Objectives: To determine if there is a relationship between the number of self-testing attempts and subsequent exam grade in a pharmacy course. Method: A total of 1,342 multiple choice questions were developed for pharmacy students to self-test for a pathophysiology course. Prior to each examination, students were allowed to take online quizzes which were randomly generated and related to the exam content. Quizzes were scored immediately, and students were shown the incorrect questions along with all answer choices. A matrix of intercorrelations and repeated measures ANOVA, with post hoc tests, was generated using PASW Statistics Version 19 (IBM, Armonk, NY) to evaluate all variables. Results: 77 of 79 students (97.5%) participated, resulting in a total of 7,042 attempts. Non-participants were assigned a zero. There were variations in both the average practice attempts (18 – 30) and subsequent exam grade (82 – 90) on the 4 exams. However, a significant correlation (p ≤ 0.05) existed between number of attempts and each exam grade (R = 0.478, 0.426, 0.385, and 0.218). For each exam, students were stratified into the upper and lower 50%, according to the number of self-test attempts. On all four exams the lower 50%, based solely on attempts, scored significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) on the subsequent exam based on a two group T-test. Implications: Although self-testing strategies increase recall ability, this strategy is uncommon in pharmacy education. These results suggest that the number of self-testing attempts improves subsequent exam grade, regardless of the score for the self tests. Read More: http://www.ajpe.org/doi/full/10.5688/ajpe76599

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Students who graduate from a practitioner program in prosthetics & orthotics must achieve certification in order to obtain licensure and practice independently in 16 states. In states where licensure is not mandatory, graduates may choose to pursue certification in order assure patients that they are practicing at the highest level as well as to differentiate themselves from competitors. While studies have been carried out extensively regarding predictors of success on the certification exams in other professions, no such study has been carried out to date in prosthetics. The American Board for Certification in Prosthetics, Orthotics, & Pedorthics (ABC), established in 1948, historically has been the organization whose standards states adopt when wishing to implement licensure law. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine if statistically significant relations exist the ABC prosthetics certification pass or fail rates as well as the 3 exams which comprise certification based on specific predictor variables: gender, Carnegie ranking of the institution from where the candidate received the degree, and whether the candidate is extending credential. As it specifically relates to this study, credential extension refers to adding the certified prosthetist (CP) credential after already possessing the certified orthotist (CO) credential. A quantitative, retrospective, secondary data analysis of de-identified prosthetic resident data provided by the American Board for Certification in Prosthetics, Orthotics, & Pedorthics (ABC) and the National Commission on Orthotic & Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) was used to test the following research questions: Is there a relationship between gender, institution type, and/or credential extension and (1) success in achieving ABC prosthetics practitioner certification, (2) performance on the ABC prosthetics Written Multiple Choice exam, (3) performance on the ABC prosthetics Written Simulation exam, and (4) performance on the ABC Clinical Patient Management practical exam? Chi-square analysis, independent t-tests and logistic regression were used for data analysis in question 1. In research questions 2, 3, and 4 independent t-tests were used for analysis with two-level categorical independent variables and ANOVA was used for the three-level categorical independent variable, institution type. Linear regression was used for the models in research questions 2, 3, and 4. Statistically significant relations were found in each research question between the credential extension predictor variable and the dependent variables, with candidates who were extending credential performing better on each of the three examinations and, thus, greater success obtaining certification. This study was the first of its kind conducted regarding predictors of success in prosthetics certification, conducted with the variables of interest currently available. It served as a first step in filling the existing gap regarding this topic in the prosthetics literature. It informed the profession of the relationship between available predictors and variables of interest related to the ABC prosthetics certification exam. Further, it informed the profession of its status concerning collecting additional variables of interest that would permit analysis of more robust information, including grades on specific courses of interest, various GPAs and time between residency completion and exam date. Additionally, it informed the profession of its status concerning such research compared to other health professions with which it seeks to keep pace. Repeating this study with additional variables and an expanded sample size could potentially produce significant results, as has occurred in other professions. Further, additional analysis following stabilization of the new Master's degree and accreditation standards is warranted. This line of research has the potential to inform practice and policy in prosthetics education and certification. Finally, it will help the prosthetics profession keep pace with the other health professions and become a leader in best educational and clinical practices in managing patients who utilize prosthetic technologies.

Parenting style as a predictor of students' academic achievement is gaining increased interest by parents, educators, and psychologists. Current literature suggests that a combination of three parenting dimensions (i.e., responsiveness, supervision, and autonomy granting) is relevant to characterizing one's parenting style into four types (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful), and each dimension of parenting behavior has a different effect on students' academic performance. Based on the different cultural backgrounds and the methods parents use to educate their children at home, some literature suggests that the school performance of some Asian American students could benefit from different parenting behaviors as compared to White students. Very little prior research has attended to links between parenting and achievement among high-achieving students who pursue college-level curricula during high school years, such as students enrolled in International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes. This study examined: (a) the relationships between parenting behaviors and students' achievement (i.e., semester GPA and mean score on end-of-course exams) among a combined sample of ethnically diverse IB students and then within two ethnic groups of interests (i.e., White and Asian American), (b) the differences in mean levels of students' achievement between the two aforementioned ethnic groups, and (c) differences in mean levels of parenting dimensions between two ethnic groups with regards to three parenting behaviors (i.e., responsiveness, demandingness, and autonomy granting). An archival dataset that includes data from 245 Asian American IB students and 533 White IB students was analyzed. The findings from the current study suggested that Asian American IB students earned significant higher GPAs than White IB students, while there was not a difference in performance on end-of-course exams between two groups. Second, White and Asian American IB students perceived different average levels of parenting behaviors. Specifically, White IB students reported perceiving higher levels of parental responsiveness and autonomy granting, while Asian American IB students perceiving higher level of demandingness. Additionally, responsiveness and autonomy granting both had positive relations with semester GPA within the entire sample of IB students as well as within the White IB students, while autonomy granting positively related to end-of-course exam scores within the entire IB students. All three parenting behaviors were associated with academic outcomes in a similar manner across White and Asian American IB subgroups. Specifically, responsiveness was the only significant and unique predictor of semester GPA for IB students. For end-of-course exam performance, demandingness was a negative predictor while autonomy granting was a unique positive predictor for IB students.

Some researchers suggest that quality is preserved when students are rewarded for quantity of class participation (Boniecki & Moore, 2003; Bruss, 2009; Mainkar, 2007; Zaremba & Dunn, 2004); however, few studies have targeted the systematic assessment of participation quality. The primary purpose of the study was to develop a reliable system for rating quality of student participation, investigate whether quality of participation is preserved when students are given credit for the amount of class participation, and examine the relationship between participation quality and important course variables. The researcher in the current study developed a rating system to evaluate the quality of student participation in 2 small sections of an undergraduate class at a large Southeastern university. The primary observer rated the quality of each student comment and recorded the number of comments each student contributed each discussion day. In order to assess the reliability of the coding scheme, a secondary observer rated the participation quality and quantity on the third day in each unit. As outlined in the syllabus, instructors awarded credit for the amount of participation on randomly drawn days at the conclusion of select units. The average inter-observer agreement was 90% for the number of productive comments contributed by each student and 49% for the number of non-productive comments contributed by each student. The percent of productive comments that each student contributed each day was the primary dependent variable. Visual inspection and proportion analyses of the percent of productive comments revealed that quality of participation was generally preserved during units in which credit was awarded for the frequency of participation. On average, students who participated frequently were significantly more productive than those who participated infrequently. Additionally, a student’s frequency of course participation and critical thinking at the onset of the course significantly predicted classification into high- and low-quality responders. Future research suggestions include the following: expanding the definition of the quality of student participation into 3 overall qualitative categories rather than 2, increasing the criteria for participation credit in small course sections, and providing credit for the quality of participation.

Syftet med studien är att belysa studenters copingprocesser, d.v.s. appraisal och copingstrategier, inför examinationsformerna salstentamen och hemtentamen. En intervjustudie genomfördes med åtta kvinnliga studenter inom samma program på en högskola i Sverige. Data analyserades med induktiv tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att examinationer oavsett form skapar stress, även om studenterna inte upplever en hemtentamen som lika hotfull eller utmanande som en salstentamen. Den tid som studenterna har till förfogande under de olika tentamina och hur de utvärderar examinationsformerna visade sig ha stor betydelse för de copingstrategier som används både inför och under hem- och salstentamen. En av de större skillnaderna visade sig vara hur studenterna studerar inför de olika tentamina. / The purpose of this study is to highlight students' copingprocesses, i.e., appraisal and coping strategies, for written exam and take-home exam. Interviews were conducted with eight female students within the same program at a university in Sweden. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The results showed that examinations regardless of form create stress, even if the students do not experience a take-home exam as equally threatening or challenging as a written exam. The time that students have available during the different exams and the primary appraisal of the examination proved to be very important for the coping strategies used both before and during the exam. One of the major differences proved to be how students study for the different exams.

Stakeholders of the educational system assume that standardized tests are transparently about the subject content being tested and therefore can be used as a metric to measure achievement in outcome-based educational reform. Both analysis of longitudinal data for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exam and agent based computer modeling of its underlying theoretical testing framework have yielded results that indicate the exam only rank orders students on a persistent but uncharacterized latent trait across domains tested as well as across years. Such persistent rank ordering of students is indicative of an instructionally insensitive exam. This is problematic in the current atmosphere of high stakes testing which holds teachers, administrators, and school systems accountable for student achievement. / text

För att undersöka eventuella skillnader mellan vilka matematiska kompetenser som prövas på IB-programmet och svenska nationella program har en analys av matematikuppgifter från de olika programmen genomförts. På IB-programmet har uppgifter från final exam i mathematical studiesstandard level gjorts och från de svenska en analys av uppgifter från nationella prov i matematik B och C. Analysen har genomförts med hjälp av kompetensramverk framtaget av Palm et al. (2004). Med hjälp av kompetensramverket har nyckelord och uppgiftstyper för de olika kompetenserna tagits fram för att kategorisera in uppgifter till en kompetens som är kärnan i uppgiften. Resultatet av studien visar på att det finns en skillnad mellan proven som analyserats då proportionerna av kompetenser som prövas skiljer sig åt mellan proven. Dock går det inte att göra en generalisering då det ej går att utesluta att det är slumpen som gett skillnaden i de analyserade proven. Vid ett större stickprov skulle det kunna vara möjligt med en generalisering om frekvensen av kompetenser som prövas är densamma.

The thesis investigates the automatic and semi-automatic evaluation of programming assignments in teaching of programming, exams and competitions. Manual evaluation of programming assignments is still dominant in programming teaching in Lithuania. In some contexts (i.e. programming competitions, basics of programming and algorithms course) there is widely applied automatic and semi-automatic evaluation of programming tasks based on black-box testing approach. However, automatic evaluation based on black-box testing is criticized for its inability to demonstrate the strengths and the weaknesses of the program being evaluated. Automatic evaluation is not capable of identifying the level of achievement in incomplete programs. The thesis addresses the problem of evaluation of practical programming assignments in Information Technology maturity exam (IT VBE). This problem involves requirements to evaluate reliably thousands of programming assignment solutions in a reasonable amount of time. The thesis presents analysis of systems for automatic evaluation of programming tasks and appropriate types of assignments. The analysis led to the improvement of the evaluation method. The most important result of the research is the proposed way to improve the semi-automatic evaluation and testing method by increasing its interactivity. A semi-automatic assessment system is expanded by adding the components responsible for the modification of submitted programs, monitoring changes in the... [to full text] / Disertacijoje nagrinėjamas automatinis ir pusiau automatinis programavimo užduočių vertinimas programavimo mokyme, egzaminuose ir varžybose. Šiuo metu informatikos mokyme Lietuvoje vis dar dominuoja rankinis programavimo užduočių vertinimas. Atskirose švietimo srityse (programavimo varžybos, algoritmavimo kursai) išplito automatinis ir pusiau automatinis programavimo užduočių vertinimas, paremtas juodosios dėžės testavimo principu. Tačiau automatinio vertinimo pagrindu gauti įverčiai kritikuojami kaip neatskleidžiantys visų pateiktos programos privalumų ir trūkumų. Ypatingai dideli vertinimo netikslumai gaunami vertinant nebaigtas programas. Disertacijoje sprendžiama Informacinių technologijų valstybinio brandos egzamino (IT VBE) praktinių programavimo užduočių vertinimo problema – siekiama gauti patikimus įvertinimus dideliam pateiktų programavimo užduočių sprendimų kiekiui per priimtiną laiką. Išanalizuotos automatinės programavimo užduočių vertinimo sistemos bei joms tinkami užduočių tipai atvedė prie idėjos tobulinti vertinimo metodą. Svarbiausias disertacijos rezultatas – pasiūlytas būdas tobulinti pusiau automatinį vertinimo ir testavimo metodą didinant jo interaktyvumą. Tam pusiau automatinė vertinimo sistema turi būti papildoma komponentais, leidžiančiais modifikuoti pateiktą programą, stebėti modifikuotos programos funkcionalumo pokyčius. Pasiūlytas patobulintas vertinimo metodas išbandytas praktiškai, sukurta IT VBE praktinių užduočių vertinimo sistema. Taikant šį... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Disertacijoje nagrinėjamas automatinis ir pusiau automatinis programavimo užduočių vertinimas programavimo mokyme, egzaminuose ir varžybose. Šiuo metu informatikos mokyme Lietuvoje vis dar dominuoja rankinis programavimo užduočių vertinimas. Atskirose švietimo srityse (programavimo varžybos, algoritmavimo kursai) išplito automatinis ir pusiau automatinis programavimo užduočių vertinimas, paremtas juodosios dėžės testavimo principu. Tačiau automatinio vertinimo pagrindu gauti įverčiai kritikuojami kaip neatskleidžiantys visų pateiktos programos privalumų ir trūkumų. Ypatingai dideli vertinimo netikslumai gaunami vertinant nebaigtas programas. Disertacijoje sprendžiama Informacinių technologijų valstybinio brandos egzamino (IT VBE) praktinių programavimo užduočių vertinimo problema – siekiama gauti patikimus įvertinimus dideliam pateiktų programavimo užduočių sprendimų kiekiui per priimtiną laiką. Išanalizuotos automatinės programavimo užduočių vertinimo sistemos bei joms tinkami užduočių tipai atvedė prie idėjos tobulinti vertinimo metodą. Svarbiausias disertacijos rezultatas – pasiūlytas būdas tobulinti pusiau automatinį vertinimo ir testavimo metodą didinant jo interaktyvumą. Tam pusiau automatinė vertinimo sistema turi būti papildoma komponentais, leidžiančiais modifikuoti pateiktą programą, stebėti modifikuotos programos funkcionalumo pokyčius. Pasiūlytas patobulintas vertinimo metodas išbandytas praktiškai, sukurta IT VBE praktinių užduočių vertinimo sistema. Taikant šį... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The thesis investigates the automatic and semi-automatic evaluation of programming assignments in teaching of programming, exams and competitions. Manual evaluation of programming assignments is still dominant in programming teaching in Lithuania. In some contexts (i.e. programming competitions, basics of programming and algorithms course) there is widely applied automatic and semi-automatic evaluation of programming tasks based on black-box testing approach. However, automatic evaluation based on black-box testing is criticized for its inability to demonstrate the strengths and the weaknesses of the program being evaluated. Automatic evaluation is not capable of identifying the level of achievement in incomplete programs. The thesis addresses the problem of evaluation of practical programming assignments in Information Technology maturity exam (IT VBE). This problem involves requirements to evaluate reliably thousands of programming assignment solutions in a reasonable amount of time. The thesis presents analysis of systems for automatic evaluation of programming tasks and appropriate types of assignments. The analysis led to the improvement of the evaluation method. The most important result of the research is the proposed way to improve the semi-automatic evaluation and testing method by increasing its interactivity. A semi-automatic assessment system is expanded by adding the components responsible for the modification of submitted programs, monitoring changes in the... [to full text]