A model for making decisions about ethical dilemmas in student assessment

In this mixed-methods study we investigated the development of a generalized ethics decision-making model that can be applied in considering ethical dilemmas related to student assessment. For the study, we developed five scenarios that describe ethical dilemmas associated with student assessment. Survey participants (i.e., educators) completed an online survey to express their decision-making process when faced with ethical dilemmas relating to student assessment. Based on the literature and the educators’ written responses to the scenarios, elements to consider in an ethics decision-making model related to student assessment include the following: (1) the critical incident giving rise to the ethical dilemma; (2) identification of the conflict elements; (3) decisions about the ethicality of the elements; (4) justification of the decisions; (5) implications; and (6) alternative suggestions. This model offers guidance to educators in considering the dimensions of an ethical dilemma in assessment prior to making a decision.     

An ecological approach to the on-line assessment of problem-solving paths: Principles and applications

In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework for designing on-line situated assessment tools for multimedia instructional systems. Based on an ecological psychology approach to situated learning, a graph theoretic methodology is applied to monitor students' performance (solution paths) throughout the learning activity. Deviation of the student's path from the target (expert) path generates indicators which can function as alerts to the student and to the instructor. The information collected in the dribble files and presented visually enables the instructor to identify problems quickly and intervene appropriately. The feasibility of the methodology is explored in case studies describing three instructional systems that teach (1) critical thinking and problem-solving skills, (2) principles of hemodynamic monitoring and treatment, and (3) orthodontic treatment, respectively.     

用正确的评价激励学生走向成功

为了激励学生走向成功,要学习和研究新课程标准和教改实验区的先进经验,确立新的正确评价理念,引导家长改变子女成材观,重视形成性的评价作用,尝试评价内容的多元化,以及开展多主体评价和建立学生档案柜等。     

Chinese award-winning tutors’ perceptions and practices of classroom-based assessment

This study examines Chinese tertiary award-winning tutors’ perceptions and reported practices of classroom-based assessment. Seventeen tutors in the final stage of a national university teaching contest were individually interviewed. An interview framework was developed using three process dimensions of assessment for learning (AfL). A sequential and iterative analysis of resulting data was conducted based on Miles and Huberman’s protocols for qualitative analysis. Participants demonstrated a complex set of connections between perceptions and practices around issues of sharing standards, delivering feedback and response to external assessments. Results deviate from widely promoted principles of AfL and classroom-based assessment espoused in the international literature; in doing so, they challenge existing research and assumptions about the standardised and international nature of award-winning instructors’ assessment practices. Findings are discussed in relationship to understanding best practices in tertiary assessment, given emerging tertiary education markets. Practical implications for the further development of learning and assessment practices and theoretical implications for the AfL theory are also discussed.     

Validating a computerized scoring system for assessing writing and placing students in composition courses

How do scores from writing samples generated by computerized essay scorers compare to those generated by “untrained” human scorers and what combination of scores, if any, is more accurate at placing students in composition courses? This study endeavored to answer this two-part question by evaluating the correspondence between writing sample scores generated by the IntelliMetric™ automated scoring system and scores generated by University Preparation English faculty, as well as examining the predictive validity of both the automated and human scores. The results revealed significant correlations between the faculty scores and the IntelliMetric™ scores of the ACCUPLACER™ OnLine WritePlacer Plus test. Moreover, logistic regression models that utilized the IntelliMetric™ scores and average faculty scores were more accurate at placing students (77% overall correct placement rate) than were models incorporating only the average faculty score or the IntelliMetric™ scores.     

Assessment of Cooperative Learning: A Goal-Criterion Approach

The problem of assessment of non-traditional teaching techniques has long challenged educational administrators and faculty. The approach to assessment that we followed in this instance employed a model that we developed to assess group learning, variously known as cooperative learning, collaborative learning, or team learning. We applied the model to group-based case study courses that included innovative enhancements such as group exams and group-based role-play. The model required balanced representation among multiple learning criteria arranged in six goal-criterion sets, all drawn from the literature on group learning. We designed a test instrument based on the model and administered the instrument to 85 students near the end of three business strategy courses. Imbalances among criteria in the six goal-criterion sets helped identify and correct weaknesses in course design and in methods of instruction.     

How to encourage a lifelong learner? The complex relation between learning strategies and assessment in a medical curriculum

Abstract

To foster lifelong learning skills, we need new didactic approaches with aligned assessment methods. Therefore, we investigated whether the outcomes of a project assignment show a different relation to learning strategies than a longitudinal knowledge-based assessment. We studied learning strategies of first year students of medicine and biomedical sciences (n?=?248) and performed hierarchical regression analyses for the learning strategies and grades of the longitudinal knowledge-based test and project assignment. Scores of students, measured with the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Likert scale 1–7), were relatively low for critical thinking (3.53), compared to rehearsal (4.40), elaboration (4.82), organisation (4.69) and metacognitive self-regulation (4.33). Knowledge based tests showed a significant relation to elaboration (p?<?0.01). For the project-based assessment, we did not find a significant relation to any learning strategy (p?=?0.074). Explained variance of the grades was low for all learning strategies (R² < 0.043). Different types of assessment did not discriminate between students with high or low scores on learning strategies associated with lifelong learning. An explanation is that the curriculum is not aligned with assessment, or students do not benefit in terms of grades. We conclude that, if assessment is to drive lifelong learning skills, this is not self-evident.     

大学图书馆的绩效评估

文章简要介绍了绩效评估的基本方法,指出大学图书馆实行绩效评估是时代发展的需要,是引入竞争机制的具体体现。文章强调大学图书馆工作的绩效评估要以“工作规范为基础”,要引入等级记分法,用等级和分数来代替评语,要赋予每一项考核内容明确的数量值,以使评估人员在操作过程中便于检查、统计、比较。     

评估——高职院校改革与发展的助推器

高职高专院校人才培养工作水平评估,是我国高职教育改革与发展的内在要求,是政府依法行政、学校依法办学的重要举措.从实践效果看,评估有力地促进了学校教育教学观念的转变,办学思路的清晰,办学条件的改善,教学改革的深化,师资队伍的加强和教育管理的规范,实现了学校更好更快的发展.要巩固发展评估的成果,必须高度重视评估的整改工作,建立起评估的长效机制,不断推进高职院校的发展.     

英国GCSE化学考试探究性技能评价方法及启示

科学探究性技能的评价是英国GCSE化学课程考试评价目标中重要的一项.它对探究性技能进行分领域评价,制定详细的、便于操作的评价目标和评定细则,突出课程作业在评价中的地位,重视学生的探究过程和关注学生发展,其做法值得我国借鉴.