Use of standardized test scores to predict success in a computer applications course

The purpose of this study was to see if a relationship existed between American College Testing (ACT) scores (i.e., English, reading, mathematics, science reasoning, and composite) and student success in a computer applications course at a Mississippi community college. The study showed that while the ACT scores were excellent predictors of success, the ACT scores did not predict nonsuccess. Inclusion in the nonsuccess group is only slightly accounted for in the models by use of either ACT composite score or ACT subscores; therefore, there must be other factors that affect the student outcome in the course. However, the odds ratio indicated that for every one point of increase in ACT composite score, a student is 18% more likely to be successful in the computer applications course. Likewise, a student is 11.9% more likely to be successful in the computer applications course for every one point of increase on ACT science reasoning score.     

A Survey of Nursery School Costs

ABSTRACT

The authors investigated the extent to which taking specific types of Advanced Placement (AP) courses and the number of courses taken predicts the likelihood of passing subject benchmarks and earning a score of 19 on the composite score on the ACT test, and examined the role gender plays in the projection. They found evidence that taking an AP mathematics course and taking more AP courses derives a positive benefit. Results suggest young men are more likely to succeed in passing ACT mathematics and ACT science tests than are young women, but no gender difference was found on ACT Reading and ACT social studies.     

Interrelationships between the Choice of College Major,the ACT and the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire

Abstract

The usefulness of the ACT and 16 PF for discriminating between decided and undecided college students was investigated. Different discriminant functions were derived for males and females, indicating a need for different counseling procedures. A canonical correlation analysis of the ACT versus the 16 PF indicated a strong relationship between the two instruments, even though redundancies were low. Six factors emerged in a factor analysis of the ACT, 16 PF, sex, hours earned, GPA, and group: an academic potential factor, four personality factors, and a school achievement factor.     

Scales for Measuring Results of Physics Teaching

ABSTRACT

The Advanced Placement (AP) program is an educational program that permits high school students to take introductory college-level courses and receive college credit by passing a standardized end-of-course exam. Data were obtained from a statewide database of 2 high school graduating cohorts (N = 90,044). We used a series of propensity score analyses and marginal mean weighting through stratification to examine the impact of the AP program on students' academic achievement as measured by ACT scores. Results indicate that merely enrolling in an AP course produces very little benefit for students. Students who take and pass the AP exam, however, obtain higher ACT scores, even after controlling for a wide variety of academic, socioeconomic, and demographic variables. The authors conclude the article by discussing aspects of the AP program that remain unanswered.     

“Traditional” Classroom Attitudes,The A.C.T. and the 16 P.F.

Abstract

A factor analytic study of the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory indicated that a 'Traditionalistic" belief about child control was measured by that instrument. The relationships between the "Traditionalism" factor, the 16 PF, and ACT were examined for 101 students prior to admission into professional education courses. The naive student who espoused "Traditionalism" tended to be anxious, less intelligent and male. The ACT "English" and "Mathematics" test scores seemed to correspond more with measures of intelligence than the "Social Studies" and "Natural Science" scores, although all four together defined an "achievement" factor. Evidently the student registering greater achievement was "tender-minded" and "imaginative." Differences between male and female students who intend to teach suggest that they may best be taught differently.     

Evaluating Experimental and Control Programs for Attrition/Persistence

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness, in terms of attrition/persistence, of an experimental program for disadvantaged freshmen (A’ = 104) as contrasted with a control program (N = 104). Multifactor analyses of variance considered the effects of programs, special instruction, financial aid, ACT, sex, race, and GPA. In terms of freshman attrition/persistence, there were no viable significant differences between the experimental and control programs; between special and regular instruction; between financial aid and no financial aid; between special instruction with financial aid and regular instruction with no financial aid; between lower and higher ACT scores; between males and females; or between blacks and whites. Grades (as significant main effects and in significant interactions) differentiated freshman attrition/ persistence consistently.     

Inadequate Social Acceptance and Disruptive Classroom Behavior

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between scholastic behavior and attitudinal variables and the interrelationship of scholastic behavior variables. Seventy-two students of general psychology answered a sentence completion attitude scale which measured attitudes toward two specific factors'-instructor and the course, and two general factors,-college and life. Scholastic behavior measures were absences, tardiness, and course grades. Attitudes toward life were identified as a suppressor and its variances statistically removed. Significant partial correlations were found between absences and both of the attitudes toward college and the composite of the four factors (p > .05). Significant relationships were also found for course grades with the attitudes toward the course and the composite scores. While tardiness scores were significantly negatively correlated with course grades, absence scores were not.     

Team-based Introductory Research Experiences in Mathematics

Abstract

As part of Middle Tennessee State University’s (MTSU’s) initiative to improve retention of at-risk STEM majors, they recruit first-time, full-time freshman STEM majors with mathematics ACT scores of 19 to 23 to participate in MTSU’s “Mathematics as a FirstSTEP to Success in STEM” project (FirstSTEP). This article overviews MTSU’s FirstSTEP research approach and demonstrates that introductory, early research experiences can be successful for mathematics projects. At the end of their freshman year, mathematics students can develop a foundation to conduct mathematical research, increase depth of content knowledge, and build confidence in their technical abilities.     

The Extent of the Use of the Left Hand in Handwriting

Abstract

Four representative Educational Psychology classes (N =139) were drawn from the fall semester offering of a large Midwestern teachers college. Two additional classes (N = S3) were selected from a small Eastern liberal arts school also training teachers.

At the beginning of the semester, all subjects were administered measures of intrinsic parental acceptance (Ausubel Parent Attitude Rating Scale), manifest anxiety (AT scale of MMPI), attitudes toward teaching (MTAI), attitudes about the value of professional education (SEAS), and authoritarianism (California F Scale). Measures of academic aptitude (ACT, SCAT) and academic achievement (GPA) were secured from the college records. At the end of the same semester, subjects completed a student information sheet and a second measure of their attitudes toward teaching (MTAI).

Significant correlations were obtained between parental acceptance scores and each of the following measures; manifest anxiety, attitudes toward teaching, and attitudes toward professional education. Male overachievers were found to have significantly lower parental acceptance than male underachievers. No significant relationships were found between parental acceptance and attitude shift or authoritarianism.     

An effective mathematics and science curriculum option for secondary gifted education

Project Ga‐GEMS (Georgia's Project for Gifted Education in Math and Science) viewed the effect that placement in an integrated, hands‐on mathematics and science curriculum had on the achievement of academically talented high school students. For a two‐year period of time, students gifted in the areas of mathematics and science participated in a curriculum which incorporated higher‐level thinking skills and more real life laboratory experiences into mutually reinforcing mathematics and science lessons. After the conclusion of the two‐year program, Ga‐GEMS participants and a control group were given the mathematics and science sections of the ACT as they exited the tenth grade. The Ga‐GEMS students scored significantly higher on the Science Math Total, Pre‐Algebra/Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra/Coordinate Geometry and Plane Geometry/Trigonometry sections of the ACT. To determine if the Ga‐GEMS students retained their higher scores throughout high school the SAT scores of both groups were compared as the students exited high school. Significant differences in the areas of total score and mathematics were noted. This study lends support for the use of a differentiated curriculum for educating gifted students in science and mathematics.     

School and program related factors influencing disclosure among children participating in a school-based childhood physical and sexual abuse prevention program

BackgroundSchool-based child abuse prevention programs were created to provide knowledge so that children can recognize abuse, teach skills that decrease children’s risk for abuse, normalize the disclosure process, and provide a pathway for children who may be experiencing abuse to report the abuse.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to explore school and program factors that trainers in a school-based prevention program believed were associated with disclosure among youth from kindergarten through 12th grade.Participants and settingThis study is based on eighteen trainers and administrators who work with the Play it Safe!® school-based program in Dallas-Fort Worth area.MethodsUsing the qualitative case study method, in-depth interviews were conducted.ResultsData analysis revealed three factors that influenced disclosure: school, school personnel, and program features. The school-related factor was time allotted to the training. The school personnel-related factors were disengagement, ambiguity concerning abuse, prior history with children, and professionals’ personal history of abuse. Finally, the program-related factors were the core messages of the training, providing specific examples, and repetition of the program. To date, there is a dearth of studies that explore the role that schools and school personnel play in the disclosure process.ConclusionChild abuse has devastating effects on children’s physical, social, emotional, and psychological well-being. Understanding more about schools, personnel, and program-related factors that lead to disclosure, which are more amenable to change, is critical to ensuring the safety of children.     

Factors Affecting Achievement in the First Course in Calculus

Three groups of students at Illinois State University (of respective sizes 235, 157, and 397) were used as subjects to determine which factors were significant predictors of success in the first course in calculus. The second and third groups were used to provide replications of the initial study. Academic independent variables considered were: ACT scores, high school rank, high school GPA, high school algebra grades, and the score from an algebra pretest. Biographical independent variables considered were: sex, birth order, family size, and high school size. The dependent variable was a function of the student’s course grade in the first semester of calculus. The use of stepwise and all-subsets regression procedures on the three groups revealed in each case that the best combination of predictors consisted of the algebra pretest and high school rank. From this result, the investigators concluded that the combination of algebraic skills, as represented by the score on the algebra pretest, and long-term perseverence and competitiveness, as measured by high school rank, play a significant role in the prediction of achievement in the first semester of calculus.     

Constructing a Universal Scale of High School Course Difficulty

This study examined the usefulness of applying the Rasch rating scale model (Andrich, 1978) to high school grade data. ACT Assessment test scores (English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning) were used as "common items" to adjust for different grading standards in individual high school courses both within and across schools. This scaling approach yielded an ACT Assessment-adjusted high school grade point average (AA-HSGPA) on a common scale across high schools and cohorts within a large public university. AA-HSGPA was a better predictor of first-year college grade point average (CGPA) than the regular high school grade point average. The best model for predicting CGPA included both the ACT composite score and AA-HSGPA.     

Relationship Between Reflective Disposition Toward Teaching and Effective Teaching

Abstract

The author demonstrated that a reflective disposition toward teaching was related to effective teaching especially in the domains of instructional behavior, classroom organization, and teacher expectation. Data used to test the hypothesis were composed of reflective disposition scores earned by teacher candidates (N = 55) and effective teaching scores given teacher candidates by their field instructors. Reflective disposition consisted of 6 components: the composite of reflective disposition and the composite of effective teaching, reflection on what teachers should know and be able to do, reflection on teaching, reflection on learning, reflection on the relationship between learning and teaching, and reflection on what it would be like to be a teacher in the classroom. Effective teaching consisted of 5 components: the composite of effective teaching, classroom management, instructional behavior, classroom organization, and teacher expectations.     

Teacher migration to Botswana: causes and implications for human resources management in education

Abstract

Botswana has been a host country to migrant teachers from various countries and regions of the world for many years. This paper reports on the migration motives that prompted teachers from four countries to move to Botswana to work in junior and senior secondary schools, and their attitudes towards human resource management (HRM) policies and practices in these schools. The teachers completed an 87-item questionnaire which measured four dimensions of migration push-pull factors, and HRM policy and practice issues. Multiple factors were revealed, linked to economic issues, personal circumstances, community and school-related conditions in both the home and host countries. However, the influence of each factor is related to migrants’ gender and countries of origin. As a follow-up to the above, a small, qualitative investigation was conducted. The reactions of five Botswana school managers to the HRM issues raised in the first phase were investigated by means of interviews. The results reveal the unique challenges of a diversified workforce for HRM in these schools.     

Estimated student score gain on the act COMP exam: Valid tool for institutional assessment?

The higher education community needs measures of the value added to student development by the college experience. ACT provides a quick, easy method for estimating the extent of student growth in general education. An institution can test seniors with the ACT College Outcome Measures Project (COMP) exam, then subtract from the senior score anestimated freshman score obtained from a concordance table that is based on the known relationship between freshman ACT Assessment composite score and freshman COMP Total score. Studies using scores for 4,200 seniors and 2,100 freshmen tested during a two-year period at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, indicate that this method is not sufficiently reliable or valid to serve as the basis for making precise judgments about the quality of general education programs.     

Gender Differences in College Preparedness: A Statewide Study

In this study, the authors investigated the extent to which boys and girls differed in their college-ready performance in reading, in math, and in both subjects for the 2006–2007 school year for the state of Texas (n = 1,099 high schools). Also examined were the extent to which boys and girls differed in their performance on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) for the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 school years. Differences in criterion scores, as well as how many boys and girls actually took these exams, were examined in addition to their average scores. Statistically significant differences were present between the college-ready scores of boys and of girls in reading, math, and in both subject areas. Of special note is that less than one-third of all students were deemed to be college-ready in both subject areas. Statistically significant differences also were revealed between boys and girls in the percentage taking the SAT or ACT, in the percentage meeting the SAT or ACT criterion, and in their SAT average scores, but not in their ACT average scores. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

CAS Applied in a Functional Perspective College Algebra Curriculum

Summary

Act in Algebra(ACT) is a functional perspective curriculum for college algebra that focuses on the use of realistic applications to motivate the acquisition of mathematical concepts through active student explorations. A computer algebra system (CAS) is used as an open-ended tool in the exploration of mathematics and the modeling of data. The goal of ACT is to improve student cognition, metacognition, and affect with respect to college algebra. A series of studies was conducted from the spring of 1994 to the spring of 1999 to determine the effects of the CAS in a functional perspective curriculum. This article provides an overview of the findings of those studies and discusses the implications of these findings for the teaching and learning of algebra.     

Effectiveness of the REACT Strategy on 12th Grade Students’ Understanding of the Alkenes Concept

Background: The context-based approach (CBA) is one of the approaches that allow learning to take place with real and related context, and this has increasingly become more popular.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the REACT strategy of the CBA on remedying 12th grade students’ alternative conceptions of ‘alkenes’ and improving their conceptual understanding.

Sample: The sample of the study consisted of 20 (10 girls and 10 boys – aged 17 to 18 years) 12th grade students who enrolled in the Chemistry course in the 2014–2015 academic year in a public high school.

Design and methods: Since the current study evaluated student gains in conceptual understanding by means of a pre-test, post-test, and delayed-test scores, the study used a single group pre-posttest research design. To gather data, an Alkenes Concept Test (ACT) with 15 multiple choice items and a semi-structured interview protocol with 4 open-ended questions were used. The ACT was administered before and after the intervention as pre- and post-tests. Then, the semi-structured interview protocol was carried out. The ACT was re-administered third time to the students as a delayed-test one month after the intervention.

Results: The results showed that the REACT strategy was effective to remedy the alternative conceptions and helped students to keep new conceptions in their long-term memory one month after the implementation.

Conclusions: The REACT strategy was effective in enhancing conceptual understanding of ‘alkenes’ and helping 12th grade students to link between the scientific concepts and daily life.     

Sociometric Predictors of the Self Concept among Fifth and Sixth Grade Children

Abstract

Theories of self-concept usually maintain that the individual’s self-esteem is reflected in peer ratings. The purpose of this 6tudy is to isolate factore of self-esteem and of peer ratings and to determine significant relationships between the derived factors. Over two hundred elementary pupils were selected from two metropolitan areas.

Approximately half were black, disadvantaged pupils; the remainder were white with above average cultural advantages. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) and a semantic differential (SD) were administered to all students. From a factor analysis of responses to the SEI, four factors of self-esteem and a lie scale emerged.

Three SD factors were obtained from a factor analysis of the peer ratings. One significant canonical correlation (.325 p = .01) resulted from the correlation of the three SD factor scores with scores on the five SEI factors. “Activity” dominated the relationship between peer feelings and self-concept dimensions.