The reporting of scores on educational tests is at times misunderstood, misinterpreted, and potentially confusing to examinees and other stakeholders who may need to interpret test scores. In reporting test results to examinees, there is a need for clarity in the message communicated. As pressure rises for students to demonstrate performance at a certain level, the communication of scores to the public needs to be examined. Although public school student testing often is placed in the spotlight, this study examines score reporting in teacher certification, which may not have the same complexities of student test score reporting, but does have the equally critical need to effectively communicate scoring information. The purpose of this study was to create multiple teacher certification examinee score reports based on findings in the literature on educational test score reporting, as well as marketing and design principles, and to conduct interviews and focus groups to gather feedback on the comprehension and preferences in interpreting the designed score reports and results. Different approaches for reporting test scores were used to design the score reporting materials for a hypothetical teacher certification testing examinee who had not passed. Educators and educational testing professionals were convened and interviewed to review the score reports and offer feedback, suggestions and discussion. The findings are covered in great detail. Using the findings, a final model score report was designed, which was then reviewed with doctoral students in educational measurement. Through this process, some clear patterns and differences arose. Overall, there was a desire on the educator and doctoral student end to provide as much information as possible, where supported by sound measurement principles. The reporting of raw performance information, as well as accommodating comprehension styles by providing performance information in contextual, statistical and visual ways were requested. Upon addressing these requests, two areas that may not have full clarity and direction remained: The process of converting raw score performance to a scaled score (participants wanted more information on this process), and information provided that could address candidate weak areas, directing examinees to materials that could improve their studies, understanding, and examination performance.

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Dual certification of early childhood/early childhood special education is an ideal way to certify preschool teachers. Having both certifications is particularly advantageous in rural areas due to the lack of practitioners trained to work in inclusive settings. This session is a conversation about how to best merge/offer these certifications.

In compliance with NCLB, states receiving Title I funding were to ensure that all teachers of core subject areas, including foreign languages, were highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 academic year. Given that 44 states assess teacher quality through The Praxis Series tests, and 32 of these rely on one of the Praxis II subject-matter tests to gauge foreign language competency (ETS, 2010a), research examining the perspectives of teacher candidates and faculty members regarding these licensure tests is needed. The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the perspectives of teacher candidates and faculty members regarding the Praxis II, (b) determine how their unique perspectives were influenced by their own classroom experiences as language learners, and (c) consider how the Praxis II experience might contribute to curricular reform including suggestions for altering pedagogical strategies, coursework, and the requirement of additional exposure to the target language independent of the four-walled classroom. Lortie’s (1975) framework of “apprenticeship of observation” (p. 61) provides a context to understand the perspectives of the Praxis II tests for licensure in foreign languages. The data revealed that three categories of Spanish teacher candidates emerged: (a) Confident Completer, (b) Surprised Prevailers, and (c) Frustrated Disregarders and each group prepared differently for the Praxis II as a result of their experiences in the language classroom as apprentice observers. Faculty members offered both similar and different perspectives of the Praxis II than did teacher candidates. Data suggested that the Praxis II can also serve to alter the behavior of teacher candidates and faculty members which may improve foreign language teacher preparation. Suggestions including course development and instructional strategies are included to assist teacher candidates in meeting the expectations of the Praxis II.

The purpose of this study was to determine if Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification of automotive service technicians in independent dealerships enhanced job performance. Descriptive survey methodology was used to gather information for 100 automotive technicians (50 ASE-certified and 50 non-certified technicians) located in 50 different work sites. Each site's service manager was asked to complete a questionnaire and a rating scale for two technicians, one ASE certified and one non-certified. The questionnaire was designed using expert opinions of automotive service managers and community college automotive instructors in the Triad area of North Carolina. The 28-item Minnesota Satisfactoriness Scales (MSS) were used to assess job satisfactoriness. Responses to 95 completed questionnaires and accompanying MSS were included in statistical analyses. The role of these variables in predicting ratings of job performance was further examined by including the regression analyses of only those who had four or less years of on-the-job experience. Among certified technicians, higher scale scores and longer years of experience positively predicted ratings of job performance, as well as decreased numbers of customer complaints. Overall, certified technicians had higher mean job performance ratings than non-certified technicians. Attendance and employee recognition did not significantly predict ratings of job performance in either category of technicians. Results indicated that the number of technicians receiving customer complaints was directly dependent on certification status. Variables such as awards and number of months of perfect attendance had minimal effect on both categories of technician job performance rating. / Ph. D.

L'évolution et le succès qu'a connu Internet les dernières années a profondément marqué le domaine du génie logiciel et plus particulièrement des aspects tels que la conception, l'implémentation et l'exploitation de systèmes distribués. Cette ouverture qu'offre la toile aux systèmes brave les limites architecturales et géographiques pour permettre une interconnexion permanente des utilisateurs. Cependant, ce flux de communication et de code mobile comporte des risques de sécurité qui vont à l'encontre des politiques des entreprises concernées par ces échanges. Étant données la multitude et la diversité des intervenants, des mesures préventives s'imposent pour remédier à cette faille sécuritaire. Ce mémoire s'inscrit dans le cadre d'une contribution à cet effort, par la voie de la certification. En effet, le potentiel de l'approche proposée émerge de la synthèse des techniques fondamentales de ce domaine, qui sont le code incorporant une preuve (PCC), le langage assembleur typé (TAL) et le code incorporant un modèle (MCC). Toujours dans l'optique de renforcer la relation de confiance entre le producteur et le consommateur, et au-delà de la vérification du respect du code envers une politique de sécurité, notre projet qui s'intitule ±code incorporant un modèle certifié¿ (CMCC) couvre en plus des aspects pratiques jusque là souvent délaissés par les concepteurs.

This research was encouraged by the tremendous demand for teachers. Two million new teachers will be needed in the United States over the next decade. The teacher shortage has school administration, school boards, education agencies, and institutions of higher education investigating how to train and retain more teachers. Alternative certification programs have been developed to address the teacher shortage. This study examined the effectiveness of traditionally and alternatively certified teachers in two separate programs with regard to their self-efficacy, perception of their training, and their ExCET scores. Traditional candidates (10) and alternative candidates (74) were examined using survey research. According to this data on self-efficacy, perception of training, and ExCET passing rates, there is no significant difference between those teachers who receive traditional training and those who are trained in alternative certification programs.

The purpose of this study was to compare the self-efficacy of two groups of first year teachers working in a large urban school district in North Texas. Twenty-eight of the participants were certified teachers. Ten participants held college degrees unrelated to teaching and were undergoing an alternative certification process. The Teacher Efficacy Scale was administered at the beginning and the end of the school year. Data from this scale was analyzed to determine if there were differences between the regular certification teachers and the alternative certification teachers at the beginning and the end of the school year, and to determine if their sense of efficacy changed over the course of the school year.

This dissertation is devoted to a history of the New York State elementary school teacher certification requirements, specifically in mathematics, during the nineteenth century. In the last half of nineteenth century, teacher education and uniform certification procedures were beginning to become the norm in the educational systems throughout the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine the ways an individual could obtain a elementary school teachers' certificate in New York State at the genesis of teacher certification examinations and to establish an understanding of what mathematical knowledge was required for elementary school teachers in order to obtain a State Certificate. This study analyzes multiple primary sources, including annual reports from New York State and New York City, along with the State Certificate examinations. The examinations in arithmetic, algebra and geometry are analyzed for the mathematics topic of the questions, the number of steps needed to complete the question and the categorizing of the questions according to Bloom's taxonomy (CBT). Five examinations of each subject, arithmetic, algebra and geometry, are analyzed, from the years 1875 to 1898. The topics addressed on the examinations, the number of steps to complete the questions and the CBT of each question are determined and used to establish the required mathematical knowledge of the elementary school teacher. The analysis of the mathematics examinations for State Certificates showed that the content required for elementary school teachers were comparative to the high school mathematics curriculum at the time. The content on the examinations for mathematics was more than the course of study they were going to be teaching in the elementary schools. They were required to have a broad and sophisticated mathematical education, however, less sophisticated than offered in the University. Also on the mathematics examinations, teachers were not assessed in what is now called pedagogical content knowledge.

Face à un risque terroriste nécessitant de maintenir les réseaux de transport aérien « à un haut niveau de vigilance », la sûreté de l’aviation civile, définie comme la « combinaison des mesures et des ressources humaines et matérielles visant à protéger l’aviation civile contre les actes d’intervention illicite », est un enjeu majeur en France.La communautarisation du domaine au lendemain des attentats du 11 septembre 2001 – se traduisant notamment par l’obligation pour les Etats membres d’élaborer et de mettre en œuvre un programme national de contrôle de la qualité de la sûreté – et la participation accrue des opérateurs du transport aérien à la mise en œuvre des mesures de sûreté (co-production de la sûreté) ont progressivement amené l’Etat français à se recentrer, en la matière, sur sa fonction de surveillance de ces opérateurs. Cette évolution du rôle de l’Etat ne pouvait que s’appuyer sur une évolution du droit de l’aviation civile et plus largement du droit public permettant de garantir l’efficacité des activités de surveillance, tout en conciliant les impératifs de sûreté avec les droits et garanties des personnes impliquées dans la mise en œuvre des mesures de sûreté. L’agrément de sûreté des personnes morales et la certification des personnes physiques sont l’expression juridique de cette évolution. L’étude de ces deux techniques juridiques permet alors de montrer le caractère dynamique d’une surveillance devant constamment s’adapter aux évolutions des modes d’exploitation des opérateurs, des risques représentés par leurs activités, des principes des facteurs humains et celles des menaces pesant sur l’aviation civile. / Facing a terrorist threat that requires to keep air transport networks “at a high level of vigilance”, civil aviation security, which is defined as “the combination of measures and human and material resources intended to safeguard civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference”, is a major challenge in France.The communitisation of this field in the aftermath of the events of 11 September 2001 – which led in particular to the obligation of developing and implementing a national civil aviation security quality control programme – and the increased involvement of air transport operators in the implementation of security measures (the co-production of security) have gradually prompted the French State to refocus its security activities on the monitoring of these operators. This evolution of the role of the State required an evolution of civil aviation law and public law to ensure the effectiveness of monitoring activities while reconciling security requirements with the rights and guarantees of the persons involved in the implementation of security measures. The security approval of legal entities and the certification of natural persons are the legal expression of this evolution. The study of these legal techniques demonstrates that oversight is a dynamic process, constantly adapting to changes in operating procedures and processes, risks posed by air transport operators activities, human factors principles and the threats to civil aviation.