Students entering the high school mathematics classroom are not prepared to learn Algebra 1. In this study, four years of basic skill math data was collected from students on their first full day of high school after summer break. The study shows how much basic math they knew and analyzes the incorrect responses on a Basic Skills Test developed by the researcher. This analysis attempts to discover how the students were processing the math on the test. The study also looks at the shift of the standards over the past ten years in the State of Tennessee. This study answers the question of whether or not this shift has enabled students to know more basic math.

La présente thèse s’intéresse aux pratiques orthographiques des personnes en difficulté à l’écrit et en particulier des adultes illettrés. L’illettrisme qualifie les personnes de plus de 16 ans qui, après avoir été scolarisées en France, n’ont pas acquis une maitrise suffisante de la lecture, de l’écriture et du calcul, ce que l’on appelle, dans le champ de la formation pour adultes, les compétences de base. Cette étude vise à mieux connaître l’hétérogénéité de la population illettrée et à identifier plus particulièrement les compétences et les difficultés en orthographe qu’on y observe. Elle propose ainsi une description et une analyse linguistique des pratiques orthographiques des adultes en difficultés à l’écrit, et montre que pour l’essentiel, ils savent faire des choses à l’écrit, y compris du point de vue orthographique. Cette étude cherche également à mieux connaître les dispositifs institutionnels de la formation aux compétences de base des adultes illettrés, en particulier en Haute-Normandie. L’ensemble des analyses vise à dégager des pistes de réflexion didactiques, fût-ce brièvement, et à donner des outils concrets afin de « lire autrement » qu’en termes normatifs, les pratiques orthographiques qui s’écartent de la norme. / The following thesis tackles the subject of orthographic practices among persons struggling to write and more especially the illiterate adults. Illiteracy concerns 16-year-olds and over who, after attending school in France, have not yet mastered reading, writing, using calculus, and did not acquire basic competencies, as it is qualified in the adult training field. This study aims to find out more about the heterogeneity of this illiterate population, and more particularly to identify the competencies and difficulties that are linked to spelling. This thesis offers a description and a linguistic analysis on orthographic practices with adults who are struggling with written language. It shows that for the majority, they can actually put things in writing, even from an orthographical outlook. Furthermore, it delves into the understanding of the institutional means in place to help training illiterate adults, especially in the region of Upper-Normandy (France). All the analyses have for objective to draw didactic food for thought and suggest tangible tools in order to « read differently » than with normative terms, the orthographical practices that divert from the norm.

The purpose of this research was to document the types of contextual approaches used in developmental education in the California community colleges and compare the effectiveness of those contextual courses to standard basic skills courses. The study used a mixed method design to identify colleges and courses using basic skills math instruction in the context of an occupational program. Survey respondents reporting contextual basic skills math courses provided course materials as evidence of contextualization and the basic skills math level. Logistic regressions were used to analyze student level data from the California community college system office database for contextual and non-contextual basic skills math courses identified at 34 of the responding semester colleges. Contextualization of pre-algebra mathematics was shown to increase the likelihood of successful remediation, accelerated entry into college-level coursework, and success in college-level and transferrable coursework for students in the California community colleges. The increased likelihood of success in college-level courses for students in the contextualized instruction group was evident in both the initial semester when the math course was taken and the subsequent semester. Contextual math instruction was found to be most effective for Black, Hispanic, and Other Non-White students. While there was no significant difference for White students, Asian students were more likely to pass standard basic skills math courses than they were contextual math courses. The research also documents the scarcity of this effective format of remediation in the California community colleges. The research suggests that recent policy changes may be contributing to this scarcity. Policies and practices to direct students into standard math sequences that meet transfer course prerequisites are not only increasing the scarcity of these types of innovative ways to provide engaging remedial coursework but are moving students into remediation that almost guarantees limited success at the community college.

The purpose of this study is to examine the . relationship and effects of New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) scores and grades in basic skills reading, elementary algebra, and English/ writing courses with the students' success in selected college-level general education courses in an attempt to establish predictor variables. In addition, the study examines the possibility that predictions of success in general education courses can be made more accurately by using multiple prediction variables. The population for the study consisted of seven years of successful basic skill course grades, New Jersey College Basic Skill Placement Test (NJCBSPT) scores and successful general education course grades for students at one small, rural community college. Coefficients of determination, correlation coefficients, t-tests, and linear and multiple regression were some of the analysis techniques used. / Ed. D.

The study centres on the development of a didactically justified design model of a competency based modular training system for the Printing, Newspaper and Packaging Industries. The design model is represented in a diagram form identifying the components of the design model in relation to their systems function. The components of the design model are; training needs analysis, aims and objectives of training, the learner initial situation, the code of practice for training within industry, the pre-interactive training phase, the interactive training phase and training outcomes. Checklists are developed for using the design model as well as some practical examples of the implementation of the design model in creating a training system which features sound andragogic didactic principles and practices. The use of the design model enables the development of a practical competency based modular training system which meets the unique requirements of the Printing, Newspaper and Packaging Industries. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

The study centres on the development of a didactically justified design model of a competency based modular training system for the Printing, Newspaper and Packaging Industries. The design model is represented in a diagram form identifying the components of the design model in relation to their systems function. The components of the design model are; training needs analysis, aims and objectives of training, the learner initial situation, the code of practice for training within industry, the pre-interactive training phase, the interactive training phase and training outcomes. Checklists are developed for using the design model as well as some practical examples of the implementation of the design model in creating a training system which features sound andragogic didactic principles and practices. The use of the design model enables the development of a practical competency based modular training system which meets the unique requirements of the Printing, Newspaper and Packaging Industries. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

This study examines why the passing rates of African Americans on the CBEST are the lowest in California at 60%. Madkins (2011) identified licensure testing as a significant reason why African Americans cannot enter the teaching progression. According to Darling-Hammond et al. (2016), California has an ongoing credentialed teacher shortage. An even more significant need is for teachers of color. According to the California Department of Education (2021), 60% of the state’s educator workforce is White, while the state student body, multicultural and multilingual, is only slightly more than 22% White. While licensure testing for teachers is required in all 50 states, it is well documented that it negates teacher diversity (Brown, 2005; Goldhaber & Hansen, 2010; Sleeter, 2016). The research confirms how it effectively curtails the number of African American educators (Behizadeh & Neely, 2018; Ingersoll et al., 2019; Petchauer, 2012). To clarify why the CBEST is so difficult for African Americans, I used a narrative inquiry with a counter-narrative framework. The inquiry describes the lived experiences of African American applicants in order to interrogate the CBEST’s impact on prospective and current African American teachers in California.