Statistically significant differences between subtest scores on the test of reading comprehension

The authors contend that erroneous conclusions concerning intraindividual strengths and weaknesses may result when comparing scaled scores on subtests of The Test of Reading Comprehension. Examination of scaled scores may seem to indicate that a given student has performed better on one subtest than on another when, in reality, the difference between the two scores is not statistically significant. The authors present a table in which statistically significant differences between subtest scaled scores are identified. Use of the table enables more precise determination of intraindividual strengths and weaknesses.     

Subgrouping poor readers on the basis of individual differences in reading-related abilities

The present study investigated the use of the Reading Component Model to subgroup poor readers. A large sample of poor readers was identified in second grade and subgrouped on the basis of relative strengths and weaknesses in word recognition and listening comprehension. Although homogeneous subgroups were not identified, poor readers could be classified into four subgroups that differed significantly in reading-related abilities. Further analyses showed that poor readers' strengths and weaknesses in listening comprehension, and to a lesser extent in word recognition, were foreshadowed by their abilities on related kindergarten measures. Follow-up testing in the fourth grade indicated that poor readers' individual differences in word recognition and listening comprehension were consistent and that subgroups were moderately stable. The implications of these results for the assessment and remediation of reading disabilities are discussed.     

Children’s reading difficulties,language, and reflections on the simple view of reading

Reading comprehension is a complex task which depends on a range of cognitive and linguistic processes. According to the Simple View of Reading, this complexity can be captured as the product of two sets of skills: decoding and linguistic comprehension. The Simple View explains variance in reading comprehension and provides a good framework to guide the classification of reading disorders. This paper discusses how weaknesses in either or both of components of the Simple View are implicated in children’s reading comprehension difficulties. It concludes with reflections on the strengths and limitations of the Simple View as a theoretical and practical framework to guide our understanding of reading comprehension and its development.     

SWOT Criteria for the Strategic Evaluation of Work Integrated Learning Projects

Abstract

Work integrated learning (WIL) is an integral part of the curriculum in higher education institutions (HEIs). WIL project leaders require a strategy to evaluate the success of WIL projects. This article reports on the evaluation criteria used in assessing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) identified in WIL projects. This multi-qualitative research was conducted to determine and confirm the SWOT criteria deemed significant for WIL project evaluation. Feedback was collated from 12 WIL specialists, representing the major HEIs in South Africa. The Delphi technique and inductive content analysis formed the basis of the research method. The key finding revealed that the strengths of WIL projects should be evaluated by measuring how well the WIL project maintains a competitive advantage and has a strong financial budget. Major weaknesses of WIL projects are a lack of strategic direction and the HEI’s lack of sound academic offerings and reputation.     

Can learning disabilities be determined from working memory performance?

This study assumes that children of various academic abilities may be characterized by different patterns of memory function. To test this assumption, subgroups of children were identified through a hierarchical cluster analysis based upon a test battery of sentence span, preload, and concurrent memory demand tasks. One subtype presented a profile of children with learning disabilities showing severe memory performance deficits, while another subgroup yielded high memory and high academic performance. Four additional subtypes had variations in memory performance, which in turn reflected variations in external criteria related to reading, mathematics, and spelling performance. For each subtype, performance strengths and weaknesses were characterized within Baddeley's (1986) working memory model. The study provides partial validation for the classification of children with learning disabilities on psychometric measures according to patterns of memory performance.     

美国全年制学校教育探微

美国全年制学校教育是有别于一学年两个学期、三个月暑假的传统学制的教育教学组织形式.全年制教育的共同特点是将三个月暑假分散在全学年中,以期达到提高教育教学质量的目的.本文在追溯全年制教育历史发展的基础上,介绍了其主要类型和运行模式,探讨了其利弊并分析了实施全年制教育对学生、学校管理者、教师、家长及社区的影响.     

Clinical applications of the Stanford-Binet intelligence scale: Fourth edition to reading instruction of children with learning disabilities

When children are referred to psychologists for evaluation, the most useful resulting information for the classroom teacher is not a label but suggestions regarding instruction. In its present format, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SB:FE; Thorndike, Hagen, & Sattler, 1986) lends itself to the selection of instructional strategies in reading for children with learning problems. The data on cognitive skills obtained from the SB:FE provide important insights into cognitive strengths and weaknesses that may be related to academic functioning. Although there is no one-to-one correspondence between scores on a particular subtest and performance in a particular academic area, clinical interpretation of SB:FE test data can help psychologists answer the question, “How do I teach him to read?”     

Implementing a teaching approach based on the multiple intelligence theory in a South African school: A case study

Abstract

This article reports on the implementation of a teaching approach based on Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences (MI) at a school in the Hammanskraal area in Gauteng, South Africa. The aim was to determine the impact that such an approach would have on teachers, learners and learner performance. This article discusses the implementation process and the impact thereof on learner results and conduct, as well as learners' opinion on the implementation of the MI approach in the classroom. The study showed that the implementation of a new approach should be monitored regularly and that teachers should receive ample support. An MI approach to teaching had a positive influence on learners' conduct and academic achievement. It also made learners more aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and how to overcome weaknesses. Learners indicated that they prefer an MI approach in teaching.     

我国博士生招生申请考核制的SWOT分析

博士生招生申请考核制的内在优势在于：有利于确定专业权力在博士招生与培养中的作用,有利于选拔高质量的、适合攻读博士学位的学生,有利于营造良好的学术生态,提高导师育人责任。其不足在于容易受制于人性的弱点,导致内部监督不畅,录取的公正性受到质疑。当前,这一制度所获得的良好发展机遇包括高校去行政化的改革背景,国外大学的有益经验和国内高校的实践探索。其所面临的挑战主要是中国人情社会的文化环境,行政力量的依然强势以及社会诚信的缺失。     

Identifying dyslexia with confirmatory latent profile analysis

Confirmatory latent profile analysis (CLPA) was used with the normative sample from the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, 3rd ed. (KTEA‐3) to determine whether it was possible to identify a latent class of individuals whose scores were consistent with the academic strengths and weaknesses related to dyslexia. The CLPA identified a class of individuals consistent with dyslexia across four‐grade level groups (first–second, third–fifth, sixth–eighth, and ninth–twelfth). The results of the CLPA were applied to the KTEA‐3 clinical samples of those with known clinical diagnoses. Individuals with Specific Learning Disorder in Reading and/or Written Expression had a higher probability of being in the dyslexia latent class. The use of CLPA as a tool for learning disability diagnosis appears plausible, though much more research is needed. The strengths, limitations, and future directions for the use of CLPA in diagnosis are discussed.     

A Meta-Analysis on the Effects and Contributions of Public,Public Charter,and Religious Schools on Student Outcomes

An extensive meta-analysis, including 90 studies, was undertaken on the effects of religious private schools, charter schools, and public schools. The study explores the relationship between each of these school types and student outcomes. Additional analyses were done to determine the strengths and weaknesses of these institutions in a broad sense. The results indicate that attending private religious schools is associated with the highest level of academic achievement among the three school types, even when sophisticated controls are used to adjust for socioeconomic status. Students from public charter schools, however, performed no better than their counterparts in other public schools. Supplementary analyses indicate several ways that educators from religious and public schools can learn from one another.     

A Simple Equation to Predict a Subscore's Value

Subscores are often used to indicate test‐takers' relative strengths and weaknesses and so help focus remediation. But a subscore is not worth reporting if it is too unreliable to believe or if it contains no information that is not already contained in the total score. It is possible, through the use of a simple linear equation provided in this note, to determine if a particular subscore adds enough value to be worth reporting.     

Centralized administration and academic credit base in experiential education

The Off-Campus Term (OCT) Program of the University of South Florida is a model in experiential education of centralized administration and in granting academic credit. In contrast to many programs where the experiential office serves in a coordinating role, but the academic work is under the supervision of classroom faculty, the OCT Program encompasses all of this under one program umbrella. Further, the program is comprehensive in nature providing for any kind of off-campus experience desired by the student. The methods and systems used, both functional and academic, are described along with the strengths and weaknesses of the OCT centralized model.     

Designing the framework conditions for assuring academic standards: lessons learned about professional, market, and government regulation of academic quality

The new demands of mass systems of higher education and the emerging environment of global academic competition are altering the traditional institutions for assuring academic standards in universities. As a consequence many nations are experimenting with new instruments for academic quality assurance. Contemporary government control of academic quality assumes three primary forms: “oversight” or direct regulation; “competition” or steering of market forces; and “mutuality” or professional self-regulation structured by the state. The challenge confronting all nations is to design a policy framework that effectively balances the forces of the state, the market, and the academic profession to assure academic standards in universities. Based upon the strengths and weaknesses observed in 14 policy analyses of innovative national instruments of professional self-regulation, market-based regulation, and direct state regulation for assuring academic quality in universities, we outline the essential components of a national framework for assuring academic standards.     

Decision-process behaviors of academic managers

Identifying decision processes which academic managers prefer was the focus of this study. Sixty-eight division chairpersons in a community college system, 10 in a 4-year college, and 29 in a university were questioned about 30 problem situations. Chairpersons usually selected consultative decision-process styles which encourage faculty participation. These consultative decision styles are protective of the quality of decision outcomes. However, faculty acceptance and commitment to decision alternatives often was a threat. Participation was not used in problem situations as a means to resolving conflicts. The Vroom-Yetton decision model was helpful in identifying strengths and weaknesses of decision behaviors of chairpersons.     

The relationship of reading attitudes to academic aptitude,locus of control,and field independence

The relationship between eight dimensions of reading attitude and measures of academic aptitude, locus of control, and field independence was investigated for sample of 322 inner-city Detroit fifth graders. Verbal academic aptitude correlated significantly with the Expressed Reading Difficulty, Reading Anxiety, Silent vs. Oral Reading, and Reading as Enjoyment reading attitude dimensions, while nonverbal academic aptitude correlated with Expressed Reading Difficulty and Reading Anxiety. The Expressed Reading Difficulty, Reading Anxiety, Reading Group, Reading as Direct Reinforcement, and Reading as Enjoyment dimensions were significantly related to the I+ score; reading attitudes were not related to the I- score. Only the Expressed Reading Difficulty dimension correlated with field independence. The meaning of these relationships was discussed.     

Ethnography,case study,grounded theory,and distance education research

The purpose of the paper is to encourage researchers in distance education to utilize, when appropriate, methodologies successfully used by sociologists and anthropologists. Specifically, the main strengths and weaknesses of ethnography, case study, and grounded theory are discussed. It is argued that these methods can improve the quality of conceptualization and theoretical development in research, thus contributing to the development of distance education as an academic discipline.     

Employing teachers' ratings in selection of achievement tests in reading and mathematics with a behaviorally disturbed population

The usefulness of a particular standardized achievement test with a specific population may be determined largely on the basis of experience. Sixty-six behaviourally disturbed students were administered portions of a test battery including the Reading Recognition subtest of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT), PIAT Reading Comprehension, the Reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), and Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT); PIAT Mathematics, WRAT Arithmetic, Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test (SDMT), and KeyMath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test. Toward the end of the academic year, teachers estimated students' grade levels in reading and mathematics. Results indicated that, in mathematics, the SDMT and the PIAT predicted teachers' ratings equally well and better than the other tests; in reading, all tests predicted teachers' ratings equally well except for the PIAT Reading Comprehension, which performed less well than others. Explanations for these results are offered, together with suggestions for identifying achievement tests suitable to specific populations.     

A practitioner's comparison: The 1972 Stanford-Binet and the WISC-R

This paper compares the 1972 Norms Edition of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Form LM, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Revised (1974), from a practitioner's viewpoint The strengths and weaknesses of each instrument are explored in relation to (a) standardization data given in the manuals, (b) ease of administration and interpretation, (c) age-range limitations and finally, (d) the utility of both instruments as aids in prediction of academic success.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF RELATIONS AMONG ACADEMIC ENABLERS AND READING OUTCOMES

The current study examined the link between academic enablers and different types of reading achievement measures. Academic enablers are skills and behaviors that support, or enable, students to perform well academically, such as engagement, interpersonal skills, motivation, and study skills. The sample in this study consisted of 61 third‐, fourth‐, and fifth‐grade students (54% male). Academic enablers were rated by classroom teachers via the Academic Competence Evaluation Scales (ACES; DiPerna & Elliott, 2000 ). Four different measures of reading achievement were included: classroom grades, global ratings of reading skills, standardized test scores, and Reading CBM scores. Results indicated that academic enablers were significantly related to each type of reading outcome. Academic enablers accounted for the greatest amount of variance for classroom grades (45%) and the least amount of variance in standardized test scores (11%). Results suggest that academic enablers are an important part of academic success in reading, particularly classroom grades, but when considering the variance accounted for by academic enablers, they alone are not likely to improve Reading CBM scores or standardized test scores.