Interpreting the Results of Three Different Standard-Setting Procedures

Different standard-setting procedures usually produce different cut points even if each has a rational basis. In 2000, three standard-setting procedures were implemented to set cut scores in each of the 18 grade/content areas comprising Kentucky's state assessment system: the Contrasting Groups, Bookmark, and Jaeger-Mills procedures. Subsequently, participants from each of the three procedures worked together in each grade/content area to synthesize the results. These synthesis participants considered the results of, and examined the materials and information provided by, each of the three separate procedures. In this article the synthesis processes are described and discussed.     

Withering on the Vine

For anyone who is in any way responsible for formulating responses to the problems with which teacher education in England and Wales is currently beset, the history of the last ten years makes remarkable reading. This article will examine some of the priorities for training which were being given prominence in the early seventies and will indicate the stark contrasts between such expressions of intent and the reality of what followed. It will be seen that the problems identified in the early seventies can scarcely yet be said to have been resolved.     

Development of children's knowledge about unconsciousness

Children of ages 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 years, and adults were asked whether people who are sound asleep and not dreaming could or would: (1) see, hear, listen, notice, think, wish, pretend, and feel things (primary-consciousness activities), (2), know that they are asleep, and know whether they are or are not engaged in primary-consciousness activities such as perceiving and thinking (reflective-consciousness activities), (3) deliberately decide to or try to perform mental or physical actions (control activities). Results indicated that the recognition that people do not engage in conscious mental activities when unconscious is still developing during the late middle-childhood years. We speculate that a developing understanding of consciousness may assist the development of an understanding of unconsciousness and vice versa, and that sensitivity to the phenomenology as contrasted with the content of mental states may be a late acquisition in the theory-of-mind area.     

Mapping the margins and searching for higher ground: examining the marginalisation of black female graduate students at PWIs

The number of Black females enrolled in colleges and universities has grown in recent years, particularly at predominately white institutions (PWIs). Currently, research on the rise of Black females at PWIs is limited and fails to adequately address the emotional, social, and mental well-being of these students. Recent studies also largely ignore the critical roles that natural and formal Black female faculty play in serving as a buffer between Black female graduate students (BFGS) and PWIs more broadly. From a critical perspective using counter-narrative, we address the limitations of the scholarly literature on BFGS and other challenges faced by BFGS. We come to the disappointing – albeit unsurprising – conclusion that PWIs should do more to make the academy a welcoming place for BFGS, however, the ways in which PWIs function make support for BFGS unlikely. We conclude with a discussion about the implications of continued marginalisation of BFGS at PWIs for individuals, families, communities, disciplines, and for PWIs across the nation.     

A Matter of Expectation: The Transition from School to University English

This paper explores issues arising from a detailed study of the experiences of students, teachers and lecturers in managing the transition from school to university in the study of English. It outlines some key philosophical perspectives derived from Pierre Bourdieu and considers the extent to which it is possible to apply notions of ‘habitus’ and ‘reproduction’ to the study of English at A level and at university. Through the consideration of these philosophical issues, this paper offers an insight into students' experiences of transition and some of the difficulties they face as they become accustomed to the new learning environment of the higher education institution.