Criterion-referenced measurement: Its main applications, problems and findings

The need for criterion-referenced measurements has mainly arisen from the introduction of instructional programs organized according to modern principles from educational technology. Some of these programs are discussed, and it is indicated for what purposes criterion-referenced measurements are used. Three main problems of criterion-referenced measurement are distinguished: The problem of criterion-referenced scoring and score interpretation, the problem of criterion-referenced item and test analysis, and the problem of mastery testing. For each of these problems a variety of solutions of the paper to provide an overview of these and to introduce the reader to the original literature

Gender Differences in K-12 Education: What Indicators Are Important?

Although gender differences have been identified in scholarly research, there is little state reporting of indicators by gender. The purpose of this paper is to identify the gender gaps in K-12 education that have been reported in the literature, to discuss how and when these gaps manifest themselves, and to recommend which of the educational performance indicators should be reported by gender in Georgia. Ultimately, the purpose of reporting indicators by gender is to aid in the efforts to close gender gaps in education.A review of the literature reveals that gender gaps exist at both empirical and experiential levels. Empirically, gaps exist in math, science, and reading proficiency scores, as well as in course enrollment in higher level math and science and graduation rates. Experientially, gaps exist in self esteem levels, personal perceptions of ability, teacher interaction with students, as well as in the advice and opportunities that are afforded students. While studies show that girls and boys start kindergarten on a generally equal footing, by grade twelve girls are generally in a lower academic position than their male counterparts, particularly in the areas of math and science. Research shows that the most critical age for the development of gender gaps is early adolescence, particularly grade seven in which girls= educational performance in math and science begins to plummet.Based on the research and data reported in this paper, the following indicators are recommended to be reported by gender. They are separated into indicators that are currently available by gender, and indicators that are recommended to be reported by gender in the future

Surveying Persons with Disabilities: A Source Guide (Version 1)

As a collaborator with the Cornell Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. has been working on a project that identifies the strengths and limitations in existing disability data collection in both content and data collection methodology. The intended outcomes of this project include expanding and synthesizing knowledge of best practices and the extent existing data use those practices, informing the development of data enhancement options, and contributing to a more informed use of existing data. In an effort to provide the public with an up-to-date and easily accessible source of research on the methodological issues associated with surveying persons with disabilities, MPR has prepared a Source Guide of material related to this topic. The Source Guide contains 150 abstracts, summaries, and references, followed by a Subject Index, which cross references the sources from the Reference List under various subjects. The Source Guide is viewed as a “living document,” and will be periodically updated

Developing autonomous learning in first year university students using perspectives from positive psychology

Autonomous learning is a commonly occurring learning outcome from university study, and it is argued that students require confidence in their own abilities to achieve this. Using approaches from positive psychology, this study aimed to develop confidence in first‐year university students to facilitate autonomous learning. Psychological character strengths were assessed in 214 students on day one at university. Two weeks later their top three strengths were given to them in study skills modules as part of a psycho‐educational intervention designed to increase their self‐efficacy and self‐esteem. The impact of the intervention was assessed against a control group of 40 students who had not received the intervention. The results suggested that students were more confident after the intervention, and that levels of autonomous learning increased significantly compared to the controls. Character strengths were found to be associated with self‐efficacy, self‐esteem and autonomous learning in ways that were theoretically meaningful

Self-Evaluation of Black and White College Students

A major issue in the social psychology of race relations has been the axiom that blacks tend to manifest lower self-esteem than whites.[1] Much of the empirical support for this hypothesis came from studies demonstrating that blacks are stigmatized and subjected to a variety of unpleasant and derogatory experiences.[2] However, these studies are limited in two respects: first, by their use of small, nonrepresentative samples (primarily nursery school and kindergarten children) and second, by their reliance upon inferential (semi-projective) measures of self-esteem.[3

The Faculty Notebook, February 2008

The Faculty Notebook is published periodically by the Office of the Provost at Gettysburg College to bring to the attention of the campus community accomplishments and activities of academic interest. Faculty are encouraged to submit materials for consideration for publication to the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. Copies of this publication are available at the Office of the Provost

Political tolerance in Eastern and Western Europe: Social and psychological roots

According to Sullivan et al.’s (Sullivan et al. 1979, 53-55, Sullivan et al. 1985) theory, social and\ud psychological factors play different roles in political tolerance. Target-group selection is shaped by\ud socio-demographic characteristics, since in this way people try to adjust themselves to their social\ud environment. On the other side, the degree of tolerance is a function of personality and other\ud psychological factors.\ud The paper examines whether the causal model proposed by Sullivan and his co-workers is able to\ud account for individual differences in the degree of political intolerance in Eastern and Western Europe.\ud The main emphasis is on their hypothesis about different effects of socio-economic and psychological\ud variables. The research is based on World Values Survey data, which include the so called ‘least liked’\ud method to operationalize political tolerance. The findings indicate that psychological factors play an\ud important role in the choice of target group, and not only in determining the degree of intolerance,\ud contrary to Sullivan et al., hypothesis. Socio-economic status variables displayed rather complex\ud pattern of influence on political tolerance. In general, the findings suggest that intolerance of different\ud groups is not uniformly related to social and psychological explanatory variables. Not only intolerance\ud is pluralistic, but the mechanisms behind intolerance seem to be pluralistic too

The Faculty Notebook, March & May 2006

The Faculty Notebook is published periodically by the Office of the Provost at Gettysburg College to bring to the attention of the campus community accomplishments and activities of academic interest. Faculty are encouraged to submit materials for consideration for publication to the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. Copies of this publication are available at the Office of the Provost