A QUANTITATIVE METHOD FOR MEASURING SEX “BIAS” IN STANDARDIZED TESTS1

The item content of eight standardized tests was examined for sex imbalance as well as for stereotyped representations of women. A quantitative method for classifying tests with respect to sex imbalance was devised which depended upon the frequency counts of male and female nouns and pronouns. Applications of this method revealed that all eight of the standardized tests exhibited considerable sex imbalance and, further, that this sex imbalance was not due to the language restrictions of English. For 19 of the 27 batteries analyzed, males are referred to more than twice as often as females. For only one battery, females were referred to more often than males. Test constructors, editors, and publishers are invited to make use of the index to measure sex imbalance in new, as well as already published testing materials. In this way, the undesirable reinforcement of discriminating sex-role stereotyping can be curtailed, and the preponderance of male noun and pronoun references can be eliminated.     

SOME CHARACTERISTICS AND CORRELATES OF THE MEIER ART TEST OF AESTHETIC PERCEPTION UNDER TWO SYSTEMS OF SCORING

Unlike the Meier Art Test of Aesthetic Judgment, published data about the Meier Art Test of Aesthetic Perception (MATAP) are rare. Hence the goals of this study on the MATAP were to provide reliability and validity data and to test an alternate scoring system. With data from three samples, the MATAP exhibited unsatisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Significant, but low, positive correlations were found with the Illinois Art Ability Test, the Kuder Artistic scale, and biographical items concerning art training and interests. The MATAP correlated negatively with the Child Test of Esthetic Sensitivity. Most art related course grades and all American College Testing Program scores were not significantly related to the MATAP. The psychometric benefits of the alternate scoring system appeared marginal.     

CLOZE MEASURES AS INDICES OF ACHIEVEMENT COMPREHENSION WHEN LEARNING FROM EXTENDED PROSE

The hypothesis that cloze measures are a function of content achievement among adult learners and, consequently, should be sensitive to instructional treatments was tested in two experimental studies. College juniors and seniors took tests immediately before (pre), immediately after (post) and four weeks after (delay) studying a prose passage. The types of tests administered in each session were: (I) a 20-item multiple-choice test, (2) a reproduction passage cloze test, (3) a recognition passage cloze test, (4) a reproduction summary cloze test, and (5) a recognition summary cloze test. All tests show significant differences between pre- and posteonditions, and between recognition and reproduction modes. The reproduction summary cloze test was found to be the most sensitive to the instructional treatment, as indicated by an oJ 2 statistic on pre-post measures. The summary cloze tests were resistant to forgetting while the cloze passage and multiple-choice tests show significant decreases in performance over the four week delay interval.     

Multicultural Counselor Training: Students' Perceptions of Helpful and Hindering Events

Counselor trainees perceptions during a multicultural counseling course highlighted the importance of experiential activities and ethnically diverse speakers to the development of awareness and knowledge.     

Environmental Education Researchers as Environmental Activists

This article is a reflective account of a researcher's journey whilst embarking on a study which was political in its intentions and participatory in its orientation. Learning from feminist writings, where researchers have shared stories and explored notions of insider/outside, academic/activist, the central argument of the article is the development of an activist approach to environmental education research. The article draws on a doctoral research study which was a critical ethnography of a school and community engaged in a socially critical approach to environmental education.     

一束番红花

It brought all the assurance I needed. 它带来了我所需要的那种自信。那是一个秋日清晨,我与丈夫迁入新居不久。孩子们在楼上整理物品,透过窗户,我发现父亲正在前面的草坪上神秘地来回走动着。我父母就住在附近,父亲已经看望我们多次了。我问他: “你在那儿忙什么?”他抬起头,笑了笑。说:“我要给你一个惊     

美国湿地保护制度变迁研究

本文提出了分析湿地保护制度变迁的理论框架,使不同国家的湿地保护制度研究能在统一语境下比较。首先基于科学计量学和系统研究方法筛选出公众、科学、政府和法律为影响湿地保护制度变迁的四个关键要素,并依赖博弈论工具建立了分析美国湿地保护制度的理论架构。基于这一架构,本文对包括关键利益相关者、政策执行路径、政策工具和管理挑战等内容的美国湿地政策史进行了讨论。对美国湿地保护制度的演化进行了四阶断之划分:“西进运动”与全民开垦（1900年之前）、“水鸟保护”与公众参与（1900-1970年）、核心法律与科学研究（1971-1980年）和完善制度与新的挑战（1980年至今）。分析得出如下结论:在湿地保护制度中,公众是源头、科学是前提、有效的政府管治和将湿地保护的规则和与政策制度化是关键。通过借鉴美国湿地保护制度变迁研究,本文构建了湿地保护制度变迁的“竹节模式”经验性模型,揭示了各动因之间的作用机理。虽然美国湿地保护制度也面临着公众教育、科学定义和政府管辖权等挑战,但中国的湿地管理者与政策制定者仍可从美国湿地政策执行的历史背景中吸取经验。同时本文的理论分析结构也可为自然资源及管理策略的研究提供参考。