abstract: The purposes of this study were (1) to examine the direct and indirect effect of school-level testing policies on reading achievement though changes in amount and types of reading instruction, (2) to investigate the reading trajectories moderated by school-level testing policies longitudinally, and (3) to examine the relationship between testing policies and the achievement gap by exploring whether certain student characteristics moderate the relationship between testing policy and reading achievement, using Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten (ECLS-K) Cohort of 2010-2011 data. Findings from a multilevel full structural mediation model suggest that school-level frequency of state/local standardized tests had an indirect effect on student reading achievement through changes in both amount and the types of instruction at the school-level (cross-sectional fall kindergarten sample =12,241 children nested in 1,067 kindergarten classes). The findings from a three-level growth models indicated only children of Asian background and children from high socio-economic backgrounds who had frequent standardized tests in kindergarten accelerated in their monthly reading growth, whereas other children (e.g., low SES, non-Asian children) did not show any changes in the rate of the reading growth (longitudinal sample from fall of kindergarten to spring of first grade = 7,392 children nested in 744 kindergartens). The findings from the current study suggest that testing policy is not an effective means to reduce the achievement gap of children from disadvantaged family backgrounds, underperforming children or that children from low socieo-economic backgrounds. These children did not seem to benefit from frequent standardized tests longitudinally. Implications for supporting school assessment practices and instruction are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Curriculum and Instruction 2015

Due to the upcoming digitalization of the Swedish schools standardized national tests, the aim of this study is to compare the results of a reading comprehension test on paper versus on computer screen and to examine whether the results differ between boys and girls and between swedish and swedish as a second lanuague students, or not. Previous studies show inconclusive results, some show that students get higher results when taking a test on paper then on computer screen, some show that the results don’t differ between the two medias. In this study, the national test for course Svenska 1 (Swedish) and Svenska som andraspråk 1 (Swedish as a second language) from the autumn term 2011 was transformed into a digital test. 38 students in the 10th grade took the test and the results were then compared with the same students results on the following national test of the spring term 2016 which is given on paper. The results show that the scores between the digital test and the paperbased test don’t differ. The boys got equally lower scores than the girls in both the digital test and the paperbased test. The swedish as a second language students got lower scores than the swedish students. The results are discussed in relation to previous research by Ackerman and Lauterman (2012), Mangen, Walgermo and Brønnick (2013), Rasmusson (2014) , Pasquarella, Gottardo and Grant (2012) and Norman and Furnes (2016). / Med anledning av den kommande digitaliseringen av de nationella proven syftar denna studie till att undersöka om elevers resultat på läsförståelseprov skiljer sig åt beroende på om eleverna får provet på dator eller på papper. Studien undersöker även om provresultaten mellan pojkar och flickor samt svenska- och svenska som andraspråkselever skiljer sig åt. Tidigare forskning har gett splittrade resultat. Några studier har visat att elever får bättre resultat på ett pappersbaserat prov än på ett digitalt och några har visat att resultaten inte skiljer sig åt beroende på provformen. I denna studie användes det nationella läsförståelseprovet för kurserna Svenska 1 och Svenska som andraspråk 1, ett i digital och ett i pappersbaserad form. 38 elever i årskurs 1 på en gymnasieskola deltog i studien. Resultatet visade inte på någon skillnad mellan de båda provformerna utan att medelvärdet av delprovsresultaten var detsamma för proven. Pojkarna fick signifikant lägre resultat än flickorna på både det digitala och det pappersbaserade provet. Svenska som andraspråkseleverna fick lägre resultat än svenskeleverna. Resultatet diskuteras i relation till tidigare forskning av Ackerman och Lauterman (2012), Mangen, Walgermo och Brønnick (2013), Rasmusson (2014), Pasquarella, Gottardo och Grant (2012) och Norman och Furnes (2016).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The purpose of this study was to determine the relative contribution to the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English Language Arts (ELA) of five variables: Type of Community (Urban or Suburban), Gender, Race, Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) Verbal, and PSAT Writing. MCAS is a criterion-referenced examination administered to students at various grade levels to determine their knowledge of approved curriculum. As of 2003, students must pass the mathematics and English language arts sections in order to receive a diploma. Data for the study was gathered from three urban and four suburban school districts in Massachusetts. Data about 914 students was collected from Summer 2001 - Winter 2002. Multiple regression statistical analysis was used to examine the collective and separate contributions of five independent variables; gender, race, type of community (urban or suburban), score on the verbal subtest of the PSAT, and score on the writing subtest to the findings on the dependent variab le - tenth grade language arts achievement on the MCAS. Results of the statistical analyses showed a strong relationship between MCASELA and the five independent variables, with most of the relationship attributable to the PSAT Verbal test results. Three other variables combined - PSAT Writing, Type of Community, and Gender - accounted for just 4% of the additional variance. Step-wise multiple regression analysis indicated that exclusion of Race did not diminish predictiveness, and Gender added very little to predictiveness. PSAT Verbal, PSAT Writing, and Type of Community were the principal contributions to variation in MCAS-ELA in the study. The four null hypotheses and results follow: There is no significant relationship between the dependent variable - MCAS-ELA -- and the independent variables -- Type of Community, Gender, Race, PSA T Verbal, and PSAT Writing - rejected. There is no significant relationship between each independent variable and each of the other independent variables - rejected. There is no significant relationship between the dependent variable and the other variables taken together - rejected. There is no significant additional vanance m MCAS - ELA accou nted for by an independent variable after other variable (s) - responsible for greater contributions to variance - (have) accounted for as much of the variance as possible - accepted. / 2031-01-01

This research project takes a critical look at the data that drives educational policies. This research project looks at the data at the national level as well as the regional levels in order to see if the data is functioning differently at the different levels. All data has been collected from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) through reports published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an independent committee assigned to collect and analyze educational data. The data was collected and then correlations were run between the expenditures per pupil, number of pupils per teacher, standardized test scores, such as average ACT, average SAT, average 8th grade Math and Reading tests, and average 4th grade Math and Reading tests. This research project also included the percentage of minority students in the classroom, a variable whose data has been collected over the years, but it has never been included in any prior analyses. What this research project found is that some of the data, such as the standardized test scores, have a different strength of relationship between variables at the different levels. For example, expenditures per pupil have strength in the relationship between the different standardized test scores at the national level, but once those numbers are broken down by region, the strength in the variables relationship is weakened. This research project also discovered that the make up of the classroom, specifically the percentage of minority students, is a vital factor in the performance of all students.

Although many colleges and universities use a wide range of criteria to evaluate and select admissions applicants, much of the variance in college student success remains unexplained. Thus, success in college, as defined by academic performance and student retention, may be related to other variables or combinations of variables beyond those traditionally used in college admissions (high school grade point average and standardized test scores). The current study investigated the predictive validity of a measure of motivational-developmental dimensions as a predictor of the academic achievement and persistence of college students as measured by cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention. These dimensions are based on social-cognitive (self-concept, self-set goals, causal attributions, and coping strategies) and developmental-constructivist (self-awareness and self-authorship) perspectives. Motivational-developmental constructs are under-explored in terms of the predictive potential derived from their use in evaluating admission applicants’ ability to succeed and persevere despite the academic and social challenges presented by postsecondary participation. Therefore, the current study aimed to generate new understandings to benefit the participating institution and other institutions of higher education that seek new methodologies for evaluating and selecting college admission applicants. This dissertation describes two studies conducted at a large, urban public university located in the Northeastern United States. Participants included 10,149 undergraduate students who enrolled as first-time freshmen for the Fall 2015 (Study 1) and Fall 2016 (Study 2) semesters. Prior to matriculation, participants applied for admission using one of two methods: standard admissions or test-optional admissions. Standard admission applicants submitted standardized test scores (e.g., SAT) whereas test-optional applicants responded to four short-answer essay questions, each of which measured a subset of the motivational-developmental dimensions examined in the current study. Trained readers evaluated the essays to produce a “test-optional essay rating score,” which served as the primary predictor variable in the current study. Quantitative analyses were conducted to investigate the predictive validity of the “test-optional essay rating score” and its relationship to cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention, which served as the outcome variables in the current study. The results revealed statistically significant group differences between test-optional applicants and standard applicants. Test-optional admission applicants are more likely to be female, of lower socioeconomic status, and ethnic minorities as compared to standard admission applicants. Given these group differences, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to determine whether the test-optional essay rating score differentially predicted success across racial and gender subgroups. There was inconclusive evidence regarding whether the test-optional essay rating score differentially predicts cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention across student subgroups. The results revealed a weak correlation between the test-optional essay rating score and cumulative undergraduate grade point average (Study 1: r = .11, p < .01; Study 2: r = .07, p < .05) and retention (Study 1: r = .08, p < .05; Study 2: r = .10, p < .01), particularly in comparison to the relationship between these outcome variables and the criteria most commonly considered in college admissions (high school grade point average, SAT Verbal, SAT Quantitative, and SAT Writing). Despite these findings, the test-optional essay rating score contributed nominal value (R2 = .07) in predicting academic achievement and persistence beyond the explanation provided by traditional admissions criteria. Additionally, a ROC analysis determined that the test-optional essay rating score does not predict student retention in a way that is meaningfully different than chance and therefore is not an accurate binary classifier of retention. Further research should investigate the validity of other motivational-developmental dimensions and the fidelity of other methods for measuring them in an attempt to account for a greater proportion of variance in college student success. / Educational Leadership

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA, has invested ample resources to boost and enhance the environment and the outcome of its educational system. Using AlGodorat and AlTahsili, standardized tests used to evaluate students’ knowledge and skills, as a measurement to find discrepancies between girls and boys performance on these tests. This study investigated class size, tutorials, physical education and professional development as possible ways of improving the performance of Saudi Arabian girls. Further, the study conducted a survey targeting girls’ high school teachers in Saudi Arabia to get more prospective, opinions, and inclinations toward implementing these methods. Moreover, the study included recommendations for policy makers and leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study found the majority of teachers were in favor of implementing these methods. Furthermore, we were able to find a correlation between teachers’ ages, locations, and experiences and their prospective toward these methods of improvement.

No description available.

Traditional tests for large-scale assessment of mathematics learning have been criticized for several reasons, such as their mismatch between the vision of mathematical competence and the content covered by the test, and their failure to provide relevant information for guiding further learning and instruction. To achieve that large-scale assessments can function as tools for monitoring and improving learning and teaching, one has to move away from the rationale, the constraints, and the practices of traditional tests. As an illustration this paper presents an alternative approach to largescale assessment of elementary school mathematics developed in Flanders, Belgium Using models of item response theory, 14 measurement scales were constructed, each representing a cluster of curriculum standards and covering as a whole the mathematics curriculum relating to numbers, measurement and geometry. A representative sample of 5,763 sixth-graders (12-year-olds) belonging to 184 schools participated in the study. Based on expert judgments a cut-off score was set that determines the minimum level that students must achieve on each scale to master the standards. Overall, the more innovative curriculum standards were mastered less well than the more traditional ones. Few gender differences in performance were observed. The advantages of this approach and its further development are discussed.

The main aim of this diploma thesis is to find out, if the level of knowledge of German language at pupils at basic schools in the Czech Republic is increasing, stagnating or decreasing and what factors influence their results. In the theoretic part I am going to deal with testing of pupils in Europe and in the Czech Republic. After that there is introduced a list of all standard assessment tests of German language on level A1 and A2. Then there are compared standard assessment tests ?Fit in Deutsch? and ?Start Deutsch? with the tests of Czech School Inspection from 2012/2013. In the research part I focus on the development of pupils? knowledge of German language at basic schools. The research is based on the assigned tests from 2007, 2010 and 2013. On the basis of these tests and filled questionnaires I am trying to find answers on the set research questions and to check correctness of the set hypotheses or alternatively to find other factors that influence pupils? knowledge of German language.

Submitted by Rafael Oliveira (rborges@fgvmail.br) on 2013-04-17T15:04:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Mestrado_Rafael_Garcia_Borges_de_Oliveira.pdf: 330686 bytes, checksum: 5d389963ae1a2cbb4177b94764202bc0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2013-04-26T18:53:09Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Mestrado_Rafael_Garcia_Borges_de_Oliveira.pdf: 330686 bytes, checksum: 5d389963ae1a2cbb4177b94764202bc0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-04-26T18:53:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Mestrado_Rafael_Garcia_Borges_de_Oliveira.pdf: 330686 bytes, checksum: 5d389963ae1a2cbb4177b94764202bc0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-17 / Este estudo avalia o programa Cartão Família Carioca (CFC), do município do Rio de Janeiro. Através de dados administrativos, estimamos o impacto dos incentivos introduzidos pelo CFC sobre a frequência e desempenho dos alunos em testes padronizados. Encontramos efeitos positivos sobre ciências e negativos para português, além de impacto no sentido de reduzir as faltas dos alunos participantes.