A STUDY OF HYPOTHESES BASIC TO THE USE OF RIGHTS AND FORMULA SCORES

The hypothesis that some students, when tested under formula directions, omit items about which they have useful partial knowledge implies that such directions are not as fair as rights directions, especially to those students who are less inclined to guess. This hypothesis may be called the differential effects hypothesis. An alternative hypothesis states that examinees would perform no better than chance expectation on items that they would omit under formula directions but would answer under rights directions. This may be called the invariance hypothesis. Experimental data on this question were obtained by conducting special test administrations of College Board SAT-verbal and Chemistry tests and by including experimental tests in a Graduate Management Admission Test administration. The data provide a basis for evaluating the two hypotheses and for assessing the effects of directions on the reliability and parallelism of scores for sophisticated examinees taking professionally developed tests. Results support the invariance hypothesis rather than the differential effects hypothesis.     

Race,academic achievement,and self-concept of ability

In the year-and-a-half since the College Board released detailed tables on SAT scores by race, much of the heated reaction has now abated. This study explores the data behind those tables and seeks a fuller explanation of the observed differences in SAT scores among racial and ethnic segments of college-bound test takers. It highlights a social psychological correlate that mediates between environmental factors and SAT performance, beginning with the finding that blacks at the same level of test performance exhibit greater self-esteem than whites on a series of self-rated abilities. Implications of the analysis are discussed and directions for further research suggested.Presented at the 24th Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Fort Worth, Texas, May 1984.     

学生创新和实践能力考核在大学招生中的价值：美国“彩虹项目”的启示

“彩虹项目”是由美国大学委员会资助的大学招生研究项目,其目的是探索研究大学招生中考核学生创新和实践能力的必要性。研究结果表明测评这两项能力在大学招生中具有极其重要的意义和价值。增加这项评价有利于对申请学生的能力进行更加全面的考核,不仅可以提高对大学GPA的预测效度,而且可以削减由于弱势群体和其他学生在大学入学标准考试中的不同表现所造成的招生偏差,使招生更具有卓越性和公平性。本文扼要介绍和阐述“彩虹项目”研究的理论基础、考核创新和实践能力的内容、考试结果对大学GPA的预测效度以及在美国塔夫茨大学的实践经验。     

Conducting Research with South African Survivors of Human Rights Violations: Some Considerations

Behavioural science research in a developing world context involves unique methodological and logistical challenges and requires cognisance of local sensitivities. This paper discusses the ethical, logistical, and methodological problems encountered during the conduct of a study with survivors of human rights violations in South Africa. Research practices such as subject recruitment, negotiating language and literacy, and other methodological concerns are considered in the context of post-apartheid South Africa. The legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is also addressed in terms of the manner in which it affects the conduct of research. Finally, the manner in which research into highly politicised traumatic events is affected by the South African social and historical context is examined and recommendations are offered for behavioural science research in developing countries.     

Segmenting the MBA Market:

This paper discusses segmentation of the potential MBA student market according to demographic criteria, based on the assumption that student success (identified as completion of the degree within five years) is indicative of client satisfaction. The University of Western Australia's MBA program began in 1973. Using the records for this period, demographic variables are tested as predictors of student success. It is found that students who have been admitted without taking the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) do significantly worse than average, as do those students whose previous degrees were in the professional fields of Medicine, Law and Architecture. Women do less well than men, though this is explained by the facy that a larger percentage of women have been admitted without GMAT scores. It is also found that, for those students admitted to the couse, the GMAT score (except for very high scores) and the years of work experience are not significantly related to success. This result is interpreted as indicating, not that GMAT score and work experience are unrelated to success, but rather that these criteria have been appropriately weighed against other criteria in the selection procedure.     

The Funding of Community Colleges: Formulas & Governance

This study identified governing state entities charged with the development of a funding formula for community colleges. Analysis of the data revealed that 40 states utilized a funding formula. Twenty-one states had a “Higher Education” entity with governing control of the formula, 5 states had a “Community College” entity with distinct funding formulas for community colleges, funding formulas in 2 states fell under a “Comprehensive (K-20) Education” entity, and in 12 states control of a state funding formula was the responsibility of a state statute. Findings and implications of funding formula governance patterns are discussed.     

Computer-Adaptive Testing of ESL Reading Proficiency

With the advent of modern computer technology,there have been growing efforts in recent years to computerize standardized tests,including the popular Graduate Record Examination(GRE),the Graduate Management Admission Test(GMAT) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language(TOEFL).Many of such computer-based tests are known as the computerized adaptive tests,whose major feature is that,depending on their performance in the course of testing,different examinees may be given with different sets of items(questions).In doing so,items can be efficiently utilized to realize maximum accuracy for estimation of examinee’s ability. In this short paper we will introduce briefly the computer-adaptive test(CAT).The application of CAT to the assessment of reading comprehension in a second language will also be illustrated in this paper.The advantages and disadvantages will be analyzed,based on which some recommendations will be given for future study.     

A methodological review of statistical methods for handling multilevel non-nested longitudinal data in educational research

As applications of multilevel modelling in educational research increase, researchers realize that multilevel data collected in many educational settings are often not purely nested. The most common multilevel non-nested data structure is one that involves student mobility in longitudinal studies. This article provides a methodological review of three statistical methods for handling student mobility in longitudinal studies: a multilevel approach, a cross-classified approach, and a cross-classified multiple membership approach. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach and the essential differences between the three approaches are discussed. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort data are analysed to demonstrate the differences in parameter estimates and statistical inference between the three approaches. Potential applications of the three approaches in educational research and beyond and directions for further methodological investigations are discussed.     

Citizenship,beneficence, and informed consent: the ethics of working in mixed-status families

This article draws from a 23-month ethnographic study conducted in mixed-status Mexican homes to detail the particular methodological concerns that arise when conducting research within these legally complex and vulnerable families. Specifically, the analysis illustrates when and why undocumented parents in one focal family asked the ethnographer to consider legally adopting their two young sons in an effort to obtain equal rights for both children and to mitigate the risk of family separation during deportation. The ethical issues of beneficence, informed consent, and reciprocity raised by this particular situation open onto larger methodological and ethical questions relevant to qualitative and ethnographic researchers working within immigrant communities.     

Child care research: an editorial perspective

The goals of Child Development's new From Another Perspective format are discussed, and an overview of the content of the inaugural From Another Perspective collection on child care effects is provided. The two lead articles suggest, respectively, that long hours in child care are related to children's later behavior problems and that child care may be physiologically challenging for young children. Commentaries focus on the need to examine a range of additional factors before drawing definitive conclusions about cause and effect. Among the issues discussed in the commentaries are the need to account for context, individual differences among children, and methodological challenges. The introductory editorial also overviews policy implications and directions for future research.     

Bias and the intended use of student evaluations of university faculty

This study examines whether the intended use of data obtained from student evaluations of university faculty biases the ratings. The paper reviews and critiques previous research done in the area. Previous studies produced contradictory results, but the results were confounded by several methodological problems. The research reported here remedied some of the problems in previous studies. The findings indicated that, while students are aware of the intended use of ratings as stipulated in written directions, different uses do not result in statistically significant differences in the ratings. Implications for the use of student ratings in the evaluation of faculty are discussed.     

二本院校群体分化及趋势研究——兼谈大学生文学毕业论文选题分化

由于各方面的原因致使二本院校学生论文产生群体分化。这样的选择分化对学生和老师在知识和能力等方面都具有挑战性。以宜宾学院文学与新闻传媒学院"毕业论文选题分化"为例探究二本院校文学专业学生的分化现象,以期为优化学生毕业论文设计提供方法指导和借鉴。     

TECHNOLOGY AND GREASE: A FORMULA FOR EDUTAINMENT AND EFFICIENCY

Joint planning by Richard Daley College with a high school, the National Center for Education and the Economy, and the Associated Equipment Distributers Foundation produced a technology-based partnership that has motivated students, avoided additional construction, and resulted in an 84% graduation rate, including 32 graduates with 1 year of college and 6 students among the top 100 Hispanic graduates in the nation. The model is under consideration for adoption in Lubbock, Texas, and in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The program won an Excellence in Learning-Centered Instruction Award from the Illinois Community College Board in 2000 and the Bellwether Award for Governance, Planning, and Finance at the 2001 Community College Futures Assembly.     

马克思法哲学的逻辑起点

确定法哲学的逻辑起点。关系到法哲学理论体系以及整个法学理论体系的科学性、严密性。由于我国的法哲学理论研究尚处于探索阶段．特别是构建立足于中国社会主义法制实践的法哲学理论体系正处于完善阶段。如果不能厘清法哲学的逻辑起点问题则就会影响到法哲学研究甚至整个法学研究的深化和发展。     

Intervening to improve the transfer to secondary school

Evaluation data are reported on a Transfer Support Team (TST) intervention which supports pupils identified as vulnerable during secondary school transfer. Information about school concerns and broader adjustment measures were collected from TST supported pupils on three occasions and from a “typical benchmark group” on two occasions. Factors known to confer additional vulnerability around school transfer were also analysed: English as an additional language, free school meals eligibility and special educational needs. Findings indicate that this relatively brief transfer support programme impacts positively on targeted pupils’ levels of school concerns and illustrates the importance of differentiated monitoring of intervention outcomes.     

A Longitudinal Study of Visual Perceptual Training and Reading Achievement

Abstract

The authors lamemt the fact that there does not seem to be much agreement as to the proper method of scoring tests The use of the scoring formula is advocated by some and criticized by others. Literature is reviewed showing that the basic assumptions behind the scoring formula (namely that all wrong answers are due to chance guessing) are false. Arguments are presented for and against the continued use of the formula, with the conclusion that its use cannot be justified. A new aspect of this question, that use of the formula may create behavior patterns detrimental to ingenuity and creativity, is also presented.     

A special teacher for a special child? (Re)considering the role of the special education teacher within the context of an inclusive education reform agenda

Notwithstanding the recent signing and ratification by Cyprus of another International Convention on the rights of students designated as having special educational needs and/or disabilities to attend mainstream schools on an equal basis with their peers, local policy and practice promote an ‘exclusionary inclusion’ that draws a discernible line between general and special education. This paper concentrates on exploring the role of special education teachers in Cyprus in the light of policy concerns about providing the ‘least restrictive’ learning environment for this group of students and enabling them ‘to reach their full potential’. It is suggested that the role of special education teachers embodies and reflects reductionist forms of inclusion informed by deficit-oriented and assimilationist special education perspectives, while there is also evidence of a lack of professionalism and accountability. The paper draws on head teachers’ and special education teachers’ interviews in order to portray the ways in which they view and experience the role of special education teachers in mainstream schools in Cyprus. New objectives and future directions are identified and discussed.     

Native American Indian College Students: Implications for College Counseling Practice

College counselors can enhance the development of Native American Indian college students. College counselors need to be aware of traditional Native American Indian values, interpretation of mental health, content and process concerns in counseling, and indigenous healing practices. These areas are discussed, as well as implications for counseling practice.     

Evolutionary trajectories in school assessment systems: the case of Bhutan

The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of school assessment in Bhutan, briefly, as a background to considering the present and future school assessment issues especially as they relate to quality concerns and educational improvement in Bhutan. A benchmark for Bhutan, the National Educational Assessment (NEA) programme in Bhutan was inspired by a 2002 initiative in South Asia funded by the World Bank. In this paper, we address how the 2003 NEA was developed. Emerging issues are discussed including methods of reporting and the concept of “benchmarking” in three senses of that term. Technical issues are also addressed in the context of the desire to administer another comparative NEA in 2010. Out of these developments, the Bhutan Board of Examinations has developed ideas about expanding access to system-wide assessment data to different levels of stakeholders in order to achieve improvements. A 2x2 matrix is provided identifying four key questions around judgments of educational achievement at two key levels (system and school) within and between these levels. This matrix represents a model of the evolution of assessment in Bhutan. This paper should be of interest to education systems in developing countries that have undertaken or intend to undertake national educational assessment programmes.     

Secondary school initiative in creating advanced placement opportunities

The most important opportunity available to secondary school students to earn college credit for college-level work done in high school is the series of advanced placement tests provided by such organizations as the College Entrance Examination Board. This paper presents three models of initiatives that can be taken by secondary school educators to create exams in those areas for which advanced placement tests do not currently exist and better serve the needs of their students who could prepare for current exams: adapt existing exams as credit-earning proficiency exams; work with interested universities in creating new advanced placement programs; and reorganizing the existing advanced placement program offered in the high school.