National Standardized Tests Research Articles

Online Activity and Achievements in Elementary School Mathematics: A Large-Scale Exploration

In a large-scale quantitative study that adopted a learning analytics approach, we searched for associations between students' activity in a game-based online mathematics learning environment and their mathematics achievements on a national standardized test. Students were active in the environment throughout the school year, and particularly during an online National Mathematics Olympiad (N = 239 schools). Overall, our findings point to a positive association between online game-based activity during the Olympiad and mathematics test scores. This association remained even after controlling for socioeconomic factors, which are known to contribute to academic achievements. The paper discusses these findings and suggests evidence for causality, in particular cognitive, meta-cognitive, and affective effects of the online activity that may have positively affected test scores.

Spatial divisions of poverty and wealth: does segregation affect educational achievement?

AbstractWe examine how different spatial compositions affect the educational achievement in mathematics of 16-year-old students in Chile, a Latin American country with high inequality and one of the most segregated education systems in the world. Conceptually, we complement the literature on ‘neighbourhood effects’, which typically addresses the influence of concentrated disadvantage, by focusing on concentrated advantage and its influence on educational outcomes. We construct a panel with all school students who took a national standardized mathematics test in 2010, 2014 and 2016 in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. We complement it with survey data for the 52 districts of the Metropolitan Region, clustering the districts based on factors such as unemployment, economic inequality, access to services, experiences of violence and stigmatization. Our different identification strategies consistently show that concentrated poverty and affluence are both relevant for explaining educational achievement in mathematics above and beyond individual and school characteristics.

Maternal Judgments of Child Numeracy and Reading Ability Predict Gains in Academic Achievement and Interest.

In a representative longitudinal sample of 2,602 Australian children (52% boys; 2% Indigenous; 13% language other than English background; 22% of Mothers born overseas; and 65% Urban) and their mothers (first surveyed in 2003), this article examined if maternal judgments of numeracy and reading ability varied by child demographics and influenced achievement and interest gains. We linked survey data to administrative data of national standardized tests in Year 3, 5, and 7 and found that maternal judgments followed gender stereotype patterns, favoring girls in reading and boys in numeracy. Maternal judgments were more positive for children from non-English speaking backgrounds. Maternal judgments predicted gains in children's achievement (consistently) and academic interest (generally) including during the transition to high school.

The prospective role of epistemic curiosity in national standardized test performance

To examine the prospective association between epistemic curiosity and academic achievement, this study focused on 820 (64.2% females) second-year high school students (age 17–18), and their performances in the matriculation exams one year later. In addition, two types of epistemic curiosity, the interest and deprivation types, were examined as independent predictors. Furthermore, the role of curiosity in matriculation exam performance was examined at the general and subject level (i.e., mother tongue and math) by accounting for gender, social economic status, and subject motivation (i.e., subject expectancy and task values). Moreover, we examined the possible mediating role of subject motivation between curiosity and achievement. The path models' results showed that interest-type curiosity had a direct relation with overall matriculation performance, whereas deprivation-type curiosity had an indirect relation only. For mother tongue performance, interest-type curiosity was the main prospective predictor, although its direct relation disappeared. For math matriculation performance, only deprivation-type curiosity had an indirect relation. The results imply that epistemic curiosity can promote academic achievement, but that the association is achieved through different pathways that depend on curiosity types, motivation mediators, and the domain level of achievements.

Equivalence Curves for Healthy Lifestyle Choices.

Understanding equivalence of time-use trade-offs may inform tailored lifestyle choices. We explored which time reallocations were associated with equivalent changes in children's health outcomes. Participants were from the cross-sectional Child Health CheckPoint Study (N = 1179; 11-12 years; 50% boys) nested within the population-based Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Outcomes were adiposity (bioelectrical impedance analysis, BMI and waist girth), self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL; Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory), and academic achievement (standardized national tests). Participants' 24-hour time use (sleep, sedentary behavior, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA]) from 8-day 24-hour accelerometry was regressed against outcomes by using compositional log-ratio linear regression models. Children with lower adiposity and higher HRQoL had more MVPA (both P ≤ .001) and sleep (P = .001; P < .02), and less sedentary time (both P < .001) and light physical activity (adiposity only; P = .03), each relative to remaining activities. Children with better academic achievement had less light physical activity, relative to remaining activities (P = .003). A 0.1 standardized decrease in adiposity was associated with either 52 minutes more sleep, 56 minutes less sedentary time, 65 minutes less light physical activity, or 17 minutes more MVPA. A 0.1 standardized increase in HRQoL was associated with either 68 minutes more sleep, 54 minutes less sedentary time, or 35 minutes more MVPA. Equivalent differences in outcomes were associated with several time reallocations. On a minute-for-minute basis, MVPA was 2 to 6 times as potent as sleep or sedentary time.

Social Justice in the Preparation of English Language Teachers

The neoliberal system in Chile has caused socio-educational inequities which have been evidenced by the poor academic results of public school students in national and international standardized tests in Math, Language, Science, and English. These inequities and academic results call for preparing teachers to help diminish disparities in the educational system. Nonetheless, the focus of preparing teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Chile has been on developing pedagogical-disciplinary knowledge, leaving aside other areas that can contribute to fight these educational inequities. This article reports on the results of a mixed-method study aimed at investigating how a service-learning project helped future EFL teachers understand social justice after teaching children in vulnerable communities. Specifically, this study explored the influence of the project on their understanding of social justice, and the activities that helped them understand this construct. Thirty-nine pre-service teachers enrolled in a language teaching methodology course at a Chilean university participated answering pre- and post- surveys, focus groups, and evaluating activities. The findings revealed that the pre-service teachers broadened their understanding of social justice by providing definitions that included key concepts of this construct, without receiving explicit instruction; highly valued activities that consisted of being immersed in the communities and working with children to learn about social justice; and did not associate social justice with traditional activities done in a language teaching methodology course. This service-learning project had a positive impact on the participants' understanding of social justice, and provided insights into how to improve the curriculum of EFL teacher education programs.

Publicly subsidized private schools in developing countries: Lessons from Colombia

Educational public-private partnerships (EPPPs) promise to increase education access and quality in developing countries, provided they have an adequate design that restricts the distribution of subsidies including targeted programs, centralized controlled enrolment, and accountability. This study investigates the effects of publicly subsidized private schools (PSPS) in Colombia—a type of EPPP program that follows all of these recommendations. We use propensity score and regression techniques to identify PSPS effects on student achievement, measured by national standardized tests. Our results show that Colombian PSPS serve vulnerable students, who are fairly similar to those attending traditional public schools (TPS). Nevertheless, students at PSPS underperform compared to TPS students. Our conclusion suggests that design restrictions may prevent student selection and self-selection, but do not guarantee quality improvement for disadvantaged students at subsidized schools. We also argue that design restrictions for PSPS may not be enough when private providers are scarce or difficult to attract for serving the most disadvantaged population.

The Production of Functional White- Brined Cheese by the Replacement of Milk Fat with Grape Seed Oil

The Production of Functional White- Brined Cheese by the Replacement of Milk Fat with Grape Seed Oil Abstract: Background and objectives: Cheese is one of the valuable dairy products which are consumed a lot in Iran and in the world. Due to increasing fat-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and obesity, replacement of cheese with oils containing functional fatty acids and less saturated fatty acids have been seriously taken into consideration in recent years. The aim of this study was the partial replacement of milk fat with grape seed oil which contains essential and unsaturated fatty acids for the production of a functional cheese. Materials and methods: Fresh milk was prepared from Maku farms and after separation of milk fat, it was standardized by grape seed oil, Olitalia trademark, and cream with the ratios of 25:75, 50:50 and 75:25. Then, Cheese samples were produced according to general industrial method. A control cheese sample was produced from whole milk. Physical and chemical properties of cheese samples including pH, acidity, fat, salt, moisture and sensory characteristics during the 60 days of ripening of cheese were measured according to Iranian National Standard Organization test methods, no. 2852, 1809, 760, and 4938 respectively. Measuring lipolysis index and fatty acid profiles were done through Nunez et al. and gas chromatography method respectively. Results: The results of this research showed that there was no significant difference between pH, acidity, moisture and salt content of samples substituted with grape seed oil and control cheese sample (p <0.05). But the effect of ripening time on mentioned properties was significant. All samples containing grape seed oil had more essential fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids and less saturated fatty acids compared to the control, the amount of linoleic acid in control sample and samples containing 25%, 50%, 75% of grape seed oil, were 3, 17, 20 and 35 percent and the amount of oleic acid, 22, 26, 27.5 and 29.5 percent, respectively. The results of sensory evaluation of all treatments showed that in the term of texture, control sample cheese had the highest score, but cheese contains 75 percent grape seed oil gained highest score in color, odor and taste. In term of overall acceptability samples that contain 75% grape seed oil had more score compared to other samples. Conclusion: The results of this research showed the feasibility of substitution of cheese fat with grape seed oils for the production of more healthy, nutritional and functional white brined cheese. Key words: White brined cheese, functional, grape seed oil, milk fat

Schools in the media: framing national standardized testing in the Norwegian press, 2004–2018

ABSTRACT In the education sector, media outlets have been increasingly active in reporting on standardized testing. The purpose of this paper is to identify the most recurrent discursive frames used by the Norwegian regional and local press when informing their readers about national standardized testing, and to explore whether differences over time and across geographical localities exist in the pervasiveness of frames. Our analysis is guided by framing theory, and builds on a corpus of 3,046 articles that focus on national testing, published by 155 Norwegian regional and local newspapers between 2004 and 2018. The analysis identifies four different discursive frames within Norwegian press coverage, namely the frame of ‘performance’, ‘transparency and empowerment’, ‘misinterpretation and misuse’, and ‘criticism’. The four frames convey highly distinct causal and normative beliefs and realities about national standardized testing. While the dominance of the frames varies over time and across Norwegian counties, the frame of ‘performance’ is increasingly pervasive, something that potentially contributes to naturalize performative-oriented reporting and competition in education. The study highlights the importance of systematic media analyses to identify circulating principle beliefs on education, and of not limiting research to national newspapers in order to grasp geographical variation in media coverage.

Schools in the media: framing national standardized testing in the Norwegian press, 2004–2018

Schools in the media: framing national standardized testing in the Norwegian press, 2004–2018

Development of a quantum dot–based lateral flow immunoassay with high reaction consistency to total aflatoxins in botanical materials

Total aflatoxins (AFTs) are an important safety indicator for botanical materials, but at present, rapid detection technology for AFTs is seldom reported. In this study, the monoclonal antibody with similar reactivity to total aflatoxins was produced, and the quantum dot-based lateral flow immunoassay (QD-LFIA) coupled with a portable device was developed to rapidly determine AFT residues in botanical materials. The half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of the QD-LFIA for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, AFM1, and AFM2 were 10.57, 12.64, 11.34, 12.67, 10.13, and 12.75μgkg-1, respectively, which show high reaction consistency to total aflatoxins. For different botanical materials, the sample was simply extracted with methanol-water and diluted with PBS, and the sample solution was directly loaded onto the QD-LFIA strip for determination. To overcome interference from the matrix effects, specific standard curves were established for each kind of botanical material. The detection limit of AFTs in 6 different botanical materials was 0.95~2.03μgkg-1 with a linear range of 2~120μgkg-1. The spiked recoveries of AFTs in botanical materials of different species and localities of growth were 75~105% with a coefficient of variation below 15%. The test results of the actual samples are consistent with the Chinese national standard test method. This study provides an easy-to-use method to rapidly determine AFTs in different botanical materials. Graphical abstract.

Age of Starting School, Academic Performance, and the Impact of Non-Compliance: An Experiment within an Experiment, Evidence from Australia

This paper estimates the difference in academic performance of the oldest and youngest students in a given grade. We employ Queensland Department of Education school administration panel data for the population of state school students for the years 2008-2016. Academic performance is measured by National standard test scores (NAPLAN) and teacher assessed measures of performance and effort for individuals in grades 3, 5 and 7. The empirical analysis employs a regression discontinuity design (RDD) based on administrative rules on age of school enrolment. The class assigning mechanism operates via a known cut-off date and results in the oldest child in the grade being almost a year older than the youngest. However, as parents may anticipate a disadvantage in their child being the youngest in grade they may choose to delay the timing of initial enrolment. This lack of compliance potentially creates difficulties for the RDD identification strategy, in particular the assumption of exchangeability around the cut-off. We exploit a change in the cut-off rule from a 2008 reform which postponed the school starting age by 6 months and produced a large increase in the compliance rate. This enables one to gauge the importance of non-compliance in estimating the treatment effect of being older versus younger in cohort. We find that the pre-reform treatment effect is small and generally statistically insignificant. Post-reform there is a sizeable and statistically significant treatment effect which diminishes as the sample proceeds through school grades, 3, 5 and 7.

Does school average achievement explain the effect of socioeconomic status on math and reading interest? A test of the Information Distortion Model

Based on the Information Distortion Model (IDM), we hypothesized higher academic interest among low socioeconomic (SES) Australian children compared to equally able high SES Australian children. We extend the IDM in two ways. First, the IDM is a model of school selection and thus empirical evidence of its effect needs to come from a model that controls for achievement prior to school selection. Second, the mechanism of the IDM is presumed to be the big-fish-little-pond-effect (BFLPE), which has not been tested. We used a longitudinal representative sample of first-year high-school students (age ~12, N = 2507). We linked student high-school survey data to the whole of school and individual student administrative records of achievement from high-stakes national standardized tests in elementary and high-school. Our results were consistent with IDM for math interest but more mixed for reading interest, suggesting that additional processes may be in operation.

School outcomes of adolescents with cerebral palsy in Sweden.

AimTo study school outcomes of adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) compared with a matched comparison group from the general population, and to observe to what extent sociodemographic and disability‐specific factors are associated with school outcomes.MethodThis was a register study of persons with CP in Sweden, born between 1990 and 1999, with a matched comparison group. Logistic regressions were used to estimate the associations between CP and disability‐specific factors and school outcomes (receiving final grades, grade scores, fulfilling the requirements for progressing to secondary school/university, and attending secondary school).ResultsChildren with CP had substantially lower school achievement compared with a general population sample. Much of the difference can be attributed to intellectual disability; however, CP remained strongly negatively associated with school outcomes. Ability to communicate in an effective manner explained most of the variation in children with CP, whereas motor function played a smaller role.InterpretationThe results suggest that school achievements might be improved if the communication barrier could be reduced, for example by ascertaining access to appropriate communication devices and by educators being aware that communicative difficulties do not necessarily imply intellectual disability. This might enhance the school experience and create an environment where children with CP can reach their full potential.What this study adds There are reduced educational outcomes associated with cerebral palsy.Negative outcomes are mainly driven by reduced communicative and intellectual ability.Gross motor function is associated with outcomes, but plays a smaller part.

Trajectories of academic achievement for students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with negative social and occupational outcomes across the life course. However, there has been limited population-based research that quantifies the impact of ADHD on academic achievement and academic trajectories. To compare academic performance and academic trajectories of students with ADHD with students without a mental disorder. Data were drawn from Young Minds Matter, a national population-based sample of 6,310 Australian children and adolescents aged 4-17years. Using linked achievement test data, the academic performance and trajectories of 327 students with ADHD were compared with those of 3,916 students without a mental disorder. Survey data were combined with scores on national standardized tests for literacy and numeracy over an 8-year period. In Year 3, students with ADHD were on average 1year behind students with no mental disorder in reading and numeracy, and 9months behind in writing. In Year 9, the gaps were much larger with students with ADHD on average 2.5years behind in reading, 3years behind in numeracy, and 4.5years behind in writing. Students with ADHD have substantially lower achievement in reading, writing, and numeracy. Writing was the most adversely affected domain. For example, in Year 9 students with ADHD were on average writing at a Year 5 level. Children and adolescents with ADHD need substantial support to manage inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Skilled remediation in literacy and numeracy is required throughout all school years.

GLOBAL EDUCATION POLICY ON ASSESSMENT AND ITS APPLICATION IN INDONESIA

Replacing the standardized National Test, the new policy of the Indonesian Ministry for Education and Culture introduces a Minimum Competency Assessment. It looks good on paper but show potential weakness. A dominant theme in this assessment policy announcement so far has been related to its “survey” type of assessment, which clearly follow the global education policy, like PIA, TIMSS and NAPLAN. The assessment will completely change the assessment practices in Indonesia. Moreover, this assessment system will affect all elementary and high-school students, while the international survey, like PISA test, are proposed for certain target groups, for example elementary students, notably for 15-year olds, and notfor high-school students.The paper outlines the content of the new policy and its weaknesses. Particular attention is paid to the implied result based on international „policy borrowing‟ and the extent to which the system might be unable to incorporate these features. The possibleimpact of such an assessment system on teaching in schools is also considered, along with the role teachers might play in carrying out the assessment. Finally, a recommendation for assessing students in the Indonesian context, based on Finnish education system is proposed.

Centralized assignment mechanisms and assortative matching: Evidence from Chinese universities

Student-college academic mismatch has been documented in the literature. This study takes advantage of a unique large-scale policy experiment in China in 2013 in which a variant of the Boston mechanism was replaced with a variant of the deferred acceptance mechanism and compares the quality of assortative matching between student test scores and college quality under the two mechanisms. College admission in China is performed via a centralized matching process based only on one national standardized test. Using administrative data from one province, I find that the restricted deferred acceptance reduces the number of over-matched students (low-scoring students attending high-quality colleges) by 7.1 percentage points (or 51.9%). However, on average, it increases the number of under-matched students (high-scoring students attending low-quality colleges) by 2.7 percentage points (or 12.8%) for those at the top tier based on test score distribution. Moreover, the effects are mainly experienced by students at the bottom 50% of the top tier. The increase in under-matched shares fades over time for men, but persists for women.

Financial Independence and Academic Achievement: Are There Key Factors of Transition to Adulthood for Young Higher Education Students in Colombia?

Autonomy is conceptualized as the need for agency, self-actualization, and independence. Nowadays, financial independence and academic achievement for young populations may be considered as key aspects in the transition to adulthood in response to some contextual demands of different cultural environments. By means of a multi-level model, the present study aims to determine the influence and contribution of factors at individual level (e.g., sex, age, socioeconomic status, family financial support, awarded scholarships, personal finance, student loans) and school level (e.g., program quality, online programs, face to face programs) on the academic achievement of young higher education Colombian students. Data come from the scores of the national standardized academic achievement test administered in 2018 in Colombia. The sample included 234,386 students enrolled in 3,389 higher education institutions in Colombia. After controlling the effects of program quality, and the student’s previous academic abilities and socio-economic conditions, results showed that students with scholarships had higher scores than financially dependent students (those who had student loans) and financially independent students (those who self-funded their studies or who worked during the week) who had low scores in the national standardized academic achievement test.

Relationships Between Physical Activity Level, Health-Related Fitness, Academic Achievement, and Academic Self-Concept

Recently, the time allocated for physical education and physical activities in schools is gradually decreasing. Because schools, in order to get high scores on national standardized academic achievement tests, devote more time to other academic courses instead of devote time for physical education or physical activity (Rasberry et al., 2011). In Turkey, this problem is mostly seen at eighth grades that is the transition class from middle school to high school. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between physical activity level, health-related fitness, academic achievement and academic self-concept at eight grade students who will attend the national standardized academic achievement test. In this research, the descriptive research method and purposeful sampling were used to determine the direction and level of change between the variables involved in the study. The relationship between variables was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis (Karasar, 2017). The socioeconomic level that could affect physical activity and academic achievement variable were equalized. After the equalization process, seventy-six girls (51,7 %), seventy-one boys (48,3%) totally 147 eighth grade student have participated in the study. The personal information form, physical activity questionnaire for adolescents, Fitnessgram Test Battery, national standardized academic achievement test and the academic self-concept subdomain of Self-concept inventory-I was used for data gathering tools. In conclusion, there was a statistically meaningful, positive but weak correlation between physical activity, academic achievement, and academic self-concept level. In addition, there was a positive correlation between health-related physical fitness parameters and academic achievement score, while there was no significant relationship between health-related fitness parameters and academic self-concept scores in both girls and boys.

Using Reading to Learn for EFL students’ reading of explanations

Abstract Reading to Learn (R2L) is an instructional approach that leads students from aided to independent creation of meaning in reading and writing. The approach uses whole texts as the point of departure for instruction. This case study explored how R2L promoted ninth graders’ comprehension of explanation texts in EFL during six lessons and students’ perceptions about R2L. The study involved a group of ninth graders from a secondary state school in Colombia whose results in national standardized tests had been traditionally low, particularly in EFL reading. Results revealed that students became better readers of explanation texts and perceived R2L as a useful approach to develop their ability to understand written texts in EFL. The study highlights the benefits of R2L for enhancing L2 students’ meaning-making potential.