Reduction in Cheating Following a Forensic Investigation on a Statewide Summative Assessment

ABSTRACT

This study examined indicators of cheating on a statewide summative assessment for grades 3–8 over a 4-year period. Between year 2 and year 3 of this study, the state launched an aggressive, highly publicized investigation into cheating by educators. The basis of the investigation was an erasure analysis. The current study found that the number of classes flagged for excessive Wrong-To-Right erasures declined dramatically from year 2 to year 3. Only a small percentage of the classes that were flagged for erasures in year 2 but not year 3 were actually under investigation, suggesting that the decline in the number of classes being flagged for erasures was due to publicity surrounding the investigation, rather than a direct result of the investigation. Indicators of cheating not associated with erasures remained consistent across all four years.     

Design‐based science and real‐world problem‐solving

Design‐based science (DBS) is a science pedagogy in which new scientific knowledge and problem‐solving skills are constructed in the context of designing artifacts. This paper examines whether the enactment of a DBS unit supported students’ efforts to construct and transfer new science knowledge and ‘designerly’ problem‐solving skills to the solution of a new real‐world design problem in a real‐world setting. One hundred and forty‐nine students participated in the enactment of a DBS unit. Their understanding of the curricular content was assessed by identical pre‐instructional and post‐instructional written tests. They were then given a new design problem as a transfer task. There was a statistically significant increase on scores from pre‐test to post‐test with an effect size of 1.8. There was a stronger correlation between the scores of the transfer task and those of the post‐test than with those of the pre‐test; we use this finding to suggest that the knowledge that was constructed during the unit enactment supported the solution of the transfer task. This has implications for the development of science curricula that aim to lead to the construction of knowledge and skills that may be useful in extra‐classroom settings. Whether participation in consecutive enactments of different DBS units increases transfer remains to be investigated in more depth.     

Overcoming potential negative consequences of customer orientation in higher education: closing the ideological gap

Substantial discussion has been going on surrounding the potential negative consequences of a customer orientation in college education. A major concern stems from the ideological gap – the perceived differentiation between what the students want and the educators' view of what is in the best interests of the students. A key aspect of the ideological gap pertains to students' short-term wants (pleasure) versus educators' long-term-oriented interests (learning). Inspired by the societal marketing concept, we examine the possibility of closing this gap by means of a desirable educational model that aligns the interests of students and educators. Empirically, an open-ended survey explores student perceptions of a desirable educational model in the context of the marketing discipline. Then, two quantitative surveys show that students prefer desirable over pleasing and salutary models, and that academic motivation moderates their preference.     

Teachers College Moves Into New Building

There is a good chance that many of your pupils have already learned the science lesson you plan to present. Most science learning, according to this author, takes place in the family setting.     

Middle School Students Need More Opportunities to Read Across the Curriculum

Independent reading in the content areas is essential for advancing students’ literacy growth through the grades. Middle school students, in particular, profit from opportunities to engage in actual reading and, simultaneously, to be supported from an appropriate structure. Specifically, they need substantial time to read, frequent immersion in a variety of texts, easy access to balanced classroom libraries to support in-school and at-home reading, active participation in drama-based activities, and interesting contexts for learning word meanings. These and other sources of support increase the effectiveness of independent reading across the curriculum by helping middle school students not only improve their reading, but also enjoy reading as a lifetime activity.     

The Rockefeller rhetoric: Writing speeches for the 1970 campaign

The author of this article is Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller's chief speech writer. The article deals with professional speechwriting both generally, and specifically, with regard to the 1970 New York State gubernatorial campaign. It describes the qualities sought in speech writers, how the speech writing effort proceeds, some rhetorical effects sought, and provides somewhat more detail about the typical procedure in preparing one speech.