Easier Said Than Done: Rejoinder on Sijtsma and on Green and Yang

The main points of Sijtsma and Green and Yang in Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice (34, 4) are that reliability, internal consistency, and unidimensionality are distinct and that Cronbach's alpha may be problematic. Neither of these assertions are at odds with Davenport, Davison, Liou, and Love in the same issue. However, many authors in the testing community mention these terms not only together, but sometimes as if they are synonymous. Moreover, Cronbach's coefficient alpha is very popular as an index of reliability. Thus, articles discussing alpha are not only appropriate, but necessary. Our concerns are the same as formed the genesis of prior (2009) articles by these same authors, Sijtsma and Green and Yang. This rejoinder also makes comments about item parcels when tests are multidimensional and about factor analytic approaches to assessing reliability.     

R‐CBM IN SPANISH AND IN ENGLISH: DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONS DEPENDING ON STUDENT READING PERFORMANCE

This study investigated how performance on reading curriculum‐based measurement (R‐CBM) in Spanish is related to performance on R‐CBM in English. Parallel process growth models and quantile regression analyses were used to examine the relations between initial benchmark scores and growth and the consistency of the relations across student reading skill levels. Initial benchmark scores and growth were strongly related across languages in most grades, and initial scores were less strongly related for students with low and high reading achievement, as measured by curriculum‐based measurement in most grades. Rates of growth were evenly related across performance in fourth and fifth grades, but less strongly related for high‐achieving students in second and third grades. Practical implications and future directions are discussed.     

A narrative exploration of how curricula for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties shape and are shaped by the practices of their teachers

This article presents the findings of a study that asked teachers to narrate their interactions with learners from the perspective of the curriculum that the school adopted. Thirteen female teachers, employed at eight special secondary schools for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties in England, participated in the research. They narrated their experiences, which were consequently subject to phenomenological hermeneutic analysis. All the teachers displayed a high degree of individuality and conceptualised their work not straightforwardly as teaching the espoused curriculum, but rather as they themselves being the ‘curriculum‐in‐action’, with their practice lying alongside and only obliquely cognisant of their school's explicit provision. The narratives disclosed ongoing conflict with school leaders being interpreted as a threat to their specific pedagogic practices as well as their professionalism. The research raises questions about the ability of the ‘special curriculum’ to be truly responsive to pupils' needs within this complex pedagogical environment.     

It's Not Just Angoff: Misperceptions of Hard and Easy Items in Bookmark-Type Ratings

A common belief is that the Bookmark method is a cognitively simpler standard-setting method than the modified Angoff method. However, a limited amount of research has investigated panelist's ability to perform well the Bookmark method, and whether some of the challenges panelists face with the Angoff method may also be present in the Bookmark method. This article presents results from three experiments where panelists were asked to give Bookmark-type ratings to separate items into groups based on item difficulty data. Results of the experiments showed, consistent with results often observed with the Angoff method, that panelists typically and paradoxically perceived hard items to be too easy and easy items to be too hard. These perceptions were reflected in panelists often placing their Bookmarks too early for hard items and often placing their Bookmarks too late for easy items. The article concludes with a discussion of what these results imply for educators and policymakers using the Bookmark standard-setting method.     

以综合实践活动促物理课堂转型——以“比较材料的隔声性能”教学为例

综合实践活动是苏科版物理教科书编写的特色之一,它具有很强的自主性、综合性、开放性。开展综合实践活动旨在让学生通过简单的活动,形成物理观念,在体验科学探究的基本过程时训练科学思维,逐步学会运用物理方法研究、解决较为复杂的生活、生产问题,逐渐形成解决社会问题的责任感和使命感。综合实践活动的开展对推动课堂转型、提升学生物理核心素养具有积极的促进作用。     

多主体视角下网球竞赛争议判罚事件刍议

运用文献资料法和逻辑分析法,分析网球竞赛争议判罚的各主体扮演的角色和特点,研究争议判罚对各个主体产生的影响,旨在为减少网球竞赛争议判罚事件的发生提出合理性建议。结果显示:多方共同努力,加之赛事主办方借助社会性媒体平台,采用对话性思维来加强与观众的沟通,能够使争议事件得到妥善解决,有效减少此类事件的再次发生。