Unintended effects of accountability policies and the quality of assessment and evaluation formats

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability -     

THE VIABILITY OF FUNDAMENTAL UNITS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC: STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION AND FUNDAMENTAL TASKS OF A UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT

The authors focus on the university department as the basic administrative and productive unit in the managerial structures of universities in the German Democratic Republic. For the authors, the departmental structure is more efficient in almost every way than the former system of faculties and chairs because it permits a more rational use of available human, material, technical, and financial resources. Departments which are structured in terms of specific disciplinary and scientific criteria can more easily forge links with other departments with regard to interdisciplinary projects and programmes. They are also in a position to interact more efficiently with outside partners, in industry, for instance. The authors focus their study on the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Technological University of Karl‐Marx‐Stadt by reference to which they illustrate the versatility of university departments in general and the advantages of such management concepts as decentralization and individual initiative and responsibility.     

The association of precollege use of calculators with student performance in college calculus

This study investigates how the use of calculators during high school mathematics courses is associated with student performance in introductory college calculus courses in the USA. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of 7087 students enrolled in college calculus at 134 colleges and universities. They included information about students’ demographics, standardized test scores, and high school mathematics course enrollment and performance. Factor analysis reduced ten items describing high school calculator usage to two composites: how extensively calculators were employed and teacher-imposed restrictions on their use. Hierarchical linear models predicted students’ college calculus grades, reported by their professor, while controlling for differences between colleges and student backgrounds. The more extensively students had used calculators in high school, the lower their grade in college calculus. However, students earned higher college calculus grades to the extent that their high school teachers had limited calculator use on quizzes and exams and had restricted calculator use until paper-and-pencil methods had been mastered, which offset the negative association of extensive calculator use with grades. The effect sizes of both calculator composites were very small. Overall, the findings raise doubts about any substantial long-term effects on college mathematics performance of calculator use in high school.     

Technology Readiness, Learning Goals, and eLearning: Searching for Synergy

More and more business schools are offering classes online or classes using a mix of face‐to‐face and online elements. In this article, we focus on how technology readiness and learning‐goal orientation influence students' preference toward these mixed classes. We conducted a large‐scale survey to determine whether students who are technology ready would place higher utility on enrolling in mixed classes and/or whether there exists a participation bias such that students with low learning‐goal orientation place higher utility on enrolling in mixed classes. We found that overall students who are more technology ready do place higher utility on enrolling in mixed classes, but that learning‐goal orientation does not influence this decision. We conclude with implications and recommendations for business schools that are interested in offering mixed classes.