The purpose of the study was to identify the relative influence nonachievement factors have on secondary school teachers' grading practices. Specifically, an attempt was made to predict on the basis of non-achievement related factors the discrepancy between the grades teachers actually award to hypothetical student profiles and the grades that would result if based on academic achievement alone. Teachers learn in their professional training to base grades on student achievement, however in actual practice they do not always follow such an approach. They openly acknowledge including non-achievement factors in awarding students grades, explaining that there are psychosocial consequences in grades that must be considered. The study involved 192 secondary school teachers from twelve school districts who taught high school academic subjects. Teachers were asked to award grades to hypothetical student profiles in simulated grading situations. Each simulation, or vignette, presented a hypothetical student profile and included a unique combination of factors which had been shown in previous research to influence teachers' grading decisions. A technique referred to as policy capturing was used to evaluate the extent to which assigned grades reflect student gender, effort, behavior, ability, and test score improvement. In predicting the grade discrepancies of teachers, it was judged necessary to restrict the number of grade discrepancies for teachers to five or more, which represented approximately one-sixth of the possible 32 discrepancies provided by the vignettes, reducing the number of teachers in the sample to 99. Regression models predicting the 99 teachers' grade discrepancies, which were differences between the letter grade awarded by teachers and the grade implied by the test scores in the vignettes, and policy capturing analysis revealed that student test score improvement and student behavior influenced teachers most in their grading. However, teachers seemed to place more importance on students' quiz average grades as a measure of academic performance, than on students' six-week test grades. In addition, secondary analyses of the data revealed that in predicting the importance placed by the 99 teachers on students' test score improvement and on behavior, teachers with more years of experience placed less importance on either of the factors in grading than their less experienced colleagues. / Ph. D.

"I was sitting here trying to think if some of the comments that we are sitting here making were unique to blacks in the tenure and promotion process, and I think that for the most part they are. I was trying to figure out why, and one thing that came to mind was the level of fear or trust that we have in the system that tends to be dominated by white male mentality and thought. Whereas, our contemporaries who are not black are faced with a lot of similar types of concerns, I think they’re inclined to trust the system more in that they are not necessarily fearful of how this subjectivity or discussion will be turned against them, merely because of their color, because that is not an issue..." This study was conducted to discover and explore perceived factors that influence the achievement of tenure for African American faculty at two predominantly white institutions. Data for this study were collected by conducting focus group interviews with African American faculty. A total of 22 faculty participated in one of four focus group interviews. Data were analyzed by the constant comparative and axial coding method of analysis. The findings of this study indicate that progression towards tenure for African American faculty is related to how they experience the institutional environment and to structural factors related to the tenure process. Three major themes characterize their experience: (a) issues related to the traditional criteria for tenure, (b) value of tenure, and (c) interaction with the academic environment, that is, the institutional culture. The following are common threads underpinning the factors identified: (a) institutional fit, (b) double standards, (c) racism, (d) prejudicial attitudes and perceptions, and (e) trust and dishonesty. The challenge to attain tenure, despite the obstacles are viewed by the participants in this study as an intrinsic motivation to stay and “play the game”. / Ph. D.

The current study investigated teachers’ grading practices on achievement and non-achievement factors in the classroom of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (TCSOL). Specifically, this study investigated how teachers assigned grades in relation to students’ achievement and non-achievement factors, and further, whether this relationship between achievement and non-achievement factors and grades was different based on teachers’ past experiences. This study was a quantitative survey study. The participants were 214 TCSOL teacher candidates at Master’s level in two universities in Beijing, China. The study employed a questionnaire made up of two sections. Section One provided 32 grading scenarios that illustrated 32 students with different characteristics (achievement and non-achievement factors). Section Two included four items on teachers’ past experiences. These items were training in classroom assessment and grading, perceptions about grades previously received, teaching experience, and grading experience. Descriptive and multiple linear regression analyses were the two main statistical methods used. Results showed that teachers involved both achievement and non-achievement factors when assigning grades. Generally, sixteen students with low achievement received a mean grade higher than their achievement, and most students with high achievement received a lower grade than their achievement. Further, raw grades assigned by 214 teachers to every student demonstrated large standard deviations, indicating teachers’ decisions on grades were quite different from each other. Paired-sample t-tests found significant differences in grades among four students who presented extreme characteristics. Regression results further showed that while achievement was the main factor teachers considered when assigning grades, all of four non-achievement factors also contributed significantly to grades, with attendance being the most significant contributor, followed by effort, progress and ability. This relationship between the mean grades and all five factors did not change when teachers had different experiences in assessment training, perceptions in the grades they previously received, teaching and grading experiences. This study expands upon the limited research evidence regarding TCSOL teachers’ grading practices. It confirms the hodgepodge nature of grades in this context. It also provides teacher educators with insights and understanding in teachers’ grading practices, and has implications for preparing future teachers to assign grades appropriately. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-05-29 12:12:27.415

The study involved BTec National (level 3) engineering students studying at a large Further Education College in the South West region. The disciplines of Electrical/Electronic, Mechanical, Operations and Maintenance, Manufacturing, Telecommunications and Fabrication where all included in the study. Several students were sent by their employers on day release programmes and apprenticeships, and these formed the majority of the part time students. There were also other employed students who attended full time for terms 1 and 3 as part of a block release programme. The remaining students were full time, and mainly 16-18 years old. The study focused upon the core mathematics module everyone studied, and mathematical resources which were available through a virtual learning environment. The resources used layering, enabling earlier work to be built on and applied. Two separate cohorts were studied after substantial changes had been made to the qualification standards. The main findings were that the mathematics resources were very useful support, had a significant positive impact on student success, and enhanced the student experience. They helped part time students, especially, to improve their confidence and their achievements. The unlimited availability of these resources were a major consideration in their usefulness. The use of layering within the mathematics unit enabled better recall and comprehension.

本研究旨在探討依屬因素（ascription factors，以社經背景為代表）與獲致因素（ achievement facrors ，以教育因素為代表）兩者對個人職業成就影響的相對性，以 瞭解我國社會階層化過程的情形。 本文共一冊，分五章撰寫，各章要點如下： 第一章緒論，敘述本研究的動機、目的與重要名詞解釋。 第二章文獻探討，探究社會階層化的現象，社經背景、教育因素與職業成就的關係及 變項的向度問題。 第三章研究設計，說明研究對象、工具、實施過程及統計方法。 第四章敘述研究結果。 第五章根據研究結果予以討論。