Trends and practices in functional behavior assessments completed by school psychologists

Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) utilize direct and indirect methods to collect data on student behavior to generate a functional hypothesis and drive intervention development. School psychologists are trained to conduct FBAs and use them regularly in schools. However, no evidence exists describing the specific practices used by school psychologists when they conduct FBAs. In this study, 199 respondents completed a web‐based survey developed using expert review and cognitive pretesting. Most respondents reported their gender as female (87%), were between 30 and 39 years old (50%), and practiced at the Specialist level (57%). Respondents reported receiving training in FBA across multiple sources and utilizing multi‐method data collection methods when conducting FBAs. A large amount of variability was observed in the specific instruments used by school psychologists, with a substantial proportion using forms that were not standardized or pre‐constructed. Implications for current practitioners, trainers, and researchers are described.     

Examining the ethical environment in higher education

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the world have found themselves faced with new challenges on issues of ethics. Much of this has been centred on issues of assessment: plagiarism, buying essays, sharing/lending of previously passed work and the stealing of marked/returned work of others. Institutions still treat academic misconduct as largely a behavioural difficulty rather than an issue of ethics (or education), suggesting that academia places a far greater emphasis on combating new forms of dishonesty than it does on encouraging ethical habits and a healthy ethical environment. To date, the majority of research in this area has examined these forms of academic misconduct from the point of view of the student and/or the university, with the perspective of academics receiving very limited attention. Our hypothesis is that academics are perhaps best placed to provide the education needed to create and sustain an ethical environment, and we argue that being ‘ethically aware’ is a critical factor in the development of academic competence for all parties. This study adds to existing research in three ways: firstly, by highlighting the importance of an overall framework for an ethical environment within HEIs; secondly, by suggesting an ecological model of key parties (the university, students and academics) with responsibility for this environment in assessment; and thirdly, by including new evidence (generated by a survey of academics) to extend our understanding of their views on these issues.     

独立学院仪器设备效益评价探讨

对独立学院仪器设备资源进行效益综合评价是必要的。制定合理的评价标准对于实施评价、促进管理者的工作积极性有重要意义。制定评价标准应该坚持分类原则、保底原则、标准定级原则和实践原则。     

Exploring and evaluating differentiated assessment practices of in-service teachers for components of differentiation

Classroom assessment is central to effective teaching and learning, making assessment literacy a core component for teacher education. The present study explores self-reported, differentiated assessment practices of Malaysian in-service teachers. The practices were evaluated using an analytic framework that was developed based upon the existing literature on components of differentiation. Data were collected from 32 in-service teachers using open-ended survey questionnaires. Twelve of the teachers also participated in in-depth interviews. Documents provided by the teachers were also analyzed. Data from the open-ended survey were analyzed using NVivo11 to develop codes for the analytic framework. The findings offer insights into teachers’ knowledge, application, and interpretation of differentiated assessment practices. The discussion explores teachers’ explanations of their own practices and, further, recommends ways to improve knowledge and application of differentiated assessment. The implications of the findings are discussed for assessment literacy-related professional development for teachers, school management and policies to facilitate implementation of differentiated assessment.     

Performance factors and immigration. Impact of individual and school variables / Factores de rendimiento e inmigración. Impacto de variables individuales y escolares

The way schools address migratory movements has a direct impact on integration and social cohesion, making the in-depth study of factors that affect the lower performance of immigrant students in comparison with non-immigrants essential. Using a methodology based on random coefficient models, this paper analyses the differential effect of individual level and school level variables on the estimation of mathematical competence in non-immigrant and immigrant populations. Data are extracted from an educational assessment programme carried out in the Basque Autonomous Community. The sample consists of 16,981 students with an average age of 13.7 years, of which 1,369 are immigrant students. The results reveal that individual and family-level variables show significantly higher impact on student performance than school-level variables. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of investing in policies to support diversity that work at family level, as a means to achieve fuller equity.     

我国房产税改革刍议

在目前中国房价居高不下的背景下,重庆市和上海市开始了房产税改革试点。这不仅仅是一个抛向楼市水池的试水石,更是促进政府职能转变,完善税制结构,稳定地方财政收入的有益尝试。当前我国涉及到房产税的问题很多,不仅包括宏观方面的税制结构,也包括微观层面的计税依据。文章探讨了一些关于现行房产税的问题,并提出了相关建议。     

一所民族村小留守儿童法制教育缺失的折射

通过分析安顺市西秀区G小学留守儿童可以看出,留守儿童法制意识缺失主要表现在道德缺失、社会辨别能力低、学法积极性不高、心理障碍多等四个方面。学校应从发挥学校在留守儿童法制教育方面的主体作用,逐步建立和完善法制教育机制;以学法为契机,拓展宣传渠道,强化法制意识;提高留守儿童社会辨识能力;提升教师业务水平,增进法制与心理教育能力;整合社会资源,尽力弥补留守儿童的家庭缺失感等五个方面加强对农村留守儿童进行法制教育。     

环巢湖旅游地开发条件定量评价

通过实地调研和专家咨询,构建了湖泊型旅游地开发评价指标体系。根据湖泊型旅游地开发评价因子的特性,将其分为两种类型,一类是数值型因子,一类是模糊型因子,分别对其进行评价,进而提出一种具有兼容性的湖泊旅游地开发综合评价模型。运用此模型对环巢湖旅游地开发条件进行综合定量评价,得出环巢湖旅游地综合评价得分是7.626,总体上属国家级旅游地,并对定量评价结论进行了相关讨论。     

上海市城市供水脆弱性分析

采用两种方法分析了上海市2001—2009年城市供水的脆弱性,结果呈现出相似的变化特点。分析发现,在影响上海城市供水脆弱性的变化方面,经济发展(即GDP)的贡献大于人口。据上海市社会经济发展趋势,若维持2009年日供水能力不变,则2020年满足安全阈限范围10%～15%要求需增加供水量2.31～4.23亿m3;若考虑青草沙水库供水能力(719万m3/d),则2020年上海市供水仍远高于安全阈限范围。最后提出进一步改进城市供水脆弱性估算及风险分析需要加强的方面。     

某空腹式双曲拱桥承载力现场测试与分析

为检验在役双曲拱桥的承载能力与动力特性,对某净跨为36 m空腹式双曲拱桥进行了静载试验、动载试验及空间有限元分析。测试结构的静态应变、动态应变、挠度、自振频率、振型及加速度等结构反应,计算得出冲击系数。将实测结果与有限元结果进行对比分析,结果表明:应变校验系数为0.5~0.9,结构具有较好承载力。实测的各阶频率及相应振型与有限元计算结果比较吻合,桥梁整体竖向刚度较好。