CORRELATING TEACHER SELF-ASSESSMENT SCORE WITH STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH AND MATHEMATICS

This study aimed to measure the relationship between teacher self-assessment score and student achievement in English and Mathematics. The researchers developed a Self-assessment Instrument for Teacher Evaluation (SITE) based on five National Professional Standards for Teachers developed by the Ministry of Education, Pakistan. Using a convenient sampling method, 279 English or Mathematics teachers of grade 10 in 40 public boys’ and girls’ high schools in district Okara were surveyed who self-evaluated their performance on the SITE II. Additionally, based on the Lahore Board’s annual matriculation examination results 2014, the achievement scores in English or Mathematics (n=7245) of students were also collected from teachers. The study found positive, weak or moderate, relationships between teacher evaluation scores and student achievement in English, as well as in Mathematics. The findings also revealed that Subject Matter Knowledge, Instructional Planning and Strategies, Assessment, Effective Communication, and Continuous Professional Development, individually, significantly predicted student achievement in English and Mathematics. The Subject Matter Knowledge, Instructional Planning and Strategies, and gender significantly explained 28% of the observed variance to predict student achievement in English. Only Subject matter Knowledge explained 12% of the variance in student achievement in mathematics

Charge and Magnetic Moment of the Neutrino in the Background Field Method and in the Linear R_xi^L Gauge

We present a computation of the charge and the magnetic moment of the neutrino in the recently developed electro-weak Background Field Method and in the linear $R_{\xi}^L$ gauge. First, we deduce a formal Ward-Takahashi identity which implies the immediate cancellation of the neutrino electric charge. This Ward-Takahashi identity is as simple as that for QED. The computation of the (proper and improper) one loop vertex diagrams contributing to the neutrino electric charge is also presented in an arbitrary gauge, checking in this way the Ward-Takahashi identity previously obtained. Finally, the calculation of the magnetic moment of the neutrino, in the minimal extension of the Standard Model with massive Dirac neutrinos, is presented, showing its gauge parameter and gauge structure independence explicitly.Comment: Latex, 19 pages, 9 PS and 10 EPS figures. One reference added. Appendix B modified and Appendices C-E eliminated. To be published in Eur. Phys. J.

SIMULATING BST INTRODUCTION IN CALIFORNIA FOR DAIRY POLICY ANALYSIS

An econometric model is estimated to simulate the impact of introducing bovine somatotropin (BST) on the California dairy industry. Forecasts of 1991-94 milk production and prices without BST are compared to those with BST under the 1990 Farm Bill. The effects are evaluated under a range in assumptions, given the uncertainty about BST's commercial benefits and costs. Results indicate the aggregate returns of BST introduction for California are positive, but small, assuming no adverse consumer reaction.Agricultural and Food Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Teacher Evaluation and Reliability: Additional Insights Gathered from Inter-rater Reliability Analyses

Using a newly-created teacher evaluation instrument, Inter-rater Reliability (IRR) analyses were conducted on four teacher videos as a means to establish instrument reliability. Raters included 42 principals and assistant principals in a southern US school district. The videos used spanned the teacher quality spectrum and the IRR findings across these levels varied. Key findings suggest that while the overall IRR coefficient may be adequate to assess the validity of a classroom observation instrument, the overall coefficient may be unstable across the various teacher performance levels. Findings also strongly suggest that raters are much more likely to agree when they see high-quality teaching when compared to levels of agreement regarding low-quality teaching