The purpose of this study was to compare final grades of dual enrollment students in English Composition I (ENGL 1010) and College Algebra (MATH 1130) at VSCC. The study focused on whether students admitted to these courses using COMPASS Writing and/or Math scores are as successful as students admitted to these courses using ACT English and/or Math subscores. Additionally, the researcher examined whether there were differences related to gender and race-ethnicity for each course by entry method. Final courses grades were used to determine success. The population consisted of 4,156 dual enrollment students and was broken down into 2 groups: ACT-admitted dual enrollment students and COMPASS-admitted dual enrollment students. For this study 5,138 dual enrollment grades were used in calculations. Chi-square tests were used to determine significance in the final grades of both groups of students. The quantitative findings revealed no significant difference between ACT-admitted students and COMPASS-admitted students when comparing final grades in English Composition. There was a significant difference within the two groups when comparing final grades in College Algebra with ACT-admitted students scoring significantly higher grades than COMPASS-admitted students. Additionally, findings indicated COMPASS-admitted females scored more grades of A than ACT-admitted females in English Composition while ACT-admitted males earned more grades of A than COMPASS-admitted females. The difference was significant in College Algebra with both ACT-admitted females and males being at least twice as likely as COMPASS-admitted females and males to score grades of A. While there was no significant difference when comparing final grades between the white ACT-admitted students and white COMPASS-admitted students in English, significance did exist for the White students in College Algebra. White ACT-admitted students had significantly higher percentages of grades of A than white COMPASS-admitted students in College Algebra. Lastly, although data could not be analyzed for non-Whites in English Composition or College Algebra, when reviewing the percentages for both courses, ACT-admitted students’ A grade percentages were higher.

In a South Carolina middle school, students were performing poorly on the state assessment in reading. Eighth grade students were not passing the Palmetto Assessment of State Standard (PASS) assessment administered each spring. The purpose of this study was to examine whether student performance on the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) reading test in the fall predicted PASS scores in the spring. The theoretical framework was based on the item response theory (IRT)-the relationship between individual performance on a test item and the test takers' levels of operating along an overall measure of the ability that item was designed to measure. The research question was used to examine how well student performance on the MAP predicts student performance on the PASS. MAP and PASS test scores were collected from 2012, 2013, and 2014 academic years from a total student sample of N = 741 from three out of the five middle schools in the North Central School District. The dependent variable was student PASS score and the independent variable was the MAP score. The PASS scores were correlated with the MAP scores to look for the strength and nature of the relationship, and a bivariate linear regression was conducted. The findings showed that student performance on the MAP reading test in the fall predicted PASS scores in the spring so that administrators might use these data to target student interventions. Professional development training was developed for teachers to apply best practices in the classroom to address areas of need as indicated by the MAP results. The implementation process would align with the district literacy initiatives Read to Succeed and Lindamood-Bell. Implications for positive social change include providing information and support to teachers at the study school to better support student reading achievement.

There are an estimated 1.2 million children with one or both parents enlisted in military service. These children are more geographically mobile than civilian children on average, and previous research suggests that mobility can have great effects on an individual's academic performance. This study seeks to answer the question: How does the standardized test performance of Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools compare to those of public schools with high concentrations of military children (funded by Impact Aid). It is hypothesized that due to higher average levels of funding, a standard curriculum, and both embedded and intentional social support, DoDEA schools will have higher standardized test scores than public schools with high concentrations of military children. Consistent with previous literature that finds a standardized test bias in favor of white students, it is also hypothesized that schools that are located in ZIP Codes with high percentages of Black and Hispanic residents will have lower test scores. This research will contribute to a growing body of literature on childhood migration, as well as the literature focused on the effects of the military on personnel's families and children. Through a series of bivariate correlations and nested regression analyses, I find that Impact Aid schools had higher percentages of students proficient in reading, math, and science than DoDEA schools. ZIP Code Tabulation Area measures of racial and ethnic composition, as reported in the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2007- 2011), were statistically significant predictors of proficiency in reading and math. As the percentage of non-White community composition increased, the percentage of students proficient in reading and math decreased (β = -11.328*, p ≤ .05). Controlling for these community-level variables still resulted in higher overall standardized test proficiency in Impact Aid schools

There have been many theories about cultural differences found between groups on intelligence test scores. The main debate has been between those in favor of a genetic explanation versus those in favor of a more environmental one. When considering environmental influences, one explanation has been that there could be differential effects due to the assessor. Although there have been several studies that have considered this possibility, the results are inconclusive. The current study attempted to tease apart the assessor effects by focusing on biases in the assessor alone and by eliminating effects from the test taker. The study is an experimental design where participants were randomly assigned a WISC-III protocol of members of different ethnic groups. It was hypothesized that different groups may score these IQ tests differentially depending on the race/ethnicity of the person who was assessed. Results showed that when given identical protocols, participants scored African American protocols lower than Caucasian American protocols in both high and average IQ conditions. Clinical implications of these results are discussed.

There were five main purposes for the current thesis: (1) to address the need for more quantitative studies to evaluate student academic success within the inclusive classroom setting; (2) to apply a recently released program assessment rubric for special education services to determine the level of special education service delivery in the specified location; (3) to evaluate the reliability of the results of the rubric mandated by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education (2008); (4) to compare the results of the standardized student achievement tests with the rubric results in relation to program effectiveness; and (5) to investigate potential confounding factors related to the current study design. The goal of this thesis was to provide information to the Living Sky School Division and to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education on the implementation and success of the inclusion model in a rural Saskatchewan setting. In addition, results were intended to provide information on assessment instruments employed in the measurement of program effectiveness. The analysis was conducted as a mixed-methods case study that included two parts: (1) the first assessment indicated that students with learning difficulties scored significantly higher on standardized academic achievement measures while in an inclusive setting as opposed to scores while in a pullout setting; and (2) the second assessment determined that special education service delivery was <i>emerging/developing</i> to <i>evident</i>. The correlation coefficient of rubric results was calculated at á = .69. A variety of general measurement issues, including small sample size and use of historical data, in relation to the current study design, were discussed.

There were five main purposes for the current thesis: (1) to address the need for more quantitative studies to evaluate student academic success within the inclusive classroom setting; (2) to apply a recently released program assessment rubric for special education services to determine the level of special education service delivery in the specified location; (3) to evaluate the reliability of the results of the rubric mandated by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education (2008); (4) to compare the results of the standardized student achievement tests with the rubric results in relation to program effectiveness; and (5) to investigate potential confounding factors related to the current study design. The goal of this thesis was to provide information to the Living Sky School Division and to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education on the implementation and success of the inclusion model in a rural Saskatchewan setting. In addition, results were intended to provide information on assessment instruments employed in the measurement of program effectiveness. The analysis was conducted as a mixed-methods case study that included two parts: (1) the first assessment indicated that students with learning difficulties scored significantly higher on standardized academic achievement measures while in an inclusive setting as opposed to scores while in a pullout setting; and (2) the second assessment determined that special education service delivery was <i>emerging/developing</i> to <i>evident</i>. The correlation coefficient of rubric results was calculated at á = .69. A variety of general measurement issues, including small sample size and use of historical data, in relation to the current study design, were discussed.

Abstract In 1972, Taiwan¡¦s first squid jigging vessel ¡§YUNG CHUNG¡¨ succeeded in developing fishing ground at Sea of Japan. Since that time, Taiwanese squid jigging vessels keep succeeding in developing new Squid fishing grounds in New Zealand, North Pacific Ocean, and Southwest of the Atlantic Ocean. Because the squid catch continued to grow, Taiwan began to export squid products to China, Japan, South Korea, North America, and Europe. In volumes, the top three countries of catching squids are Taiwan, China and South Korea vessels at present. However, in reality, even the freezing ability and catching quality of Taiwanese jigging vessels are much better than the other two countries, the export price for Taiwanese catch are the lowest. The major factor is because the packaging weight has not been standardized. It reduces the purchase willingness and the selling price in the overseas markets for Taiwanese catches. Currently, Taiwan now has 105 squid jigging vessels, but each vessel process the catch in their own way. Therefore, it makes the crew difficult to follow the work procedures which influence the efficiency, and result in inconsistent of the packaging weight. This research we use ¡§Analytical Hierarchy Process¡¨. Through consulting with the experts and studying based from the historical documents, we try to establish the key factors on the construction and design of our questionnaire. We then collect the answers from the fishery companies in Taiwan and sea food processing factories in China, and then we confirm the results trough the statistical analysis. We hope through a dependable data and solid research, we can provide concrete recommendations to squid fishery companies, processing factories, and Fisheries Agency of the Government on benefits of packaging weight standardization. We then hope that the ultimate goal is to help raise the Taiwanese squid price in overseas markets.

Do cultural differences influence on consumers’ purchase decision making? The emergence of a global consumer culture emphasizes the idea that sharing similar needs and wants is common among group of people, and several international marketing literatures assert that many products are developed to serve universal needs. However, global marketing practitioners today have encountered a paradigm shift from the old globalism to the new globalism, which states that products and messages developments are not necessary to maximize economies of scale, but that it is more important to understand consumers’ specific needs and local conditions. This study attempts to empirically test this issue by asking consumers in two different cultures, the American individualist culture and the Thai collectivist culture, to identify the attributes they consider important in the purchase of three product categories, as well as the advertising messages that they feel effectively suit to each product category. / text

This dissertation consists of three essays on microeconomics. The first two are theoretical papers that address issues in collective decision-making. The last is an experimental paper that explores gender differences in test-taking strategies. In the first essay, we define a family of social choice rules that depend on the population’s preferences and on the probability distribution over the sets of feasible alternatives that the society will face. Our rules can be interpreted as distance-minimization – selecting the order closest to the population’s preferences, using a metric on the orders that reflects the distribution over the possible feasible sets. The distance is the probability that two orders will disagree about the optimal choice from a randomly-selected available set. In the second essay, we study representative democracy and contrast it with direct democracy. The key question is whether representative democracy, with its practical advantages, succeeds in implementing the choices that the group would make under the more normatively attractive direct democracy. We find that, in general, it does not. We analyze the theoretical setting in which the two methods are most likely to lead to the same choices, minimizing potential sources of distortion. We show that even in this case, where the normative recommendation of direct democracy is clear, representative democracy may not elect the candidate with this ordering. In the third essay, we present the results of an experiment that explores whether women skip more questions than men on multiple-choice tests. The experimental test consists of practice questions from SAT II subject tests; we vary the size of the penalty imposed for a wrong answer and the salience of the evaluative nature of the task. We find that when no penalty is assessed for a wrong answer, all test-takers answer every question. But, when there is a small penalty for wrong answers and the task is explicitly framed as an SAT, women answer significantly fewer questions than men. We show that, conditional on their knowledge of the material, test-takers who skip questions do significantly worse on our experimental test, putting women and more risk averse test-takers at a disadvantage. / Economics

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act mandate all children be included in state and district assessments to measure their progress. IDEA, NCLB, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require students have access to accommodations necessary for their participation in mandated testing. Due to problems secondary to their disability, students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) may have difficulty participating in testing programs designed for the general population. In order to have equal access to standardized testing, D/HH students may need to use testing accommodations.The purposes of this study were to: a) document the use of testing accommodations by students who are D/HH, b) identify the types and frequency of testing accommodations required by D/HH students attending general education classes in Arizona public schools, and c) to analyze the relationships between type and degree of hearing loss and SAT-9 achievement for students who are D/HH in Arizona public schools.The participants included 62 students in the first year of the study, and 53 students in the second year. All participants had diagnosed hearing losses and attended general education classes with support from teachers of the D/HH and/or other support personnel.Extended Time was the most frequently required accommodation. Principal components analysis resulted in clustering of accommodations variables into three components in 2002: Time and Administration, Presentation, and Student Directed, and four components in 2003: Presentation and Administration, Time and Materials, Response, and Student Directed. The accommodations used and their clustering were similar to those reported in the literature. Type of hearing loss was found to significantly affect reading achievement even when controlling for testing accommodations. The interaction between type and degree of loss significantly affected language achievement. Results demonstrated the reading and language achievement performance of students with mild and high frequency hearing loss fell behind students having greater levels of hearing loss. The use of testing accommodations resulted in mixed effects on student reading and language achievement performance. Changes in language scores, but not in reading scores, were found.