Measuring school effects across grades

This study investigates the issue of the value-added components of the education provided across Grade 3 and Grade 5 in primary schools in South Australia and how these components could be measured. The study shows that it is very difficult to identify effective or ineffective schools because the amount of variance left unexplained at the school-level is small. As a solution to this problem, it is more meaningful to identify effective or ineffective schools when the school effects are expressed in terms of years of learning that a student spends at school.https://research.acer.edu.au/saier/1005/thumbnail.jp

Examining the validity of different assessment modes in measuring competence in performing human services.

This article addresses an important problem that faces educators in assessing students' competence levels in learned tasks. Data from 165 students from Massachusetts and Minnesota in the United States are used to examine the validity of five assessment modes (multiple choice test, scenario, portfolio, self-assessment and supervisor rating) in measuring competence in performance of 12 human service skills. The data are examined using two analytical theories, item response theory (IRT) and generalizability theory (GT), in addition a prior, but largely unprofitable examination using classical test theory (CTT) was undertaken. Under the IRT approach with Rasch scaling procedures, the results show that the scores obtained using the five assessment modes can be measured on a single underlying scale, but there is better fit of the model to the data if five scales (corresponding to the five assessment modes) are employed. In addition, under Rasch scaling procedures, the results show that, in general, the correlations between the scores of the assessment modes vary from small to very strong (0.11 to 0.80). However, based on the GT approach and hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analytical procedures, the results show that the correlations between scores from the five assessment modes are consistently strong to very strong (0.53 to 0.95). It is argued that the correlations obtained with the GT approach provide a better picture of the relationships between the assessment modes when compared to the correlations obtained under the IRT approach because the former are computed taking into consideration the operational design of the study. Results from both the IRT and GT approaches show that the mean values of scores from supervisors are considerably higher than the mean values of scores from the other four assessments, which indicate that supervisors tend to be more generous in rating the skills of their students. [Author abstract

Predictors of Early Childhood Developmental Outcomes: The Importance of Quality Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) Services

Few studies have established the influence of different aspects of early childhood development and education (ECDE) quality on children’s outcomes in low-resourced settings in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the impact of different aspects of ECDE quality on school readiness in a low-income context. The current study is a cross-sectional sub-study of the Tayari preschool pilot program evaluation. Baseline data were collected from public ECDE centers. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to establish predictors of school readiness, that is, 4-6-year-old children being mentally, physically, socially and emotionally ready to start and succeed in primary school. Teaching experience, availability of textbooks and school facilities were significant predictors; learners’ school readiness scores decreased with each additional year of teachers’ experience, and were higher where school facilities were better, and in schools where textbooks were available. On the other hand, school enrolment, classroom resources, head teacher support, educational attainment and teacher training did not predict school readiness. Promoting quality preschool programs has important implications for policy as it can lead to improved school readiness and later success for children in disadvantaged settings

Investigating the effects of community-based interventions on mathematics achievement of girls from low-income households in Kenya

This paper uses difference-in-difference and multivariate analyses procedures to examine the effects of two community-based intervention packages on mathematics achievement of primary school girls from low-income urban households in Kenya. The data involved in this study were collected between 2013 and 2015 from 748 12–19 years old primary school girls residing in two major Nairobi slums of Viwandani and Korogocho. These data were part of a larger intervention study that sought to improve schooling outcomes among girls from disadvantaged home backgrounds by providing them with after-school homework support, life skill mentoring and parental counselling. Results reveal intervention effects of between 23 and 26 mathematics score points on a Rasch scale with a mean of 400 a standard deviation of 100. These effects translate to at least one school term of learning for girls in the comparison group. Effect size for one of the intervention packages was small (0.24), while that of the second package was moderate (0.40)

Epilogue: Our Experiences and Conclusions

Dordrecht, Netherland