Home Rule in New York: The Need for a Change

This article is intended to provide a practical lens into how Home Rule issues unfold in complex matters involving the City, and to suggest how a much-needed Home Rule constitutional amendment could re-shape or, at the very least, clarify Home Rule standards. Section II will provide some historical and legal background on Home Rule; Section III will analyze some of the more well-known Home Rule cases that the Law Department litigated during the Bloomberg Administration; and Section IV will discuss insights gleaned with respect to, and will offer several recommendations for, the future of Home Rule in New York

An Investigation of the Accuracy of Alternative Methods of True Score Estimation in High-Stakes Mixed-Format Examinations

Increasingly, high-stakes large-scale examinations are used to make important decisions about student achievement. Consequently, it is equally important that scores obtained from these examinations are accurate. This study compares the estimation accuracy of procedures based on classical test score theory (CTST) and item response theory (Generalized Partial Credit model, GPCM) for examinations consisting of multiple-choice and extended-response items. Using the British Columbia Scholarship Examination program, the accuracy of the two procedures was compared when the scholarship portions of the examinations were removed. For the subset of examinations investigated, the results indicate that removing these scholarship portions led to an error rate of approximately 10% with approximately seven out of 10 errors resulting in the denial of scholarships. The results were similar for both the CTST and the GPCM, indicating that for mixed-format examinations the two procedures produce randomly equivalent results. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.Lors de la prise de décisions importantes quant au rendement des élèves, on tient de plus en plus compte d'examens à grande échelle et à enjeu considérable. Il est donc tout aussi important que les résultats qu'obtiennent les élèves à ces examens soient justes et précis. Cette étude compare la justesse de l'estimation de procédures reposant sur la théorie classique des scores (classical test score theory, CTST) d'une part, et la théorie de la réponse d'item (Generalized Partial Credit model, GPCM) d'autre part, pour des examens comprenant des questions à choix multiples et des questions ouvertes. La justesse des deux procédures à été comparée dans le contexte du programme d'évaluation pour les bourses d'études de la Colombie britannique (British Columbia Scholarship Examination program) duquel la section sur les bourses d'études avait été retranchée. Les résultats de l'étude portant sur le sous-ensemble d'examens indiquent que le fait d'enlever la section liée aux bourses d'études donnait un taux d'erreurs d'environ 10% où à-peu-près 7 erreurs sur 10 menait à un refus d'accorder la bourse. Les résultats pour les deux procédures (CTST et GPCM) étaient similaires, ce qui indique que pour les examens à format mixte, les procédures donnent des résultats équivalents au hasard. Une discussion des incidences de l'étude sur les politiques et la recherche termine l'article

Using Statistical and Judgmental Reviews to Identify and Interpret Translation Differential Item Functioning

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the equivalence of two translated tests using statistical and judgmental methods. Performance differences for a large random sample of English- and French-speaking examinees were compared on a grade 6 mathematics and social studies provincial achievement test. Items displaying differential item functioning (DIF) were flagged using three popular statistical methods—ManteTHaenszel, Simultaneous Item Bias Test, and logistic regression—and the substantive meaning of these items was studied by comparing the back-translated form with the original English version. The items flagged by the three statistical procedures were relatively consistent, but not identical across the two tests. The correlation between the DIF effect size measures were also strong, but far from perfect, suggesting that two procedures should be used to screen items for translation DIF. To identify the DIF items with translation differences, the French items were back-translated into English and compared with the original English items by three reviewers. Two of seven and six of 26 DIF items in mathematics and social studies respectively were judged to be nonequivalent across language forms due to differences introduced in the translation process. There were no apparent translation differences for the remaining items, revealing the necessity for further research on the sources of translation differential item functioning. Results from this study provide researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of how three popular DIF statistical methods compare and contrast. The results also demonstrate how statistical methods inform substantive reviews intended to identify items with translation differences.Le but de cette étude était d'évaluer l'équivalence de deux examens traduits avec des méthodes basées sur les statistiques et d'autres reposant sur le jugement. On a comparé les différences dans la performance d'un grand échantillon aléatoire de sujets anglophones et francophones qui avaient complété des examen provinciaux de sixième année en mathématiques et en études sociales. Les items démontrant une divergence par rapport aux autres (differential item functioning - DIF) ont été marqués d'un indicateur dans le contexte de trois méthodes statistiques bien connues - Mantel-Haenszel, Simultaneous Item Bias Test et la régression logistique. La signification de fond de ces items a été étudiée en comparant la version traduite de l'examen avec l'original en anglais. Les items marqués par les trois procédures statistiques étaient relativement constants mais pas identiques d'une version à l'autre. Alors que la corrélation entre les mesures de l'effet DIF étaient aussi forte, elle était loin d'être parfaite, ce qui suggère que l'on devrait avoir recours à deux procédures dans le dépistage du DIF en traduction. Pour identifier les items DIF présentant des différences en traduction, trois réviseurs ont comparé les items français retraduits en anglais avec les originaux en anglais. Ceux-ci ont jugé que deux sur sept items en mathématiques et six sur vingt-six items en études sociales n'étaient pas équivalents d'une langue à l'autre à cause des différences introduites par le processus de traduction. Les autres items ne présentaient pas de différences apparentes de traduction, ce qui révèle le besoin de poursuivre la recherche sur les sources du DIF en traduction. Les résultats de cette étude aideront les chercheurs et les praticiens à mieux comprendre les similarités et les différences entres trois méthodes statistiques DIF souvent employées. De plus, ils démontrent comment les méthodes statistiques contribuent aux études de signification dont le but est l'identification des items présentant des différences de traduction

Nonconscious Motivational Influences on Cognitive Processes in Addictive Behaviors

This chapter presents the motivational and goal theory of current concerns in relation to addiction and choice. A current concern is an individual’s motivational state from the point of becoming committed to pursuing a particular goal until the goal is reached or the pursuit is relinquished. During this time, the current concern guides the person’s cognitive processes, including attention, memory, thoughts, and dreams. What is true of goals in general is true of the goal of drinking alcohol or using another addictive substance. We hold that the decision to use a substance is voluntary; thus, the choice to use is subject to the person’s conscious control. Nevertheless, implicit processes influence the decision. One of these processes is addiction-related attentional bias. We describe (1) the research on attentional bias and (2) interventions for helping drinkers overcome the attentional and motivational influences on their addictive behavior

Free will in addictive behaviors:A matter of definition

Certain people are at risk for using alcohol or other drugs excessively and for developing problems with their use. Their susceptibility might arise from a variety of factors, including their genetic make-up, brain chemistry, family background, personality and other psychological variables, and environmental and sociocultural variables. Moreover, after substance use has become established, there are additional cognitive-motivational variables (e.g., substance-related attentional bias) that contribute to enacting behaviors consistent with the person's motivation to acquire and use the substance. People who are at such risk are likely to choose to use addictive substances even though doing so entails negative consequences. In the sense of complete freedom from being determined by causal factors, we believe that there is no such thing as free will, but defined as ability to make choices from among multiple options, even though the choices are ultimately governed by natural processes, addicted individuals are free to choose. Although they might appear unable to exercise this kind of free will in decisions about their substance use, addictive behaviors are ultimately always goal-directed and voluntary. Such goal pursuits manifest considerable flexibility. Even some severely addicted individuals can cease their use when the value of continuing the use abruptly declines or when the subjective cost of continuing the use is too great with respect to the incentives in other areas of their lives. Formal treatment strategies (e.g., contingency management, Systematic Motivational Counseling, cognitive training) can also be used to facilitate this reversal

PITFALLS AND POTENTIAL OF SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION, CANADA, NATIONAL ASSESSMENT

Large‐scale scale testing agencies, which are generally located within provincial ministries of education and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, have called for secondary data analysis of test and survey data that link contextual and educational factors to student performance. First, the potential of secondary analyses is outlined, followed by discussion of seven pitfalls that need to be addressed to realize this potential in Canada. Greater collaboration between testing agencies and teams of qualified secondary analysis researchers needs to take place to ensure that policy issues relevant to education are addressed in meaningful ways. Key words: large‐scale testing, policy analysis, missing data Les organismes responsables des épreuves communes, qui relèvent généralement des ministères provinciaux de l’Éducation et du Conseil des ministres de lʹÉducation (Canada), ont demandé une analyse de deuxième ordre des données d’épreuves et d’enquêtes reliant des facteurs contextuels et pédagogiques au rendement des élèves. Le potentiel des analyses de deuxième ordre est d’abord présenté ; suit une discussion des sept écueils à éviter pour en tirer profit au Canada. Une meilleure collaboration entre les organismes responsables des tests et les équipes de chercheurs spécialisés dans les analyses de deuxième ordre doit être mise en place afin d’assurer que les questions de politiques en matière d’éducation sont abordées de manière pertinente. Mots clés : épreuves communs, analyse de politiques, données manquantes