a multi-layer perceptron artificial neural network, and a probabilistic neural network (PNN)—to predict engineering student retention at a case study university. The purpose of this study was to introduce the PNN to the study of engineering student retention prediction and compare the results of the PNN to other commonly used methods in this field of study. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and overall results for each method are reported, compared, and discussed as the major contribution of this paper.     

The Categorical Perception Deficit in Dyslexia: A Meta-Analysis

Speech perception in dyslexia is characterized by a categorical perception (CP) deficit, demonstrated by weaker discrimination of acoustic differences between phonemic categories in conjunction with better discrimination of acoustic differences within phonemic categories. We performed a meta-analysis of studies that examined the reliability of the CP deficit in dyslexia. The results show a reliable CP deficit in individuals with dyslexia compared to both chronological-age and reading-level controls. The CP deficit is stronger for discrimination than for identification, suggesting that the latter may only reveal between-category differences that do not fully reflect the CP deficit. The implications of these findings for the allophonic theory of dyslexia are discussed.     

水泥28天抗压强度检验结果的误差分析

运用方差理论.对水泥强度检验结果的重复性及再现性的误差进行分析,以实现对检验人员、检验仪器设备和检验环境的考核和控制.     

Social Work Faculty's Knowledge of Aging: Results from a National Sample

Social work students have reported in previous studies that they receive insufficient coursework and training to work effectively with older adults. A critical factor in these deficiencies may be the level of knowledge of social work faculty. This study sought to assess social work faculty's knowledge of aging using the Knowledge of Aging for Social Workers (KASW) quiz. Using systematic random sampling, schools of social work in the United States were selected, and individual faculty members were invited by e-mail to participate in an online survey. Results show that social work faculty's (N = 609) knowledge about aging was found to be either less or comparable to other study populations. Knowledge levels were related to having an interest in policy, educational level, teaching aging courses on a regular basis, and confidence level in covering aging content. This study is the first to investigate social work faculty knowledge about aging and older adults. It may offer insight as to faculty competencies, which can have direct implications for student learning and interest in gerontology.     

Cheating Behaviors among Undergraduate College Students: Results from a Factorial Survey

Using a factorial survey administered to college students at two Universities, this study examines students’ tendencies to engage in academic misconduct. The relation of strain, self-control, and deterrence theories to likelihood of cheating are further explored. The results suggest that increasing the severity of the punishment for cheating does not deter academic misconduct; however, several variables indicating an increased certainty of being caught did decrease the likelihood of cheating behaviors. Only the strain variables that indicated a student had an ill family member or that the student found the course difficult significantly increased academic misconduct. Although self-control did not have a direct effect on cheating it indirectly affected cheating behaviors through students’ perceptions of getting caught and their perception of wrongfulness of the cheating behavior. Policy and future research implications of the findings are further discussed.     

一类广义Logistic种群的持续生存和灭绝

讨论了捕获量是关于种群数量的线性函数时一类广义Logistic 种群的生存状况,得到了种群弱持续生存和灭绝的充分条件.     

广义Logistic方程的全局吸引性

本文研究推广的Logistic方程Xa+1=Xner(a-bxn--k-X2n-k,n=0,1,2…)其中{rn}是非负实数列K≥0整数,a＞0,b＞0。给出了上述方程的正平衡点是全局吸引子的一族充分条件。     

Parental Behaviours Predicting Early Childhood Executive Functions: a Meta-Analysis

Recent research indicates that parental behaviours may influence the development of executive functions (EFs) during early childhood, which are proposed to serve as domain-general building blocks for later classroom behaviour and academic achievement. However, questions remain about the strength of the association between parenting and child EFs, more specifically which parental behaviours are most strongly associated with child EFs, and whether there is a critical period in early childhood during which parental behaviour is more influential. A meta-analysis was therefore conducted to determine the strength of the relation between various parental behaviours and EFs in children aged 0 to 8 years. We identified 42 studies published between 2000 and 2016, with an average of 12.77 months elapsing in the measurement of parent and child variables. Parental behaviours were categorised as positive (e.g. warmth, responsiveness, sensitivity), negative (e.g. control, intrusiveness, detachment) and cognitive (e.g. autonomy support, scaffolding, cognitive stimulation). Results revealed significant associations (ps < .001) between composite EF and positive (r = .25), negative (r = ?.22) and cognitive (r = .20) parental behaviours. Associations between cognitive parental behaviours and EFs were significantly moderated by child age, with younger children showing a stronger effect size, whereas positive and negative parental behaviours showed a stable association with EFs across ages. We conclude that modest, naturally occurring associations exist between parental behaviours and future EFs and that early childhood may be a critical period during which cognitive parental behaviour is especially influential.     

The Effectiveness of Peer-Delivered Services in the Management of Mental Health Conditions: a Meta-Analysis of Studies from Low- and Middle-Income Countries

It has been suggested that peers, or lay persons, should be more readily utilized in the provision of some mental health services, particularly in poor contexts where limited resources invariably result in many clients not receiving suitable and timely services. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted of all studies where peers were trained to implement some form of mental health service delivery to individuals resident in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS). The analyses of 14 eligible studies (n = 18,411 participants) revealed that depression and post-traumatic stress (PTS) were the most frequently assessed outcome measures. Overall effect sizes of small and medium magnitude were yielded for depression and PTS, respectively, suggesting that services delivered by peers may be efficacious in LMICS. While these results are encouraging, they are preliminary, and recommendations are made relating to the selection, training, and supervision of peers.