Open assessment in higher education: The New York regents external degree

The Regents External Degree Program of The University of the State of New York offers college degrees to anyone who can qualify. No classroom attendance is required. Since 1972 more than 16,000 people have enrolled in the Program and 5,000 have graduated. These external students range in age from 17 to 87 and they reside in every state in the nation. Regents External Degrees are available in the arts, sciences, business, and nursing; each may be earned entirely by examination — 548 have already done so — or by a combination of tests, study at accredited colleges, and approved courses sponsored by the military, government, and business. The University of the State of New York, created in 1784, is America's oldest continuous educational agency. The University was established not to provide classroom instruction but to govern all education in New York, including elementary and secondary schools, museums, libraries, and 250 public and private colleges and universities. Faculty drawn from these institutions of higher education work with Regents' staff in Albany to administer America's first national examining university.

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Zusammenfassung Das Regents External Degree Programm der Staatsuniversität von New York bietet jedem einen akademischen Grad, der sich qualifizieren kann. Anwesenheit im Hörsaal wird nicht verlangt. Seit 1972 haben sich mehr als 16.000 Menschen im Rahmen dieses Programms immatrikuliert und 5000 haben einen akademischen Grad erworben. Das Alter dieser Studenten reicht von 17 bis 87, und sie wohnen in jedem Staat der USA. Akademische Grade des Regents External Degree Programms können in den geistes- und naturwissenschaftlichen Fächern sowie in wirtschaftswissen-schaftlichen Fächern, aber auch Kleinkinderziehung abgelegt werden; jeder Grad kann entweder in Gänze durch Prüfungen erworben werden, und das haben schon 548 Teilnehmer getan, oder durch eine Kombination von Tests, Studium an anerkannten Colleges, und anerkannten Kursen die durch das Militär, die Regierung oder die Wirtschaft gefördert werden. Die Staatsuniversität von New York, gegründet 1784, ist Amerikas älteste bestehende Bildungseinrichtung. Die Universität wurde ursprünglich nicht zum Erteilen von Unterricht gegründet, sondern diente als Aufsichtsinstitut für die Bildungseinrichtungen in New York, einschliesslich der Primar- und Sekundarschulen, Museen, Büchereien, und der 250 öffentlichen und privaten Colleges und Universitäten. Lehrpersonal dieser Institutionen im Hochschulbereich arbeiten zusammen mit dem Personal des Regent Programms in Albany in der Verwaltung von Amerikas erster nationaler Prüfungsuniversität.

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Résumé Le Programme Regents de Grade Externe de l'Université de l'Etat de New York concède des grades universitaires à toute personne qui peut se qualifier. Aucune fréquentation de la salle de classe n'est exigée. Depuis 1972, plus de 16.000 personnes se sont inscrites pour le programme et 5.000 personnes ont reçu un grade universitaire. L'âge de ces étudiants externes s'étend de 17 à 87 et ils résident dans chacun des Etats de la nation. Les Grades Externes du Programme Regents peuvent être obtenus pour les arts, les sciences, l'économie et la profession d'infirmière; chaque grade peut être entièrement acquis par examen — 548 ont déjà procédé de la sorte — ou par une combinaison d'épreuves, d'études dans des collèges accrédités, et de cours approuvés subventionnés par l'armée, le gouvernement et l'industrie. L'Université de l'Etat de New York, créée en 1784, est l'établissement américain educatif le plus ancien qui a toujours fonctionné sans interruption. Cette Université a été fondée non pour transmettre une instruction scolaire mais pour diriger toute forme d'éducation dans l'Etat de New York, englobant les écoles élémentaires et secondaires, les musées, les bibliothèques et les 250 collèges et universités publiques et privés. La faculté provenant de ces institutions d'éducation supérieure travaille avec le personnel du Programme Regents à Albany pour administrer la première université américaine nationale examinatrice.

     

自学考试在社会主义新农村建设中的作用

自学考试是一种开放、灵活、高效的教育形式,它对我国正在推进的社会主义新农村建设有着重要作用。本文从建设社会主义新农村的四个方面来阐述自学考试对它们的促进作用。     

大学英语考试的改革

鉴于目前大学英语考试存在的弊端,本文通过大学英语考试的改革实践,说明了增加口语考试并加大读写听考试比重的意义,同时也分析了考试结果对英语教学的反拨作用。大学英语考试改革的最终目的是通过系统测试反应学生的实际英语水平,尤其是听说水平,以适应社会对人才的需要。     

The assault on the professions and the restructuring of academic and professional identities: a Bernsteinian analysis

This paper draws upon a range of ideas and concepts developed by the British sociologist Basil Bernstein to examine recent challenges and changes encountered by members of professional occupations, including those who teach and research in higher education. The paper discusses and seeks to develop Bernstein's analysis of how particular structurings of knowledge may be related to the formation of occupational identities centred in what Bernstein refers to as ‘inwardness’ and ‘inner dedication’. It then examines a range of challenges to such identities—particularly those arising from the ‘regionalisation’ of knowledge and from ‘genericim’. The paper concludes by assessing the prospects for perpetuating such identities in an era of increasing marketization and managerialism.     

International language proficiency standards in the local context: Interpreting the CEFR in standard setting for exam reform in Luxembourg

ABSTRACT

In the field of second and foreign language learning, the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) is widely-used for setting language proficiency standards within European, and increasingly global, contexts. Few studies, however, have investigated the ways in which systemic, macro-level factors within national educational contexts may influence standard setting practices using the CEFR. In this paper, we explore this issue through an analysis of recorded discussions within standard setting sessions for the Épreuve Commune for English, a national English language examination in Luxembourg. The data reveals four key sources of influence on standard setting decision-making: Luxembourg’s unique language ecology, streamed schooling, the national curriculum, and an ongoing exam reform project. Through this analysis, we argue that Luxembourg functions as a critical case illustrating the tension between international standards of language proficiency and local realities.     

The social marketing approach: a way to increase reporting and treatment of sexual assault

OBJECTIVE: Too often communities remain silent in response to cases of sexual assault of children. Members of the community are afraid to report such incidents and victims are reluctant to seek and accept treatment. The purpose of the paper is to examine whether application of a social marketing approach may serve as an effective means for motivating communities to report and victims to seek professional treatment. METHODS: The paper is based on a case study of an ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Israel, where an informal campaign of silence developed. Using content analysis of documents and in-depth interviews, the research examines the implementation of a social marketing approach by a multidisciplinary team of professionals in the community. It focuses on developments in the community's attitude to sexual abuse, especially with regard to reporting assault and seeking and accepting treatment. RESULTS: The findings show a considerable reduction in the fear that victims and other members of the community felt with regard to exposing the issue; a change among the community leaders, some of whom initially objected to reporting and treatment; introduction of an alternative community dialogue that advocated reporting and treatment; and a rise in the number of reports and of people in treatment. CONCLUSION: The paper recommends the integration of principles of social marketing in community programs aimed at dealing with sexual assault. In particular, it suggests the identification of competing groups in the community, construction of specific programs for different segments, addressing the no-monetary prices that the change may incur on the different groups, location of appropriate places for distribution of messages, and use of effective personal, as well as public means of communication and promotion.     

高中学业水平考试实施背景下的高考改革探析

学考作为高校招生录取依据的新功能引起了社会的广泛关注,但在我国,学考和高考在实施过程中存在着职责混淆、学考功能得不到正常发挥、学考和高考管理权限不明晰等问题,使学考在促进我国高校招生考试改革方面的作用有限,高考改革举步维艰.本文认为,学考与高考在性质和功能上有着明显区别,但在高校招生录取中又是相互联动的.今后我国高考改革应该致力于正确定位政府在学考和高考中扮演的角色,明确学考和高考的组织机构和职能,为我国高考实行“分类考试、综合评价、多元录取”打下基础.     

Reflection on exam grades to improve calibration of secondary school students: a longitudinal study

Metacognition and Learning - Grades provide students with information about their level of performance. However, grades may also make students more aware of how well they have estimated their...     

The impact of the pre-instructional cognitive profile on learning gain and final exam of physics courses: a case study

The case study described in this paper investigates the relationship among some pre-instructional knowledge, the learning gain and the final physics performance of computing engineering students in the introductory physics course. The results of the entrance engineering test (EET) have been used as a measurement of reading comprehension, logic and mathematics skills and basic physics knowledge of a sample of 47 Computing Engineering freshmen at the University of Palermo (Italy). These data give a significant picture of the initial knowledge status of a student choosing engineering studies. The students' physics learning gain has been calculated using a standardized tool in mechanics: the force concept inventory (FCI). The analysis shows that mathematical and physical background contribute to achieve a good final preparation in physics courses of engineering faculties; however the students' learning gain in physics is independent of students' initial level of mathematics skills and physics knowledge. Initial logic skills and reading comprehension abilities are not significant factors for the learning physics gain and the performance on physics courses.     

关于广州市升中考试改革的新思路

随着我国基础教育课程改革逐步在全国铺开,招生考试的改革也成为人们关注的焦点。我市原东山区(现东山区和越秀区合并为越秀区)在基本完成课程改革实验后,就向社会公布了借鉴深圳市南山区经验的中招改方案。一石激起千重浪,该方案的公布马上在社会上引起广泛的争论,赞同的有之,持怀疑甚至反对态度的也有之。人们关注的焦点是:升中考试的等级制评价是否会降低选拔性考试的区分度,因而不利于高中选拔新生;综合素质测评会否因社会广泛存在的诚信问题而陷于不公。笔者多年来关注考试改革,近年来更经常思考课程改革后升中考试如何既体现课改精神,…     

On discarding affirmative action: An address to the regents of the University of California

Editor's Note: On 20 July 1995 the Board of Regents of the University of California voted to end the use of race, gender, and ethnicity in student admissions and in faculty and staff hiring. Before the vote, thirty-one “elected and other public figures” were scheduled to address the Regents briefly on the subject of affirmation action. Governor Pete Wilson (ex officio president of the Board) was allocated several of the thirty-one slots. Among those he invited to speak was NAS member John M. Ellis. We present Professor Ellis’s remarks below.     

From the bottom-up: New York City teacher evaluation and the narration of mediated institutional assault

Following the trend of consequential accountability in US public education, New York City introduced a teacher evaluation program during the 2013–2014 school year that linked teachers’ individual performance ratings with their students’ exam scores. As this program systemically alters the nature of teacher–student relationships by transforming students into the means to an end (teachers’ professional viability), this study investigated the implementation of this accountability program from the point of view of the teachers – those who were the subject of this new policy. This study of 15 teachers’ narratives from 3 distinct schools illuminates a social-organizational process that I refer to as mediated institutional assault – a perceived attack on the teachers’ sense of personhood and moral agency perpetrated by mediating figures whose actions were facilitated by bureaucratic policies and institutionally coordinated tools of control. Thus, this study reveals that the consequence of this new mode of accountability is not merely the threat of losing one’s job, but also an insidious form of psychological assault, which in its masked delivery violates teachers’ sense of relational morality and challenges deeply engrained beliefs about their role as educators.     

Providing the answers does not improve performance on a college final exam

In the context of an upper-level psychology course, even when students were given an opportunity to refer to text containing the answers and change their exam responses in order to improve their exam scores, their performance on these questions improved slightly or not at all. Four experiments evaluated competing explanations for the students’ failure to correct their answers. Experiments 1–3 ruled out ceiling effects, cognitive bias from a previous response and item selection effects, respectively, as explanations of the result. Experiment 4 showed that no more than 41% of the students comprehended the paragraphs well enough to find the answer. Furthermore, even this 41% of the students did not put sufficient effort into finding the answer, regardless of the impact on their grade, when they were not coerced to do so.     

The Objective Borderline Method: a probabilistic method for standard setting

A new probability-based standard setting technique, the Objective Borderline Method (OBM), was introduced recently. This was based on a mathematical model of how test scores relate to student ability. The present study refined the model and tested it using 2500 simulated data-sets. The OBM was feasible to use. On average, the OBM performed well with specificity .88, sensitivity .51, false positive rate 3.4% and false negative rate 26%. These indices were insensitive to the borderline score range. This probability-based standard setting may be a useful addition to the range of standard setting methods available.     

基于语言测试的一次高中英语月考试卷分析

语言测试是检测外语教学成效和提高外语教学质量的重要手段。语言测试有四个重要因素:信度、效度、难度和区分度。将所搜集的数据通过SPSS,对一次高三英语月考试卷从这四个方面进行分析,旨在帮助教师总结测试,减少测试误差的影响,提高测试的效率,从而促进外语教学。