No description available.

Educational quality is a way to influence the future of the American economy (Hanushek, 1986). Large-scale assessments are designed to determine quality in education by measuring student achievement. A connection exists between the standards, teachers, and assessments that form a system of accountability within education. State and national accountability policies place value in certain educational fields, thereby preferring some while excluding others. As a result, accountability systems influence the field of social studies in several unanticipated ways. Consequential validity suggests that assessments should include value implications and relevance (Messick, 1989). While assessment research examines the disciplines of mathematics, science, and language arts in a more holistic manner, the few social studies assessments are often divided among the field’s various disciplines. The purpose of social studies, and its development of standards, is firmly linked to the current state of disunity within the social studies field. These issues are reflected in teacher preparation policies as well as state assessment policies. Social studies advocates have proven that, in other subjects, teachers and instructional methods are influenced by assessment. Fortunately, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides an opportunity to determine whether the exclusion of social studies within the state/national accountability system is impacting student achievement in social studies. The current systems make social studies uniquely positioned for studying the effects of large-scale assessment upon the field. Uses and interpretations of assessment data by researchers have been limited in social studies because the subject is not incorporated into most accountability policies. State policy governs educational standards, teacher licensure, and the extent of assessments upon students. For this study, the social studies NAEP assessment is divided into three separate tests (U.S. History, Geography, and Civics). By looking at data from the fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade 2010 social studies NAEP tests, this study will investigate some of the unintended consequences of educational assessment culture. I will examine social studies through different lenses and apply the concept of consequential validity to social studies in order to understand the value of social studies within education.

This study evaluated how measures of oral reading fluency (ORF) and silent reading fluency (SRF) compare as predictors of reading comprehension and how these predictors vary as a function of proficiency level for fourth- and fifth-grade students. Additionally, the study sought to examine the relationship between measures of oral reading fluency, silent reading fluency, reading comprehension, and the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) with these students. Participants were 175 fourth- and fifth-grade students from two randomly selected schools in Colorado. A correlational predictive design was used. Results indicated that measures of ORF and SRF were predictors of reading comprehension and that the relationship of measures of ORF and SRF with comprehension changes over time. Regression analysis results indicated that 45.0% of the variance in reading comprehension was accounted for by the ORF measure for the sample population, as compared to 53.0% of the variance accounted for by SRF measures. Thus, measures of SRF might be a better predictor for maturing readers to determine reading proficiency, monitor student progress, and guide instructional practices. A structural equation model (SEM) analyzed the relationship of the measure of SRF with reading comprehension as moderated by proficiency level. Analysis for the SRF measure by reading proficiency was conducted at the whole group level. The model accounted for 59.0% of the moderation. Results indicated that reading proficiency level and the SRF measure were both associated with reading comprehension. Reading proficiency level is a significant moderator of the relationship between measures of reading comprehension and SRF. A SEM mediation model was used to analyze the relationship of measures of ORF, SRF, reading comprehension, and TCAP. The direct effects of the ORF and SRF measures on TCAP were both predictive with 66.0% of the variance accounted for with SRF measure and 66.5% of the variance accounted for with ORF measure. Results indicated that as grade level increases, the relationship between measures of ORF, SRF, and reading comprehension changes. Additionally, SRF measures can be a viable alternative to ORF measures for upper elementary students as a predictor of reading comprehension and on the TCAP high-stake assessment.

No description available.

In 1976, the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 709. This act mandated accountability in education. As a result of this law, Louisiana students in grades four, eight, and eleven are given tests each year in reading, mathematics, and writing. The primary motivation for conducting this study was the wide-spread discussion about the value of the state-assessment program. There was a need to determine what the perceptions toward the Louisiana State-Assessment Program were by superintendents, principals, and teachers. Based upon a review of related literature and discussions with Louisiana educators, a questionnaire was developed with thirty-three items. These thirty-three items were grouped into six research questions that determined what the perceptions of superintendents, principals, and teachers were toward the Louisiana State-Assessment Program.

The diploma thesis titled "A health state assessment in the Czech Republic and in states of the European Union" is a theoretically conceived work that offers comprehensive information on assessment activities focused on the sickness insurance in the Czech Republic and other five selected countries of the European Union. A choice of the selected states has been affected both geographical and historical linkages to the Czech Republic as well as differences in the social security systems. The most attention has been devoted to the assessment activities under the sickness insurance of the Czech Republic. For other countries there has been particularly given a course of the health state assessment due to the illness, pregnancy and maternity or care for a household member. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the process of the health state assessment in the Czech Republic and a subsequent comparison of those results with a situation in the selected countries of the European Union, namely the Slovak Republic, Poland, Austria, Great Britain and France. To identify differences and to focus on strengths and weaknesses of the systems or to suggest a more efficient solution within the Czech Republic. The results of the thesis show that in all researched countries a medical certificate of the incapacity for work is the legal condition for an acquisition of claims to sickness benefits and the procedure for an obtaining of the certificate is similar in all six countries. It is the examination and health state assessment by a physician authorized by a body administering the social security in the given country. Despite differences of the social security systems in individual countries, a connecting element for the claim to the benefit is the participation on the social insurance. This thesis may also serve the general public as a summary of findings on the issue of the health state assessment under the sickness insurance in the Czech Republic and selected countries of the European Union and for a better orientation in the given systems.

The diploma thesis discusses the current status of watercourse Kyjovka and a proposal for appropriate protection measures of the territory. The selected section starts at river-km 71,338 and ends at river-km 74,443. The selected part of the watercourse runs through the town of Koryčany. This thesis examines the selected section of Kyjovka split into two subsections. That allows for detailed presentation of several proposed appropriate measures to be applied at critical spots in the selected subsections. The calculation of the watercourse model and its capacity with the water level progresses for selected N(y.o.) flow rates were processed in HEC-RAS5.0.1. program. Proposed flood protection measures are incorporated in the drawings.

The work deals with the assessment of the stream Chribska Kamenice current state in the village Vsemily urban area. The aim of the project is the assessment of capacity and the current state of the stream-bed. Based on an assessment measure there has been designed the improvement suggestion of the current state and flood protection increasing in close neighbourhood.