Instructional Tools in Educational Measurement and Statistics (ITEMS) for School Personnel: Evaluation of Three Web-Based Training Modules

In the current No Child Left Behind era, K‐12 teachers and principals are expected to have a sophisticated understanding of standardized test results, use them to improve instruction, and communicate them to others. The goal of our project, funded by the National Science Foundation, was to develop and evaluate three Web‐based instructional modules in educational measurement and statistics to help school personnel acquire the “assessment literacy” required for these roles. Our first module, “What's the Score?” was administered in 2005 to 113 educators who also completed an assessment literacy quiz. Viewing the module had a small but statistically significant positive effect on quiz scores. Our second module, “What Test Scores Do and Don't Tell Us,” administered in 2006 to 104 educators, was even more effective, primarily among teacher education students. In evaluating our third module, “What's the Difference?” we were able to recruit only 33 participants. Although those who saw the module before taking the quiz outperformed those who did not, results were not statistically significant. Now that the research phase is complete, all ITEMS instructional materials are freely available on our Website.     

法国新世纪教育改革目标:为了全体学生成功

为适应21世纪教育发展的新形势,法国组建了"学校未来全国讨论委员会",开展了关于学校未来的全国大讨论,出版了<为了全体学生成功>的最终报告,通过了<学校未来的导向与纲要法>,保证每个学生获得由知识、能力和行为准则整体构成的共同基础.     

关于我国外语教育政策的若干思考

外语教育政策关系到我国教育工作的全局。本文论述目前我国外语教育的现状,对当前国际政治形势下我国外语教育政策的制定取向提出了几点思考,以期对我国外语教育政策的制定有一定的参考意义。     

On the testing of standards and standardized achievement testing: Panacea,placebo, or pandora's box?

Parents and educators concerned with the quality of education in Canadian schools have been subjected to a concerted campaign (through editorials, columns, and letters to the editor in major dailies and magazines, as well as a spate of books with alarmist titles) aimed at convincing them that the lack of adequate testing represents a major shortcoming and a stumbling block to educational reform. Provincewide and nationwide standardized achievement tests are offered as an indispensable tool to understand what works and what does not, to let parents know how schools are doing and how well their children are performing, and to make teachers and school boards accountable. Provincial education authorities are finding it increasingly difficult to resist the pressure, with Ontario the latest to jump on the testing bandwagon. However, although concerns about school curricula and about the best methods for testing student learning and performance are legitimate, the belief that standardized achievement tests are part of the solution to many ills allegedly afflicting our educational system does not stand up to the increasingly clear evidence of the many problems associated with the construction and administration of these tests, as well as the misuse and abuse of test scores. Far from being a panacea, this approach has proved to be fraught with dangers and adverse effects, from a narrowing of the curriculum to overemphasis of routine processes at the expense of higher learning skills, with virtually no empirical support for the purported benefits. With Canadian students facing the risk of being subjected to the same abuses as their U.S. counterparts, this paper reviews recent contributions and attempts to alert educators and policymakers to the serious deficiencies of this type of testing.     

Using TIMSS and PISA results to inform educational policy: a study of Russia and its neighbours

In this paper, we develop a multi-level comparative approach to analyse Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS) and Programme of International Student Achievement (PISA) mathematics results for a country, Russia, where the two tests provide contradictory information about students’ relative performance. Russian students do relatively well on the TIMSS mathematics test but relatively poorly on the PISA. We compare the performance of Russian students with different levels of family academic resources over the past decade on these tests compared to students with similar family resources in Russia’s neighbours and to Russian students studying in Latvian and Estonian Russian-medium schools. These comparisons and interviews with educators in Latvia and Estonia help us understand why students in Russia may perform lower on the PISA and to draw education policy lessons for improving international test performance generally and Russian students’ PISA mathematics performance specifically.     

从教育政策学视角看当代世界教育改革

谁掌握了面向21世纪的教育,谁就能够在21世纪的国际竞争中处于战略主动地位。因此,世界各国普遍掀起了一场广泛、深入、持久的教育改革。从教育政策学的视角来看,当代世界教育改革就是由各国政府为主角来推行的一种自上而下的政府行为。文章主要从教育政策学的视角对教育改革的内涵,对当代教育改革的背景、主要理论、特点与策略、历史动因以及发展趋势进行分析与阐述。     

An Explanation for School Failure: Moving Beyond Black Inferiority and Alienation as a Policy-Making Agenda

Numerous authors identify a white supremacist ideology that shapes the educational opportunities for racially diverse students. We contend that this ideology informs educational policy and hampers the likelihood that racially diverse populations can achieve success at levels similar to students of European descent. In this paper we define the white supremacist ideology as it informs education policy and practices. Three examples from the United States are then used to illustrate the influence of such an ideology. These examples include the creation and protection of racially segregated schooling; desegregation policies; and the current uses of school report cards. We conclude with the relevance of this discussion to educational debates in Great Britain and South Africa, and recommendations to minimise the influence of this ideology on education policy and school reform efforts.     

专家视野中的区域教育发展战略与西部教育政策 --运用德尔菲咨询法进行的调查分析

以西部大开发五年多来的教育发展为背景,采用德尔菲咨询法,调查了国内30位专家对区域教育发展战略选择和西部教育政策调整方向的意见。多数专家认为,在区域教育发展战略的选择上,应当均衡地普及九年义务教育以及高中阶段教育,非均衡地调整高等教育布局,促使国家扶持、东部地区支持与西部地区自身努力有机结合,坚持走区域特色发展、分类推进的路子。在西部教育政策的调整上,要加强中央政府政策与西部地方政府政策之间的配套;进一步协调部门政策,以切合西部教育发展实际;加强中央政策的法律支撑体系和良性运行机制建设;采取不同方式处理东、中、西部及西部内部地区之间的关系;健全投入体制,深化办学体制改革和制度创新。     

论教育创新与教育改革

关于教育创新的研究是教育科学的一个重要研究领域。时代背景和教育自身规律决定了教育创新在教育改革和发展过程中有着重要的意义和价值。教育改革和教育创新这两个概念的逻辑关系是相互交叉、部分重叠的。在新形势下,我们应当以一种教育创新和教育改革良性互动的辩证思维来思考教育改革问题,推动教育改革在一些陷入僵局的问题上摆脱目前的困境。     

Educational Reform and Research in Hong Kong: A Request for Comprehensive Knowledge

When Hong Kong is moving towards a knowledge society in the new millennium, research is clearly necessary to provide a knowledge base for educational development and reform to meet the challenges of globalization and high technology in the world. This report aims to review the education policy environment in Hong Kong and see whether research can be encouraged to support policy development and practice improvement. Particularly, the report will give a brief introduction to the recent initiatives in Hong Kong school education since the establishment of the Special Administrative Region in 1997 and discusses the potential research agenda to support the ongoing education reforms at the school system. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

关于地方特殊教育发展的政策文本分析——以各省市《中长期教育改革与发展纲要》为例

《教育规划纲要》颁布后,全国各省、自治区、直辖市均颁发了本区域《纲要》,其中,对未来十年特殊教育的改革与发展做出了谋划。从政策分析的角度透视各地《纲要》,各地对于特殊教育内容的规划,无论从目标责任设计、政策措施安排,还是政策体系构建都取得了一些突破,也存在着一些共性问题,对《纲要》及时进行比较分析,并在《纲要》基础上进一步细化各地特殊教育政策,形成特殊教育政策体系,才能全面提升我国特殊教育质量。     

公共教育空间：英日两国教育政策比较研究

在20世纪40年代中期、80年代、90年代以后的三个不同历史时期，英国和日本采取一系列教育政策改造传统的公共教育体制，不断扩展公共教育的空间。现在，在全球化背景下，公共的教育空间不是变得规则、协调了．而是在各自的地理环境中变得不规则了。对英国和日本的教育政策进行比较研究，有助于我们深刻地认识英日两国菊在于公共教育空间背后不同的教育特质和教育机制。     

PISA,policymaking and political pantomime: education policy referencing between England and Hong Kong

Since the mid-1980s, a number of East Asian societies have consistently performed well in international tests, and their education systems have emerged as models of ‘best practice’, including Hong Kong, which has been extensively referenced by politicians and their advisers in England. In parallel, local dissatisfaction with the education system in Hong Kong has prompted major education reforms. This mismatch between the perceptions of the Hong Kong education system of the two policy communities is explored using documentary analysis and interviews with policymakers and other key stakeholders. We analyse the ways in which features of Hong Kong’s education system are reconstructed and projected in policymaking in England and argue that the referencing to Hong Kong in England is akin to a form of political theatre, reminiscent of a pantomime, with stereotyped villains, heroes and fairy godmothers, narratives of good conquering evil, and comical set-pieces. We argue that these elements provide the means for both constructing and validating simple causal claims and their associated policy actions.     

国外择校研究的前沿图景:现象与政策

环顾全球,择校在一些国家表现为一种社会现象,而在另一些国家则体现为一项变革政策。近年来,国外择校研究继续向着广与深的方向发展,这既拓宽了我们观察全球择校现象的视野,也深化了我们对西方国家择校政策的认识。本文基于近三年来国外择校研究的最新文献,从择校现象的动因、择校政策的设计和成效方面,描绘本研究领域的前沿图景,并思考相关启示。     

The struggle for comprehensive education in the Netherlands: the representation of secondary school innovation in Dutch newspaper articles in the 1970s

This article focuses on how Dutch newspapers represented the debate in the Netherlands in the 1970s on comprehensive education and thus influenced the Dutch Middle School experiment. Wiborg’s identification of key factors of success in Scandinavia was used as a point of reference. The article shows that these key factors did not exist in the Netherlands because of the polarisation of liberals and social democrats. Furthermore, the article shows how newspapers played different roles, varying from disseminators of new ideas to sparking debate and from communicators of political views to a barometer, consequently influencing the political strategies chosen.     

Reform of teacher education in China: a survey of policies for systemic change

ABSTRACT

This paper adopts an inductive analytical approach to reviewing the major state policies to reform teacher education in China. Based on the perceived impact on teachers and teacher education, 21 policy documents have been selected for this review. Five themes emerge in the analysis, which include: Expansion of teacher education by institutional diversification; structural changes through upgrading, merging and eliminating institutions and school; innovations on modes of teacher preparation, curricula and teaching practicum; certification and examinations; and strengthening teacher supply for the rural schools. The paper also analyses the contextual and systemic factors that affect the formulation and implementation of reform policies in teacher education and critically reflect the effect of these policies on Chinese teacher education.     

多层面语言政策视角下美国高等院校继承语教育的发展

文章从语言政策的角度出发,分析了来自于不同层面、不同语言政策行为主体的语言政策活动对高校继承语教育产生的影响,以此说明美国高校的继承语教育政策是多方语言政策行为主体互相影响、互相协调、互相妥协的结果,微妙地促成了一个能够暂时平衡各方利益和需求的现状。但是,目前美国高校的继承语教育政策实际上是在努力规避触及“种族”这一核心问题,尽量维护表面和谐。严格来讲,美国高校的继承语教育并不能从真正意义上保护和促进少数族裔的语言权利,它更多的是一个单纯的外语教育促进政策。     

Quality Control for Scoring Tests Administered in Continuous Mode: An NCME Instructional Module

Quality control (QC) in testing is paramount. QC procedures for tests can be divided into two types. The first type, one that has been well researched, is QC for tests administered to large population groups on few administration dates using a small set of test forms (e.g., large‐scale assessment). The second type is QC for tests, usually computerized, that are administered to small population groups on many administration dates using a wide array of test forms (CMT—continuous mode tests). Since the world of testing is headed in this direction, developing QC for CMT is crucial. In the current ITEMS module we discuss errors that might occur at the different stages of the CMT process, as well as the recommended QC procedure to reduce the incidence of each error. Illustration from a recent study is provided, and a computerized system that applies these procedures is presented. Instructions on how to develop one's own QC procedure are also included.     

面向信息化教学能力的《现代教育技术》公共课教学改革

在基础教育信息化的推广应用阶段,如何培养和提高职前教师的信息化教学能力,以适应我国基础教育课程改革的需要,这已经成为了高师院校《现代教育技术》公共课教学改革迫切需要解决的问题。针对目前《现代教育技术》公共课教学实践中存在的主要误区,提出了信息化教学能力是信息时代教师教学能力的核心,阐述了信息化教学能力的内涵和发展阶段。以信息化教学能力为培养目标,从教学目标、课程内容体系、教学方法和教学评价四方面提出了《现代教育技术》公共课的教学改革策略。