Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2006. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 135 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. COPD is of particular concern in certain sectors of the country, including Central Appalachia where our clinic is located. Assessing patients with COPD presents many challenges as symptoms range from those considered "typical" such as shortness of breath and sputum production to those less often identified like anxiety and social isolation. We conducted a pilot study comparing physician standard assessment of COPD to patient self-assessment using the COPD Assessment Test (CAT). The CAT is an eight-item questionnaire that measures the impact COPD has on an individual patient’s well-being and daily life. Based on our small sample size, physicians tend to underestimate the impact of COPD on a patient’s daily life. This discrepancy did not differ significantly by year of residency. Potential clinical impact of these findings include the need for more formalized and frequent patient self-assessment of disease burden as well as increased COPD assessment training within the residency curriculum.

No description available.

Das aussagekräftige Messen und Bewerten von Fremdsprachenkenntnissen gewinnt zunehmend an Bedeutung. Sowohl in den Bereichen Beruf und Bildung, aber auch im Privaten und nicht zuletzt im Zuge erheblicher Zu- und Abwanderungsbewegungen weltweit spielt das Beherrschern, Fördern und Evaluieren von Sprachen eine maßgebliche Rolle. Die Reihe Research Papers in Assessment, herausgegeben vom Vorstand des Instituts für Testforschung und Testentwicklung e.V., präsentiert aktuelle Studien zur validen und reliablen Messung von Sprachkenntnissen, zu High- und Low-Stakes-Tests, zu Testkonzepten für Unterricht und Lehrmaterialien, zu diagnostischen Testverfahren und damit verbundener individueller Sprachförderung, Sprachbedarfsanalysen und allen damit verbundenen Themen. Die Reihe erscheint als Online-Publikation, um aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse möglichst rasch interessierten issenschaftlerInnen, Lehrkräften und mit dem Testen von Fremdsprachenkenntnissen betrauten Institutionen zugänglich zu machen und diese in die Testpraxis umsetzen zu können.

Die 'Research Papers in Assessment' sind eine Reihe des Instituts für Testforschung und Testentwicklung e.V. (ITT), in der Forschungsergebnisse, Tagungsbeiträge und wichtige Einzeldarstellungen veröffentlicht werden.

There is a national need to increase the STEM-related workforce. Among factors leading towards STEM careers include the number of advanced high school mathematics and science courses students complete. Florida’s enrollment patterns in STEM-related Advanced Placement (AP) courses, however, reveal that only a small percentage of students enroll into these classes. Therefore, screening tools are needed to find more students for these courses, who are academically ready, yet have not been identified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which scores from a national standardized test, Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/ National Merit Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), in conjunction with and compared to a state-mandated standardized test, Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), are related to selected AP exam performance in Seminole County Public Schools. An ex post facto correlational study was conducted using 6,189 student records from the 2010 - 2012 academic years. Multiple regression analyses using simultaneous Full Model testing showed differential moderate to strong relationships between scores in eight of the nine AP courses (i.e., Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Physics B, Physics C Electrical, Physics C Mechanical, Statistics, Calculus AB and BC) examined. For example, the significant unique contribution to overall variance in AP scores was a linear combination of PSAT Math (M), Critical Reading (CR) and FCAT Reading (R) for Biology and Environmental Science. Moderate relationships for Chemistry included a linear combination of PSAT M, W (Writing) and FCAT M; a combination of FCAT M and PSAT M was most significantly associated with Calculus AB performance. These findings have implications for both research and practice. FCAT scores, in conjunction with PSAT scores, can potentially be used for specific STEM-related AP courses, as part of a systematic approach towards AP course identification and placement. For courses with moderate to strong relationships, validation studies and development of expectancy tables, which estimate the probability of successful performance on these AP exams, are recommended. Also, findings established a need to examine other related research issues including, but not limited to, extensive longitudinal studies and analyses of other available or prospective standardized test scores.

Bakgrund Kroniskt obstruktiv lungsjukdom (KOL) är en av de sjukdomar som orsakar flest dödsfall världen över. Personer med KOL når sällan upp till rekommenderade aktivitetsnivåer, kan erhålla ett långsammare sjukdomsförlopp, en bättre bättre livskvalitet (QoL), samt bättre hälso relaterad livskvalitet (HRQoL) om de upprätthåller rekomenderade fysiska aktivitetsnivåer.  Syfte Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka sambandet mellan objektivt mätt intensitet vid fysisk aktivitet och QoL samt HRQoL hos personer med KOL, samt skillnader mellan män och kvinnor. Vidare undersöka sambandet mellan objektivt mätt fysisk aktivitet mätt i antal steg och QoL samt HRQoL. Metod  Antal steg  i vardagen samt durationen i moderat till hög intensitet (MVPA) mättes objektivt med en accelerometer (DynaPort, McRoberts BV, The Netherlands). QoL mättes med en visuell ordinalskala i EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) och HRQoL skattades med formulären COPD Assessment Test (CAT), Modified Medical Research Council Questionnaire (mMRC). Spearman´s rangkorrelationskoefficiet (rho) användes för att undersöka korrelationen i statistikprogramvaran Jamovi.  Resultat Sambandet mellan MVPA och QoL (EQ-5D) HRQoL (CAT, mMRC) samt HRQoL (CAT, mMRC)  för hela gruppen visade liten eller ingen korrelation förutom för mMRC som visade en låg korrelation, (rho= -.327, p= <0.001). Sambandet mellan MVPA och QoL (EQ-5D)  samt  HRQoL (CAT, mMRC) för gruppen kvinnor visade alla på en liten eller ingen korrelation. Sambandet mellan MVPA och QoL (EQ-5D) samt HRQoL (CAT, mMRC) för gruppen män visade alla på en låg korrelation. Sambandet mellan antal steg och QoL (EQ-5D) samt HRQoL (CAT, mMRC) samt för hela gruppen visade på en låg korrelation förutom för CAT som visade en liten eller ingen korrelation. Slutsats  Resultatet i denna studie visade tecken på att personer med KOL som spenderar mer tid i MVPA skattar något bättre HRQoL utifrån lägre skattad dyspné jämfört de forskningspersoner som spenderar mindre tid på samma intensitet. Resultatet visade även att duration i MVPA och antal steg per dag är två variabler som kan ha minst lika stor betydelse bland personer med KOL, då de ska skatta QoL och HRQoL. Dataanalysen i denna studie visade även på att det fanns ett starkare samband för män vad gäller totalt tid spenderad i MVPA och QoL samt HRQoL än vad det gör för kvinnor.

The research focused on the importance of and the problem of English proficiency/literacy regarding Grade 12 learners exiting the school system and seeking entry at Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs). Grade 12 learners’ final results have been used as a benchmark for admission into tertiary education for many years. These results have come under scrutiny over the past few years. IHLs are faced with the problem to generate ways to address the access of ill-prepared learners exiting Grade 12 and then to solve the problem of low levels of throughput and high drop-out rates among first year students, therefore the multi-faceted nature of access into South African IHLs was discussed, as well as alternative routes to enter IHLs. The researcher has experienced that the dropout rates of first year BEd English major students have been rather high. The purpose of this research was to determine what the predictive power of two measures, the English matric results of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and the English Literacy Skills Assessment (ELSA) were on the academic success of first year BEd English major students of the North-West University on the Vaal Triangle Campus. This was primarily done to improve first year BEd English major students’ English proficiency/literacy, as well as to increase their throughput rate. The major findings of this study pointed to the lack of English language proficiency/literacy of first year BEd English major students and the low throughput rate of these students. Although the ELSA proved to be the best predictor of academic success for first year BEd English major students, the Grade 12 English results also showed a statistical significant prediction capability. The results showed that there was no significant difference between ELSA 1 (which was used as pre-test) and ELSA 2 (which was used as post-test). An improvement in the ELSA 2 results was expected, as it was written as a post-test at the end of the first year BEd English major modules, indicating that the curriculum of the first year BEd English major students had little or no positive influence on the results of the ELSA 2. This resulted in the recommendation that it would be to the advantage of first year BEd English major students to change the current first year BEd English major curriculum in order to improve students’ English proficiency/literacy, as well as their throughput rate, which will result in improved academic success. / PhD, Teaching and Learning, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

The ability to read is highly valued in American society and important for social and economic advancement. One of the best strategies to prevent reading difficulties is to build basic literacy skills, thereby ensuring that all children are readers early in their educational careers. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between third-grade students' oral reading rate and scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The present study examined the relationship between the independent variables of Curriculum-Based Measurement Reading (R-CBM), ethnicity and socioeconomic status and the dependent variable of performance on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in 215 third-grade students. The data presented in this study were collected by the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) as part of a larger assessment battery across three school districts and nine elementary schools in Florida. Student demographic variables as well as performance on three different types of oral reading probes (generic, content, and FCAT passages) were investigated in relation to each student's performance on the reading portion of the FCAT. Results of the current study were similar to investigations in other states; the correlations among the R-CBM probes and between all R-CBM probes and FCAT scores were high and statistically significant. These results indicate that student performance on any or all R-CBM probe types can be used to predict FCAT score. Ethnicity and SES were not significant predictors of FCAT score above R-CBM score. Implications for educators and specifically school psychologists are discussed including opportunities for school psychologists to train educational personnel in the use of R-CBM. As evidenced by the current study, R-CBM may help identify students who are at-risk for reading failure and FCAT failure so that intensive interventions can be implemented early and student progress frequently monitored.

The research focused on the importance of and the problem of English proficiency/literacy regarding Grade 12 learners exiting the school system and seeking entry at Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs). Grade 12 learners’ final results have been used as a benchmark for admission into tertiary education for many years. These results have come under scrutiny over the past few years. IHLs are faced with the problem to generate ways to address the access of ill-prepared learners exiting Grade 12 and then to solve the problem of low levels of throughput and high drop-out rates among first year students, therefore the multi-faceted nature of access into South African IHLs was discussed, as well as alternative routes to enter IHLs. The researcher has experienced that the dropout rates of first year BEd English major students have been rather high. The purpose of this research was to determine what the predictive power of two measures, the English matric results of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and the English Literacy Skills Assessment (ELSA) were on the academic success of first year BEd English major students of the North-West University on the Vaal Triangle Campus. This was primarily done to improve first year BEd English major students’ English proficiency/literacy, as well as to increase their throughput rate. The major findings of this study pointed to the lack of English language proficiency/literacy of first year BEd English major students and the low throughput rate of these students. Although the ELSA proved to be the best predictor of academic success for first year BEd English major students, the Grade 12 English results also showed a statistical significant prediction capability. The results showed that there was no significant difference between ELSA 1 (which was used as pre-test) and ELSA 2 (which was used as post-test). An improvement in the ELSA 2 results was expected, as it was written as a post-test at the end of the first year BEd English major modules, indicating that the curriculum of the first year BEd English major students had little or no positive influence on the results of the ELSA 2. This resulted in the recommendation that it would be to the advantage of first year BEd English major students to change the current first year BEd English major curriculum in order to improve students’ English proficiency/literacy, as well as their throughput rate, which will result in improved academic success. / PhD, Teaching and Learning, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012