美《不让一个孩子落伍法》又起新波澜——20个州联名要求联邦放宽学校绩效评价标准

美20个州联名上书要求联邦修改《不让一个孩子落伍法》,放宽学校评价标准,由州来判断学生进步与否与进步的时间问题。     

The Effects of State Decisions About NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress Targets

The No Child Left Behind Act allows states to vary (a) the trajectories they select to move from the baseline percent proficient or above in 2002 to the 100% proficient goal in 2014, (b) the minimum number of students required for reporting of disaggregated subgroup results, and (c) whether or not they will use confidence intervals when determining whether or not an annual measurable objective has been met. We use data from Kentucky for the years 2003 and 2004 to explore the consequences of different design decisions. The effect of design decisions on number and percentage of schools meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP) is large, with important implications for education practice.     

标准化测验对美国社会的影响——以美国国家教育进展评估（NAEP）为例

本文以美国国家教育进展评估（NAEP）为例,探讨标准化测验对美国社会的影响。作者认为,当前标准化测验在美国占据统治地位,国家教育进展评估（NAEP）克服长期以来的教育地方自治的传统,有效地反映了全美各州学生的学习进步状况,受到社会的关注。2001年,《不让一个孩子掉队法案》（The No Child Left Behind Act）出台后,标准化测验的作用进一步强化,对美国教育及教师的行为产生了深远的影响。     

美国中小学暑期阅读计划

美国联邦教育部近期发布的中小学暑期阅读计划是为了防止中小学生暑期阅读能力下降，巩固提高其阅读能力，达到《不让一个孩子落后》法案所提出的确保每个儿童到三年级都能阅读的目标而制定的。     

Relying on High-Stakes Standardized Tests to Evaluate Schools and Teachers: A Bad Idea

In the twenty-first century, the use of standardized tests as the primary means to evaluate schools and teachers in the United States has contributed to severe dilemmas, including misleading information on what students know, lower-level instruction, cheating, less collaboration, unfair treatment of teachers, and biased teaching. This article provides reasons for the increased use in high-stakes testing and detail on the problems it causes. Also included are possible solutions to alleviate the concerns associated with high-stakes testing.     

Urban School Principals and the ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act

This exploratory study investigated how six practicing school principals responded to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind law (United States Congress Public Law 107–110, 2002, January, No Child Left Behind Act, ) in light of the multicultural leadership demands presented by an urban setting. It examines perspectives of principals on the legal aspects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and what they did to manage its requirements. Multicultural leadership literature provided a framework to understand the perspectives of school leaders. The findings suggest three principals were engaged in meaningful and practical work to both fulfill the requirements of NCLB and meet the needs of their students. Three principals were focused on the requirements of the law and did not see the connection between multicultural leadership and NCLB. The study’s recommendations include a multicultural leadership approach to current NCLB school reform. An earlier version of this study in progress was presented to the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Montreal, Canada 2005.     

从美国各州执行《不让一个孩子掉队法》和《障碍者教育法》看特殊教育教师培养

美国特殊教育教师的职前和在职培训一向较受重视,在历次教育改革中多有涉及。美国各州在执行《不让一个孩子掉队法》、《障碍者教育法》时,对特殊教育教师的职前和在职培训方面的具体做法既有共同之处,又略有差异,其中不乏我国特殊教育教师培养可以借鉴的经验。     

What Does the No Child Left Behind Act Mean to Early Childhood Teacher Educators?: A Call for a Collective Professional Rejoinder

This article is a call to become more critically aware of the new law commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind Act, which was put into effect in 2002 in the United States. The article is also an invitation to early childhood educators worldwide to engage in a dialogue that raises several questions: (a) How does such legislation affect early childhood educators and teacher preparation programs?; (b) How might teacher educators react and respond to the new law as they continuously practice informed decision-making about teacher preparation that is socially responsible? In view of these questions, it is a hope that we can see the initiation of nationwide dialogue regarding the issue of the No Child Left Behind Act. Primarily, how does the new law affect teacher educators and teachers? It is inevitable for us to be united and politically informed to prevent further scrutiny of questionable politically and economically driven educational practices in the United States, not to mention “test-heavy” evidence-based education reform.     

从奥巴马政府修订NCLB法看美国教育均衡发展

2010年3月以来,奥巴马政府着手修订《不让一个孩子掉队》法,提出了一系列均衡发展美国教育的措施。这些措施既源自美国民众对教育均衡发展始终如一的追求,是美国政府因势利导的政策选择,又源自《不让一个孩子掉队》法没有完成既定目标,各州教育标准低下,教育差距在拉大,以及美国民主党的教育理念等。因此,推进教育均衡发展不仅应该有切实可行的目标,还要根据实际情况优先实施关键措施,缩减贫困地区学校班额,并为均衡发展教育提供持续的经费支持。     

Unreliability of Individual Scores in Mental Measurements

Abstract

The effectiveness of the game Order Out was investigated and differences in achievement when a) sets of fraction bars, b) pictorial representations of fraction bars, or c) neither physical nor pictorial aids were made available during the play of the game. The game was played 20 minutes, twice weekly for 5 weeks. The subjects were 85 fifth grade students in four intact classes and 177 seventh grade students in eight intact classes. Pre- and posttests of 40 items were given; in each item, the student ordered a pair of proper fractions. The game was an effective way to improve students’ achievement of the game content. There were no significant achievement differences among treatments. Post-hoc analysis of the data revealed sex-related trends suggesting two hypotheses for further study.     

Connotative Meanings of Student Performance Labels Used in Standard Setting

The purpose of this study was to investigate the connotation of performance labels used in standard setting. For example, do the performance labels basic, proficient, and advanced hold different connotations than limited knowledge, satisfactory, and distinguished?If these terms hold different connotations, such differences may play a role in the standard-setting process. A nationally representative sample of participants (n = 167) provided connotation ratings to an online instrument containing an experimental manipulation. Results suggested that the selected terms themselves do hold different connotations. After definitions were provided with the terms, the differences in the evaluative nature of the labels were mitigated. However, some differences remained; the term limited knowledge was persistently perceived as less favorable than basic and apprentice, and satisfactory was persistently perceived as less favorable than proficient.     

No child,no school,no state left behind: schooling in the age of accountability 1

Why and under which conditions do international student assessment programmes like PISA have success? How can the results of these assessments be useful for advocates of different, even contradictory, policies? What might explain different patterns of using assessment as a tool for school governance? Drawing on historical and comparative research, and using PISA as an example, this paper provides a frame for discussing these and other questions around the international rise of accountability as a key tool of social change. The basic argument is that even though accountability is a global phenomenon, the ways and means of enacting and encountering accountability are not. How accountability is experienced depends on deeply engrained ‘constitutional mind‐sets’, i.e. diverse cultures of conceptualizing the relation between the public and its institutions.     

“Para aquí today, para afuera tomorrow”: Uncertainty in urban bilingual paraprofessionals’ work in the age of NCLB

Urban paraprofessionals are often overlooked but key participants in the optimal functioning of schools. In light of the recent changes and increasing demands regarding paraprofessional qualifications stipulated by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), this study focuses on urban bilingual paraprofessionals and their beliefs about work in the context imposed by the law. The participants cite their own experiences with motherhood and insiders’ understanding of diverse communities as the most compelling skills they bring to their jobs, challenging NCLB’s requirements for instructional paraprofessional qualifications. Implications for policy-making that address the worth of “life experiences” as an asset for diverse settings are offered. Her research interests center on the possibilities and challenges that urban schools pose, on school reform approaches, on teacher preparation, and on effective educational approaches for low-income, culturally and linguistically diverse (LCLD) students.     

Social Studies Education in the Age of Testing and Accountability

With 3 years and counting since its inception, the scope and impact of No Child Left Behind is now being felt in classrooms across the nation. Although some successes have been identified, concerns about the implementation and expectations of the legislation are emerging. As a result of the legislation's emphasis on the development of standards and assessment systems in reading, mathematics, and science, educators of other core and elective subjects are weighing the impact of being left out of the No Child Left Behind formula of testing and accountability. In an attempt to ascertain the perceptions and sentiments of social studies teachers concerning the impact of No Child Left Behind and the concomitant issue of state-level testing and accountability policy, a tristate study was conducted. The findings of this research indicate that although elementary, middle, and high school social studies educators recognize the negative consequences of being left out of No Child Left Behind, they are not convinced that being included would be better for them, their students, or social studies education in general.     

美国绩效技术:定位、现状与人才培养——访美国绩效技术领域七学者

绩效技术诞生于20世纪60-70年代美国的教育技术领域,由于其提高组织绩效的独特视角与成效,近年来备受关注。在我国,绩效技术一直是教育技术领域的研究热点。我们引入了一些相关理论,也开始在实践中探索理论的应用,以期将有关理论与方法本土化,从而适合我国实际。为此,深刻理解绩效技术,追踪其在美国的发展现状与趋势对在我国发展绩效技术有着重要的意义。就美国绩效技术领域的现状、发展以及人才培养的有关问题,我们陆续对大洋彼岸的美国绩效技术领域的学者与实践人员,包括托马斯.M.树文、罗杰.考夫曼等七位学者进行了访谈,以期从不同专家的观点中获得对绩效技术更为全面的认识。