Estimating parallel form reliability from one administration of a criterion-referenced test: A computer program for practitioners

Reliability of a criterion-referenced test is often viewed as the consistency with which individuals who have taken two strictly parallel forms of a test are classified as being masters or nonmasters. However, in practice, it is rarely possible to retest students, especially with equivalent forms. For this reason, methods for making conservative approximations of alternate form (or test-retest “without the effects of testing”) reliability have been developed. Because these methods are computationally tedious and require some psychometric sophistication, they have rarely been used by teachers and school psychologists. This paper (a) describes one method (Subkoviak's) for estimating alternate-form reliability from one administration of a criterion-referenced test and (b) describes a computer program developed by the authors that will handle tests containing hundreds of items for large numbers of examinees and allow any test user to apply the technique described. The program is a superior alternative to other methods of simplifying this estimation procedure that rely upon tables; a user can check classification consistency estimates for several prospective cut scores directly from a data file, without having to make prior calculations.     

Online student evaluation improves Course Experience Questionnaire results in a physiotherapy program

This paper reports the use of an online student evaluation system, Course Experience on the Web (CEW), in a physiotherapy program to improve their Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) results. CEW comprises a course survey instrument modelled on the CEQ and a tailored unit survey instrument. Closure of the feedback loop is integral in the CEW system. Analysis of the data shows that the students’ evaluation in their final year of the program is closely correlated with their CEQ results. Increases in the CEQ scores from 2001–04 included an increase in the Good Teaching Scale (27.5), Generic Skills Scale (10.3) and Overall Satisfaction Index (29.3). By using CEW, academics at the School of Physiotherapy were able to determine students’ perceptions during the course, make changes to teaching and learning, where appropriate, in a timely manner and, as a result, the CEQ scores were improved markedly.     

电力设备预防性试验结果判断的特殊问题

分析了电力设备预防性试验测量绝缘电阻与介质损耗因数、工频耐压试验及三比值法判断的特殊问题,提出了相应的判断方法。     

Difficulties in interpreting course evaluations: Some Bayesian insights

An investigation is undertaken of the nature of some of the difficulties encountered in interpreting accurately student evaluations of courses of instruction. Intuitive assessment of the results can be quite erroneous, especially if it is accompanied by a lack of awareness of Bayes' Theorem and the role of prior probabilities, as well as the record of the predictor, in obtaining an accurate interpretation of the results.     

Social critique or social control: Some problems for evaluation in environmental education

Environmental education is often thought of as the branch of science education whose field of inquiry encompasses those necessarily value-laden issues of human intervention in the natural world. While this perception would be contested by those who see the origins of environmental education lying in the sociopolitical arena of community concerns about exploitation of the environment, it is true to say that environmental education and science education are commonly associated in ways that other disciplines are not, and thus it is perhaps to be expected that the dominant paradigm of evaluation in environmental education should be applied science in character. This article raises the issue of the appropriateness of applied science approaches to evaluation in environmental education. The article begins with a critique of applied science approaches to evaluation, drawing arguments from the broader field of educational evaluation. The relationship between characteristics of applied science approaches to evaluation on the one hand and the special characteristics of environmental education on the other is then explored, and the article concludes with an argument for a deliberative choice of research paradigm in environmental education.     

Program evaluation of a school consultation program

The results of a school psychological and social work program are presented on children referred for behavioral and learning problems. Through the consultation service, the average student objective for learning problems was achieved to 85% of criterion, and the average objective for behavioral problems was achieved to 82% of criterion during a 10-week period. An analysis of the consultation activities was made in relation to the accomplishment of the objectives for both learning and behavioral problems. No clear evidence was found for any single activity being related to success. Also analyzed was the time spent on each consultation activity and the accomplishment of the student objectives. There was a positive relationship between total consultation time and student outcomes on learning problems, but there was no significant relationship between total consultation time and the accomplishment of objectives for behavioral problems. General findings show that consultation activities can be conducted with small investments of time and with a high degree of student accomplishment of objectives. A case is presented for the merits of program improvement by monitoring psychological and social work services.     

GLOBE in the Czech Republic: a program evaluation

The article presents results of the evaluation of the GLOBE program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) in the Czech Republic. The evaluation explores the implementation of the program in schools and its impact on research skills. Four hundred and sixty six pupils, aged 13, from 28 different schools participated in the evaluation. The evaluation revealed problems with the implementation of the program in schools. The majority of pupils usually collect data and work with worksheets in the program. The other activities, such as the analysis and comparison of collected data or planning GLOBE activities, are done only occasionally or never. Although one of the main goals of the program is to develop pupils' research skills, the program had no measurable effect on this outcome. According to these results, changes in the way the program is implemented are needed. Recommendations for further program development and evaluation are discussed.     

浅析我国气象法律规范中存在的若干问题——由一则案例引起

气象法律规范中存在上下级气象执法主体的分工不明确,具体气象执法主体的责任不够明确,气象法律规范下位法和上位法相冲突,气象部门规章规定的罚款数额超过法定限额,气象中介收费标准过高且不统一,气象法律规范对于无偿和有偿气象服务的范围未予界定等问题,这些问题需要立法和执法机关加强调研、沟通,通过修改法律、制定法律规范等手段解决。     

浅析英语口语测试的基本方式及评估中常常存在的问题

口语测试是学生英语语言能力测试的重要组成部分,本文主要从面试、录音、及面试和录音并用三种基本测设方式及其评估中存在的问题进行简单的分析和探讨。     

应用GA时值得考虑的几个问题

讨论了遗传算法(GA)研究中几个值得考虑的问题：GA-难、GA的收敛性和收敛速度、GA并行实现,同时提出了解决这些问题的一些设想。     

浅论旅游广告现存的几个问题

中国的旅游业与国外相比还有一段相当大的距离，尤其在旅游广告促销方面。作就旅游广告的投入、内容、表达方式以及旅游企业本身的意识对广告的影响这几个问题进行阐述与分析，并就解决这些问题提出了自己的看法。     

Evaluating special services using a program evaluation team

A strategy for evaluating public school special service programs is presented. The process allows selected practitioners to coordinate, design, and conduct program evaluations. The nature and scope of a “Program Evaluation Team” is described, and the team process is delineated.