Sources of difficulty in assessment: example of PISA science items

ABSTRACT

The understanding of what makes a question difficult is a crucial concern in assessment. To study the difficulty of test questions, we focus on the case of PISA, which assesses to what degree 15-year-old students have acquired knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society. Our research question is to identify PISA science item characteristics that could influence the item’s proficiency level. It is based on an a-priori item analysis and a statistical analysis. Results show that only the cognitive complexity and the format out of the different characteristics of PISA science items determined in our a-priori analysis have an explanatory power on an item’s proficiency levels. The proficiency level cannot be explained by the dependence/independence of the information provided in the unit and/or item introduction and the competence. We conclude that in PISA, it appears possible to anticipate a high proficiency level, that is, students’ low scores for items displaying a high cognitive complexity. In the case of a middle or low cognitive complexity level item, the cognitive complexity level is not sufficient to predict item difficulty. Other characteristics play a crucial role in item difficulty. We discuss anticipating the difficulties in assessment in a broader perspective.     

Learning by starch potato growers: learning in small businesses with no employees

In small businesses with no employees, learning environments have a low learning readiness. Consequently, learners need to rely on their own agency to shape their learning experiences. Results from a study of agricultural entrepreneurs indicated that the components of motivation and self-regulated learning strategies shape learner's agency and explain learning environment configuration in small businesses with no employees. Configuration of the learning environment was found to be a weak determinant of the learning performance of these learners. However, results showed that prior performance of learners in small businesses with no employees dictates how their agency operates and what learning effect is achieved; higher prior performance results in higher learning effects. We conclude that mechanisms that underlie learning in traditional learning environments work similarly in learning environments in small businesses with no employees.     

A comparison of the anticipated benefits and received outcomes of pediatric cochlear implantation: parental perspectives

Findings of a study that investigated parents' expectations and experiences of their children's outcomes with cochlear implants are presented. A survey completed by 247 parents whose children had received implants in eastern Australia compared parents' reports of their preimplant expectations with their experiences of postimplant outcomes on several items related to communication, academic, and psychosocial domains. Quantitative findings derived from the survey data were extended and elaborated on by qualitative findings from interviews with 27 of the parents. The findings indicated that parents' relatively high expectations of their children's outcomes largely had been met, although a tenth of survey respondents reported that their expectations had not been met. It appeared that professionals generally provided parents with realistic expectations. The qualitative findings revealed a complex interaction among parents' expectations, hopes, and determination that their children would do well with the implant. Implications for professionals are discussed.     

郴州市学校体育场地开放现状的调查研究

通过文献资料、问卷调查、座谈等研究方法,对郴州市11个县(市、区)的40所学校体育场地的开放情况进行调查,结果表明:学校体育场地设施在保证正常的教学前提下,课余时间向本校学生和周边广大居民开放,使之发挥更大的作用,从而可以缓解全民健身活动中体育场地设施不足的矛盾,促进学校体育和社会体育和谐发展.     

论中小学学校的法律地位

学校法律地位的界定是研究学校内部建构和对外关系的基础性前提。从目前的司法实践来看,高校的法律地位日臻明确,但中小学的法律地位仍有待探索,值得重视。中小学的法律地位可以分为民事法律地位与行政法律地位,从我国目前的法律规范出发,对其界定需要根据不同类型的中小学进行多元化处理。就民事法律地位而言,我国的公立中小学不具有独立的法人地位,而民办中小学具有法人地位;就行政法律地位而言,中小学在与行政机关的关系中既可能是行政相对人,也可能是内部下属机构,在对教师的职务评定以及非义务教育阶段的学生做出开除处理时可能具有行政主体的法律地位。     

陆地卫星MSS影象目视解译在土地资源调查中局限性的讨论

简述陆地卫星多光谱扫描(MSS)影象的特点,着重介绍陆地卫星多光谱扫描影象适用于中、小比例尺的土地资源凋查     

CO催化氧化的实验与Monte Carlo模拟

主要对CO在Pt表面催化氧化反应的实验做了具体描述,介绍以ZGB模型为基础的MC模拟方法,得到一系列与实验较接近的模拟结果.在模拟中,重点考察重构表面的诱导相变和反应物的脱附等因素对反应的影响.     

Individual performance across motoric self-regulation tasks are not correlated for pet dogs

Inhibitory control, the ability to restrain a prepotent but ineffective response in a given context, is thought to be indicative of a species’ cognitive abilities. This ability ranges from “basic” motoric self-regulation to more complex abilities such as self-control. During the current study, we investigated the motoric self-regulatory abilities of 30 pet dogs using four well-established cognitive tasks – the A-not-B Bucket task, the Cylinder task, the Detour task, and the A-not-B Barrier task – administered in a consistent context. One main goal of the study was to determine whether the individual-level performance would correlate across tasks, supporting that these tasks measure similar components of motoric self-regulation. Dogs in our study were quite successful during tasks requiring them to detour around transparent barriers (i.e., the Cylinder and Detour tasks), but were less successful with tasks requiring the production of a new response (i.e., A-not-B Bucket and A-not-B Barrier tasks). However, individual dog performance did not correlate across tasks, suggesting these well-established tasks likely measure different inhibitory control abilities, or are strongly influenced by differential task demands. Our results also suggest other aspects such as perseveration or properties of the apparatus may need to be carefully examined in order to better understand canine motoric self-regulation or inhibitory control more generally.     

中国通信设备与制药产业创新系统比较研究

通信设备产业和医药产业都是中国重点支持发展的高新技术产业,但两个产业的差异也显而易见:通信设备产业具备较强的创新能力,无论是企业竞争力还是企业创新成果都从最初的毫无国际影响发展到处于国际领先水平。本文运用产业创新系统框架,对两个产业进行了比较分析。研究认为,产业知识基础(如技术机会)、行为人和网络(如市场需求、研发合作、政府支持等)和制度基础(如知识产权制度)三个方面能够一定程度的说明两个产业创新能力产生差异的原因。