Listing 1 - 10 of 147 << page
of 15
>>
Sort by

Book
The Perfect Test
Authors: ---
ISBN: 9789460914782 9789460914775 Year: 2011 Publisher: Rotterdam SensePublishers

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract

Some ten years from today, American schools have tried every possible education fad. Common national standards, year-round schools, takeover of school boards, and even the super-qualified teacher program have failed to improve low U.S. achievement on international assessments. That all changes when Grant and Jennifer Wilson, both Stanford Ph.D. graduates, create what they believe are the perfect tests. The Venus Assessment System, the first national tests in U.S. history, flip American education on its ear, making U.S. students number one in the world in math and science. But then Jennifer Wilson discovers a secret list of names, students who are exceptions to the high-stakes consequences of the test. So secret that some people are willing to kill for it. With a tremendous blending of suspense tied to realistic future events, The Perfect Test will appeal to readers of all types, from educators and parents to simply anyone who loves a great, page-turner. As writer Paul Baker from the University of Wisconsin says, Like The Name of the Rose and The Da Vinci Code, this story grabs the reader and won't let go.  At a moment of national testing madness, the [Perfect Test] story-line was both fun and gripping. And like all good mystery/science fiction, educational too. I won't give away the ending.  Deborah Meier, New York University: teacher, writer, and public activist. Author of In Schools We Trust and Many Children Left Behind Ron Dietel's The Perfect Test reads like a Stephen King novel. A perfect blend of mystery, action and constant surprises, nicely intertwined in a future world of national high-stakes tests. You won't be able to stop reading it.  Jim Kohlmoos, President, Knowledge Alliance: Research to Action in Education Ready for a break, for a romp? Pick up Ronald Dietel's biting spoof, The Perfect Test. It's a dystopian vision of a world gone crazy, a science fiction portrait of the future that often comes wickedly close to where we are now. John Merrow, President, Learning Matters


Book
Questioning Excellence in Higher Education : Policies, Experiences and Challenges in National and Comparative Perspective
Authors: --- ---
ISBN: 9789460916427 Year: 2011 Publisher: Rotterdam SensePublishers

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract

Excellence in higher education is as old as university, but nowadays the concept is widely emphasized and its meaning has been redefined on the basis of different values and goals, especially those related to market. Excellence has become the meter on which institutions are assessed and public funding allocated, the tool by which worldwide comparisons and rankings of institutions are built, and a marketable brand used by higher education institutions to present themselves. This book offers an international and comparative view on excellence in higher education, ranging from policies to practices, mainly based on research results and empirical evidence, aiming at questioning the concept and its uses which are not only social constructions but also political ones. Far from being a neutral or technical concept, excellence is heavily infused with values which must be traced, analysed and made critical to understand its impacts, backlashes and unintended outcomes on higher education systems, institutions, academics and students. The book is addressed to an international audience and in particular to higher education scholars and professionals. Those who are involved in higher education assessment, members of professional bodies and organizations in the higher education field, students in education, but also policy makers and the public opinion at large will profit from the works of a selected group of scholars coming from a variety of countries. A sense of disquietude seems ever present when discussing new digital practices. The transformations incurred through these can be profound, troublesome in nature and far-reaching. Moral panics remain readily available.

Applied health research manual : anthropology of health and health care
Authors: --- ---
ISBN: 9055891916 Year: 2001 Publisher: Amsterdam Het spinhuis

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract


Book
Evaluating Landscape performance
Authors: --- ---
Year: 2018 Publisher: Washington Landscape Architecture Foundation

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract


Book
Reading Comprehension : Assisting Children with Learning Difficulties
Authors: ---
ISBN: 9789400711747 Year: 2011 Publisher: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract

Reading Comprehension: Assisting Children with Learning Difficulties examines the complex nature of reading comprehension. It introduces a model for classifying reading comprehension based on an expanded Simple View of Reading. Issues related to assessment, diagnosis, and remediation of reading comprehension difficulties are discussed and translated into clear recommendations to inform reading intervention design and practice. It gives an informed understanding as to why reading comprehension is difficult for some children with learning disabilities such as ADHD, autism, language difficulties and dyslexia. From leading literacy research, the book develops a deeper understanding of thinking processes that facilitate comprehension at the word, discourse, and metacognitive levels. Children will benefit from the introduction of evidence-based methods for teaching reading comprehension using structured multiple-strategy frameworks.


Book
Statistical Models for Test Equating, Scaling, and Linking
Authors: ---
ISBN: 9780387981383 Year: 2011 Publisher: New York NY Springer New York Imprint Springer

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract

The goal of this book is to emphasize the formal statistical features of the practice of equating, linking, and scaling. The book encourages the view and discusses the quality of the equating results from the statistical perspective (new models, robustness, fit, testing hypotheses, statistical monitoring) as opposed to placing the focus on the policy and the implications, which although very important, represent a different side of the equating practice. The book contributes to establishing equating  as a theoretical field, a view that has not been offered often before. The tradition in the practice of equating has been to present the knowledge and skills needed as a craft, which implies that only with years of experience under the guidance of a knowledgeable practitioner could one acquire the required skills. This book challenges this view by indicating how a good equating framework, a sound understanding of the assumptions that underlie the psychometric models, and the use of statistical tests and statistical process control tools can help the practitioner navigate the difficult decisions in choosing the final equating function. This book provides a valuable reference for several groups: (a) statisticians and psychometricians interested in the theory behind equating methods, in the use of model-based statistical methods for data smoothing, and in the evaluation of the equating results in applied work; (b) practitioners who need to equate tests, including those with these responsibilities in testing companies, state testing agencies, and school districts; and (c) instructors in psychometric, measurement, and psychology programs. Dr. Alina A. von Davier is a Strategic Advisor and a Director of Special Projects in Research and Development at Educational Testing Service (ETS). During her tenure at ETS, she has led an ETS Research Initiative called Equating and Applied Psychometrics  and has directed the Global Psychometric Services Center. The center supports the psychometric work for all ETS international programs, including TOEFL iBT and TOEIC. She is a co-author of a book on the kernel method of test equating, an author of a book on hypotheses testing in regression models, and a guest co-editor for a special issue on population invariance of linking functions for the journal Applied Psychological Measurement.


Book
Statistical Modeling of the National Assessment of Educational Progress
Authors: --- ---
ISBN: 9781441999375 Year: 2011 Publisher: New York NY Springer New York

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract

The purpose of this book is to evaluate a new approach to the analysis and reporting of the large-scale surveys for the National Assessment of Educational Progress carried out for the National Center for Education Statistics. The need for a new approach was driven by the demands for secondary analysis of the survey data by researchers who needed analyses more detailed than those published by NCES, and the need to  accelerate the processing and publication of results from the surveys. This new approach is based on a full multilevel statistical and psychometric model for students' responses to the test items, taking into account the design of the survey, the backgrounds of the students, and the classes, schools and communities in which the students were located. The authors detail a fully integrated single model that incorporates both the survey design and the psychometric model by extending the traditional form of the psychometric model to accommodate the design structure while allowing for student, teacher, and school covariates.


Book
Valuing Students with Impairment : International comparisons of practice in educational accountability
Authors: ---
ISBN: 9789400729353 Year: 2012 Publisher: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract

In this book, the author Joy Cumming draws on knowledge of law, assessment and measurement to provide an original analysis of the inclusion of students with impairment in educational accountability assessments in the U.S., England and Australia. Equitable education of students with impairment is worldwide policy. Educational accountability for improvement of educational outcomes is also a worldwide phenomenon. The U.S., England and Australia are well placed economically and politically to pursue best educational practice for students with impairment and well advanced in both provision and educational accountability systems. Examining these three systems enables an analysis of possible optimal practices to guide other countries. The book identifies three models of impairment in place in legislation, policy and enacted practice for educational accountability with students with impairment. Intentions of legislation and policy reflect a social model of impairment while an individual has an impairment, social practice creates the barrier that leads to a disability. In implementation, legislation and policy rely on a medical model of disability categorizing disability in medical or specialist terms. In educational accountability practices, it is argued in this book, a third model of disability is created a psychometric model, with impairment constructed through overemphasis on standardization of assessment processes. Eight explicit and implicit assumptions that underpin the ways students with impairment are valued in educational accountability are identified and discussed. Three recommendations are made to promote equitable inclusive educational accountability practices for students with impairment, to inform future policy and practice in all countries.


Book
Linear Models for Optimal Test Design
Authors: ---
ISBN: 9780387290546 Year: 2005 Publisher: New York NY Springer New York

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract

This book begins with a reflection on the history of test design--the core activity of all educational and psychological testing. It then presents a standard language for modeling test design problems as instances of multi-objective constrained optimization. The main portion of the book discusses test design models for a large variety of problems from the daily practice of testing, and illustrates their use with the help of numerous empirical examples. The presentation includes models for the assembly of tests to an absolute or relative target for their information functions, classical test assembly, test equating problems, item matching, test splitting, simultaneous assembly of multiple tests, tests with item sets, multidimensional tests, and adaptive test assembly. Two separate chapters are devoted to the questions of how to design item banks for optimal support of programs with fixed and adaptive tests. Linear Models for Optimal Test Design, which does not require any specific mathematical background, has been written to be a helpful resource on the desk of any test specialist. Wim J. van der Linden is Professor of Measurement and Data Analysis, University of Twente, The Netherlands. His specialization is psychometric theory and methods, and he has been an active researcher of item response theory throughout his career. His current research is on test design, adaptive testing, test equating, and response-time modeling. Professor van der Linden is a past president of the Psychometric Society and a recipient of the NCME lifetime achievement award for his work on educational measurement.


Book
International Handbook of English Language Teaching
Authors: --- ---
ISBN: 9780387463018 Year: 2007 Publisher: Boston MA Springer US

Loading...
Export citation

Choose an application

Bookmark

Abstract

This two-volume handbook provides a comprehensive examination of policy, practice, research, and theory related to English language teaching (ELT) in international contexts. Nearly 70 chapters highlight the research foundation for the best practices, frameworks for policy decisions, and areas of consensus and controversy in the teaching and development of English as a second and/or additional language for kindergarten through to adult speakers of languages other than English. In doing so it problematizes traditional dichotomies and challenges the very terms that provide the traditional foundations of the field. A wide range of terms has been used to refer to the key players involved in the teaching and learning of the English language and to the enterprise of English language teaching as a whole. At various times and in different contexts, the following labels have been used in countries where English is the dominant language to describe programs, learners, or teachers of Enghsh: English as a second language (ESL), English as an additional language (EAL), limited English proficient (LEP), and English language learners (ELL). In contexts where EngUsh is not the dominant language, the following terms have been used: English as a foreign language (EFL), English as an international language (EIL), and English as a lingua franca (ELF).

Listing 1 - 10 of 147 << page
of 15
>>
Sort by