Impact of Changing Difficulty on Inferences From the National Assessment of Educational Progress

The U.S. Department of Education measures student achievement through the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP estimates of population proficiency quantiles are based on a Bayesian multiple-imputation procedure. This article shows (a) that the resulting estimates depend directly on the mix of item difficulties on the test, and (b) the difficulty of items on the NAEP mathematics exam has increased over time. Does the increasing difficulty of the exam lead to observable changes in student performance over time? This study compared the simulated performance of 1990 examinees on the easier 1990 exam and the more difficult 1996 exam. No significant differences were found. While our results instill confidence that these changes have not impacted the NAEP trend line, our findings are both data-specific and limited in scope, and NAEP should carefully evaluate future adjustments to the test in this manner.     

Test item linguistic complexity and assessments for deaf students

Linguistic complexity of test items is one test format element that has been studied in the context of struggling readers and their participation in paper-and-pencil tests. The present article presents findings from an exploratory study on the potential relationship between linguistic complexity and test performance for deaf readers. A total of 64 students completed 52 multiple-choice items, 32 in mathematics and 20 in reading. These items were coded for linguistic complexity components of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse. Mathematics items had higher linguistic complexity ratings than reading items, but there were no significant relationships between item linguistic complexity scores and student performance on the test items. The discussion addresses issues related to the subject area, student proficiency levels in the test content, factors to look for in determining a "linguistic complexity effect," and areas for further research in test item development and deaf students.     

Serving the gifted: A national survey of school psychologists

Gifted students are among the most underserved population in American schools and are some of the most underperforming in the world, ranking last in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra, and Geometry among 13 other developed countries. To improve services for the gifted, possible gaps in training and service delivery must be identified. There is a lack of research addressing many of the practical aspects of the delivery of services to the gifted. There is also a lack of research examining how well school psychologists are prepared to provide services to gifted and talented students. We conducted a national survey of school psychologists to evaluate the amount of time school psychologists allocate for gifted assessment and consultation. We also collected information about graduate school and professional development on gifted topics, familiarity with prominent figures in the gifted field, and gifted assessment methods. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Building National Capacity for Research Mentor Training: An Evidence-Based Approach to Training the Trainers

Research mentor training (RMT), based on the published Entering Mentoring curricula series, has been shown to improve the knowledge and skills of research mentors across career stages, as self-reported by both the mentors engaged in training and their mentees. To promote widespread dissemination and empower others to implement this evidence-based training at their home institutions, we developed an extensive, interactive, multifaceted train-the-trainer workshop. The specific goals of these workshops are to 1) increase facilitator knowledge of an RMT curriculum, 2) increase facilitator confidence in implementing the curriculum, 3) provide a safe environment to practice facilitation of curricular activities, and 4) review implementation strategies and evaluation tools. Data indicate that our approach results in high satisfaction and significant confidence gains among attendees. Of the 195 diverse attendees trained in our workshops since Fall 2010, 44% report implementation at 39 different institutions, collectively training more than 500 mentors. Further, mentors who participated in the RMT sessions led by our trained facilitators report high facilitator effectiveness in guiding discussion. Implications and challenges to building the national capacity needed for improved research mentoring relationships are discussed.     

Constructing bullying in Ontario,Canada: a critical policy analysis

As the prevalence and negative effects of bullying become widely known, people around the world seem desperate to solve the bullying “problem”. A sizeable body of research about many aspects of bullying and a plethora of anti-bullying programmes and policies now exist. This critical policy analysis asks: how does Ontario, Canada’s bullying policy support and/or undermine critical democracy; and how does it reflect, support and further the interests of neoliberalism and/or neoconservatism? Findings indicate that the policy constructs the problem of bullying as a problem of individuals and a “behaviour for learning” problem. The policy also prescribes standardised responses to bullying incidents. We explore ways in which these constructions are undemocratic and unjust. The findings are particularly concerning because bullying policies are often viewed as innocuous by practitioners. This paper offers more than just critique by providing suggestions for how research and policies can become more just and equitable and how bullying policy may be enacted to support critical democracy.     

Politics and Education

This paper examines the question of whether the period since German unification has been one of reform in the education system of Germany. It outlines the developments in secondary education in Germany since 1990, and argues that the changes in the eastern federal states do not represent reform, but rather a restoration of the less than ideal educational structures that have been in place for so long in the western federal states.     

Shirt sponsorship by gambling companies in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues: global reach and public health concerns

While the nature of gambling practices is contested, a strong evidence base demonstrates that gambling can become a serious disorder and have a range of detrimental effects for individuals, communities and societies. Over the last decade, football in the UK has become visibly entwined with gambling marketing. To explore this apparent trend, we tracked shirt sponsors in both the English and Scottish Premier Leagues since 1992 and found a pronounced increase in the presence of sponsorship by gambling companies. This increase occurred at the same time the Gambling Act 2005, which liberalized rules, was introduced. We argue that current levels of gambling sponsorship in UK football, and the global visibility it provides to gambling brands, is a public health concern that needs to be debated and addressed. We recommend that legislators revisit the relationship between football in the UK and the sponsorship it receives from the gambling industry.