Scaling Performance Assessments: A Comparison of One-Parameter and Two-Parameter Partial Credit Models

In one study, parameters were estimated for constructed-response (CR) items in 8 tests from 4 operational testing programs using the l-parameter and 2- parameter partial credit (IPPC and 2PPC) models. Where multiple-choice (MC) items were present, these models were combined with the 1-parameter and 3-parameter logistic (IPL and 3PL) models, respectively. We found that item fit was better when the 2PPC model was used alone or with the 3PL model. Also, the slopes of the CR and MC items were found to differ substantially. In a second study, item parameter estimates produced using the IPL-IPPC and 3PL-2PPC model combinations were evaluated for fit to simulated data generated using true parameters known to fit one model combination or ttle other. The results suggested that the more flexible 3PL-2PPC model combination would produce better item fit than the IPL-1PPC combination.     

The development of secondary education in Japan after World War II

The basic pattern of contemporary secondary education in Japan was laid down in the years immediately after the Second World War. Secondary education is divided into a lower and an upper stage. The main characteristic of the lower stage is the combination of compulsory subjects and elective subjects. This article shows how the attempt to organise upper secondary education along American lines with comprehensive high schools controlled by elected school boards has given way to a structure more in keeping with Japanese needs. However, co-education in upper secondary schools has taken firm root in Japan. The article concludes with a list of major policy issues in Japanese secondary education today.     

Learning through Meaning Making: Applying Job Crafting in Field Learning

Job crafting makes people’s work rewarding through meaning making. This article discusses the ways in which a field director may use job crafting to address a common challenge in field education. Field placements are based on various institutional expectations; however, many students have preconceived notions of what social work and social work education should be, and they complain that their placements are “not clinical ” enough. Through the application of job crafting, students can reframe their field learning experiences in a meaningful way. Using the case study method, this article demonstrates one way to support MSW students, highlighting common challenges and practices at a large public northeastern university.     

Concurrent and Separate Grade-Groups Linking Procedures for Vertical Scaling

Reading and Mathematics tests of multiple-choice items for grades Kindergarten through 9 were vertically scaled using the three-parameter logistic model and two different scaling procedures: concurrent and separate by grade groups. Item parameters were estimated using Markov chain Monte Carlo methodology while fixing the grade 4 population abilities to have a standard normal distribution. For the separate grade-groups scaling, grade groupings were linked using the Stocking and Lord test characteristic curve procedure. Abilities were estimated using the maximum-likelihood method. In either content area, scatterplots of item difficulty, discrimination, and ability estimates from the two methods showed consistently strong linear relationships. However, as grade deviated from the base grade of four, the best-fit linear line through the pairs of item discriminations started to rotate away from the identity line. This indicated the discrimination estimates from the separate grade-groups procedure for extreme grades to be, on average, higher than those from the concurrent analysis. The study also observed some systematic change in score variability across grades. In general, the two vertical scaling approaches yielded similar results at more grades in Reading than in Mathematics.     

Molecular design and application of luminescent materials composed of group 13 elements with an aggregation-induced emission property

Complexation of π-conjugated ligands by metal or semimetal ions leads to the enhancement of the planarity and rigidity of π-conjugated systems. Boron, especially, has played a central role in the design of luminescent main-group complexes. However, these complexes still suffer the disadvantage of aggregation-caused quenching as well as typical organic fluorophores. It has recently been reported that some types of boron complexes exhibit the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property. Moreover, AIE behavior from complexes and organometallic compounds composed of the other group 13 elements, such as aluminum and gallium, has emerged in this decade. These observations greatly encourage us to develop advanced functional materials based on the group 13 elements. Indeed, recent research has demonstrated that these classes of materials are potentially versatile scaffolds for constructing chromic luminophores, efficiently emissive π-conjugated polymers and so on. This review mainly describes AIE-active group 13 complexes with four-coordinate structures and their application as photo-functional materials. Proposed mechanisms of the origins of AIE behavior are briefly discussed.     

Rain influences the physiological and metabolic responses to exercise in hot conditions

Outdoor exercise often proceeds in rainy conditions. However, the cooling effects of rain on human physiological responses have not been systematically studied in hot conditions. The present study determined physiological and metabolic responses using a climatic chamber that can precisely simulate hot, rainy conditions. Eleven healthy men ran on a treadmill at an intensity of 70% VO_2max for 30 min in the climatic chamber at an ambient temperature of 33°C in the presence (RAIN) or absence (CON) of 30 mm · h^?1 of precipitation and a headwind equal to the running velocity of 3.15 ± 0.19 m · s^?1. Oesophageal temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, blood parameters, volume of expired air and sweat loss were measured. Oesophageal and mean skin temperatures were significantly lower from 5 to 30 min, and heart rate was significantly lower from 20 to 30 min in RAIN than in CON (P < 0.05 for all). Plasma lactate and epinephrine concentrations (30 min) and sweat loss were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in RAIN compared with CON. Rain appears to influence physiological and metabolic responses to exercise in heat such that heat-induced strain might be reduced.     

What factors determine the mode of overseas R&D by multinationals? Empirical evidence

The large expansion of MNC's overseas R&D is noteworthy. This paper investigates the factors affecting the expansion of support-oriented R&D and knowledge sourcing R&D by using qualitative data which indicate the modes of R&D conducted at a plant site and a laboratory. The empirical results suggest that (1) the export propensity of affiliate firms, relative abundance of human resources for R&D, and accumulated technological knowledge have a positive effect on both the modes of R&D at a plant site and a laboratory, and (2) the stronger enforcement of intellectual property positively affects the expansion of knowledge sourcing R&D. These results show that not only firm-specific but also country-specific factors positively affect the overseas expansion of R&D.     

Effects of Assigning Raters to Items

Student responses to a large number of constructed response items in three Math and three Reading tests were scored on two occasions using three ways of assigning raters: single reader scoring, a different reader for each response (item-specific), and three readers each scoring a rater item block (RIB) containing approximately one-third of a student's responses. Multiple group confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the three types of total scores were most frequently tau-equivalent. Factor models fitted on the item responses attributed differences in scores to correlated ratings incurred by the same reader scoring multiple responses. These halo effects contributed to significantly increased single reader mean total scores for three of the tests. The similarity of scores for item-specific and RIB scoring suggests that the effect of rater bias on an examinee's set of responses may be minimized with the use of multiple readers though fewer than the number of items.     

Psychometric properties and optimizing of the Bracken School Readiness Assessment

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - The Bracken School Readiness Assessment (BSRA) has been used in large studies such as the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). Important...