Creating an Ofsted story: the role of early years assessment data in schools’ narratives of progress

This paper explores the growing importance of measures of progress in judgements of schools’ effectiveness in England, with a focus on the role of the early years (settings for children aged 2–5) in providing data for these measures. Qualitative data from a research project involving three diverse school-based and pre-compulsory early years settings are used to explore how teachers and school leaders prioritise the collection of data in their every-day practice, in order to show how children make continual progress. The need for a narrative of progress as children move up through the primary school, an ‘Ofsted story’ for the school inspection service, is discussed alongside recent policy which requires a ‘baseline’ assessment at age four. We argue that there is a reification of progress in schools and early years settings, and that this changes the status of early years within the sector.     

Evaluating standards-based assessment rubrics in a postgraduate public health subject

Standards-based assessment rubrics are recognised as an important tool for ensuring clear criteria in higher education. Most of the available evidence on rubrics comes from studies with face-to-face undergraduate students. Our study evaluated the introduction of rubrics into a postgraduate subject that included both online and face-to-face students. We conducted formative evaluation with former students to develop the rubrics, as well as surveying current students for process and impact evaluation, supplemented with a focus group. Process results showed that the rubrics were used widely and were generally considered to be of at least some use. Clarity of the rubrics was the main issue affecting perceived usefulness, particularly for the assessment tasks that had undergone comparatively less formative evaluation. Impact evaluation showed mixed results, with students that reported always using rubrics having higher marks on average compared to students who did not always use the rubrics. However, an expected improvement in marks across the whole student cohort compared to previous years did not eventuate, although this could be explained by a number of factors independent of the rubrics. Our results provide some evidence for the use of rubrics in postgraduate and online settings but highlight the need for rigorous formative evaluation.     

Too much freedom and autonomy in the enactment of assessment? Assessment in physical education in Ireland

This paper sets out to outline current discussions in Ireland around teachers being responsible for assessing their own students’ work, and the subsequent impact such a perspective is having (or not) on the delivery and assessment of physical education in Ireland. Our intention is to contribute to assessment considerations, while acknowledging the nuances of the Irish education context, and the positioning of physical education within such nuances. This discussion is particularly timely given the very recent endorsement for the introduction of the new Leaving Certificate Physical Education as a full optional subject. We begin by discussing more specifically assessment in Irish primary and post-primary schools, drawing attention to the limited Irish assessment-related research being conducted in both contexts. We then explore assessment developments related to Irish primary physical education and post-primary physical education and compare the extent to which such developments are limited in comparison to international assessment interests and practices in physical education. We conclude with suggestions related to studying (pre-service) teachers’ and students’ exposure to assessment in order to understand how we could alter the balance of assessment purposes and uses in Irish schools.     

黑龙江赫哲族语言濒危现状评估及其教育对策

从联合国教科文组织的语言活力评估指标体系来衡量,黑龙江街津口赫哲语在代际语言传承、语言使用者的绝对人数、语言使用者的相对人数、语言使用域的走向、语言对新语域和媒体的反应、语言教育和读写材料、语言态度评估、语言族群成员对母语的态度、语言记录材料的数量和质量九个方面都处于极度危险状态,定量评定赫哲语综合语言活力指标值为0.4973,处于"极度危险"等级.目前从语言记录材料、语言使用环境、语言课程建设、语言师资队伍建设四个方面提升赫哲语活力.     

蒙特卡罗数值模拟及其在大跨桥梁可靠度分析中的应用

为了定量地研究大跨桥梁在多种随机因素下的可靠度,采用了蒙特卡罗法中的拉丁超立方体抽样法,对润扬悬索桥(中国跨度最大的悬索桥)在温度、风、车辆荷载、车辆冲击等随机变量作用下的结构可靠度进行了计算.通过对大桥在正常运营和损伤状态下的可靠度分析,获得了大桥主缆应力、吊索应力、桥塔位移以及钢箱梁线形等重要指标的可靠度和累积分布函数,分析结果形象直观,提高了评估的效率,使维护决策的制定更加客观准确.     

高等学校教育评估在中国的发展--纪念我国高等学校教育评估创业10年

回顾我国高等学校教育评估的创业史,剖析教育评估的本质、目的、形式和方法,介绍我国高等工程本科教育评估试点工作,以及优秀教学成果评估和奖励活动,最后提出建设高等学校教学质量保障体系须注意的问题。     

决策树挖掘算法在教评体系中的应用研究

对高校教学质量评估体系中学生的大量评教数据和教师的档案数据进行数据挖掘,重点研究决策树方法中的ID3算法在教学质量评估体系中的应用。利用决策树挖掘算法挖掘影响教学质量的关键因素,找出数据的内在规律,并对挖掘结果进行分析,从中提取有用信息,才能更好地为管理决策分析提供科学依据。     

大学英语课程教学改革的思考

大学英语课程具有开设的广泛性、重要性和新教学模式复杂性等特点,因此大学英语教学改革是势在必行的。文章从设置合理的课程体系、改进传统的教学模式、建设良好的教学团队和建立完善的评价体系四方面探讨了大学英语课程的改革,目的在于更好地激发学生的学习兴趣和提高学生的综合能力,以促进大学生的全面发展和大学英语教学质量的提升。     

Linking a learning progression for natural selection to teachers' enactment of formative assessment

Learning progressions, or representations of how student ideas develop in a domain, hold promise as tools to support teachers' formative assessment practices. The ideas represented in a learning progression might help teachers to identify and make inferences about evidence collected of student thinking, necessary precursors to modifying instruction to help students advance in their learning. The study reported in this article took the novel approach of using a learning progression for natural selection to support teachers' enactment of formative assessment. Sources of data include interviews and videotapes of six high school biology teachers leading assessment conversations around the same formative assessment questions. Results indicate that while teachers picked out and made inferences about student ideas related to the learning progression during assessment conversations, they did not use all parts of the learning progression in the same way. Furthermore, several of the teachers seemed to use the learning progressions simply as catalogs of misconceptions to be “squashed” rather than drawing upon the developmental affordances offered by a learning progression. Results are framed in terms of the utility of learning progressions as supports for classroom practice. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1181–1210, 2012     

高校思想政治理论课考核模式改革探索

当前《中国近现代史纲要》课的考核模式存在着成绩结构欠合理、考试形式单一、考试内容过于注重书本理论知识等问题与弊端,从而严重影响了其教学实效的提高。因此,提高平时成绩在总成绩中的比重,并采取灵活有效的考试方法,拓宽考试内容,注重理论联系实际,就成为《纲要》课乃至整个思想政治理论课考试改革的重要出路。