DETECTING IMPACTS OF CURRICULAR DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVEMENT TEST DATA

Standardized tests are designed to measure broad goals. But many professionals have been concerned with the lack of fairly specific matches between items (or objectives) on a test and the curriculum (instruction). This study assessed the differences in standardized test scores resulting from curricular differences in two school systems. The degree of curriculum-test match for reading and math in grades 3 and 6 was based on ratings of that match by qualified district personnel. Further, results of using different textbook series were analyzed. The dependent variables of test and subtest scores were analyzed using a two-factor MANCOVA where textbook series and school personnel ratings were the two factors, and pretest scores and percent eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) were the covariates. None of the multivariate F tests were significant at the .05 level. It was concluded that neither the curricular match as judged by district personnel or the textbook series used had a significant impact on standardized test scores.     

Counselor Training Via Computer

Findings from a decade of research on using computers in counseling have suggested that the computer may be considered not only as an informational support system and an adjunct to counseling, but also that it may have applications in counselor training. This article (a) outlines the capacities and characteristics currently available in computer technology as they relate to the tasks and methods of counselor education and (b) reviews available computer system models and limitations in terms of implications for use in training efforts.     

比较教育中的教育政策借鉴理论

如何学习借鉴外国教育政策和实践一直是国际与比较教育研究领域的一个核心主题。本文研究了教育政策借鉴的方法和案例,提出了教育政策借鉴过程中的四步模型,即外国教育吸引力,及与之而来的教育决策、实施和内化/本土化。这一模型仍需不同国家的实践来检验、修改和完善。     

Processes of Policy Borrowing in Education: some explanatory and analytical devices

This paper addresses questions of policy ‘borrowing’ in education. Building on the authors' previous work, it proposes some explanatory and analytical devices to assist in the exploration of the processes involved in ‘cross-national attraction’ in educational policy and its consequences in terms of decision making, implementation, and ‘internalisation’.