Teasing apart the child care conundrum: A factorial survey analysis of perceptions of child care quality, fair market price and willingness to pay by low-income, African American parents

Child care quality plays a crucial role in children's social and cognitive development. While child care quality is a critical issue for all children, it matters more for low-income children. Policy makers have increased the emphasis on allowing parents, not government, to make decisions about the type of care they want for their children. Yet most research on child care quality has focused on how child care professionals, not parents define high quality care. This study investigates how low-income families evaluate child care quality by examining the child care preferences of a sample of low-income African American parents. We employ the factorial survey method, a method used in sociological research to assess people's perceptions and rankings of individual attributes associated with complex multidimensional phenomena. The factorial survey method permits a simultaneous assessment of how respondents evaluate and make tradeoffs among multiple child care characteristics. We assess the impact of child care characteristics on respondents’ perceptions of child care desirability, fair market value, and willingness to pay. Findings indicate that parents’ definition of quality focused squarely on the care giving environment, specifically the qualifications, experience, training and behavior associated with the child care provider. The type of care facility—family, center, relative or neighbor care was largely irrelevant to this sample of parents. Parents believed that the characteristics they defined as desirable child care situations were worth more, and parents were willing to pay more for these characteristics. These parents also defined quality in terms of race and class, and they wanted racial and economic diversity. This research suggests parents may choose lower quality care, not because they do not know what quality is or because they define quality care differently, but because such care may be neither available nor affordable in their communities.     

英语语言测试的几点建议

从研究语言测试的理论、内容及在实践中存在的一些问题，探讨语言测试制度的改革设想，并提出了一些改进建议。     

Validity evidence for the Experiences of Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ) in evaluations of quality learning: A systematic critical literature review

The use of the Experiences of Teaching & Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ) for the evaluation of learning quality in higher education has been expanding during the last decade, thus a review of the instrument’s validity evidence is warranted. The design of the study was a systematic critical literature review. We evaluated the strength of the validity evidence of 17 included studies with a quality appraisal framework reflecting current standards for educational testing. The evidence supporting the central validity assumptions of the ETLQ scales is currently weak to moderate and incomplete. Thus, caution against the uncritical use of ETQL scores for high-stakes educational decisions is warranted. The appraisal framework used was useful for creating an overview of the evidence. However, attention to more general aspects of study quality, and consensus deliberations with three to four raters was also important for sufficiently reliable appraisal of the evidence.     

Validity inquiry process: Practical guidance for examining performance assessments and building a validity argument

Given the increased use of performance assessments (PAs) in higher education to evaluate achievement of learning outcomes, it is important to address the barriers related to ensuring quality for this type of assessment. This article presents a design-based research (DBR) study that resulted in the development of a Validity Inquiry Process (VIP). The study’s aim was to support faculty in examining the validity and reliability of the interpretation and use of results from locally developed PAs. DBR was determined to be an appropriate method because it is used to study interventions such as an instructional innovation, type of assessment, technology integration, or administrative activity (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012). The VIP provides a collection of instruments and utilizes a reflective practice approach integrating concepts of quality criteria and development of a validity argument as outlined in the literature (M.T. Kane, 2013; Linn, Baker, & Dunbar, 1991; Messick, 1994).     

Effect of number of response options on the psychometric properties of Likert-type scales used with children

Although Likert-type rating scales are used in a great number of early childhood studies, knowledge of how the number of response options affects the psychometric properties of scales used with children is limited. The purpose of this study is to contribute to this knowledge. Data were collected from second grade students and third grade students. Accordingly, 1,092 second- and third-graders completed a 2-point, 3-point, and 4-point version of the School Attachment Scale for Children and Adolescents. Participants came from 11 schools, different in terms of socioeconomic status. The children received the versions approximately three weeks apart. Results revealed that as the number of response options increased, the means tended to decrease and the distribution to be normal. For the 2-point version, most items were below the cut-off point in terms of discrimination indexes. Compared to the 2-point version, there was a significant increase in discrimination indexes for the 3- and 4-point versions, and the items’ discrimination indexes were high. It was concluded that the reliability coefficient increased with an increasing number of response options for all subdimensions of the scale. When the validity estimations of the three subdimensions were examined for the three versions of the scale, it was found that the 3- and 4-point versions were appropriate for the validity and that the validity of the 2-point version was weak. It was observed that using 2-point Likert-type scales with children negatively affected the psychometric properties and that these properties improved with an increased number of response options.     

油色谱分析法诊断大型整流变压器运行状态有效性分析

通过对大型整流变压器油中溶解气体、油中含水量分析预防性试验,探讨预防性试验有效性,并对检测方法、故障诊断以及大型整流变压器状态检修的现状与发展提出建议。     

Establishing the validity and reliability of a modified tool for assessing innovative thinking of engineering students

Abstract

The goal of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of a self-report tool for assessing individual differences in innovative thinking, based on a modification of the ‘innovative behavior scale’. A five-stage study was conducted among engineering students worldwide, who enrolled in a massive open online course in Nanotechnology and Nanosensors. Content validity was established by a panel of experts in engineering education. Construct validity was established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, indicating a four-factor solution with 13 items loaded above critical level. Known-groups validity revealed differences among learners with distinct expertise. The scale’s stability across populations and over time was confirmed, providing there has been no intentional intervention. Finally, the scale’s concurrent validity was reinforced through data triangulation with actual practice - the fabrication of innovative nanosensors.     

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) among undergraduates and depressive patients

ObjectiveThe Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) is a self-report questionnaire that retrospectively provides screening for a history of childhood abuse and neglect, and which is widely used throughout the world. The current study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the CTQ-SF.MethodsParticipants included 3431 undergraduates from Hunan provinces and 234 depressive patients from psychological clinics. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine how well the original five-factor model fit the data and the measurement equivalence of CTQ-SF across gender. Internal consistency was also evaluated.ResultsThe five-factor model achieved satisfactory fit (Undergraduate sample TLI = 0.925, CFI = 0.936, RMSEA = 0.034, SRMR = 0.046; depressive sample TLI = 0.912, CFI = 0.923, RMSEA = 0.044, SRMR = 0.062). Measurement invariance of the five-factor model across gender was supported fully assuming different degrees of invariance. The CTQ-SF also showed acceptable internal consistency and good stability.ConclusionThe current study provides that the Chinese version of the Childhood Trauma questionnaire-short form has good reliability and validity among Chinese undergraduates and depressive samples, which also indicates that the CTQ-SF is a good tool for child trauma assessment.     

测验效度概念的新发展

1985年《教育与心理测验标准》(第5版)出版之前,效度研究的核心概念是"效标(criterion)",效度研究被视为一种用"效标"对测验的效度进行证明(verify)、对测验分数做出有效(valid)解释的过程。1985年以后,效度研究的核心概念是"证据(evidence)",效度研究被视为一种通过积累证据对测验的效度进行支持(support)、对测验分数做出合理(reasonable)解释的过程。关于效度的这种理解,突出体现在1999年出版的《教育与心理测验标准》(第6版)中。美国教育协会和美国国家教育测量学会共同组织编写的《教育测量》在业内被称为"教育测量领域的《圣经》"。2006年《教育测量》(第4版)出版以后,效度研究的核心概念演变为"理由(warrant)",效度研究被视为一种通过构造"理由系统"和"理由网络"对效度进行"论证(argument)"、对测验分数做出可接受的(plausible)解释的过程。本文结合笔者的考试实践,介绍了效度概念的新发展。     

从逻辑到实践:当代大学生入党信仰教育的维度建构与效度生成

随着党执政能力的不断提高与高校招生规模的不断扩大,大学生党员人数剧增,信仰教育成为高校党建工作的重要议题。基于"七一讲话"精神与科学发展观意蕴对大学生入党信仰教育进行从逻辑到实践的路径探究,在信仰教育的维度建构中帮助大学生树立科学信仰,在实践中探寻有效的现实操作增强信仰教育的实效性。