scholarly journals Differences in Science American College Testing Scores between Traditional and Alternative Science Sequences

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-430
Author(s):  
John Gilbert ◽  
◽  
James Concannon ◽  

To examine differences between sequences of secondary science courses on achievement on science high stakes exams, a purposive quantitative research design was utilized in this study. A short survey was sent out to public high schools in the state of Missouri that asked to identify their main science course sequence. In addition, participants were asked to indicate if they had altered their science course sequence between the years of 2012 and 2017. This data were compared to their average building science American College Testing (ACT) score for the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 school years in which all 16–17-year-olds in the state were required to take the exam. The analysis of the results found no connection between science course sequence and performance on the science section of the ACT for either year. In addition, it was found that schools that indicated that they altered their science course sequence had no difference in performance on the science portion of the ACT. Further research is needed to determine if there are any benefits to altering a science course sequence.

Author(s):  
Stephen J Swithenby

Inexorably and across several fronts, screen-based assessment is becoming a major part of the experience of university students, particularly but not exclusively in the sciences. This movement reflects the emphasis the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is giving to the development of screen-based assessment at secondary level, where the universal availability of an -assessment option in high stakes exams is an adopted goal.The drivers for this change are economic, pedagogic and opportunistic. Rapid technological progress is facilitating the wider availability of computer based tasks that reflect authentically the learning outcomes of science courses. There is growing experience in the design of such tasks, with increasing commercial involvement, particularly in the USA. An examination of theories of assessment demonstrates that there are sound pedagogic reasons to pursue these developments.The main focus of this review will be assessment for which a computer acts as a means of delivery, grading and feedback. I will outline the capabilities of contemporary systems, illustrate some good practice, and identify areas where the use of the technology is moving forward rapidly. There are exciting developments in the grading of free format responses, in diagram or text form, which are now emerging on a pilot basis. Of particular interest is the assessment of higher order cognitive and subject skills. Alsoimportant is the potential for item banks that can allow the sharing of the costs of authorship. Several of these issues are reviewed more fully in Conole and Warbuton.Finally, I will comment briefly on assessment that is facilitated by computers without the computer acting as a grading tool. At a mundane level, this might involve the electronic submission of traditional assignments. Of more interest are electronically mediated peer assessment, the generation of e-portfolios, the grading of screen based experimentation and the evaluation of the student’s performance in contributing to computer based group activities, e.g. Wikis, electronic conferences, etc.


Author(s):  
Luis Cláudio de Jesus-Silva ◽  
Antônio Luiz Marques ◽  
André Luiz Nunes Zogahib

This article aims to examine the variable compensation program for performance implanted in the Brazilian Judiciary. For this purpose, a survey was conducted with the servers of the Court of Justice of the State of Roraima - Amazon - Brazil. The strategy consisted of field research with quantitative approach, with descriptive and explanatory research and conducting survey using a structured questionnaire, available through the INTERNET. The population surveyed, 37.79% is the sample. The results indicate the effectiveness of the program as a tool of motivation and performance improvement and also the need for some adjustments and improvements, especially on the perception of equity of the program and the distribution of rewards.


Author(s):  
Jyoti Baijal

Examination stress is a ubiquitous phenomenon that has, in the present times, adversely affected the learning outcomes and performance of the students at all levels- primary, secondary or higher education. It’s increasing intensity specifically among students appearing for high stakes board examination evokes a response from the teaching fraternity at the earliest. The reason being that a prolonged experience of stress with respect to evaluative situations is bound to prove detrimental to the mental, physical and emotional well-being of the students. For the nation to develop and progress towards a knowledge society, it is imperative that the students are taught to cope with stressful stimuli and improve performance. Study-Skills Training is an intervention intended to improve their study and test- taking habits and skills. It is based on a cognitive-deficit model which is directed towards improving a variety of cognitive activities that affect the organization, processing and retrieval of information and thereby help in reducing the experience of examination stress. Systematic desensitization as a process can be used to unlearn anxiety reactions by replacing the anxiety response with a calm, relaxed state. Thus, a combination of study-skills training and systematic desensitization has been shown to be effective and superior in alleviating test anxiety


2021 ◽  
pp. 136548022110247
Author(s):  
Jude Brady ◽  
Elaine Wilson

Teaching is understood to be a highly stressful profession. In England, workload, high-stakes accountability policies and pupil behaviour are often cited as stressors that contribute to teachers’ decisions to leave posts in the state-funded sector. Many of these teachers leave state teaching to take jobs in private schools, but very little is known about the nature of teachers’ work in the private sector. This research addresses this gap in knowledge and compares the sources of stress experienced by 20 teachers in the state sector to those of 20 teachers in the private sector. The paper is based on qualitative data from a larger study. It analyses data collected in interviews and focus groups with classroom teachers and middle leaders working in mainstream primary and secondary phase education in England. The results emphasise state school teachers’ acute distress in relation to workloads driven by accountability cultures. In comparison, private school teachers report less intense experiences of work-related stress, but some identify demanding parents as a concern. The research’s novelty lies in this comparison between sectors and these sector specific insights may help to focus school leaders’ efforts to improve teaching conditions in both sectors.


Author(s):  
Alois Paulin

In this study the authors analyze the effects of e-government reforms that began in mid-90ies by confronting the promises which these reforms made to government performance in the period before and after the reforms took place. The authors use fiscal and performance indicators of the Slovenian government and courts to argue that e-government did not yield any notable effects on the state performance. Finally, the authors analyze the reasons why e-government technology cannot be regarded as sustainable and suggest a different approach towards researching how to sustainably improve governance for generations to come.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Valentini

Principles of distributive justice bind macro-level institutional agents, like the state. But what does justice require in non-ideal circumstances, where institutional agents are unjust or do not exist in the first place? Many answer by invoking Rawls's natural duty ‘to further just arrangements not yet established’, treating it as a ‘normative bridge’ between institutional demands of distributive justice and individual responsibilities in non-ideal circumstances. I argue that this response strategy is unsuccessful. I show that the more unjust the status quo is due to non-compliance, the less demanding the natural duty of justice becomes. I conclude that, in non-ideal circumstances, the bulk of the normative work is done by another natural duty: that of beneficence. This conclusion has significant implications for how we conceptualize our political responsibilities in non-ideal circumstances, and cautions us against the tendency – common in contemporary political theory – to answer all high-stakes normative questions under the rubric of justice.


2015 ◽  
Vol 738-739 ◽  
pp. 1105-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Qing Qin ◽  
Ying Jie Cheng ◽  
Chun Jie Zhou

This paper mainly surveys the state-of-the-art on real-time communicaton in industrial wireless local networks(WLANs), and also identifys the suitable approaches to deal with the real-time requirements in future. Firstly, this paper summarizes the features of industrial WLANs and the challenges it encounters. Then according to the real-time problems of industrial WLAN, the fundamental mechanism of each recent representative resolution is analyzed in detail. Meanwhile, the characteristics and performance of these resolutions are adequately compared. Finally, this paper concludes the current of the research and discusses the future development of industrial WLANs.


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