Evolution of the Unified State Exam in History: Poems and Prose of Teachers' Practices

Author(s):  
O. Fedorov ◽  
K. Verinchuk

This paper investigates the effect of сonstructed-response items in the Unified State Exam (ESE) in History on exam’s validity and the threats to validity. The Unified State Exam is the primary high-stakes examination for Russian students. Despite playing a vital role as an achievement and an admission test, this exam’s validity has not been looked into. The evolution of this exam is distinctly marked by a growing change in the number and weight of constructed-response items, which might be affecting the validity of test results in many ways. The research was focused on interviews with 36 history experts. Thematic analysis of transcripts helped to identify three main threats to validity: faulty criteria, task content and expert bias. The paper presents these results along with recommendations on improving the test.

2021 ◽  
pp. 51-52
Author(s):  
Tharani Putta ◽  
Kaushik Deconda

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Role of chest CT in diagnosis of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been controversial. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of chest CT when utilizing COVID-19 Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS). METHODOLOGY: Retrospective study including consecutive patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test (initial or repeat test) and chest CT done in our institute between June and September 2020. Spectrum of CT ndings, CO-RADS score and 25 point CT severity score (CTSS) were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 300 consecutive patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were included in the analysis. Out of the 168 patients who underwent CT prior to positive RT-PCR result, 125 (74.4%) had CO-RADS 3, 4 or 5 score on chest CT. 32 study patients (10.6%) had initial negative RT-PCR of which 24 (75%) had CO-RADS 4 or 5 score. Of the total patients with CO-RADS 3 to 5 score (227), 20 (8.8%) had severe lung involvement (CTSS 18-25), 83 (36.6%) had moderate lung involvement (CTSS 8-17) and 124 (54.6%) had mild lung involvement (CTSS 1-7). The mean CTSS was 7.9 with mean lobar score being higher in lower lobes (RLL=1.82, LLL=1.78) compared to the upper and middle lobes (RUL=1.61, RML=1.19, LUL=1.53). CONCLUSION:CT using CO-RADS scoring system has good diagnostic performance. In addition to assessing disease severity, it plays a vital role in triage of patients with suspected COVID-19 especially when there is limited availability of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests, delay in RT-PCR test results or in negative RT-PCR cases when there is high index of clinical suspicion.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena M. Ocbian ◽  
Michael P. Gamba ◽  
Jhonner D. Ricafort

Admission testing is an integral part of higher education institutions (HEIs) in maintaining the quality educational standards. Through testing, the HEI’s can objectively select applicants that are likely to succeed in their intended course. The study was conducted to determine the predictive validity of the admission Tests of the secondary and college levels to their performance in English subjects using the descriptive-correlational designs. The respondents were the secondary students of the SSC Laboratory High School and First-Year college students from school years 2009-2012. The Pearson Correlation was used to determine the relationship of the admission test results and the performance of the identified respondents on the English subject. The GPA on English and SSC Admission test results on college level shows a moderate positive relationship. Also, high school level denotes a strong positive relationship. This relationship had been manifested in 40% of the respondents in secondary level, and 13% of the respondents in college level. This significant relationship suggests that admission test determines the potential performance of the students in their English subject in both secondary and tertiary level. Thus, it was concluded that SSC Admission Test is a valid predictor of the students’ performance in English subject.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 12830-12833

In India agriculture and its practices plays the vital role, since more number of people are employed in that process. The agricultural process goes on with the sowing, maintenance and yield. The yield of the crop purely depends on the season, maintenance and the nutrient content available in the soil. Soil nutrient analysis has been made before sowing period with the help of soil testing laboratory, based on the laboratory results and the selected crops. End of the analysis process the fertilizer suggestion would be given to the farmer. In the existing system the analysis process is done manually and farmers would be given direct suggestion about the fertilizer. Since the process is repetitive it consumes more time and there may be chance of human error which may majorly affect the yield. The main aim of the proposed work is to design an Automated Fertilizer Suggestion (AFS) application to give effective suggestions to farmers about the fertilizers with respect to crops based on the soil test results. Our proposed application reduces the time, controls the human errors, avoids the over dumping of fertilizer in the soil and improves the yield.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aixa Hafsha

The paper aims at examining the influence of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) English language test on teaching in the existing CLT-based teaching context in Bangladesh. It is a fact that SSC test results continue to influence the total educational career of a student including his admission into Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) level and subsequently at tertiary level study. Later on, SSC result is one of the vital determinants of his employment. As a result, the washback effect i.e. effect of test (SSC EFL tests) on teaching and learning of this high stakes test cannot be ruled out. The overwhelming use of test results in different academic and professional affairs in the context of Bangladesh has made the effect of washback a distinctive educational phenomenon. This study presents preliminary research findings on the SSC EFL test’s influence on teaching in Bangladesh by applying various methodological techniques such as classroom observation and teacher interview in sampled schools located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The analysed data revealed that SSC EFL test technique is one of the driving forces that shape teaching. Teachers’ teaching is confined to only those tasks and activities which are commonly set in the tests. Now it is difficult to deny that that teaching to the test is a harsh reality at SSC level classrooms in Bangladesh.


CADMO ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 39-53
Author(s):  
Sarah Maughan

- The National Curriculum was introduced in England after the Education Reform Act of 1988. The compulsory curriculum is made up of four key stages, and until very recently there have been high stakes assessment at the end of each stage. Over time additional tests and examinations were added to the system leading to English children being some of the most tested in the world. In parallel to this, the use of test results to hold schools and teachers to account has emerged as one of the key purposes of the tests and examinations. This article describes the use of the results for accountability purposes, and the ever increasing criticism of this due to the distorting effects it has on teaching and learning. A number of recent changes to the system, in response to the criticisms, mean that test results are no longer available at all the stages to meet the accountability purpose. The article discusses whether the teacher assessment that has been proposed as a replacement could be used for accountability purposes in such a high stakes system, or whether the accountability system will be forced to change.


2009 ◽  
Vol 123 (10) ◽  
pp. 1155-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
A B Drake-Lee ◽  
D Skinner ◽  
M Hawthorne ◽  
R Clarke ◽  

AbstractContext:‘High stakes’ postgraduate medical examinations should conform to current educational standards. In the UK and Ireland, national assessments in surgery are devised and managed through the examination structure of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons. Their efforts are not reported in the medical education literature. In the current paper, we aim to clarify this process.Objectives:To replace the clinical section of the Diploma of Otorhinolaryngology with an Objective, Structured, Clinical Examination, and to set the level of the assessment at one year of postgraduate training in the specialty.Methods:After ‘blueprinting’ against the whole curriculum, an Objective, Structured, Clinical Examination comprising 25 stations was divided into six clinical stations and 19 other stations exploring written case histories, instruments, test results, written communication skills and interpretation skills. The pass mark was set using a modified borderline method and other methods, and statistical analysis of the results was performed.Results:The results of nine examinations between May 2004 and May 2008 are presented. The pass mark varied between 68 and 82 per cent. Internal consistency was good, with a Cronbach's α value of 0.99 for all examinations and split-half statistics varying from 0.96 to 0.99. Different standard settings gave similar pass marks.Conclusions:We have developed a summative, Objective, Structured, Clinical Examination for doctors training in otorhinolaryngology, reported herein. The objectives and standards of setting a high quality assessment were met.


Author(s):  
D Vignesh Kumar ◽  
D Ravindran ◽  
M Siva Kumar ◽  
MN Islam

Optimum tolerance allocation plays a vital role in minimization of the direct manufacturing cost, and it is sensitive to tolerances related to variations in manufacturing processes. However, optimal adjustment of both nominal dimensions and selection of tolerances may further reduce assembly manufacturing cost and wastage of materials during processing. Most studies in existing literature focus on optimum tolerance allocation for the assemblies without considering nominal dimension selection. The method proposed in this work uses genetic algorithm techniques to allocate tolerances to assembly components, thereby minimizing costs. The component alternate nominal dimensions are predicted based on critical dimensions and its tolerances. The effectiveness of the developed algorithms demonstrated using randomly generated problems as well as sample problems taken from the literature. Test results are compared with those obtained using the Lagrange multiplier method. It is shown that by adjusting the nominal dimensions, the proposed method yields considerable savings in manufacturing costs.


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