What's in a rating?

We examine the relationship between the formal ratings that principals give teachers and a variety of observable teacher characteristics, including proxies for productivity. Prior work has shown that principals can differentiate between more and less effective teachers, especially at the tails of the quality distribution, and that subjective evaluations of teachers are strongly correlated with subsequent student achievement. However, whereas prior work has relied on survey data, we consider formal ratings from a setting in which the stakes are reasonably high. We find that the ratings are correlated with an array of teacher qualities including experience for young teachers, education credentials, and teacher absenteeism. Our finding that principals reward qualities of teachers known to be related to student productivity provides reason to be optimistic about policies that would assign more weight to principal evaluations of teachers in career decisions and compensation.     

Assessing the reliability of self‐ and peer rating in student group work

Peer and self‐ratings have been strongly recommended as the means to adjust individual contributions to group work. To evaluate the quality of student ratings, previous research has primarily explored the validity of these ratings, as indicated by the degree of agreement between student and teacher ratings. This research describes a Generalizability Theory framework to evaluate the reliability of student ratings in terms of the degree of consistency among students themselves, as well as group and rater effects. Ratings from two group projects are analyzed to illustrate how this method can be applied. The reliability of student ratings differs for the two group projects considered in this research. While a strong group effect is present in both projects, the rater effect is different. Implications of this research for classroom assessment practice are discussed.     

Principals’ use of rating scale categories in classroom observations for teacher evaluation

Teacher evaluation systems commonly rely on observation of teaching practice (OTP) by school principals. However, the value of OTP as evidence of teacher effectiveness depends on its psychometric quality. In this study, we address a key aspect of the psychometric quality of principals’ OTP ratings. Specifically, we investigate the degree to which rating scale categories have a consistent interpretation across teaching episodes and practices. Results suggest that the 1,324 principals’ use of the rating scale categories functioned as intended overall. However, we also found that the midpoint category is underutilized and that rating categories do not always reflect similar levels of teaching effectiveness across teaching episodes and practices. When such discrepancies occur, we cannot assume principals’ ratings reflect a consistent level of teacher effectiveness within and across classrooms. This is a critical component of validity evidence that can inform the interpretation of OTP ratings and point to areas for improvement in both the rubrics and in principals’ training for classroom observations.     

Does a teacher’s classroom observation rating vary across multiple classrooms?

Classroom observations have been increasingly used for teacher evaluations, and it is important to examine the measurement quality and the use of observation ratings. When a teacher is observed in multiple classrooms, his or her observation ratings may vary across classrooms. In that case, using ratings from one classroom per teacher may not be adequate to represent a teacher’s instructional quality. Drawing on the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) dataset, this study examined the variation of a teacher’s classroom observation ratings across his or her multiple classrooms. The results indicate that the math classrooms accounted for 4.9 to 14.7% of the variance in the classroom observation ratings and English language arts (ELA) classrooms accounted for 6.7 to 15.5% of the variance in the ratings. The results of this study suggest that teachers’ multiple classrooms should be taken into consideration when classroom observation ratings are used to evaluate teachers in high-stakes settings.     

The gifted rating scales—preschool/kindergarten form: An analysis of the standardization sample based on age,gender, and race

This study reports on an analysis of the standardization sample of a rating scale designed to assist in identification of gifted students. The Gifted Rating Scales—Preschool/Kindergarten Form (GRS‐P) is based on a multidimensional model of giftedness designed for preschool and kindergarten students. Results provide support for: the internal structure of the scale; no age differences across the 3‐year age span 4:0‐6:11; gender differences on only one of the five scales; artistic talent; and small but statistically significant race/ethnicity differences with Asian Americans rated, on average, 1.5 scale‐score points higher than whites and Native Americans and 7 points higher than African American and Hispanic students. The present findings provide support for the GRS‐P as a valid screening test for giftedness.     

Agreeableness and Conscientiousness as predictors of university students’ self/peer-assessment rating error

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the role of two personality traits (i.e. Agreeableness and Conscientiousness from the Big Five personality traits) in predicting rating error in the self-assessment and peer-assessment of composition writing. The average self/peer-rating errors of 136 Iranian English major undergraduates assigned to two equal-sized groups, one doing self-assessment and the other peer-assessment over nine sessions, were correlated with and regressed against their measures of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The results indicated that Agreeableness and Conscientiousness only explained 7% of the variation in self-rating error. Including both Agreeableness and Conscientiousness in a model to predict peer-rating error explained 16% of the variation. When Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were both included in a multiple regression analysis, only Agreeableness was found to significantly predict peer-rating error. Based on these findings, some conclusions are drawn, and pedagogical implications are discussed.     

Multirater congruence on the social skills rating system: mother,father, and teacher assessments of urban head start children’s social competencies

This study examined the relationships between parent and teacher and between mother and father SSRS reports of 134 urban Head Start children to assess the cross-informant capacity of the SSRS. The findings documented an insignificant relationship between parent and teacher SSRS ratings of children’s social competence. The results revealed significant congruence between SSRS ratings of mothers and fathers. Mothers and fathers who reported higher levels of sharing childcare responsibilities evidenced higher levels of agreement on SSRS ratings of children. This study discusses the importance of Head Start staff, parent, and research partnerships for developing scales that have the capacity to foster home-school communications about children.     

Students’ learning outcomes and peer rating accuracy in compulsory and voluntary online peer assessment

Peer assessment can be conducted online with rapid development of online learning technology. The current study was conducted empirically to investigate peer rating accuracy and student learning outcomes in online peer assessments, comparing compulsory and voluntary peer assessment. Section 1 (N?=?93) was assigned to the voluntary group and Section 2 (N?=?31) was assigned to the compulsory group. The results showed the voluntary group scored significantly higher than the compulsory group in the final task of the course, while there was no significant difference on the final task score increase. Students who participated in the voluntary group provided more accurate scores (i.e. peer rater accuracy) than those who participated in the compulsory group. The peer score leniency/severity rating, comparing peer assigned scores with the teacher assigned scores, were generally consistent with the peer rater accuracy results. The current study offers insights for researchers who are interested in studying the effect of online peer assessment activities. The results are also of interest for instructors who may want to conduct peer assessments in online courses and are choosing between compulsory and voluntary formats.     

Testing theoretical explanations for heterogeneity in associations between a state quality rating and improvement system and prekindergarten children’s academic performance

The present study tests two complementary developmental theories regarding the fit between children’s skills and their environments within the context of a state Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Specifically, we examine whether high-quality prekindergarten disproportionately benefits children based on their entering ability levels. The sample includes 684 children (48% female; M _age = 57.56 months) residing in a midwestern state who were eligible to receive child care subsidies and participated in an evaluation of state-funded prekindergarten during the 2015-2016 school year (cohort 1), 2016-2017 school year (cohort 2), or 2018-2019 school year (cohort 3). We implemented multilevel regression models with children nested in their respective classrooms and schools to investigate whether children in higher-rated prekindergarten programs on the QRIS experienced greater growth in math, literacy, and vocabulary from fall to spring if they entered with stronger executive function skills (i.e., foundational skills hypothesis), or if they entered with weaker skills in the same respective domain as the outcome (i.e., compensatory skills hypothesis) relative to children who attended programs that were lower-rated or unrated on the QRIS. Contrary to both hypotheses, only one significant interaction emerged indicating that children who attended prekindergarten programs rated as low-quality on the QRIS were more likely to have higher spring literacy performance if they began the year with stronger executive function skills. Implications for research and policy are discussed.     

After the Thunder Came the Rain

1.Socrates,the great thinker in ancient Greece,had a rude wife,who often lost her temper with him.     

the same与all the same

the same与all the same这两个短语仅一词之差,但意义及用法却大相径庭,极易混淆,提醒同学们要特别予以注意: I.the same 1)the same常用作形容词,修饰名词,意为“同一个(人、物或地点)”。例如: ①Li Mei and Zhang Hua are in the same class.(李梅和张华在同一个班 级。)     

How the Hare Got the Goat

1. A man bought a goat from the market and went home with it. A hare saw them and thought: "What a good goat that is! I must have it for myself." 一位男子从市场上买了一只羊带回家去。一只兔子见了想道:“多好的一只羊呀!我一定要把它搞到手。”     

In the Kingdom of the Seals

Some Pe0Ple(l)that seals are the fairies of the sea and日ho记d notbe killed.“In the kin酗om of the Seals,’15 12、English fairy sto钾byDonald A Machenzie.It tells of a seal huntel(3)wounds a seal.Theseal swims away(4、the hunter,5 knife still(5)baek.That     

Did the Gamemakers Fix the Lottery in the Hunger Games?

The Hunger Games is an annual event in the fictional country of Panem. Each year, 24 children (tributes) are chosen by lottery from 12 districts to fight to the death in the arena for the entertainment of the Capitol citizens. Using statistical analysis and computer simulations, we will explore the possibility that the Gamemakers, those in charge of planning the Hunger Games, fixed the lottery. Using the fictitious data from Suzanne Collins' book the Hunger Games, we show how students can learn how to perform a permutation goodness of fit test.     

亡羊补牢,the sooner the better!

地球只有一个,而人类对其的破坏却在“ing”(进行时)?! 人类对水圈:水资源危机除了气候干燥和水资源时空分布不均等自然因素外,人为因素显然是更重要的原因。随着人口激增,产业发展,导致用水量成倍增加。同时,人类不仅对水的利用率很低,而且,对其的污染更为厉害。全世界工业和城市生活污水每年排放量不断增加,许多本来可以利用的淡水资源遭到破坏。这不仅使水资源紧缺地区淡水供需矛盾更加突出,而且使原先水资     

Enhancing the Humanistic Quality Education of the Students in the Teachers colleges to Face the New Century

Summary: The article discusses the main problems caused by lack of the humanistic quality education in teachers colleges and universities, points out the necessity of enhancing the education and suggests some practical approaches.