Standard Error of Measurement

The standard error of measurement (SEM) is the standard deviation of errors of measurement that are associated with test scores from a particular group of examinees. When used to calculate confidence bands around obtained test scores, it can be helpful in expressing the unreliability of individual test scores in an understandable way. Score bands can also be used to interpret intraindividual and interindividual score differences. Interpreters should be wary of over-interpretation when using approximations for correctly calculated score bands. It is recommended that SEMs at various score levels be used in calculating score bands rather than a single SEM value.     

Performance Assessment: Moonstruck or the Real Thing?

What are the advantages of performance assessment? What are the risks of employing only performance assessments in large-scale testing programs?     

The Concept of Inclusive Education: Teacher Training and Acquisition of English Language in the Hearing Impaired

Three languages are widely used in schools in Kenya – English, Kiswahili and Kenya Sign Language. Many pupils with hearing impairments are taught separately from the mainstream, in specialist settings. The fact that most of the formal teaching, assessment and examination processes in Kenyan schools rely upon spoken and written English compounds the separation of these pupils from the mainstream of education and, potentially, from the mainstream of society. In this article, Gertrude Wamae, graduate assistant in the Department of English and Linguistics at Kenyatta University, and Rachael Kang'ethe-Kamau, lecturer in the Department of Special Education at Kenyatta University, discuss the relationships between language, hearing impairment and inclusion in the Kenyan context. The article suggests that the use of signed exact English would enhance opportunities for inclusion for those with hearing impairments and that programmes of teacher training need to take account of persuasive research in this area. The article closes with a plea for further research, carried out collaboratively by educationalists, linguists, teacher trainers and practitioners, to develop policies and practices suited to more inclusive futures. The article is based on a paper presented to the International Conference on Inclusive Education run by Maseno University in September 2002.     

The Emergence Model: An Alternative Pedagogy for Facilitating Self‐Reflection and Theoretical Fit in Counseling Students

The author presents a critical review of counselor education literature that has focused on student acquisition of theoretical orientations in order to identify the potential of these practices to facilitate critical self‐reflection and theoretical fit among students. Two reflective, awareness‐based pedagogical models—radical constructivism (E. von Glasersfeld, 1984) and transformative learning (J. Mezirow, 1997)—are also examined. The author concludes by briefly outlining an alternative pedagogical framework called the “Emergence Model,” which may enhance the ability of counselor educators to facilitate self‐reflection and theoretical fit among counseling students.