Literacy in Malta : the 1999 national survey of the attainment of year 2 pupils

The Maltese Islands in the Mediterranean Sea have two official languages. Maltese, a Semitic language, is the native tongue. English is used widely and is taught from early on at school. For Malta and Gozo, it is the Language of Wider Communication (LWC). In primary schools, oracy skills in English are introduced early on alongside Maltese at the kindergarten level and the beginning of Year 1 (five- and six year-olds) of formal schooling. Literacy skills in English are introduced later on in Year 1. In Year 2 (six- to seven-year-olds), further oracy and literacy work is carried out in both Maltese and English. Increasingly, as children move from primary to secondary and then into tertiary education, English gains in importance. Literacy in both languages is therefore essential; hence the decision of the Ministry of Education and the University of Malta to carry out this national survey of literacy attainment in March 1999. It was decided that this, the first national survey of educational performance undertaken in Malta, should focus on the reading attainment of Year 2 pupils, in both Maltese and English. This survey was preceded by a pilot study. The pilot study took place in early June 1998 and the report on that study (Mifsud et al., 1998) served also as a consultation document for refining the planning of the survey. The Ministry of Education commissioned both studies from the Literacy Unit of the Faculty of Education of the University of Malta.peer-reviewe

Item selection and application in Higher Education

Over the past ten years the use of computer assisted assessment in Higher Education (HE) has grown. The majority of this expansion has been based around the application of multiple-choice items (Stephens and Mascia, 1997). However, concern has been expressed about the use of multiple choice items to test higher order skills. The Tripartite Interactive Assessment Development (TRIAD) system (Mackenzie, 1999) has been developed by the Centre for Interactive Assessment Development (CIAD) at the University of Derby. It is a delivery platform that allows the production of more complex items. We argue that the use of complex item formats such as those available in TRIADs could enhance validity and produce assessments with features not present in pencil and paper tests (cf. Huff and Sireci, 2001). CIAD was keen to evaluate tests produced in TRIADs and so sought the aid of the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). As part of an initial investigation a test was compiled for a year one Systems Analysis module. This test was produced by the tutor (in consultation with CIAD) and contained a number of item types; both multiple-choice items and complex TRIADs items. Data from the test were analysed using Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory models. The results of the analysis led to a number of interesting observations. The multiple-choice items showed lower reliability. This was surprising since these items had been mainly obtained from published sources, with few written by the test constructor. The fact that the multiple-choice items showed lower reliability compared to more complex item types may flag two important points for the unwary test developer: the quality of published items may be insufficient to allow their inclusion in high-quality tests, and furthermore, the production of reliable multiple-choice items is a difficult skill to learn. In addition it may not be appropriate to attempt to stretch multiple-choice items by using options such as ‘all’ or ‘none of the above’. The evidence from this test seems to suggest that multiple-choice items may not be appropriate to test outcomes at undergraduate level

A randomized controlled trial of training in Motivational Interviewing for child protection.

There has been interest in developing more evidence-based approaches to child and family social work in the UK in recent years. This study examines the impact of a skills development package of training and supervision in Motivational Interviewing (MI) on the skills of social workers and the engagement of parents through a randomized controlled trial. All workers in one local authority were randomly assigned to receive the package (n = 28) or control (n = 33). Families were then randomized to trained (n = 67) or untrained (n = 98) workers. Family meetings with the worker shortly after allocation were evaluated for MI skill. Research interviews gathered data including the WAI. Follow-up interviews 20 weeks later repeated the WAI, and other outcome measures including Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) and rating of family life. Between group analysis found statistically significant difference in MI skills, though these were not substantial (2.49 in control, 2.91 MI trained, p = .049). There was no statistically significant difference between groups in any other outcome measures. The package of training and supervision did not create sufficient increase in MI skills to influence engagement or outcomes. Implications for understanding the relationship between skills, engagement and organizational change are discussed

The Effect of Measurement Errors on Apparent Group Level Effects in Educational Progress

errors in variables, group-level effects, education,

The standard error of moving average smoothed equipercentile equating

Equipercentile equating, Moving average, Smoothing, Standard error, Tests, Classical testing,