scholarly journals School Reform: America’s Winchester Mystery House

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Daniel Meyer ◽  
Loredana Werth
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Science Achievement ◽  
International Student ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Achievement Tests ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
National Competitiveness

This quantitative study examines the correlation between international student achievement test outcomes and national competitiveness rankings. Student achievement data are derived from a variation-adjusted, common metric data set for 74 countries that have participated in any of the international mathematics and science achievement tests since 1964. National competitiveness data are taken from the 2014-15 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) published by the World Economic Forum. A Spearman’s rank-order correlation was run to assess the relationship between student performance on international achievement tests and the competitiveness of nations. For all nations, there was a moderate positive correlation between student performance on international achievement tests and the competitiveness of a nation, rs(98)=0.688, p

Multilevel analysis of the relationship between school-level variables and student achievement

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 762-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuf Ikbal Oldac ◽  
Yasar Kondakci
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Academic Optimism ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
School Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
The Relationship

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between student achievement and a set of school-level variables, including distributed leadership, academic optimism, teacher collaboration and enabling school structure. The study was designed as correlational research. A Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis was conducted with a data set collected from 23,053 students and 426 teachers from 40 randomly selected public schools in Turkey. The data were collected using previously developed scales and student achievement data from the Ministry of National Education. HLM results revealed that two dimensions of academic optimism – namely collective efficacy and trust in clients – and hindering bureaucracy significantly predicted between-school differences in student achievement. The tested HLM model explained 60% of the variation in student achievement across schools. The results revealed that student achievement is shaped by school-level variables that are tied to the structural and functional characteristics of schools in Turkey. However, these school characteristics are rooted in the societal structures and cultural characteristics of the country. Hence, it is concluded that a reinterpretation of common school-level variables used to predict student achievement in the contexts of different countries is necessary.

Distorting Value Added: The Use of Longitudinal, Vertically Scaled Student Achievement Data for Growth-Based, Value-Added Accountability

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Martineau
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Student Growth ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Value Added Models ◽  
Value Added Modeling ◽  
Construct Shift ◽  
Vertical Scales

Longitudinal, student performance-based, value-added accountability models have become popular of late and continue to enjoy increasing popularity. Such models require student data to be vertically scaled across wide grade and developmental ranges so that the value added to student growth/achievement by teachers, schools, and districts may be modeled in an accurate manner. Many assessment companies provide such vertical scales and claim that those scales are adequate for longitudinal value-added modeling. However, psychometricians tend to agree that scales spanning wide grade/developmental ranges also span wide content ranges, and that scores cannot be considered exchangeable along the various portions of the scale. This shift in the constructs being measured from grade to grade jeopardizes the validity of inferences made from longitudinal value-added models. This study demonstrates mathematically that the use of such “construct-shifting” vertical scales in longitudinal, value-added models introduces remarkable distortions in the value-added estimates of the majority of educators. These distortions include (a) identification of effective teachers/schools as ineffective (and vice versa) simply because their students’ achievement is outside the developmental range measured well by “appropriate” grade-level tests, and (b) the attribution of prior teacher/school effects to later teachers/schools. Therefore, theories, models, policies, rewards, and sanctions based upon such value-added estimates are likely to be invalid because of distorted conclusions about educator effectiveness in eliciting student growth. This study identifies highly restrictive scenarios in which current value-added models can be validly applied in high-stakes and low-stakes research uses. This article further identifies one use of student achievement data for growth-based, value-added modeling that is not plagued by the problems of construct shift: the assessment of an upper grade content (e.g., fourth grade) in both the grade below and the appropriate grade to obtain a measure of student gain on a grade-specific mix of constructs. Directions for future research on methods to alleviate the problems of construct shift are identified as well.

scholarly journals Competitiveness and managerial discretion: an empirical investigation at the national-level

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moustafa Salman Haj Youssef ◽  
Hiba Maher Hussein ◽  
Ioannis Christodoulou
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Managerial Discretion ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
National Competitiveness ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Country Competitiveness

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the national-level predictors of country competitiveness using the concept of managerial discretion. The objective is to empirically link the strategic management discipline particularly the upper echelon theory to the concept of country performance measured by competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachThis paper tests the proposed relationship between managerial discretion and country competitiveness using a sample of 18 countries from 6 different regional clusters. Discretion scores are generated from survey responses of prominent senior management consultants, while country competitiveness is measured via the Global Competitiveness Index developed by the World Economic Forum. A multi-level regression analysis on the panel data set spanning 10 years of national competitiveness levels is used to empirically demonstrate the association between managerial discretion and country competitiveness.FindingsThe authors show that managerial discretion is a direct predictor of national competitiveness through its ability to provide CEOs with a wider array of actions to innovate and enhance firm performance which will ultimately contribute to country competitiveness.Practical implicationsThe positive influence of managerial discretion on country competitiveness provide an interesting framework to examine the influence of firms over public policy-making. Additionally, with businesses becoming increasingly globalized, the profile of countries becomes of a great importance and can become a tool for corporate strategic decisions, such as: market entry strategies.Originality/valueBy linking the well-known term of competitiveness to the concept of managerial discretion, the authors provide a totally new approach to assess country performance. Additionally, this paper contributes to the growing literature of managerial discretion by discovering new national-level consequences.

Bildungspolitische Lehren aus den internationalen Schülertests: Wettbewerb, Autonomie und externe Leistungsüberprüfung Bildungspolitische Lehren aus den internationalen Schülertests: Wettbewerb, Autonomie und externe Leistungsüberprüfung

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludger Wößmann
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
International Student ◽  
School Systems ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Micro Data ◽  
Personnel Decisions ◽  
Cross Country

AbstractEvidence using micro data from four international student achievement tests shows that institutional features that ensure competition, autonomy and accountability in school systems are key to high student performance. The lessons that education policy can learn from the cross-country evidence include that students perform better (a) in countries with more competition from privately managed but publicly funded schools, (b) in schools with autonomy in process and personnel decisions, (c) if teachers have both incentives and powers to select appropriate teaching methods, (d) if parents take interest in teaching matters and (e) if students and schools are held accountable by external examinations

Does Enhancing of the Competitiveness Influence on Foreign Direct Investments in Western Balkan Countries?

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matea Zlatković
Keyword(s):  
Market Efficiency ◽  
Foreign Direct Investments ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Technological Readiness ◽  
Regional Market ◽  
National Competitiveness ◽  
Good Market ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Global Competitiveness Index ◽  
Per Capita

Foreign direct investments present a valuable source of national competitiveness as they have attributes of capital flows provide knowledge and technology transfer from one country to target country. In this paper are used variables defined by World Economic Forum which construct Global Competitiveness Index for assessing competitiveness of the country. The purpose of the research is to examine does the national competitiveness increase enhance the level of FDI flows in transition Western Balkan economies that are not yet full members of European Union. The findings claim that larger increase in FDI per capita stocks in majority analyzed countries would have if making infrastructure more competitiveness, accelerate their technological readiness and improve innovation while certain countries should work on health and primary education and higher education and training. According to the results, there is no correlation between FDI flows and macroeconomic environment, institutions, development of financial markets, good market efficiency, labor market efficiency and business sophistication. Applying benchmark method, it is established the most competitive WB country as benchmark value for other transition countries in its neighborhood for enhancing their competitiveness, specially in the regional market. Also, it is obtained what if analysis to detect potential rise of FDI per capita stocks as a consequence of potential changes in some competitiveness variables. It is also calculated the potential increase in FDI/capita due to similar changes in different competitiveness variables.

The Effectiveness of Usage of Online Multiple Choice Questions on Student Performance in Introductory Accounting

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne Massoudi ◽  
SzeKee Koh ◽  
Phillip J. Hancock ◽  
Lucia Fung
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
International Student ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Learning Resource ◽  
Examination Performance ◽  
Introductory Accounting

ABSTRACT In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of an online learning resource for introductory financial accounting students using a suite of online multiple choice questions (MCQ) for summative and formative purposes. We found that the availability and use of an online resource resulted in improved examination performance for those students who actively used the online learning resource. Further, we found a positive relationship between formative MCQ and unit content related to challenging financial accounting concepts. However, better examination performance was also linked to other factors, such as prior academic performance, tutorial participation, and demographics, including gender and attending university as an international student. JEL Classifications: I20; M41.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document