Does grading affect educational attainment? A longitudinal study

The purpose of the study was to investigate how grading in primary school affected students’ achievement measured by grades in 7th, 8th and 9th Grade and educational attainment in upper secondary school (12th Grade), and how the effect varied as a function of students’ cognitive ability, gender and socio-economic status. The data derived from the Evaluation Through Follow-Up (ETF) longitudinal project containing information on students who received grades in Grade 6 and students who did not. The subjects were 8558 students born in 1967. A quasi-experimental design was applied where multiple growth and logistic models were fitted to data. The result showed a main significant negative effect of grading on subsequent achievement (Grade 7–9) and there were important differential effects: graded low-ability students received lower subsequent grades through Grades 7–9 and had lower odds to finish upper secondary education, compared to ungraded low-ability students. The gender difference seems to increase over time: graded girls achieve higher grades throughout Grades 7–9 and had higher odds to finish upper secondary education, compared to ungraded girls and graded and ungraded boys.     

家庭第一代大学生的读研经历研究

本研究基于一所研究型大学2020届硕士毕业生的就学体验数据,全面比较了家庭第一代与非第一代大学生的硕士入学背景、过程与收获。结果发现：第一代大学生的硕士入学背景较非第一代大学生而言存在明显劣势;进入硕士教育阶段后,相对匮乏的家庭文化资本未给第一代大学生参与本土及本土国际化教育活动带来明显阻碍,但他们在海外学习等家庭资源驱动型活动上的参与度显著低于非第一代大学生。硕士毕业之际,两类学生的课程收获、科研收获、深造机会及工作-专业匹配度趋同,但家庭第一代大学生在全球胜任力和一线城市就业机会方面仍处于不利地位。     

初中生感恩、学习投入与学业成就的关系研究

使用青少年感恩量表、学习投入量表对邯郸市189名初中生进行了问卷调查,分析初中生感恩、学习投入和学业成就三者之间的关系.结果显示:感恩、学习投入与学业成就存在显著正相关,并且感恩与学习投入能够显著正向预测学业成就;学习投入在感恩与学业成就之间存在中介效应.     

Effects of learning approaches,locus of control,socio-economic status and self-efficacy on academic achievement: a Turkish perspective

In this study the effects of learning approaches, locus of control (LOC), socio-economic status and self-efficacy on undergraduate students in North Cyprus was investigated. Four questionnaires were administered on 99 students in order to collect data regarding the learning approaches, LOC, self-efficacy and demographic factors. High cumulative grade point average and self-efficacy were shown to be an indicator of academic achievement and high self-efficacy was related to the use of deep approach (DA). Students, whose mothers had lower levels of education, were found to also predict academic success. No direct significant relationship between DA and academic achievement was found.     

The Purpose of a Standardized Test in Spelling

ABSTRACT

The authors explored the moderating effect of teachers’ expectancies and general sense of efficacy on the relationship between students’ achievement and their cognitive engagement and achievement 1 year later. They used hierarchical linear modeling with a longitudinal sample of 79 mathematics teachers and their 1,364 secondary school students coming from 33 schools serving disadvantaged communities in Québec (Canada). Results indicate that teachers’ self-reported beliefs directly influenced student academic experience. However, they did not influence more importantly low-achieving than high-achieving students. Such findings suggest that in schools serving low socioeconomic status students, teachers should be made aware of the role their attitudes can play on students’ cognitive engagement and achievement. Special efforts should also be made to help them develop positive attitudes toward all students.     

本科院校教学质量改进路径研究

基于学生学业参与的视角,利用2008年北京市高等教育学生发展调查数据,采用多群组结构方程模型分析我国本科院校教学质量改进的路径。研究发现:(1)本科教学质量改进路径包括直接和间接两类路径。提升教学质量,不仅仅是直接改进课程与教学方式,而且这类投入能够有效激励学生学业参与,从而间接提升教学质量。(2)在以学生学业参与为中介的间接改进路径中,程序性学业参与发挥主要中介作用。(3)相对其他层次院校,一般应用型大学采取以学生学业参与为中介的间接改进路径更有利于提升教学质量。     

A Statistical Study of a New Type of Objective Examination Question

ABSTRACT

The author attempted to examine how Taiwanese junior high school students’ perfectionistic tendencies and achievement goals were related to their academic burnout versus work engagement, and to determine differences in the indicators of burnout versus engagement among students with different subtypes of perfectionism. A total of 456 eighth-grade Taiwanese students completed a self-reported survey assessing their perfectionistic tendencies, achievement goals, academic burnout, and work engagement. Results of this study indicated that perfectionism along with achievement goals emerged as statistically significant predictors of Taiwanese students’ burnout and work engagement. Additionally, the quality of adolescents’ engagement varied as a function of perfectionistic tendencies. Adaptive perfectionists displayed the healthiest pattern of engagement in schoolwork. Implications for educational practices and future research are discussed.     

A three-phase examination of academic comparative optimism and perceived academic control

Early academic perceptions are critical to undergraduate students' success in college. This 3-phase study examined stability of and links between academic comparative optimism (ACO; positive expectations about future performance) and perceived academic control (PAC; sense of influence over academic outcomes) among 68 undergraduate students. ACO and PAC were assessed at the start, midway through, and at the end of a semester and a cross-lagged panel analysis tested which academic perception better predicted the other. We also examined early ACO and PAC as predictors of later achievement. Students' ACO and PAC were fairly stable throughout the semester. Regression analyses (controlling for course load, prior achievement, and prior ACO or PAC) indicated ACO predicted PAC more so than the reverse, suggesting students may boost their PAC via optimistic social comparisons. Early ACO predicted later performance. Implications for enhancing ACO and PAC early in the academic year are discussed.     

Self-regulation of assessment beliefs and attitudes: a review of the Students’ Conceptions of Assessment inventory

How students understand, feel about and respond to assessment might contribute significantly to learning behaviour and academic achievement. This paper reviews studies that have used a relatively new self-reported survey questionnaire (Students’ Conceptions of Assessment – SCoA) about student perceptions and understandings of assessment. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling results have shown, consistent with self-regulation theory, that the SCoA inventory has meaningful relations with academic performance among New Zealand high school students. Further, German, Hong Kong, American, and New Zealand studies have shown that the SCoA has relations to motivational constructs (e.g. effort, learning strategies, interest, self-efficacy and anxiety) that are also consistent with self-regulation. The SCoA inventory extends our understanding of how student conceptions of assessment are an integral part of self-regulation and provide a warrant for use in research studies investigating test-taker responses to assessment practices and innovations at both university and high school levels.     

Transition from clinical manager to university lecturer: a self-reflective case study

This paper is a case study exploring the author's use of reflective practice to facilitate the transition in role from a clinical manager with teaching responsibilities in a critical care unit to university lecturer. The similarities and differences in the roles with respect to learner characteristics, teaching contexts and effective teaching strategies are discussed. Brookfield's model provides the methodological framework for the process of critically reflective practice undertaken to support and inform the transition. This case study describes a novice academic's reflection through the four lenses of autobiography, the theoretical literature, student feedback and the perspectives of colleagues as she seeks to optimise student engagement and learning using the large lecture as the teaching and learning activity. The author suggests that the use of a framework such as Brookfield's model that supports critical reflection may be of significant benefit to accelerate the personal and professional growth of new academic staff in their teaching practice.