FURTHER RESULTS ON THE STANDARD ERRORS OF ESTIMATE ASSOCIATED WITH ITEM-EXAMINEE SAMPLING PROCEDURES

Defining one observation as the score received by one examinee on one item, the results of this investigation suggest that, for a given test length, item-examinee sampling procedures having the same number of observation have, for all practical purposes, the same standard error in estimating μ but different standard errors in estimating σ. Additionally, the variance of the item difficulty indices (proportion answering the item correctly) was found to be a significant factor in accounting for differences in standard errors of estimating μ between normative distributions differing primarily in degree of skewness.     

A NOTE ON ALLOCATING ITEMS TO SUBTESTS IN MULTIPLE MATRIX SAMPLING AND APPROXIMATING STANDARD ERRORS OF ESTIMATE WITH THE JACKKNIFE

Investigated empirically through post mortem item-examinee sampling were the relative merits of two alternative procedures for allocating items to subtests in multiple matrix sampling and the feasibility of using the jackknife in approximating standard errors of estimate. The results indicate clearly that a partially balanced incomplete block design is preferable to random sampling in allocating items to subtests. The jackknife was found to better approximate standard errors of estimate in the latter item allocation procedure than in the former.     

A COMPARISON OF EXAMINEE SAMPLING AND MULTIPLE MATRIX SAMPLING IN TEST DEVELOPMENT

For the purpose of obtaining data to use in test development, multiple matrix sampling (MMS) plans were compared to examinee sampling plans. Data were simulated for examinees, sampled from a population with a normal distribution of ability, responding to items selected from an item universe. Three item universes were considered: one that would produce a normal distribution of test scores, one a moderately platykurtic distribution, and one a very platykurtic distribution. When comparing sampling plans, total numbers of observations were held constant. No differences were found among plans in estimating item difficulty. Examinee sampling produced better estimates of item discrimination, test reliability, and test validity. As total number of observations increased, estimates improved considerably, especially for those MMS plans with larger subtest sizes. Larger numbers of observations were needed for tests designed to produce a normal distribution of test scores. With an adequate number of observations, MMS is seen as an alternative to examinee sampling in test development.     

TEST LENGTH AND THE STANDARD ERROR OF MEASUREMENT

Lord (1959) has shown that the standard error of measurement of a test is, for all practical purposes, directly proportional to the square root of the number of items on the test. More specifically, Lord found empirically that the standard error of a test was equal to .     if the reliability of the test was computed by the Kuder-Richardson (KR) 20 formula. If the KR-21 formula was used, the standard error was equal to .     . The present paper sets out to show how these relationships may be derived from the defining formulas of reliability and standard error of measurement, if certain simple assumptions about values of test statistics are made.     

Oracle中基于Java的存储过程开发研究

存储过程是一种数据库对象,将执行计划存储在数据库的服务器中,它的执行速度比独立执行同样的程序要快.任何一个设计良好的数据库应用程序都应该用到存储过程.存储过程可以使得对数据库的管理、显示关于数据库及其用户信息的工作容易很多.文中详细分析了Java存储过程的开发步骤.     

ALLOCATION OF ITEMS AND EXAMINEES IN ESTIMATING A NORM DISTRIBUTION BY ITEM-SAMPLING

A norm distribution consisting of test scores received by 810 college students on a 150 item dichotomously-scored 4-alternative multiple-choice test was empirically estimated through several item-examinee sampling procedures. The post mortum item-sampling investigation was specifically designed to manipulate systematically the variables of number of subtests, number of items per subtest, and number of examinees responding to each subtest. Defining one observation as the score received by one examinee on one item, the results suggest that as the number of observations increases beyond 1.23% of the data base all procedures produce stochastically equivalent results. The results of this investigation indicate that, in estimating a norm distribution by item-sampling, the variable of importance is not the item-sampling procedure per se but is instead the number of observations obtained by the procedure. It should be noted, however, that in this investigation the test score norm distribution was approximately symmetrical and the possibility should not be overlooked that item-sampling as a procedure may be robust only for symmetrical norm distributions.     

《内蒙古出版事业概况》的缺陷与讹误

《内蒙古出版事业概况》是反映内蒙古自治区出版事业的首部专著。笔者在深入分析研究的基础上,以大量实例证明该书质量不高,存在着史实讹误、收录失当等弊病,主要集中在新中国成立前的内容方面。     

EQUITY IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE OUTCOMES: CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH AND LOW ACHIEVEMENT ON PISA 2006 IN IRELAND

Equity in education is a key concern internationally; however, it is rare that this issue is examined separately for low- and high-achieving students and concurrently across different subject domains. This study examines student and school background characteristics associated with low and high achievement in mathematics and science on the Programme for International Student Assessment. Based on the results of a multilevel multinomial model of achievement for each domain, findings indicate that a greater number of the variables examined are associated with low rather than high achievement. At student level, home language, intention to leave school early, socioeconomic status, grade level, cultural capital, and books in the home are significantly associated with achievement in mathematics and science. At school level, only school average socioeconomic status is statistically significant in the models. Significant gender differences are found in the distribution of high and low achievers, which vary across the domains. In mathematics, females are more likely to be low achievers while males are more likely to be high achievers. In science, gender interacts with early school-leaving intent whereas males intending to leave school early are more likely to be in the low-achieving group than females intending to leave early. Conclusions emphasise the need for targeting resources aimed at promoting equity in outcomes at student level as well as at school level. Future work may extend the current analyses by incorporating domain-specific variables or examining cross-country differences.     

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITATION IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS: PROCEDURES AND OPERATIONAL ASPECTS: WORKING DOCUMENT

This article forms the Working Document for the Conference bearing the same title. It reflects the fact that this Conference is the second in what is planned to be a series on quality assessment and accreditation in higher education. Thus it calls for an appraisal of the transition from policy statements to operational developments. The participants in the Conference are invited to describe developments in their countries in terms of the adoption of legal provisions; the establishment of bodies in charge of quality assessment and institutional accreditation; the identification of criteria, performance indicators, and assessment standards; the development of procedures for self‐study and peer‐review; and the identification of the policy and administrative consequences for higher education of the processes of quality assessment and accreditation.     

BRAIN ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH TRANSLATION BETWEEN GRAPHICAL AND SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATIONS OF FUNCTIONS IN GENERALLY GIFTED AND EXCELLING IN MATHEMATICS ADOLESCENTS

In this study, we examine the impact and the interplay of general giftedness (G) and excellence in mathematics (EM) on high school students’ mathematical performance associated with translations from graphical to symbolic representations of functions, as reflected in cortical electrical activity (by means of ERP—event-related potentials—methodology). We report on findings of comparative data analysis based on 75 right-handed male high school students (16?–?18 years old) divided into four research groups designed by a combination of EM and G factors. Effects of EM factor appeared at the behavioral and electrophysiological levels. The fifth group of participants included 9 students with extraordinary mathematical abilities (S-MG: super mathematically gifted). We found that in EM participants, the G factor has no impact on the performance associated with translation between representations of the functions. The highest overall electrical activity is found in excelling in mathematics students who are not identified as generally gifted (NG-EM students). This increased electrical activity can be an indicator of increased cognitive load in this group of students. We identified accumulative and unique characteristics of S-MG at the behavioral and electrophysiological levels. We explain the findings by the nature of the tasks used in the study. We argue that a combination of the ERP techniques along with more traditional educational research methods enables obtaining reliable measures on the mental processing involved in learning mathematics and mathematical problem solving.     

对师范院校培养适应新课标英语教师的思考

根据我国目前外语教学发展的现状和需求,新《英语课程标准》从教学目的、内容、手段和实施策略等方面进行了重大改革,更注重发展学生的综合语言应用能力。面对教育改革和新课程标准的实施,师范院校应培养出全面发展的英语教师以适应新时代的英语教育的要求。     

高校会计模拟实验课亟待强化

很多高校对会计模拟实验环节重视不够 ,而组织安排学生进行社会实践又比较困难 ,这样不利于学生的实验操作能力的培养 ,也使得理论与实际脱离 ,并有碍于专业知识的吸收理解。这种现象应予以重视 ,进一步加强会计模拟实验课程 ,完善教学环节 ,学以致用 ,为社会培养出合格的会计人才。