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.

There is an ongoing debate about what teaching practices are the most effective ones in order to improve student performance. However, little is known about the impact across countries and literature is highly inconclusive. In this work, we extend the portfolio of countries and provide evidence about the role of modern and traditional teaching practices on students' test scores in 43 countries. Our analysis is performed in two steps and is a typical example of hierarchical linear modelling (HLM). In the first step, we perform student fixed effect method to account for majority of selection issues. We identify a positive, negative or no effect of modern or traditional teaching methods on student performance. These results are priceless for policy makers suggesting that there is no one-fits-all-approach towards modern or traditional teaching methods to order to improve students' test scores. As a great variation is observed, we continue further and investigate what country characteristics could explain these differences across countries. Bayesian model averaging (BMA) method supports us in a model uncertainty and a particular variable selection. Our findings indicate that cultural dimension uncertainty avoidance, which describes country's rigidity in behaviour and institutions, assists in explaining...

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No. of bitstreams: 1 DissTFS.pdf: 2160160 bytes, checksum: 83d7d7ac92f0a270750a6b42154b95df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Different instruments meet the criteria of the Manual Diagnostic and Statistical of Mental Disorders (DSM) for the diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have been used by researchers. Among them, the most recognized and employed questionnaire today for screening is the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ), a questionnaire for parents developed in Canada. This was translated and adapted to Brazilian culture, however its scoring system was not standardized for Brazilian children. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire to a group of children aged 8, 9 and 10 years using as gold standard the Movement Assessment Battery for Children Test (Mabc-2) engine test also identify the cutoff point for each specific age and correlate the scores of both tests between gender and between economic classes. It is a descriptive study transversal - exploratory, with a quantitative approach. The participants were 100 children enrolled in the municipal school system of Rio Claro -SP, where had their motor skills evaluated using the DCDQ-Brazil and Mabc-2, and their socioeconomic conditions verified by Criterion Brazil. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis of association and the cutoff set by the Youden index and Roc curve (Receiver Operator Characteristic). The results reveal the DCDQ-Brazil does not have satisfactory validity to the Brazilian context analyzed in the sample at the ages of 8 and 10 years the ages of 8 and 10 years, with its higher cutoff points the cutoff points defined in this study, in a proportion ranging 4-7 points. Also found, contrary to what area of the studies show, girls and boys do not have significant difference when evaluated in DCDQ-Brazil and Mabc-2, and no association between the results of the instruments and the socioeconomic classification of participants was detected, suggesting socioeconomic status does not imply engine performance and incidence of DCD. It was possible to ascertain the use of Mabc-2 instruments and DCDQ-Brazil together enables check for data favor the evaluation of the specificity and sensitivity of DCDQ-Brazil for a group of children aged 8 and 10 years. For future research it is suggested further data on the age of 9 years to use the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire form adapted to Brazilian children between 8 to 10 years promoting the early identification process of the DCD. / Diferentes instrumentos que atendam aos critérios do Manual Diagnóstico e estatístico de Transtornos Mentais (DSM) para o diagnóstico do Transtorno do Desenvolvimento da Coordenação (TDC) vêm sido utilizados por pesquisadores da área. Dentre eles, o questionário mais reconhecido e empregado na atualidade para a triagem é o Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ), um questionário para pais desenvolvido no Canadá. Este foi traduzido e adaptado para a cultura brasileira, no entanto seu sistema de pontuação não foi padronizado para as crianças brasileiras. Diante disso, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo principal avaliar a sensibilidade e a especificidade do questionário para um grupo de crianças de 8, 9 e 10 anos utilizando como padrão ouro o teste motor Movement Assessment Battery for Children Test (Mabc-2), também identificar o ponto de corte para cada idade específica e correlacionar as pontuações de ambos os testes entre gênero e entre as classes econômicas. Trata-se de um estudo de caráter transversal descritivo - exploratório, com abordagem quantitativa. Participaram da pesquisa 100 escolares matriculados na rede de ensino municipal de Rio Claro-SP, os quais tiveram suas habilidades motoras avaliadas por meio do DCDQ-Brasil e Mabc-2, e suas condições socioeconômicas verificadas pelo Critério Brasil. Os dados coletados foram submetidos à análise estatística de associação e os pontos de corte definidos através do índice de Youden e curva Roc (Receiver Operator Characteristic). Os resultados revelam que o DCDQ-Brasil não possui validade satisfatória para o contexto brasileiro analisado na amostra nas idades de 8 e 10 anos, sendo seus pontos de corte mais altos que os pontos de corte definidos nessa pesquisa, numa proporção que varia de 4 a 7 pontos. Também verificou-se que, diferentemente do que estudos da área apontam, meninas e meninos não apresentaram diferença significativa quando avaliados no DCDQ-Brasil e Mabc- 2, e nenhuma associação entre os resultados dos instrumentos e a classificação socioeconômica dos participantes foi detectada, o que sugere que a condição socioeconômica não implica no desempenho motor e incidência do TDC. Foi possível averiguar que o uso dos instrumentos Mabc-2 e DCDQ-Brasil em conjunto possibilita verificar a presença de dados que favorecem a avaliação da especificidade e sensibilidade do DCDQ-Brasil para um grupo de crianças de 8 e 10 anos. Para futuras investigações sugere-se aprofundar os dados relativos à idade de 9 anos a fim de utilizar o Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire de forma adaptada às crianças brasileiras na faixa de 8 a 10 anos favorecendo o processo de identificação precoce do TDC.

This study provided information for policymakers and practitioners by comparing performance of eighth grade students in 2007 on state standardized reading assessments and by the four census-defined regions identified by NAEP. NCLB required states to set their own performance standards and to create their own data collection instruments resulting in increased transparency of student performance data and a lack of uniform accountability systems. The inability of educators, policy-makers, and the general public to make state-by-state comparisons in the area of reading was the catalyst for the study. NAEP data were collected from NCES and state performance data were collected from the USDOE SY 2006-2007 CSPR to determine if a relationship existed between eighth grade students' state scores and NAEP scores in the four census-defined regions. Data were further disaggregated by low socioeconomic students and by nonwhite students. A regression analysis was statistically significant in predicting: a) the state proficient and above scores from the NAEP proficient and above scores, b) the low socioeconomic state proficient and above scores from the NAEP proficient and above scores in the West census-defined region, and c) the nonwhite state proficient and above scores from the NAEP proficient and above scores in all regions. A regression analysis was not statistically significant in predicting low socioeconomic state proficient and above scores from the low socioeconomic NAEP proficient and above scores in the Midwest, South and Northeast regions.