Measuring thinking with standardized science tests

According to the Educational Policies Commission, the central purpose of education in this country is to lead students to develop the ability to think. No standard way exists to measure whether or not the schools are achieving that purpose. The EPC identified 10 rational powers as constituting the essence of the ability to think. The research reported here was done to ascertain which rational powers are measured by commercially-available, standardized tests in science. A universe of standardized tests was defined and 12 specific tests were randomly selected for analysis. All instruments were validated by a panel of experts, as was a training program for the four teacher-evaluators who applied previously-evaluated criteria to each test item to determine which rational powers had to be used in responding to the item. Seven of the 12 standardized tests analyzed in the research required that students use only the rational power of recall in responding. In fact, approximately 90% of the items analyzed from all tests required only recall. Students were required to use other rational powers only rarely when responding to a test item and the use of the rational powers of comparing, imagining, and analyzing was not necessary on any of the test items examined. The conclusion was drawn that the producers of standardized tests are not concerned with measuring student achievement of the rational powers. The purpose which runs throught and strengthens all other educational purposes—; the common thread of education—; is the development of the ability to think.     

Passage independence within standardized reading comprehension tests

In tests used to measure reading comprehension, validity is important in obtaining accurate results. Unfortunately, studies have shown that people can correctly answer some questions of these tests without reading the related passage. These findings bring forth the need to address whether this phenomenon is observed in multiple-choice only tests or in those that employ open-ended questions. Three common standardized reading comprehension tests were examined: the WIAT-III, the CAAT, and the Nelson–Denny. The WIAT-III is composed of open-ended questions, while the other two tests utilize multiple-choice questions. All participants were instructed to answer the questions to the best of their ability, without access to the related passage. The results revealed that participants correctly answered the questions at a significantly higher rate than by chance for the multiple-choice, which supports the independency issue. For the open-ended questions, participants still answered with 18% accuracy, without the passages.     

高校生物实验室规范化管理的尝试

生物学是一门实验科学,生物实验室是师生进行科学实验和教学活动的重要场所,是完成生物教学任务不可缺少的组成部分．建立科学的实验室管理模式,完善管理制度,提高实验技术人员素质,是提高实践教学质量的重要保证．     

Curriculum biasing effects in standardized and criterion-referenced reading achievement tests

The extent of curriculum bias was analyzed using seven standardized and criterionreferenced reading achievement tests. This bias was examined relative to five widely used commercial reading programs at the third-grade level. Results from the analysis indicated that the degree of bias varied widely depending on the specific test and program used for reading instruction. The practical and ethical implications of this bias effect are described in relation to the placement of children into reading programs and identification of students as exceptional.     

Gender differences in leaving questions blank on high-stakes standardized tests

Around the world, multiple-choice tests are widely used as part of high-stakes examinations. To counteract lucky guessing, many of them have instituted a penalty for wrong answers. In this paper, we use administrative data from Turkish college admissions test to study the heterogeneity in gender differences in tendency to leave questions blank across subjects, difficulty levels, and stakes. Exploiting the tracking system and using the resulting variation in the effective guessing penalty across different test sections, we find that female test-takers skip significantly more questions than male test-takers in the quantitative track while we do not find a significant difference in other tracks. Among quantitative track students, the gender gap is larger in Math and when questions are more difficult while it reverses in Literature. We also find that self-assessment is related to skipping behavior and explains part of the gender gap. Male test-takers are more likely than female test-takers to report that they are good at Math, Science, and Social Science after conditioning on their number of correct answers in the corresponding test sections. This gender gap, consistently with the one in skipping behavior, reverses when it comes to Literature. Differently from previous literature, our findings suggest that the magnitude and the sign of the gender gap in answering questions under uncertainty is context dependent.     

Relationships between chronological age,developmental age,and standardized achievement tests in kindergarten

Chronological age and developmental age have been used to identify readiness for kindergarten entrance. In the current research, chronological age and results of the Gesell School Readiness Test were evaluated as predictors of kindergarten performance as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test. Subjects were 284 children attending kindergarten in the San Luis Coastal School District during the 1986—1987 school year. Results indicate that both chronological and developmental age provide good predictors of Stanford Achievement Test performance in kindergarten. Implications of the current research for setting appropriate entrance policy were explored.     

Comparisons between talent search students qualifying via scores on standardized tests and via parent nomination

This study examined differences between students who qualified for talent search testing via scores on standardized tests and via parent nomination in their performances on the SAT or ACT and some demographic characteristics. Overall, the standardized testing group earned higher scores on the off‐level tests than the parent nominated group. Asian students used parent nomination more than standardized tests for talent search testing, and Hispanic/Latino students in the parent nominated group but not in the standardized testing group were among the top performers on the off‐level tests. Parent nomination as a feasible alternative to standardized achievement tests is suggested for talented students who are not native English speakers or would not be identified as gifted using traditional qualification methods.     

The effects of developmental placement and early retention on children's later scores on standardized tests

The relationship between early school retention as a result of preschool and kindergarten developmental testing and children's later academic achievement was examined. Two hundred twenty-three children were coded as Traditional, Overplaced, or “Buy a Year,” depending on their scores on the Gesell Screening Test and their subsequent school placement. Their performances on the full Gesell Developmental Test, 3rd grade New York State PEP Tests in reading and math, and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) were compared. Those children who scored as immature on the Gesell Screening Test and who were retained a year according to the Gesell Developmental Placement Program had the lowest scores on all measures, even though they were almost a year older than the other two groups of children at the time of the PEP and SAT testing.     

Follow-up of postsecondary-age rural learning disabled graduates and dropouts

This article reports the dropout rates, basic skills competency levels, and employment status of a group of semi-rural learning disabled postsecondary-age youth and a control group of nonlearning disabled same-age peers. Findings indicated significantly higher dropout rates and significantly lower basic skills competency levels among learning disabled youth. Learning disabled graduates and dropouts were not different in how they fared in the employment market for the group, nor were they different compared to peers. Educational implications of these findings and future suggestions for follow-up research are discussed.     

The school-to-work transition for high school dropouts

This paper presents a conceptual framework for understanding the problems encountered by high school dropouts in their school-to-work transition. The underlying assumption is that dropouts are likely to face strains in their homes, jobs, and other community settings that are similar to those which led them to leave school. Exemplary school and work programs for dropouts are discussed and implications drawn for their design. A youth advocacy system is recommended that could stimulate adaptation by the educational and employment sectors to the needs and personal styles of dropouts as well as help dropouts to make informed choices about their educational and career potentials. Such a system would also help the dropout to identify the most appropriate settings for realizing those potentials.     

Teachers' ratings vs standardized tests: An empirical investigation of agreement between two indices of achievement

The degree of correlation between teachers' ratings of vocabulary, comprehension, mathematics, and verbal intelligence with scores from the Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) plus the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) was assessed with 120 boys and 110 girls aged 8.6 to 10.5 years in three southeastern suburban state schools in Melbourne. Teachers' ratings of students' general attitude also were collected. While results indicated that significant correlations did exist between data from the two sets of measures, these accounted for only small amounts of the total variance, suggesting that two almost discrete domains of information were being tapped. The need for reconciliation between these two domains is discussed and the presence of sex bias in teachers' ratings is raised for further study.