Published Article / The objective of this study was to characterize meteorological droughts in the Central Region of South Africa, Modder River Basin, C52A quaternary catchment using two popular drought indices: Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and to compare the two indices. Drought events were characterized based on their frequency, duration, magnitude and intensity. The indices were computed for the time-scales that are important for planning and management of water resources, i.e. 3-, 6- and 12-month time-scales. The basic meteorological input data used in the computation of these indices were 57 years (1950-2007) of monthly precipitation and monthly temperature data which were recorded at The Cliff weather station in the quaternary catchment. It was found that both SPI and SPEI responded to drought events in similar fashion in all time-scales. During the analysis period, a total of 37, 26 and 17 drought events were identified in the area based on 3-, 6-, and 12-month times-scales, respectively. Considering event magnitude as severity parameter, results from both indices identified the periods 1984-1985, 1992-1993 and 2003-2005 as the severest drought periods in the area. However, when the effects of both drought duration and magnitude are considered (drought intensity), the most severest drought events were identified during the years 1982/83, 1966 and 1973 based on 3-, 6- and 12-month timescales, respectively. It was concluded that although the SPEI generally exhibits veracity over SPI by including, apart from precipitation, additional meteorological parameter, mean temperature, SPI should be adopted as an appropriate drought monitoring tool in an area, like Africa, where meteorological data are scarce.

This study surveys a sample of second-, fourth-, and sixth-grade teachers' proficiencies in three areas of standardized achievement test information—knowledge of standardized test terminology, interpretation of standardized tests, and application of standardized test results in program planning. A comparison is also made of teacher knowledge of standardized tests and public school administrators' expectations of teachers' skills. The purposes of the study were to determine elementary teachers' knowledge of standardized achievement test terminology, interpretation and application of test score information. This determination was made across the three variables, grade level taught, highest degree earned, and the number of years teaching experience.

以多國公司電視廣告為例，會隨進入的時期不同，隨時間調整其廣告所要表達的重點，來達到所要傳遞給消費者不同的訊息。另外一方面，則是隨產品的生命週期也會有所不同，在不同的階段，電視廣告要替產品表達不同的訊息，需要作一些調整來跟消費者有更好的溝通，而這些差異都可以顯示出多國公司的策略，所以決定從這些外顯的表現，探討影響的因素，來研究多國公司品牌在電視廣告的決策思考模式。研究電視廣告的標準化，盼能對品牌經營有更佳的了解。 本研究先從文獻探討開始，由收集關於多國企業之行銷標準化、廣告理論、電視廣告理論等，綜合起來整理出完善的電視廣告標準化文獻，藉由此文獻，發展出十點電視廣告標準化的推論，之後藉由個案訪談的方式驗證理論推論。與各品牌之公司簡介、歷史、組織發展現況，以及訪談內容的整理歸納，針對該品牌的電視廣告研究為主，盡可能包括電視廣告製作的流程、拍攝手法與目的、合作廣告代理商、公司策略目標等因素，來驗證探討廣告標準化決定的因素。 從個案訪談與理論推論驗證中，經過整理發現，電視廣告標準化的取決與產品本質、品牌精神、高級品或消費品、工業品與非工業品等因素有關；其中以『產品本質』與『品牌精神』最為影響關鍵，特別是在現今行銷以品牌為主體的市場中，品牌因素決定了行銷策略的絕大部分，包括電視廣告的標準化。

This study examines the effectiveness of traditional admissions criteria, including prior GPA, SAT, GRE, and TOEFL in predicting undergraduate and graduate academic success for American and international students at a large public university in the southwestern United States. Included are the admissions and enrollment data for 25,017 undergraduate American, 509 undergraduate international, 5,421 graduate American, and 1,733 graduate international students enrolled between 2005 to 2009.Person product-moment correlation, multiple regression, and user-determined stepwise regression were applied to the data. Results show high school GPA is the most predictive of first-year college GPA for both undergraduate American and international students. SAT has a medium correlation with first-year college GPA for American students and a large correlation for international students. High school GPA and SAT together explain one fourth of the variance in first-year college GPA for American students and over one half of the variance for international students. TOEFL has a medium correlation with first-year GPA for undergraduate international students but is not a significant predictor of first-year GPA when SAT is included in multiple regression. Unlike the results for undergraduate students, the traditional admissions criteria (undergraduate GPA and GRE) for graduate admissions explain a small portion of variance in first-year graduate GPA. Undergraduate GPA, GRE Verbal, and Quantitative together explain 6.3% of variance in first-year graduate GPA for American students and 3.1% for international students. The GRE Subject Tests are the best predictor of first-year graduate GPA for students who had taken the GRE Subject Tests. TOEFL has a small correlation with first-year graduate GPA for international students, and it is not a significant predictor of graduate GPA when GRE-Verbal is included. These findings have implications for undergraduate and graduate admissions, standardized admissions tests, university curriculum, and students' academic success.

Educators are examining many aspects of schools as they find ways to help students improve their performance on standardized tests in order to meet both federal and state standards. This study examined the relationship between organizational climate and student achievement on the Virginia Standards of Learning tests. A total of 1,061 teachers in 47 schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia responded to the climate survey. The survey instrument was the Organizational Health Inventory for Elementary Schools (OHI-E). This brief survey instrument examined five aspects of school climate. They were Teacher Affiliation, Collegial Leadership, Resource Influence, Institutional Integrity, and Academic Emphasis. Third and fifth grade Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests were the measure of student achievement in English. mathematics, science, and social studies. This study also examined the effects of socioeconomic status as measured by the percentage of students receiving free and reduced price lunches.There was a significant positive relationship between overall school climate and third grade performance on the mathematics SOL test and fifth grade performance on the social studies SOL test. Socioeconomic status was significantly negatively correlated with SOL scores in third grade math, science, and social studies and all fifth grade tests except mathematics.Further regression analyses of the aspects of climate measured by the OHI-E (Institutional Integrity, Collegial Leadership, Resource Influence, Teacher Affiliation, and Academic Emphasis) indicated that Academic Emphasis had a significant independent effect on third grade English and mathematics SOL scores as well as fifth grade English, science, and social studies SOL scores. There was a negative correlation between Institutional Integrity and English SOL scores in both the third and fifth grade. This negative correlation shows that when teachers perceive that the school is vulnerable to outside interference, English scores tend to be higher.

This experiment examined decisions made by teachers using only status data with those made by teachers using growth and status data. Middle school math teachers from five schools within a single school division located in Virginia participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to either the status only or growth and status group. They were then asked to analyze a sample set of class data and complete a survey in which they rated the success of four types of students, identified teacher strengths and weaknesses, and rated their confidence in and the usefulness of the data received. Teachers with access to growth and status data differed significantly in their ratings of three of the four types of students. Students with high growth/low achievement were rated more favorably by teachers with growth and status data (p < .05). Students with low growth/high achievement and those with low growth/low achievement were rated less favorably by teachers with access to growth and status data (p < .05). Teachers with access to growth and status data also chose different strengths and weaknesses than those with access to only status data. Teachers did not differ significantly in their confidence in the data or the perceived usefulness of the data, although limitations may have influenced this finding.

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / The purpose of this study was to understand beginning teachers’ experiences with learning to teach in an educational system that puts intense pressure on teachers to prepare students for standardized tests. The situation is common in many developed and developing countries whose educational systems are run by policies grounded in neoliberal and human capital ideologies. Using a phenomenological research design, I explored teachers’ experiences in two very different educational systems, the United States and South Korea, and focused on the commonalities and differences of their experiences of learning to teach. I recruited four secondary-school teachers (two English and two mathematics) who had been teaching fewer than three years from each country. I conducted a series of three phenomenological interviews with each teacher in his or her native language, following the guidelines set out by Irving Seidman (2012). My analysis suggested that, although there were many differences between US and Korean teachers’ lived experiences in the context of test-based accountability, the groups were primarily similar. Both novice teachers in the United States and Korea faced significant conflicts between their prior beliefs about good teaching and the educational system that demanded them to teach to tests. All teachers in this study described experiencing various levels of frustration with having to teach to the tests, which was not their preferred approach to teaching. While struggling to meet the demands of their test-based accountability systems, the beginning teachers in this study established firm student-centered beliefs and strived to integrate practices that were consistent with their beliefs. The findings suggest that support in the form of policies and teacher education is necessary to promote teachers’ constant learning and growth in the challenging context of test-based accountability. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Walt Haney / Migration is now a major component of globalization. The combination of better economic opportunities and lower fertility rates in developed nations suggests that the current migratory wave will last for many decades to come (United Nations Population Fund, 2007). In the U.S., immigration over the last thirty years has significantly changed the face of the workforce and the classroom. At the state level, Massachusetts has been one of the top immigrant-receiving states in the Union. Since the 1990's, Massachusetts has been implementing a policy of standardized testing for accountability and graduation. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is a set of standardized, norm-referenced tests administered to comply with the test-based accountability provisions of the 1993 No Child Left Behind federal legislation (NCLB). Used today for high-stakes decisions such as NCLB accountability as well as high school graduation requirements, MCAS has raised a number of validity concerns. Differential item functioning analysis, a technique to statistically identify potentially biased in tests, has not been used to challenge the validity of the tests, although it can provide new insights into test bias that were not previously available. This dissertation investigates the presence of differential item functioning in MCAS between native students and immigrant students. It identifies one test, the 2008 Grade 3 MCAS Mathematics test, as having a significant number of items exhibiting differential functioning and compares the original test version to a purified test version with these items removed. The purified test version results in larger test score improvements for immigrants as well as other non-mainstream students. These alternative test scores are sufficiently large to affect the determination of NCLB-based performance status for many schools and districts that are comparatively poorer and more diverse than the average. While the lack of more precise data on immigrants and other characteristics of the data set reduce the definiteness of the results, there is ample cause for concern about the presence of differential item functioning-based bias on MCAS and the need to further study this phenomenon as NCLB-based accountability determinations impact a growing number of schools, districts and communities. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation.

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of correlation between the Scantron Achievement Series (SAS) benchmark assessment in reading and the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test in reading in fourth grade students. The goal was to identify the predictive validity of the SAS benchmark instrument. The study included fourth grade students who had taken the SAS and TCAP reading sections during the school years of 2011- 2013. The study was quantitative. Data were collected from a school system in northeast Tennessee with 12 elementary schools. Three of the elementary schools did not qualify for Title I funds but the other 9 schools were Title I funded schools. Data collection tools used in the study included results from the TCAP test using the paper-and-pencil format and the SAS using a computerbased test. Student scaled scores were used for determining the degree of correlation between the TCAP test and SAS assessment. This study was used to examine any correlation between the TCAP and SAS tests used with fourth grade student in Tennessee. The effect was determined by how closely the tests were correlated across gender, race, socioeconomic status, and school Title-I status. The results show that the TCAP and SAS test scores have a strong positive correlation: Both assessments consistently showed that female students scored significantly higher than male students, Students in Non-Title I schools scored significantly higher than those in Title I funded schools, There was no significant difference in scores based on race (Black or White), and There was no significant difference in scores based on socioeconomic status.