Individual Student Performance Research Articles

Analyzing the efficacy of comprehensive testing: a comprehensive evaluation

This study aimed to examine the variations in comprehensive exam results in the English department at Qassim University in Saudi Arabia across six semesters, focusing on average score, range, and standard deviation, as well as overall student achievements. Additionally, it sought to assess the performance levels of male and female students in comprehensive tests and determine how they differ over the past six semesters. The research design utilized both analytical and descriptive approaches, with quantitative analysis of the data using frequency statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and range. The data consisted of scores from six consecutive exit exams. The findings reveal that male students scored slightly higher on average than female students, with minimal difference (p = 0.07). Moreover, male scores exhibited more variability and spread, indicating varying performance levels. These results suggest the need for further investigation into the factors that contribute to gender-based differences in test performance. Furthermore, longitudinal studies tracking individual student performance over multiple semesters could offer a more in-depth understanding of academic progress and the efficacy of comprehensive exam practices.

Advancing Language Assessment and Evaluation: Innovative Strategies for Specialized English Teaching

This research paper examines the field of language assessment and evaluation. We shall primarily concentrate on the sophisticated techniques used in the specialized domain of English instruction. With the growing need for enhanced language training, educators are striving to enhance assessment techniques in order to precisely gauge language competency and provide focused instructional interventions. We acknowledge that the process of acquiring language is always evolving. Therefore, our study advocates for the use of adaptable and varied evaluation techniques that surpass conventional approaches. We are exploring the use of technology, artificial intelligence, and data analytics to develop customized assessment tools. These technologies would enable the assessment of individual student performance and provide targeted support for their unique learning requirements. Furthermore, the research explores the use of performance-based evaluations and proposes that instructors have to design activities that emulate authentic language scenarios. This strategy enhances the credibility of evaluations and provides vital insights into a learner's practical language application abilities. We use case studies and practical examples to demonstrate the effective implementation of these advanced tactics in various specialized English teaching contexts.

WHAT’S IN A-WORD? MAKING AN IMPACT BY INTEGRATING VIDEOS IN ONLINE ASSESSMENT

This paper is an empirical descriptive and at the same time exploratory case study of using Google Forms (GF) with integrated video listening as part of an online formative assessment (FA) in English for Medical Purposes (EMP), with a group of 74 first-year undergraduate students in medicine (N = 74), to engage students and facilitate constant autonomous learning. The online FA was based on a segment of the movie entitled A-word – standing for Autism – and it checked the students’ application of medical vocabulary, language functions, doctor-patient interviewing, and symptoms of autism. The online formative assessment was compared with a traditional onsite listening FA in terms of administration and results. The onsite FA had a similar degree of complexity and was conducted with the same group of students – a segment from One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a classic on life in a psychiatric institution, within the same scope of neuropsychiatric conditions. The impact of online FA on students was measured with Mentimeter (https://www.mentimeter.com/). The results of this case study demonstrate that the GF-based FA of listening in EMP is an enhanced version of the traditional one. In traditional FA feedback was general and approximate while overall statistics were not automatically generated. Reaching a more refined picture of the overall and individual student performance with question breakdown in onsite FA required additional time investment, and consequently, remedial teaching could not take place immediately. Online FA was low-anxiety, highly participative, and user-friendly. It offered students timely feedback on their learning and teachers a faithful, automatic picture of individual and group performance for further remedial strategies. Likewise, the impact and attitude to online FA measured by Mentimeter were positive and were associated with increased autonomy, online delivery, engagement through professionally relevant content, and focus on learning rather than testing and grading.

Is it the school of fish or the size of the pond that matters? An experimental examination of reference group effects in secondary school

Do teachers consider not only an individual student's performance and abilities but also the number of motivated peers in a class as a frame of reference when deciding whether or not to recommend them for academic high school? Given the limited number of places available in such schools in the short run, we argue that a student's chances of being recommended depend on the number of competitors and especially whether they already secured a recommendation for themselves. Using choice experiments presenting groups of three to five students to pre-service secondary school teachers in Switzerland, we show how the individual probability for a recommendation for the most advantageous school track depends on the size of the reference group. Furthermore, individual chances are especially affected by the number of other students in the group that the teacher deems fit for academic high school: The higher the share of competitors in the reference group with a recommendation, the smaller the individual chances. These effects are robust across samples, methods, and with respect to alternative mechanisms.

Machine Learning Prediction Model for Early Student Academic Performance Evaluation in Video-Based Learning

The transformation of education norms from face-to-face teaching era to the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has created the emergence of educational technology domain for many students to access e-learning platforms. However, there are some drawbacks especially in asynchronous video-based learning. A sense of isolation could occur between teacher and students if the teachers do not interact much with the students in the asynchronous video-based learning. Consequently, the knowledge that is delivered by the teacher may not reach students effectively and cause a drop in student performance in the coming examination. Moreover, the growth of video-based learning has created a huge amount of data on the student learning process on the educational video which may provide a boost for educational data mining research. Therefore, this research study aims to introduce a predictive model that scrutinize the number of video view data based on each chapter in the video as well as student learning style, Felder-Silverman (FS) learning style model to deliver a prediction on individual student early performance in asynchronous video-based learning. This research has tested the different combination of feature selection methods with several handle of imbalance data methods such as Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE), SMOTE-TOMEK and Adaptive Synthetic (ADASYN) algorithms to build the machine learning model and compare the model performance. As a result, proposed machine learning classifier algorithms with the combination of Maximum Relevance and Minimum Redundancy (MRMR) as feature selection method and SMOTE has been achieved the highest Area Under Curve (AUC) rate of 0.93.

Individual student key performance using mobile web apps based on knowledge profile and cumulative grade point average

This study investigated the performance of individual students toward the knowledge profile and cumulative grade point average or known as CGPA. The proposal of this paper involves two major components. The first component is investigating the individual student performance based on the knowledge profile and CGPA. The performance of students from cohort 2017 for the program Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (BEKG) courses in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) was used as the dataset. The case study separates into various groups (excellent, honors and pass). Secondly, the study proposed a responsive web application leveraging a Google Visualization Feature to self-check individual academic performance. The goal of this app is to assist users in evaluating individual student performance and assist management in planning for continual quality improvement using the web and mobile apps. The marketing segments include students, academics, university, and school administration for analysis and evaluate the individual student’s performance.

Impact of a health and wellness IPPE focused on immunizations and health assessments

Background and purposeHealth and wellness principles are included in pharmacy education outcomes and standards, supporting the importance of integrating these concepts within pharmacy curricula. The objective of this study was to describe the development, implementation, and assessment of an intensive community pharmacy-based health and wellness introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) focused on immunizations and health assessments. Educational activity and settingThe health and wellness IPPE was a required, one-week rotation developed to provide second-year student pharmacists with direct patient care opportunities to reinforce knowledge, skills, and abilities related to health and wellness principles. Students administered immunizations, performed hypertension and diabetes assessments, and provided education to patients at community pharmacy training sites. Students completed pre- and post-rotation self-assessments. Preceptors completed individual summative student performance evaluations and were surveyed to obtain IPPE feedback. FindingsOne hundred forty-seven students completed the IPPE across 89 sites. The pre-post analysis of student self-assessment results found statistically significant improvement in student confidence across all survey items. The largest improvements were found within the immunization items, specifically for preparing and administering immunizations. Ninety-nine percent of students agreed or strongly agreed participation in IPPE activities improved their ability to contribute to patient care. Qualitative analysis revealed students gained confidence and skills after practicing in a real-world setting. SummaryThe integration of the health and wellness IPPE within the curriculum resulted in increased student confidence in providing preventative care services. This study provides a solution to integrating health and wellness principles into pharmacy curricula to meet accreditation standards.

Teacher Ability In Conducting Performance Assessment In Differentiate Learning

The challenge teachers often face today is evaluating individual student performance. Assessment of student performance is an essential aspect of different learning, but it is difficult for teachers to evaluate individual student performance when there are many students in a class. This study aims to analyze teachers' ability to conduct performance assessments in differentiated learning. The research method used is the mixing method. The population in this study were the teachers of the learning committee at the driving school. The sample consisted of 30 teachers spread across three districts/cities. Data collection techniques using questionnaires, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis techniques using quantitative and qualitative data analysis. The results showed that the teacher's performance appraisal skills in differentiated learning were still very varied and tended to be in choices 2 and 3 in the predetermined rubric. It was concluded that analyzing the teacher's ability to evaluate performance in differentiated learning was still relatively low. Integrating teacher assessment in learning refers to developing, implementing, and analyzing assessment results that are integrated and interrelated in learning programs. Integrating this assessment is very important because it can help teachers monitor student progress, evaluate the effectiveness of learning programs, and make the right decisions in improving learning programs.

Medication histories to identify medication-related problems through the pharmacists' patient care process in a simulated ambulatory care laboratory

Background and purposeAssessment of the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP) in pharmacy curricula has been reported in a variety of contexts, but results have not described individual student performance in a controlled ambulatory care skills laboratory to purposefully identify medication-related problems (MRP) and develop plans for resolution. Educational activity and settingOne of five MRPs was embedded within standardized medication profiles to facilitate student completion of three graded ambulatory care medication history encounters in a third-year skills laboratory. Data analysis included student performance in aggregate and according to MRP type from the first to the third medication history encounter. FindingsOne hundred thirty-six students completed three medication histories for 408 encounters. Regardless of MRP, the total and subscale scores for adjusted marginal means were significantly higher in Sessions 2 and 3. Performance on MRP scenarios for drug interactions and adverse effects were significantly lower and higher, respectively. Successful collection of patient history significantly influenced marginal mean scores for respective MRPs. SummaryImprovement in student application of PPCP Steps 1 through 3 may be evident using three simulated ambulatory care medication history patient encounters toward the end of the third professional year, with potential influences by MRP type, MRP repetition, and adequate collection of patient history. Repetition with individualized grading and formative feedback are essential for skill development to identify MRPs in this setting. Confirmation of findings and extension into experiential education with higher complexity are needed to develop consistent and effective application of the PPCP to patient care.

Using Rasch KIDMAP to identify whether China dominates the research area of computer science (CS) based on the specialization index of article citations: Bibliometric analysis.

Scientific comparative advantage is measured by using a specialization index (SI) of article citations. The profile data have been published in the literature. However, no such research has been conducted to determine which countries dominate the field of computer science (CS) (subject category [SC]) using the SI. A KIDMAP in the Rasch model has been applied to the display of individual student performance in school. Based on the SI of article citations, we used KIDMAP to determine whether China dominates the field of CS. The data were derived from published research in the Web of Science, which included 199 countries and 254 subject categories (SC, between 2010 and 2019). A total of 96 SC related to biomedicine were extracted. We examined 7 factors associated with CS using exploratory factor analysis. Based on the SI in CS under the Rasch model, 1-dimensional SCs on CS were displayed on Wright Maps and KIDMAPs. An analysis of the dominance of CS in China was presented on the basis of a scatter plot. Our findings indicate that (1) CS domains are divided into 2 groups (traditional and advanced domains); (2) no evidence has been found that China dominates CS; based on SI indicators, China was ranked third with --2.62 and 0.79 logits after Taiwan and Slovenia (-(-2.62 and 9.24 logits in Factors 1 and 2) in the period from 2010 to 2019. There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that China has a dominant role over other countries/regions despite ranking third in CS. In future studies, it is recommended to include a KIDMAP visual to assess dominant roles in other areas of research, rather than to confine ourselves to CS as we did in this study.

Effects of Thinking Maps in the Development of Higher Order Thinking Skills among Elementary Science Students

The study involved using thinking maps to develop higher order thinking skills (HOTS) of fifth-grade science students in Starline Elementary School. It utilized the quasi-experimental design to assess the effects of Thinking Maps on the development of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) through a pretest and a posttest. The descriptive- correlational design was used to describe the students’ profiles, examine their perceptions of the effect of using Thinking Maps on learning science, and investigate the relationship between profile variables and achievement in science. This study was conducted from April through May during the school year 2021-2022. Purposive sampling was used to determine the number of respondents. Students’ achievement in science was determined from the Individual Student Performance on class tests for CKLA Science based on Parent Vue (Synergy) and DnA Illuminate District Assessment. Results showed a significant correlation of the students’ profile variables such as sex, age, and economic status to their achievement in science using Thinking Maps. Results also indicated a significant difference between the respondents’ pretest and posttest scores after using Thinking Maps. There was a significant difference in terms of developing higher order thinking skills, organizing, providing evidence, reasoning, and clarity. As to their perceptions about Thinking Maps, the students generally strongly agree that using them has improved their essay-writing skills and their interest in learning science. However, there was no significant relationship between the academic achievement of the respondents and their perception of Thinking Maps.

Early prediction of student knowledge in game‐based learning with distributed representations of assessment questions

AbstractGame‐based learning environments hold significant promise for facilitating learning experiences that are both effective and engaging. To support individualised learning and support proactive scaffolding when students are struggling, game‐based learning environments should be able to accurately predict student knowledge at early points in students' gameplay. Student knowledge is traditionally assessed prior to and after each student interacts with the learning environment with conventional methods, such as multiple choice content knowledge assessments. While previous student modelling approaches have leveraged machine learning to automatically infer students' knowledge, there is limited work that incorporates the fine‐grained content from each question in these types of tests into student models that predict student performance at early junctures in gameplay episodes. This work investigates a predictive student modelling approach that leverages the natural language text of the post‐gameplay content knowledge questions and the text of the possible answer choices for early prediction of fine‐grained individual student performance in game‐based learning environments. With data from a study involving 66 undergraduate students from a large public university interacting with a game‐based learning environment for microbiology, Crystal Island, we investigate the accuracy and early prediction capacity of student models that use a combination of gameplay features extracted from student log files as well as distributed representations of post‐test content assessment questions. The results demonstrate that by incorporating knowledge about assessment questions, early prediction models are able to outperform competing baselines that only use student game trace data with no question‐related information. Furthermore, this approach achieves high generalisation, including predicting the performance of students on unseen questions. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic A distinctive characteristic of game‐based learning environments is their capacity to enable fine‐grained student assessment. Adaptive game‐based learning environments offer individualisation based on specific student needs and should be able to assess student competencies using early prediction models of those competencies. Word embedding approaches from the field of natural language processing show great promise in the ability to encode semantic information that can be leveraged by predictive student models. What this paper adds Investigates word embeddings of assessment question content for reliable early prediction of student performance. Demonstrates the efficacy of distributed word embeddings of assessment questions when used by early prediction models compared to models that use either no assessment information or discrete representations of the questions. Demonstrates the efficacy and generalisability of word embeddings of assessment questions for predicting the performance of both new students on existing questions and existing students on new questions. Implications for practice and/or policy Word embeddings of assessment questions can enhance early prediction models of student knowledge, which can drive adaptive feedback to students who interact with game‐based learning environments. Practitioners should determine if new assessment questions will be developed for their game‐based learning environment, and if so, consider using our student modelling framework that incorporates early prediction models pretrained with existing student responses to previous assessment questions and is generalisable to the new assessment questions by leveraging distributed word embedding techniques. Researchers should consider the most appropriate way to encode the assessment questions in ways that early prediction models are able to infer relationships between the questions and gameplay behaviour to make accurate predictions of student competencies.

Developing progress monitoring measures: Parallel test construction from the item-up

Progress monitoring is a process of collecting ongoing samples of student work and tracking performance of individual students over time. Progress monitoring involves administering parallel sets of items to the same student on a regular basis (at least monthly) that are sensitive to changes in the student’s understanding based on instruction. The sets of items administered over time should be parallel in difficulty so that differences in performance can be attributed to differences in the student’s understanding as opposed to variability in item difficulty across sets. In this manuscript, we describe an approach to designing items that controls item-level variability by constraining the item features that may elicit different cognitive processing. This approach adapts the principles of Automated Item Generation (AIG) and includes carefully designing test specifications, isolating specific components of the content that will be assessed, creating item models to serve as templates, duplicating the templates to create parallel item clones, and verifying that the duplicated item clones align with the original item model. An example from an operational progress monitoring system for mathematics in Kindergarten through Grade 6 is used to illustrate the process. We also propose future studies to empirically evaluate the assertion of parallel form difficulty.

Use of Situational Judgment Tests to Teach Empathy, Assertiveness, Communication, and Ethics

Objective. The objectives of this study were to develop situational judgment test (SJT) scenarios for use in teaching empathy, assertiveness, and interprofessional communication in second-year pharmacy (P2) students and ethics in third-year pharmacy (P3) students, determine whether the SJTs developed were effective at measuring students' communication skills and ethical judgment, compare the performance of individual third-year students to the performance of teams of third-year students on the ethics SJT, and evaluate student feedback about SJTs as a teaching tool.Methods. Pharmacy faculty developed five SJT scenarios related to communications and five SJT scenarios related to ethics and piloted the scenarios with P2 and P3 students, respectively. Second-year students completed SJTs individually, while P3 students completed SJTs individually and in teams. Scenarios and responses were discussed with faculty after completion of the SJTs, and students completed a questionnaire to provide feedback on the SJTs.Results. The communications SJT was completed by 59 P2 students with a mean score of 67.5%. The ethics SJT was completed by 57 P3 students with a mean score of 80.1%. The ethics SJT was also completed by 10 teams of P3 students resulting in a mean score of 93.2%. Students indicated the SJT content was realistic and the tests provided the opportunity to reflect on how to approach challenging situations.Conclusion. Situational judgment tests were useful for teaching empathy, assertiveness, interprofessional communication, and ethics in pharmacy students. Future research should focus on predictive validity of SJTs for these content areas.

Evaluation of a Mixed Reality Approach to Teaching in a Physician‐Associate Gross Anatomy Course

Introduction & ObjectiveWhile cadaveric dissection has been recognized as the gold standard for anatomical education historically, mixed‐reality devices have recently been implemented in medical school gross anatomy courses due to improved spatial learning and time‐savings relative to dissection. HoloAnatomy (HA), a mixed‐reality application for Microsoft HoloLens, places three‐dimensional virtual cadavers in real space for full appreciation of spatial relationships of anatomical structures. Previous studies focused on HA suggest that there are no significant differences in exam performance between mixed reality and cadaveric dissection. No study has evaluated the efficacy of mixed reality as a learning resource for Physician Associate (PA) students. Therefore, we hypothesized that students would perform equally well on a mixed‐reality (HA) exam versus cadaveric exam regardless of the modality (HA vs dissection) used for learning in a PA gross anatomy course.Materials and MethodsThe PA gross anatomy course at Case Western Reserve University is divided into four units based on anatomical regions. Participating students (n=30) were randomly placed into one of two cohorts. Both cohorts performed dissection during the first unit of the course. In Unit 2, cohort 1 utilized HA, while cohort 2 performed dissection. At the end of the unit, students in each cohort took two lab exams: one on HA and one on cadavers. Cohorts alternated the modality on which they learned each unit. Cohort 1 utilized mixed reality twice and performed dissection once, while cohort 2 utilized mixed reality once and performed dissection twice. Students utilizing HA were allowed to view cadavers to study, but students dissecting cadavers were not allowed to use HA. Mean exam scores were compared both between the different exam modalities within a cohort as well as between the two cohorts on the same exam modality through performance of unpaired t‐tests. Linear regressions were utilized to compare individual cohort performance per exam (HA vs cadaver) to determine distribution of scores. A post‐course survey was distributed to the participants to rate subjective thoughts between the two modalities and their effectiveness in the course.ResultsAcross all units, PA students consistently achieved significantly higher scores on HA exams regardless of the modality on which they learned. Cohort 2 consistently scored higher on the exam corresponding to the modality on which they learned, while cohort 1 consistently performed better better on the HA exams. When comparing exam means within cohorts, the difference between those means was less significant for the cohort who performed cadaveric dissection. Linear regressions performed to compare performance of individual students on both modalities show a normal distribution of scores. Based on the post‐course survey, PA students found HA to be more enjoyable than cadaveric dissection and made learning anatomy easier overall. However, more students expressed that the knowledge they gained from performing cadaveric dissection was more transferable to HA than the reciprocal.ConclusionAlthough the exam score data and post‐course survey posits that learning gross anatomy through cadaveric dissection seems to enable students to better transfer knowledge to different contexts, HA appears to be a viable and preferential alternative approach to teaching gross anatomy to PA students.

In search of quality and equity: The United Kingdom and Germany in the struggle for PISA scores

School reforms aiming at improving educational performance (quality), closing achievement gaps and reducing the impact of family background on performance (equity) have been on the agenda worldwide for three decades. These reforms converge in a common core which puts emphasis on school autonomy, free school choice, competition between schools, managerial school leadership, high teacher quality and test-based accountability of schools. We investigate how far these reforms have been associated with improvements in quality and equity in two countries following their own developmental path: the United Kingdom and Germany. Despite all insights provided by the existing literature, we still do not sufficiently know how far the application of governance tools following the global reform agenda does make a difference between schools. For closing this research gap, we conduct multi-level linear regression analyses to test the association of governance tools of the reform agenda with individual student performance and achievement gaps based on family background. We make use of data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and look at the test years 2000, 2009 and 2015 to see how far there has been improvement over time along with advancing reforms. The results show that the reforms have failed so far.

Classrooms with high rates of absenteeism and individual success: Exploring students’ achievement, executive function, and socio-behavioral outcomes

Research and policy dialogue surrounding absenteeism has predominately focused on the school when it comes to reducing student absences, with little focus on the classroom. Further, there has also been minimal attention paid to effects of absenteeism beyond achievement outcomes. To address both, we focused on the classroom and asked whether classrooms with typically higher rates of absenteeism were linked to students’ individual achievement, executive function, and social skills. We used a nationally representative dataset of children who started in kindergarten in 2010–2011 (N = 18,170) – when absenteeism is at its highest point not seen again until adolescence. Using school and student fixed effects, our findings revealed that as the percent of absent classmates increases, individual student performance worsens consistently across achievement and executive function domains. Evidence for links between classmate absenteeism and student performance in socio-behavioral domains was less conclusive. Finally, the findings were unique to different student groups.

The Impact of Students’ Cultural Capital on their Learning Experiences in an EFL Programme in Higher Education

Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital is a potent theoretical device in the analysis of the correlation between familial educational background and individual student performance and outcomes in higher education. The theory of cultural capital enables culture to be conceived as an asset that furnishes its possessors with advantages that can be transferred from parent to child. This paper explores how the possession of cultural capital by students of English as a foreign language at a Saudi university can influence their subsequent learning. Specifically, this study examines how familial education shapes student outcomes in an EFL programme. This relationship has been investigated extensively in different contexts around the world, but not sufficiently within the Saudi context. The findings of the current study are significant as they indicate that Saudi students accrue certain advantages from the educational experiences and resources available to them in their social environments. Furthermore, the study reveals that students with a deficit of cultural capital and no family history of higher education encounter more problems in the EFL programme and demonstrate overall lower levels of language proficiency.

Administering Homework Self-Grading for an Engineering Course

Homework problem sets allow a student to measure personal understanding and enable an instructor to evaluate individual student and overall class performance. For this study, students were asked to self-grade their homework assignments for a junior-level Fundamentals of Transportation Engineering course. Although self-grading studies have been previously performed, this technique has not been fully examined for an engineering course. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate homework self-grading performance and accuracy by engineering students and to describe how these self-grading aspects evolved during the semester as students became more familiar with this grading approach. The study concluded that while some students benefited from and embraced the opportunity to personally review their homework assignments, other students did not perceive the intended benefits of this process.

Effects of Home Task on the Academic Achievement of Students at Graduate Level

The current aims to examine the impact of home tasks on the academic achievements of students at graduation level. The main objective of the research was to find out the effects of home task descriptive feedback on students’ academic achievement, to investigate achievement of experimental group after treatment and to investigate the effect of home task on the performance of individual students. Researcher selected the population of students of Education department from Lahore College for Women University. Sample of 60 students were randomly selected. These sixty students were merged in the group of two; Experimental and Control group, on the basis of GPA. Each group was divided into fifteen students. The control group was kept under control conditions, and experimental group was given daily home task. Feedback was also given to students after each assessment. Duration of the experiment was about two months. The academic achievement of student’s was found through achievement test, data was analyzed through t-test and graph. When the treatment didprovided the academic achievement of the experimental group was not increased. So, it can be concluded that home task affects negatively on the academic achievement of the students at graduation level.