How Can We Improve the Accuracy of Screening Instruments?

Screening for early reading problems is a critical step in early intervention and prevention of later reading difficulties. Evaluative frameworks for determining the utility of a screening process are presented in the literature but have not been applied to many screening measures currently in use in numerous schools across the nation. In this study, the accuracy of several Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) subtests in predicting which students were at risk for reading failure in first grade was examined in a sample of 12,055 students in Florida. Findings indicate that the DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency, Initial Sound Fluency, and Phoneme Segmentation Fluency measures show poor diagnostic utility in predicting end of Grade 1 reading performance. DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency in fall of Grade 1 had higher classification accuracy than other DIBELS measures, but when compared to the classification accuracy obtained by assuming that no student had a disability, suggests the need to reevaluate the use of classification accuracy as a way to evaluate screening measures without discussion of base rates. Additionally, when cut scores on the screening tools were set to capture 90 percent of all students at risk for reading problems, a high number of false positives were identified. Finally, different cut scores were needed for different subgroups, such as English Language Learners. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

New Zealand's standard-based assessment for secondary schools (NCEA): implications for policy makers

The objective of this study was to identify the different features of New Zealand's National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) that can affect student outcomes. Despite the huge public debate surrounding its implementation, very little research has been carried out on the features and effectiveness of the NCEA. By analysing the national dataset of the first cohort of NCEA students this study suggests that the current implementation of the NCEA is less than optimal. New models for analysing NCEA data are introduced. Models based on quality of learning were more equitable and demonstrated higher predictability of university achievement than models based on mere accumulation of credits. Recommendations for improving the way the NCEA is conducted and implications for different groups of students are discussed.     

Religion as a basis for dialogue in peace education programs

Religion could play a positive role in intergroup relations. However, this potential is usually overlooked and religion is often perceived as divisive and polarizing, perhaps even a source of intergroup conflict. This study examined religion as a possible tool for achieving positive intergroup encounters. A randomized control trial research design was used to study the contribution of religion to the enhancement of positive relations between Jewish and Arab high school students in Israel. The 255 eleventh‐grade students were randomly assigned into three groups: encounters based on religious content, encounters based on social content, and a control group. Findings revealed that the religion‐based intervention was more effective than the social‐based one, which merely slowed down the deteriorating relationships between the groups. The results suggest that religion can serve as a common denominator for different national and social groups and be used for enhancing tolerance and understanding between conflict groups.     

Internet-Based Group Relations: A High School Peace Education Project in Israel

This study describes how the Internet-based group communications was used as the major strategy to promote the societal values of understanding, equality, tolerance and peace between Israeli Jewish and Bedouin high school students. The Internetbased communications project formed the backbone of a project designed to confront one of the major conflicts in Israeli society, which focuses on the Jewish-Arab axis. Israeli Jews and Arabs are wary of each other and latent hostility permeates the atmosphere between the two societal groups and is directly related to the Israeli-Arab conflict. In the project the societal values of understanding, equality, tolerance and peace were intensely promoted through the medium of three different complementary educational strategies. Students participated in workshops conducted by experts trained in the art of mediation and bridge building, and participated in two day-long face-to-face meetings. The major strategy was an Internet-based weekly chat-room and e-mail session which lasted for the full length of the project. All three strategies were specially designed to complementarily promote understanding, equality, tolerance and peace between Jewish and Bedouin Arab students. The results of the project indicate that Jewish students adopted more favourable attitudes toward Bedouins and that Bedouin students' attitudes towards Jewish students remained positive throughout the duration of the project. The prognosis for long-term change and cooperation between the Jewish and Bedouin students who participated in the project is discussed. Les relations de groupes À travers Internet : un projet d’éducation À la paix dans les lycées en IsraËl. Cette étude décrit comment la communication via Internet a été employée comme stratégie principale pour favoriser les valeurs sociales de compréhension, d'égalité, de tolérance, et de paix entre les étudiants israéliens juifs et bédouins des lycées. Il s'agit de l'axe principal d'un projet destiné À faire face À l'un des conflits majeurs de la société israélienne qui oppose Juifs et Arabes. Les uns comme les autres sont méfiants: une hostilité latente, directement liée au conflit, imprègne l'atmosphère entre les deux groupes sociaux. Dans ce projet, les différentes valeurs sociales de compréhension, d'égalité, de tolérance et de paix ont été privilégiées À travers trois stratégies éducatives différentes mais complémentaires. D'abord, les étudiants ont participé À des ateliers dirigés par des experts en médiation et en résolution de conflit, mais aussi À des séminaires présentiels de deux jours. Ensuite, le projet a développé des stratégies de communication À travers un chat hebdomadaire et l'utilisation du mail tout au long du projet. Les résultats observés montrent que les étudiants juifs adoptent des attitudes plus favorables À l'encontre des étudiants arabes tandis que les attitudes de ces derniers demeurent favorables tout au long du projet. Enfin l'article analyse les chances de voir se stabiliser le changement et la coopération entre les étudiants des deux communautés ayant participé au projet. Internet-basierende Gruppenbeziehungen : Ein High School Friedensprojekt in Israel. Diese Studie beschreibt, wie die Internet-basierende Gruppenkommunikation als grundlegendes Instrument eingesetzt wurde, um das Verständnis von sozialen Werten, Gleichheit, Toleranz, und Frieden zwischen israelisch-jüdischen und arabischen High School Studenten zu fördern. Die Internet-basierende Kommunikation bildete das Grundgerüst des Projektes, welches die Konfrontation mit einem wesentlichen Konflikt der israelischen Gesellschaft zum Ziel hatte : Die Probleme der israelisch-arabischen Koexistenz. Israelische Juden und Araber sind sich einander misstrauisch und latente Feindseligkeit durchdringt die Atmosphäre, die beide gesellschaftliche Gruppen verbindet. In diesem Projekt wurden die Ziele, nämlich das Verständnis von sozialen Werten, Gleichheit, Toleranz, und Frieden intensiv zu fördern, durch drei komplementäre, pädagogische Strategien unterstützt. Studenten nahmen an zweitägigen face-to-face Workshops teil, die von Experten, ausgebildet in der Mediationskunst, geleitet wurden. Die wesentliche Strategie waren Internet-basierende Chat-Raum- sowie Email-Sitzungen, die über die volle Dauer des Projektes verliefen. Die Ergebnisse des Projektes indizieren, dass eine Annäherung zwischen der israelisch-jüdischen und der arabischen Gruppe erfolgreich war. Beide Studentengruppen hielten eine positive Einstellung zur Annäherung während des ganzen Projektes aufrecht. Die Prognose über eine Aenderung auf lang Sicht zwischen beiden Teilnehmergruppen wird diskutiert.     

Effective Collaboration between Teachers and Parents in Israel: A Strategy for Improvement of the Educational Process

Traditionally the roles of schools and parents have been seen as separate activities. More recently, a view has developed that parents and schools should work together in a close and integrated relationship. The writer discusses the nature of this partnership and the roles of both parents and teachers in it. The nature of the school–parent relationship in Israel is considered. In the final section of the paper, the development of such a partnership in a particular Israeli elementary school is described and evaluated.     

A Simulation Study on the Performance of the Simple Difference and Covariance‐Adjusted Scores in Randomized Experimental Designs

Research by Huck and McLean (1975) demonstrated that the covariance‐adjusted score is more powerful than the simple difference score, yet recent reviews indicate researchers are equally likely to use either score type in two‐wave randomized experimental designs. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to examine the conditions under which the simple difference and covariance‐adjusted scores were more or less powerful to detect treatment effects when relaxing certain assumptions made by Huck and McLean (1975) . Four factors were manipulated in the design including sample size, normality of the pretest and posttest distributions, the correlation between pretest and posttest, and posttest variance. A 5 × 5 × 4 × 3 mostly crossed design was run with 1,000 replications per condition, resulting in 226,000 unique samples. The gain score was nearly as powerful as the covariance‐adjusted score when pretest and posttest variances were equal, and as powerful in fan‐spread growth conditions; thus, under certain circumstances the gain score could be used in two‐wave randomized experimental designs.     

Schools as agents of social exclusion and inclusion

Although schools are usually regarded as important agents for social inclusion, research has shown that they may also function as agents of exclusion itself. The goal of this paper is to deepen our understanding of how schools function as agents of exclusion and how they can become more effective agents of inclusion. It is based on action research carried out with the ‘New Education Environment’, a programme aimed at helping secondary schools in Israel work more effectively with ‘at-risk’ pupils. This research led to the discovery of a self-reinforcing ‘cycle of exclusion’ that involves both pupils and staff in these schools and ‘frames’ of thinking and action that keep it in place. This paper also describes the cycle of exclusion and its frames as well as an alternative frame that has been used to help school staff to step out of the cycle of exclusion and act more effectively to foster inclusion.