Valid and Reliable Science Content Assessments for Science Teachers

Science teachers’ content knowledge is an important influence on student learning, highlighting an ongoing need for programs, and assessments of those programs, designed to support teacher learning of science. Valid and reliable assessments of teacher science knowledge are needed for direct measurement of this crucial variable. This paper describes multiple sources of validity and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha greater than 0.8) evidence for physical, life, and earth/space science assessments—part of the Diagnostic Teacher Assessments of Mathematics and Science (DTAMS) project. Validity was strengthened by systematic synthesis of relevant documents, extensive use of external reviewers, and field tests with 900 teachers during assessment development process. Subsequent results from 4,400 teachers, analyzed with Rasch IRT modeling techniques, offer construct and concurrent validity evidence.     

Reliable and Valid Procedures to Create an Authentic Listening Test in EFL Context

Listening testing is a universal social activity,especially for school life as well as an indispensable part to language assessment.How test takers perform during the tests may affect their entry to many significant roles both in society and schools.This paper is an attempt to explore how to design a reliable and valid listening test for particular purposes in EFL context.     

Multidimensional CAT Item Selection Methods for Domain Scores and Composite Scores With Item Exposure Control and Content Constraints

The intent of this research was to find an item selection procedure in the multidimensional computer adaptive testing (CAT) framework that yielded higher precision for both the domain and composite abilities, had a higher usage of the item pool, and controlled the exposure rate. Five multidimensional CAT item selection procedures (minimum angle; volume; minimum error variance of the linear combination; minimum error variance of the composite score with optimized weight; and Kullback‐Leibler information) were studied and compared with two methods for item exposure control (the Sympson‐Hetter procedure and the fixed‐rate procedure, the latter simply refers to putting a limit on the item exposure rate) using simulated data. The maximum priority index method was used for the content constraints. Results showed that the Sympson‐Hetter procedure yielded better precision than the fixed‐rate procedure but had much lower item pool usage and took more time. The five item selection procedures performed similarly under Sympson‐Hetter. For the fixed‐rate procedure, there was a trade‐off between the precision of the ability estimates and the item pool usage: the five procedures had different patterns. It was found that (1) Kullback‐Leibler had better precision but lower item pool usage; (2) minimum angle and volume had balanced precision and item pool usage; and (3) the two methods minimizing the error variance had the best item pool usage and comparable overall score recovery but less precision for certain domains. The priority index for content constraints and item exposure was implemented successfully.     

评分、等值和分数报告过程中的质量监控

从评分、等值到成绩报告的过程中,各环节相互依赖和影响,其评价结果极易出现错误。为了监控这一评价过程并尽可能减少犯错数量,需要制定一套质量监控程序。所谓质量监控即指用来确保评分、等值和分数报告过程中达到预期质量标准的一个正规的系统化过程。评分-等值-分数报告过程可分为11个环节,在很多情况下,质量检查都可以在最终产品上进行。     

Quality Control Procedures in the Scoring, Equating, and Reporting of Test Scores

There is significant potential for error in long production processes that consist of sequential stages, each of which is heavily dependent on the previous stage, such as the SER (Scoring, Equating, and Reporting) process. Quality control procedures are required in order to monitor this process and to reduce the number of mistakes to a minimum. In the context of this module, quality control is a formal systematic process designed to ensure that expected quality standards are achieved during scoring, equating, and reporting of test scores. The module divides the SER process into 11 steps. For each step, possible mistakes that might occur are listed, followed by examples and quality control procedures for avoiding, detecting, or dealing with these mistakes. Most of the listed quality control procedures are also relevant for Internet-delivered and scored testing. Lessons from other industries are also discussed. The motto of this module is: There is a reason for every mistake. If you can identify the mistake, you can identify the reason it happened and prevent it from recurring.     

国内外教育数据挖掘研究现状及趋势分析

教育数据挖掘是一个新兴的、备受关注的研究领域。文章运用文献计量与内容分析法,对国内外公开发表的关于教育数据挖掘的文献进行统计分析,把握其发展脉络及研究现状,探讨研究中的关键内容,并展望该领域未来的研究趋势,为进行教育数据挖掘的研究与实践提供参考。     

测量误差及其有效数字

介绍了标准误差 ,误差传递 ,给出了有效数字的处理方法     

浅析行政奖励行为的有效性与可诉性

行政奖励在现代行政管理工作中起着愈来愈重要的作用。结合法律原则和我国国情,行政奖励应具有法律约束力。法定行政奖励具有可诉性,其他行政奖励则不具有可诉性。     

Looking Beyond the Overall Scores of NAEP Assessments: Applications of Generalized Linear Mixed Modeling for Exploring Value-Added Item Difficulty Effects

The central idea of differential item functioning (DIF) is to examine differences between two groups at the item level while controlling for overall proficiency. This approach is useful for examining hypotheses at a finer-grain level than are permitted by a total test score. The methodology proposed in this paper is also aimed at estimating differences at the item rather than the overall score level, yet with the innovation where item-level differences for many groups simultaneously are the focus. This is a straightforward generalization of DIF as variance rather than one or several group differences; conceptually, this can be referred to as item difficulty variation (IDV). When instruction is of interest, and "groups" is a unit at which instruction is determined or delivered, then IDV signals value-added effects that can be influenced by either demographic or instructional variables.     

Valid knowledge: the economy and the academy

The future of Western universities as public institutions is the subject of extensive continuing debate, underpinned by the issue of what constitutes valid knowledge. Where in the past only propositional knowledge codified by academics was considered valid, in the new economy enabled by information and communications technology, the procedural knowledge of expertise has become a key commodity, and the acquisition of this expertise is increasingly seen as a priority by intending university students. Universities have traditionally proved adaptable to changing circumstances, but there is little evidence to date of their success in accommodating to the scale and unprecedented pace of change of the Knowledge Economy or to the new vocationally-oriented demands of their course clients. And in addition to these external factors, internal ones are now at work. Recent developments in eLearning have enabled the infiltration of commercial providers who are cherry-picking the most lucrative subject areas. The prospect is of a fracturing higher education system, with the less adaptable universities consigned to a shrinking public-funded sector supporting less vocationally saleable courses, and the more enterprising universities developing commercial partnerships in eLearning and knowledge transfer. This paper analyses pressures upon universities, their attempts to adapt to changing circumstances, and the institutional transformations which may result. It is concluded that a diversity of partnerships will emerge for the capture and transfer of knowledge, combining expertise from the economy with the conceptual frameworks of the academy.     

Valid assessment of writing and access to academic discourse

One way to improve students' access to and retention in post-secondary degree progams is to assess their readiness for such programs accurately. To place deaf and hard-of-hearing students in preparatory courses and to determine their readiness for degree programs more accurately, a direct measure of writing was developed for deaf and hard-of-hearing students at a large technical university. The purpose of this study was to estimate the concurrent and predictive validity of this measure. The Test of Written English (Educational Testing Service, 1992) served as the criterion in the concurrent validity study, and student success in the university's gateway freshman composition course served as the criterion in the predictive validity study. Results provide evidence of the concurrent and predictive validity of the measure, supporting its use for course placement and early planning purposes.     

一个快速有效的凹多边形分解算法

提出了一个快速有效的凹多边形分解算法,避免了矢量法所需的大量、复杂的求交计算,因此该算法在时间及计算复杂性方面远远优于矢量法;而且该算法在三维环境中同样适用,这一点使得该算法除了在多边形裁剪中有广泛的应用外,在多面体的消隐中也经常用到．并用VisualC 语言实现．     

Uses and Abuses of Achievement Test Scores

Are variations in test-preparation practices from school to school undermining the meaningfulness of achievement test results? Is there pressure to raise achievement test scores by the use of educationally unsound practices? What uses of achievement test scores are most common? Do teachers and administrators have reasonably accurate views of test score uses?     

大学英语高低分数段作文主位推进模式差异分析

主位理论是系统功能语言学的一个重要理论支柱,是语篇分析的常用手段。本文用主位理论来分析大学生英语作文,试图找出高低分数段作文在主位推进模式上的差异,分析其原因,希望能对英语写作教学有所帮助。     

电流(电压)的有效值与平均值

本文详细讨论了电流(电压)的有效值与平均值的概念,并阐述了它们各自不同情况下的量值。     

Schooling and the Norming of Intelligence Test Scores

How does schooling affect the development of intelligence in children? How should the amount of schooling be considered when developing norms for turning intelligence test performance into IQ scores?     

大学生成绩的综合评价及分析

本文运用主成分分析对大学生四年的学习成绩进行综合评价,并对主成分得分进行单因素方差分析,以期更好地对大学生的学习成绩进行综合评价。