Student Test Performance Research Articles

Potential Psychosocial and Instructional Consequences of the Common Core State Standards: Implications for Research and Practice

Despite the recent rollout of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), CCSS-aligned assessments, and test-based teacher evaluation systems, questions remain regarding the impact that these accountability policies will have on teachers and students. This article discusses the psychosocial and instructional consequences of test-based accountability policies and the role that school psychologists may have in supporting schools and teachers. Research on the influence of high-stakes testing and accountability practices on teacher well-being and stress is first reviewed. Then, research on the use of counterproductive instructional practices and the impact of these counterproductive instructional practices on student learning, test performance, and educational advancement is discussed. School psychologists may provide leadership, consultation, and support to assist schools and teachers in promoting student learning and addressing expected and unexpected challenges faced by the new policies and practices resulting from the CCSS and CCSS-aligned assessments.

Student Test Performance and National Economies: Examining a Neoliberal Conjecture

PISA results make national decision makers very nervous and for good reason: There is the perceived assumption that student performance on the PISA and other international exams are tied directly to a nation's future economic status. Essentially, the notion is that the greater the students’ test scores, the more secure a nation's economic future. But such concerns ignore the three main functions of educational systems: the socialization of youth so that they understand their culture, nation's history, and normative culture; the political socialization of youth so that they become competent citizens; and the provision of skills to youth so that they can participate in the labor market. So there is reason to infer that education is tied to the economy. There are two conjectures being made here: The first is that student performance is related to a nation's economy. That is, the better the economy, the better the student performances. A second conjecture is that student performance will lead to better economies or greater economic growth. The first conjecture seems to view education as being endogenous to economic growth or at least associated with it. The second conjecture, however, views education as being exogenous to economic growth, and it measures the change in economic growth over time to some given level of education among a cohort. In my analysis, I find that education is not related to economic growth after other structural factors are taken into account.

Complexity of Illustrations in PISA-2009 Science Items and Its Relationship to the Performance of Students from Shanghai-China, the United States, and Mexico

Background While illustrations are widely used in international test comparisons, very scant research has been conducted on their design and on their influence on student performance. It is not clear how the features of illustration act in combination supporting students’ access to the content of items or increasing their interpretation demands. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine how the characteristics of illustrations used in science items are related to the performance of students in PISA-2009. Population We used PISA-2009 data on the responses of 1571 to 1582, 1601 to 1617, and 11,662 to 11,746 students, respectively from Shanghai-China, the U.S., and Mexico. Research Design This was a secondary analysis study that compared the three PISA-2009 jurisdictions as to the magnitudes and directions of the correlations between the complexity of illustrations used in science items and the difficulty of those items. We used the information on item difficulty provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2010). The features of the illustrations were coded with a system that coded the presence or absence of about 100 types of illustration features. The complexity of each illustration was computed as the number of different types of features observed. Findings For the U.S. and Mexico, items with higher illustration complexities were more difficult than items with lower illustration complexities. For Shanghai-China, the correlation of number of illustration features and item difficulty was close to zero. This pattern of correlations is consistent with the three jurisdictions’ ranking in PISA-2009. Conclusions While this was an exploratory study that examined the performance of only three of the 65 PISA-2009 jurisdictions, the results speak to the importance of examining illustration complexity as a factor that shapes student performance in science tests and which should be addressed systematically in the design of science items.

Complexity of Illustrations in PISA-2009 Science Items and Its Relationship to the Performance of Students from Shanghai-China, the United States, and Mexico

Background While illustrations are widely used in international test comparisons, very scant research has been conducted on their design and on their influence on student performance. It is not clear how the features of illustration act in combination supporting students’ access to the content of items or increasing their interpretation demands. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine how the characteristics of illustrations used in science items are related to the performance of students in PISA-2009. Population We used PISA-2009 data on the responses of 1571 to 1582, 1601 to 1617, and 11,662 to 11,746 students, respectively from Shanghai-China, the U.S., and Mexico. Research Design This was a secondary analysis study that compared the three PISA-2009 jurisdictions as to the magnitudes and directions of the correlations between the complexity of illustrations used in science items and the difficulty of those items. We used the information on item difficulty provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2010). The features of the illustrations were coded with a system that coded the presence or absence of about 100 types of illustration features. The complexity of each illustration was computed as the number of different types of features observed. Findings For the U.S. and Mexico, items with higher illustration complexities were more difficult than items with lower illustration complexities. For Shanghai-China, the correlation of number of illustration features and item difficulty was close to zero. This pattern of correlations is consistent with the three jurisdictions’ ranking in PISA-2009. Conclusions While this was an exploratory study that examined the performance of only three of the 65 PISA-2009 jurisdictions, the results speak to the importance of examining illustration complexity as a factor that shapes student performance in science tests and which should be addressed systematically in the design of science items.

Análisis del Desempeño Estudiantil en las Pruebas de Estado para Educación Media en Colombia mediante Modelos Jerárquicos Lineales

<p>En este artículo se describe la utilización de los Modelos Jerárquicos Lineales para hallar los determinantes individuales de desempeño en las pruebas de estado para educación media en Colombia, con los datos del año 2009, que son los últimos disponibles públicamente y provistos por el Instituto Colombiano para el Fomento de la Educación Superior (ICFES).</p><p>Inicialmente se hace la presentación detallada de los datos así como de las exclusiones, consideraciones y justificación del subconjunto de datos finalmente procesados. Posteriormente se expone brevemente el marco teórico de los Modelos Jerárquicos Lineales, así como su aplicación concreta en la investigación de los determinantes de desempeño en las pruebas de estado. El análisis de los resultados permite concluir que existe una relación directa entre algunas características no académicas del estudiante y las competencias evaluadas en la prueba de estado al finalizar su formación media y que dichas características (sociales y económicas) difieren notoriamente entre colegios públicos y privados, y entre jornadas diurnas ordinarias y otras jornadas.</p>

Seeing red? The effect of colour on intelligence test performance

A series of recent studies reported that seeing red was associated with poor intelligence test performance in university students. Here we test for the first time the effect of colour on intelligence test scores in an adult sample and across a large battery of ability tests. Overall 200 British adults completed Raven's matrices without colour manipulation (i.e. baseline assessment); afterwards, they viewed a string of letters and digits in either red or green before completing six additional ability tests (i.e. word fluency, logical reasoning, vocabulary, syllogisms, verbal reasoning, and knowledge) and rating their self-perceived performance for each measure. We found no evidence for an association between colour and intelligence test scores or self-perceived performance, before and after adjusting for intelligence at baseline. The discrepancy with previous findings is likely to be due to testing adult rather than student samples, which in turn has implications for the recruitment and selection of study samples in future intelligence research.

Can Multifactor Models of Teaching Improve Teacher Effectiveness Measures?

NCLB waiver requirements have led to development of teacher evaluation systems, in which student growth is a significant component. Composite teacher evaluation scores commonly sum up the results of measurements made using several instruments. We hypothesize that, across different measures, there is more than one underlying factor and each measure can be decomposed into distinct factors. By performing factor analysis on the disaggregated evaluation data (observation components and survey items), we can identify several orthogonal factors, of which only one is associated with student test performance. We use teacher evaluation data collected by the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project as a model of state teacher evaluation system, which includes a value-added score as a measure of student performance, an observational rubric, and a student survey. We find that one possible model of the latent data structure has three factors, of which only one is associated with value-added scores. This factor is also strongly associated with observation and survey items that deal with classroom control. The second factor is associated with such aspects of pedagogy as classroom dialog, questioning techniques, etc. The third factor is associated with items related to the notions of teacher sensitivity to students’ well-being and includes mostly student survey items. Those factors can be interpreted as reflecting “effective,” “constructive,” and “positive” dimensions of teaching respectively. Each of them is an important and independent input into child development, while only first of them leads to achievement gains measurable in the short run. The importance for policy of identifying orthogonal underlying factors is, first, that it provides precise knowledge of what exactly the evaluation system is measuring. This knowledge can be used by policy-makers to make an informed decision on how to combine the aspects of teaching into a single “teacher utility” function or, alternatively, if a multidimensional (matrix) evaluation system should be used. Second, it makes clear that teacher effectiveness consists of more than just the ability to promote student growth as measured by test scores. Additional factors may be weighted differently, for example, in identifying a teacher to become a mentor vs. to become a principal, which may require interpersonal capabilities unrelated to promoting student growth. Third, evaluating teachers using several independent factor scores may help target resources (such as professional development) more accurately. NCLB waiver requirements have led to development of teacher evaluation systems, in which student growth is a significant component. Composite teacher evaluation scores commonly sum up the results of measurements made using several instruments. We hypothesize that, across different measures, there is more than one underlying factor and each measure can be decomposed into distinct factors. By performing factor analysis on the disaggregated evaluation data (observation components and survey items), we can identify several orthogonal factors, of which only one is associated with student test performance. We use teacher evaluation data collected by the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project as a model of state teacher evaluation system, which includes a value-added score as a measure of student performance, an observational rubric, and a student survey. We find that one possible model of the latent data structure has three factors, of which only one is associated with value-added scores. This factor is also strongly associated with observation and survey items that deal with classroom control. The second factor is associated with such aspects of pedagogy as classroom dialog, questioning techniques, etc. The third factor is associated with items related to the notions of teacher sensitivity to students’ well-being and includes mostly student survey items. Those factors can be interpreted as reflecting “effective,” “constructive,” and “positive” dimensions of teaching respectively. Each of them is an important and independent input into child development, while only first of them leads to achievement gains measurable in the short run. The importance for policy of identifying orthogonal underlying factors is, first, that it provides precise knowledge of what exactly the evaluation system is measuring. This knowledge can be used by policy-makers to make an informed decision on how to combine the aspects of teaching into a single “teacher utility” function or, alternatively, if a multidimensional (matrix) evaluation system should be used. Second, it makes clear that teacher effectiveness consists of more than just the ability to promote student growth as measured by test scores. Additional factors may be weighted differently, for example, in identifying a teacher to become a mentor vs. to become a principal, which may require interpersonal capabilities unrelated to promoting student growth.

Perspective on Flipping Circuits I

A flipped-classroom approach was implemented in a Circuits I class for electrical and computer engineering majors to lower its high attrition and failure rate. Students were asked to watch online lectures and then come to class prepared to work problems in small groups of four. The attitude, retention, and performance of students in the flipped group in Spring 2013 were compared to those for the traditionally taught group in Fall 2012. The Fall 2012 lectures were recorded, so that each group saw the same lectures. Student retention and test performance was significantly higher in the flipped course. In Fall 2012, 56% of the initially enrolled students received a C or better. In Spring 2013, this improved to 83%. The first exam scores were significantly better in Spring 2013, and this helped with student success. The authors believe that it was the alignment of online lectures, face-to-face student/teacher and peer/peer interactions, combined with the active learning component of the flipped classroom that led to these improvements .

Improving Test-Taking Performance of Secondary At-Risk Youth and Students With Disabilities

Preparing at-risk youth and students with mild disabilities for state and district tests is important for improving their test performance, and basic instruction in test preparation can significantly improve student test performance. The article defines noncognitive variables that adversely affect test-taker performance. The article also describes test-taking interventions informed by the review of the literature and provides suggestions for practical classroom use.

Assessment of the Effectiveness of an Online Learning System in Improving Student Test Performance

Colleges and universities, particularly public institutions, are facing higher enrollments and declining resources from state and federal governments. In this resource-constrained environment, faculty are seeking more efficient and effective teaching strategies to improve student learning and test performance. The authors assessed an online learning system's effectiveness for improving student test performance in a face-to-face learning environment. Results indicated that implementation of the online learning system improved student test performance compared with control test questions and with test performance during a prior semester before system implementation. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Dinheiro traz felicidade? A relação entre insumos e qualidade na educação

O presente artigo tem como objetivo fazer uma revisão, com base na literatura e em dados estatísticos, do debate sobre a relação entre os investimentos financeiros nos sistemas de ensino e a qualidade da educação, focando-se especialmente para a situação no Brasil no contexto mundial. No trabalho busca-se mostrar como o debate acerca da relação entre insumos e qualidade do ensino, que remonta à década de 1960, continua suscetível de controvérsias em todo mundo. Conclui, contudo, tendo por base os indicadores internacionais de gastos por aluno e de desempenho dos estudantes em testes padronizados e os dados comparativos entre os gastos por aluno da rede pública e as mensalidade cobradas nas escolas privadas que, em especial para os países de baixo investimento por aluno, como o Brasil, um incremento, desde que significativo, nos gastos educacionais pode, sim, fazer diferença na qualidade, particularmente através da melhoria da infraestrutura e na oferta de equipamentos das escolas, bem como na atratividade e retenção de bons professores. O artigo procura alertar também para o risco de se avaliar a qualidade do ensino oferecido pelas escolas tendo por base apenas o desempenho dos alunos em testes padronizados, tendo em vista que os mesmos sofrem forte influência do nível socioeconômico das famílias. Finalmente mostra-se que o efeito da escola na formação de seus alunos envolve um conjunto de indicadores que vão além dos resultados em testes padronizados.indicadores que vão além do desempenho em testes padronizados.

Conceptualizing Teaching to the Test Under Standards-Based Reform

Teacher and school accountability systems based on high-stakes tests are ubiquitous throughout the United States and appear to be growing as a catalyst for reform. As a result, educators have increased the proportion of instructional time devoted to test preparation. Although guidelines for what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate test preparation exist, they are outdated and need revision. The current article proposes new guidelines within the framework of standards-based assessment. It also examines the test preparation practices in 32 third- and fifth-grade classrooms and examines the relationship between student test performance and test preparation activities using a two-level Hierarchical Linear Model. Instruction on tested objectives using items like those presented on the state test, decontextualized practice, and teaching test taking skills offered no student achievement benefit relative to general instruction on the state standards leading us to conclude that test preparation was not beneficial.

Problem Based Learning in Nursing Education

Background. McMaster University first introduced Problem Based Learning (PBL) in the mid 1960s. However, measuring the relationship between PBL for undergraduate nursing programs and students test performance has not yet been assessed in the USA. Purpose. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the effectiveness of PBL on senior student test performance on content related to PBL in a BSN program. Diabetes mellitus and renal insufficiency were taught by traditional lecture format in the previous years. This was the first year we taught this content by the problem based learning method. Method. Historical control group was used to compare the test performances between the PBL groups and the traditional group using Student’s t-test. Result. The mean of diabetes mellitus related questions missed by the PBL group was less than the traditional group (t = 4.51, and P=.00). The mean of renal insufficiency related questions missed by the PBL group was more than the traditional group (t=-6.44, and P=.00). Discussion. This study produced inconclusive findings. Factors that could be attributed to their performance will be discussed.

Investigating the Effect of Different Verbal Formats of Advance Organizers on Third Graders' Understanding of Heat Transfer Concept

The emergence of computer and multimedia technology change the forms of instructional materials and instructional design plays an important role on student learning outcome in multimedia learning. Research has found that using advance organizers has the potential for achieving learning objectives. Thus, this study investigated how using different forms (oral narration/onscreen text) of advance organizers (AOs) with different formats (oral narration/onscreen text) of learning content affected third graders’ learning on heat transfer concepts. A 2X2 design was employed and 126 third grade students participated in this study. It was found in the form of advance organizers that there was a significant interaction with the format of learning content on student post test performance. The form of AOs did not affect student performance when reading onscreen text content. Also, the format of the learning content did not influence student learning when using oral forms of AO. When using onscreen text as AO, it was found that students who read onscreen text content perform better than those who listen to oral narration content. Meanwhile, students who listened to the oral narration AO perform better than those who read the onscreen text AO before listening to the same oral narration learning content. It showed that processing message encoded in the same format in advance help learners later in processing information that was encoded in the same format. Detailed discussions on the findings are provided in this article.

MENINGKATKAN HASIL BELAJAR BOLA BASKET MELALUI PERMAINAN RANGKAIAN 3 POS PADA SISWA KELAS V SD NEGERI 14 MULYOHARJO KECAMATAN PEMALANG KABUPATEN PEMALANG TAHUN PELAJARAN 2012/2013

This study aims to improve the quality of physical education learning materials mainly through approachesplaying basketball. The research was conducted in the learning process, research is often called action research(classroom Action Research), an act in this study were divided into three cycles and implemented in threemeetings, in each cycle shows the learning process of physical development with basketball material. Thesubjects were fifth grade students of SD Negeri 14 mulyoharjo in the second semester of academic year2012/2013. The instrument used for data collection in this study was the observation sheets, questionnaires,and student test performance. Analysis of the data used in this study is a descriptive analysis.The resultsshowed that the implementation of learning to play basketball with the approach can make their lessons moreactive, enthusiastic students participating in learning and seemed happy to perform a given task motion so thatthe teacher and the student movement skill mastery basketball increase of the percentage of students who precyclevalue KKM achieve as much as 63.16% or 12 children out of the total number of students by 19 students,the first cycle measures the percentage of students that reached KKM be 73.68% or as many as 14 students and89.47% or as many as 17 students in the second cycle of action .

Understanding Students' Mathematical Errors and Misconceptions: The Case of Year 11 Repeating Students

Students' errors are causally determined, and very often systematic. Systematic errors are usually a consequence of student misconceptions. These can include failure to make connections with what they already know. There are beliefs held by students that inhibit learning from errors, such as they cannot learn from the mistakes and that mathematics consists of disconnected rules and procedures. Student errors are unique and they reflect their understanding of a concept, problem or a procedure. This study investigated how much mathematics have been understood and remembered by Year 11 repeating students, how their confidence level affects their responses to test items, and the causes for errors and misconceptions. A total of 74 Year 11 repeating students participated in this study and nine Year 11 mathematics teachers were surveyed. The sets of data were collected from the student test performance, student confidence level scale, and student and teacher questionnaires. The quantitative analyses of the students' results suggested that their test performance was not notably affected by their confidence. However, students' misconceptions seemed to have a significant impact on their progress and achievement in the test. The findings also suggested that students' errors and misconceptions were not only varied but there exist different causes as well.

Mental Rotation Test Performance of Chinese Male and Female University Students

The Mental Rotation Test (MRT) of spatial abilities has consistently produced large gender differences favoring males. Recent social changes in gender attitudes and gender roles have not diminished such differences. Of special interest is the finding that the MRT involves a spatial ability positively correlated with higher-level math ability; individuals who do well on the MRT also tend to score high on standardized test of mathematics. In our previous studies using a GRE Math Subject Practice Test, we had found a lack of gender differences in math for Chinese college students. At the same time, we found an over-representation of males among physics and computer sciences majors in Chinese colleges. These findings lead to an obvious question regarding gender differences in spatial ability, especially the MRT among Chinese students. The present study was conducted to obtain MRT data from the same population of Chinese college students used in our earlier math studies. We found male Chinese students scored significantly higher than their female counterparts on the MRT.

Students’ interpersonal trust and attitudes towards standardised tests: exploring affective variables related to student assessment

Cognitive and psychometric variables have directed research on student test performance. However, student learning involves a substantial affective component. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between two kinds of affective variables – interpersonal trust and attitudes towards standardised tests – likely to underlie student test performance. We also examined the effect of a print media report on students’ trust and attitudes towards testing. Using structural equation modelling, we investigated the responses of 206 university students to a modified version of the Test Attitude Survey and Interpersonal Trust Scale. One notable result indicated that variation in students’ attitudes about the effort expended on tests was explained by their interpersonal trust and their attitudes towards the value placed on tests. Viewed through the lens of expectancy theory, these results suggest that affective variables need to be more fully considered when considering practice and generating policy to improve student test performance.

Testing Accommodation or Modification?

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, geometry and spatial sense are fundamental components of mathematics learning. However, learning disabilities (LD) research has shown that many K–12 students encounter particular geometry difficulties (GD). This study examined the effect of an integrated object representation (IOR) accommodation on the test performance of students with GD compared to students without GD. Participants were 118 elementary students who took a researcher-developed geometry problem solving test under both a standard testing condition and an IOR accommodation condition. A total of 36 students who were classified with GD scored below 40% correct in the geometry problem solving test in the standard testing condition, and 82 students who were classified without GD scored equal to or above 40% correct in the same test and condition. All students were tested in both standard testing condition and IOR accommodation condition. The results from both ANOVA and regression discontinuity (RD) analyses suggested that students with GD benefited more than students without GD from the IOR accommodation. Implications of the study are discussed in terms of providing accommodations for students with mathematics learning difficulties and recommending RD design in LD research.

School choice: neoliberal education policy and imagined futures

The launch in Australia of a government website that compares all schools on the basis of student performance in standardized tests illustrates the extent to which neoliberal policies have been entrenched. This paper examines the problematic nature of choosing schools within the powerful political context of neoliberalism. It illustrates how key elements of the neoliberal worldview are normalized in the day-to-day practices of schooling and how certain norms and values that characterize neoliberalism are shaped and reinforced in the education system and also in personal, family and social imaginaries. The task for educational sociology, therefore, is to problematize and ‘re-imagine’ the prevailing neoliberal imaginary.