Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Creating Opportunities Or Building Barriers: Framing Policy For Placement Testing As An Impactful Part Of The First-Year Experience, Megan Beach, Karin Ann Lewis

Kentucky Journal of Higher Education Policy and Practice

Placement tests are an integral aspect of the first-year experience. As policymakers seek to raise high school standards and ensure that more students graduate prepared for the academic rigor of college, placement tests are being called upon to serve new purposes. Placement tests are touted for their ability to predict college success, but do these tests really measure student attainment of specific college readiness skills? How can they fit with or contribute to institutional initiatives?

University Of Michigan Bar Passage 2004-2006: A Failure To Replicate Professor Sander's Results, With Implications For Affirmative Action, Richard O. Lempert

Law & Economics Working Papers

In a recent issue of the Denver Law Review, Professor Richard Sander presents data on race-based affirmative action that purportedly support his theory that any benefits African Americans enjoy from affirmative action are more than offset by detrimental effects of academic mismatch. Specifically, he references a yet unpublished study in which he claims to have found that for the years 2004-2006 the bar passage rate of African-American graduates of the University of Michigan Law School is 62 percent for first time takers rising to only 76 percent after multiple takes. This paper shows that these results are quite implausible given …

Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The Students And Teachers Achieving Reading Success Program For First Graders, Whitney Ann Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

Most students progress in learning when school is in session. However, during the summer months formal education often ends, and many of the gains students make during the academic year are lost over the summer break. The Alpine School District developed the Students and Teachers Achieving Reading Success (STARS) program, an extensive summer reading program for struggling readers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the STARS program on reading ability for students exiting the first grade, as measured by the Developmental Reading Assessment 2 (DRA2). Results from a mixed-method ANOVA indicated that STARS students performed …

English Language Teaching Using The Whole Student Philosophy, Tahira Y. Muhammad

MA TESOL Collection

Education in Kuwait is centered on rote learning methodology. Historically, the Kuwait educational system was created to mimic the Egyptian rote learning systems that date back to Pharaonic times. Furthermore, Kuwaiti educators are convinced that rote learning is the optimal form of education. In this paper, I will attempt to prove that this method is unsuccessful, and that educators, within their classroom and lesson planning, should adapt their teaching strategies to the adoption of the whole language philosophy.

The major limitation of this research is that the observer is also participant. However, the fact that the observer is fully trained …

Walking Box Ranch Custodianship Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 10, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV provides stewardship of Walking Box Ranch (WBR) by providing a caretaker who oversees the property, facilitating use of the property by researchers and educators, developing a use and research policy for the property, and coordinating these activities with BLM and in accordance with TNC restrictions.
• UNLV currently addresses security issues for the property through the presence of the caretaker and two Metro Officers who reside on the property in two recreational vehicles.
• UNLV continues to work with BLM and Condit, supplying content for interpretation at the future Walking Box Ranch museum.
• BLM visited the ranch on July 5 to …

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 10, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• BLM informed UNLV that after investigating a concession contract as the appropriate BLM document for the future operating partner, they have concluded that an operating agreement is the preferred document and they are proceeding to complete such an agreement as soon as possible.
• Following a visit to the ranch with BLM, UNLV has completed temporary repairs to ranch house windows, which should mitigate deterioration of the ranch house from water
• UNLV participated in a one-half day meeting with BLM to review Condit’s Extended Content Package #1. As a result of the lack of progress by Condit, UNLV was requested to …

Communication Patterns Among Members Of Engineering Global Virtual Teams, Holt Zaugg

Theses and Dissertations

Global virtual (GV) teams provide an opportunity for engineering students to participate in meaningful, cross-cultural learning projects without additional costs of time and money associated with study abroad programs. However, students must learn how to communicate effectively with international team members. Instruction to help students learn which virtual communication technologies to use and how to use them is needed. Training must include cross-cultural training that facilitates team communications and interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds. This study focused on how 10 specialized lessons, Principles of Global Virtual Teams (PGVT), facilitated the communications and interactions of students participating on GV …

Improving Core Mathematical Skills In Motor Apprentice Education In Ireland, Peter Kenny

Conference Papers

In order to enter into an apprenticeship in Ireland a qualification in mathematics is not essential. Throughout their apprenticeship many motor trade apprentices find that many past mathematical weakness resurface. In addition to this the level and standard of mathematics increases as apprentices progress through their training.

A maths diagnostic test has been developed and sat by a selection of Motor Mechanic apprentices attending off the job training at the Technological University Dublin during the 2011 to 2012 academic year.

The results of this test indicate that many students experience difficulty with mathematically related subjects. The test was then repeated …

Grand Tactical Assessment Of Effectiveness, Andrew Vorder Bruegge

College of Visual and Performing Arts Faculty Publications

Implementation of a systematic process for reviewing all programmatic assessment instruments in an academic department.

The Impact Of Dual Enrollment On The Institution, Katherine N. Kinnick

Faculty Articles

How do dual enrollment programs benefit colleges and universities? Using quantitative and qualitative measures, the director of Kennesaw State University's Dual Enrollment Honors Program demonstrates the program's value to the university and highlights program concerns and challenges.

Factors That May Have Predictive Effects On The American College Test, Beth Stewart

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if any predictive effects exist between lunch status, grade point average, Arkansas state mandated accountability exams, and academic achievement measured by the ACT. Although literature supported the predictive effects of grade point average and lunch status on ACT, there was inadequate data to determine which predictor played a more significant role.

A quantitative, regression strategy was used to analyze students’ academic achievement in four southwest Arkansas schools, all belonging to the same educational cooperative. All students in these districts who had taken the ACT during the school years of 2006-2010 and took …

Café Culture: Promoting Empowerment And Pleasure In Adolescent Literacy Learning, Brandi Gribble Mathers, Amanda J. Stern

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The 160 third, seventh, and eleventh-graders involved in this study agreed, almost unanimously, that reading was“important.” Participants cited the empowering benefits of reading as they justified this opinion. However, with regards to the enjoyment of reading, fewer middle and high school participants reported “liking” reading than their elementary counterparts and fewer reported reading in their free time.

One solution to this dilemma involves providing adolescent students with a context devoted solely to pleasure reading. In doing so, educators can look to an institution that boasts both an historical link to literate culture and current-day pop culture appeal: the coffeehouse. When …

The Professional Development Practices Of Two Reading First Coaches, Charlotte A. Mundy, Dorene D. Ross, Melinda M. Leko

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

To establish job-embedded, ongoing professional development recent policies and initiatives required that districts appoint school-based coaches. The Reading First Initiative, for example, created an immediate need for coaches without a clear definition of coaches’ responsibilities. Therefore, the purpose of this case study was to investigate how two Reading First coaches interpreted and enacted their professional development responsibilities. Cross-case analyses identified similarities and differences in coaches’ enactments. Findings revealed that while each coach engaged in similar professional development responsibilities (e.g. modeling, observing, and classroom walkthroughs) their approach to these responsibilities differed — collaborative versus expert driven. These differences in approaches indicate …

The Relationship Between Multiplication Fact Speed-Recall And Fluency And Higher Level Mathematics Learning With Eighth Grade Middle School Students, Steven James Curry

Dissertations

This quantitative study investigated relationships between higher level mathematics learning and multiplication fact fluency, multiplication fact speed-recall, and reading grade equivalency of eighth grade students in Algebra I and Pre-Algebra. Higher level mathematics learning was indicated by an average score of 80% or higher on first and second semester mathematics assessments and proficient or advanced descriptor on the mathematics Missouri Assessment Program tests. Timed multiplication fact quizzes were administered to eighth grade students. Speed-recall scores were measured by the number of accurate answers in a 45-second time frame. Fluency was obtained by a student score of 35 accurate answers in …

Employment Of An Informal Educational Mathematical Facility To Lower Math Anxiety And Improve Teacher And Student Attitudes Towards Understanding Mathematics, Vicki Adams

Dissertations

Students do not pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) because of a lack of ability, but rather a lack of positive experiences with mathematics. Research has concluded that attitudes in math directly influence success in mathematics. As many as 75% of high school graduates in the United States suffer from mild to severe forms of math anxiety. The improvement of student achievement in mathematics in the United States lags behind that of many other nations in the world. Efforts to improve student achievement in mathematics have focused on developing effective teachers and teaching practices, creating state and …

Case Study Of Participants In A Site-Based Secondary Mathematics Methods Course And Internship: Three Teachers In Transition, Alyson Elizabeth Lischka

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

Although the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) introduced standards intended to reform the teaching of mathematics in 1989, those reform-oriented practices have not saturated mathematics teaching. Mathematics teacher educators continue to work with pre-service and practicing teachers to more fully implement the reform practices as described by NCTM. At times, this can take the form of professional development schools (PDSs) in which mathematics teacher educators and practicing teachers collaborate to prepare pre-service teachers. Through a case study, three participants in a PDS setting were studied as they took part in the initial year of a secondary mathematics methods …

Planning And Implementing Online Instruction: Faculty Perceptions Of One University, James M. Wright

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

To maintain a competitive advantage, many universities have expanded their online course offerings, and college faculty members are vital to the design, development, and delivery of online instruction (Allen & Seaman, 2007; Mitchell & Geva-May, 2009; Tabata & Johnsrud, 2008). In this study, a mixed-method approach is used to investigate faculty’s perceptions about teaching online at one university. Understanding the factors that motivate and impede faculty to teach online provided the knowledge to plan future strategies to increase faculty participation with this instructional medium.

At a large suburban university in the Southeastern United States, 363 faculty members were surveyed and …

Half-Life Learning Curves In The Defense Acquisition Life Cycle, Adedeji B. Badiru

Faculty Publications

Learning curves are useful for assessing performance improvement due to the positive impact of learning. In recent years, the deleterious effects of forgetting have also been recognized. Workers experience forgetting or decline in performance over time. Consequently, contemporary learning curves have attempted to incorporate forgetting components into learning curves. An area of increasing interest is the study of how fast and how far the forgetting impact can influence overall performance. This article introduces the concept of half-life analysis of learning curves using the concept of growth and decay, with particular emphasis on applications in the defense acquisition process. The computational …

2011-2012 Profile, Morehead State University. Institutional Research & Analysis.

Office of Institutional Research & Analysis Publication Archive

2011-2012 issue of Profile Magazine.

Enrollment Report - Summer 2012, Uno Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Enrollment Reports

The Enrollment Report provides administrative and delivery-site information on enrollment headcount and student credit hours, as well as the demographic characteristics of enrolled students. The purpose of this profile is to provide the undergraduate and graduate enrollments and student credit hour information by college or equivalent academic unit, class, gender and ethnicity.

The Effect Of Enhanced Visualization Instruction On First Grade Students' Scores On The North Carolina Standard Course Assessment, Amber Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Visualization was once thought to be an important skill for professions only related to engineering, but due to the realization of concurrent design and the fast pace of technology, it is now desirable in other professions as well. The importance of learning basic knowledge of geometrical concepts has a greater impact than it did prior to the 21st century. This study's purpose was to test the effect of enhanced visualization instruction on the visualization skills measured by the North Carolina standard course test for first grade students. This quasi-experimental study was conducted using the non-randomized subjects, non-equivalent control group design. …

Digital Immigrant Teacher Perceptions Of Social Media As It Influences The Affective And Cognitive Development Of Students: A Phenomenological Study, Robert Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to describe how digital immigrant teachers perceive the influence of social media on the affective and cognitive development of students at three high schools in Alabama. As the prevalence of social technologies is increasing, educators must understand how it is affecting students in order to instruct students and utilize technologies in an effective manner. Thus, a phenomenological study should inform teacher practitioners on how to address concerns and issues associated with social media in order to positively influence the learning environment. Ten teachers were selected from one private and two public high …

Can Practice Calibrating By Test Topic Improve Public School Students' Calibration Accuracy And Performance On Tests?, Rose M. Riggs

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The effect of a calibration strategy requiring students to predict their scores for each topic on a high stakes test was investigated. The utility of self-efficacy towards predicting achievement and calibration accuracy was also explored. One hundred and ten sixth grade math students enrolled in an urban middle school participated. Students were assigned to either a calibration practice group or a no practice condition. Students in the practice condition completed a self-efficacy scale specific to math at the beginning of the study. They also practiced making predictions for each topic on each of three tests over a three month period …

Managing Eresearch Data Within A Collaborative Research Network, Darren Gibson, Julia Gross

Research outputs 2011

Edith Cowan University (ECU) is one of twelve Australian universities striving to create world-class research capacity and capability through investment in the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) project. The CRN project at ECU aims to accelerate the growth of research activity in four key areas: Health, Education, ICT, and Environment. These areas align to both the Australian Government’s National Research Priorities and ECU’s strategic research plan. Managing eResearch data is essential, especially within a CRN to ensure the maximum benefit is achieved from the investigations. Currently, there is no set model to follow. Normally an institution will establish its own policy …

From The Margins To The Middle: Making Room For Visual Rhetoric In The Composition Classroom, Montyne H. Morris

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

This study examines the potential role of visuals in a first-year composition classroom. Essential theoretical questions include whether visual images have rhetorical power, and specifically, whether they can sustain an argument. If we suppose that visual images, like verbal texts, can be arranged to create or extend an argument, then the inclusion of visuals in a writing classroom becomes a question not of if but of how. Study findings and recommendations are relevant for first-year writing instructors, administrators, and others involved in the design and delivery of first-year writing programs.

What Value Does Service Learning Have On Introductory Engineering Students' Motivation And Abet Program Outcomes?, Carol Sevier, Seung Youn Chyung, Janet Callahan, Cheryl Schrader

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using a service learning (SL) method on influencing introductory engineering students' motivation and ABET program outcomes, compared to the effectiveness of using a conventional, non-service-learning (NSL) method. The sample used in the study was 214 students enrolled in an Introduction to Engineering course at a medium-size university in the northwestern region of the U.S. during the fall semester of 2009 and the spring semester of 2010. Sixty-nine students completed SL projects while 145 students completed NSL projects. Both SL and NSL projects were team-based. Using the ARCS model as a …

The Co-Teaching Journey: A Systematic Grounded Theory Study Investigating How Secondary School Teachers Resolve Challenges In Co-Teaching, Sharon Gerst

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this systematic grounded theory study was to explain how problems inherent in co-teaching relationships are resolved by secondary school special education and general education teachers at an urban school district in Eastern Iowa. The participants were general and special education secondary school teachers involved in effective co-teaching partnerships. Data was collected from five partnerships, utilizing focus groups, interpersonal behavior theory questionnaires, classroom observations, and individual interviews. The researcher analyzed the data using systematic grounded theory procedures of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding to develop a theory grounded in the data collected about the process by …

The Relationship Of Student Family Structure And Absence Type To Reading Achievement, James Hixson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Middle school students are affected to different degrees by absences from school. While social learning theory suggests students acquire new skills through observation and modeling, some students are more able than others to compensate for school absences. Research has shown that a student's family structure can influence achievement. Unexcused absences have also been linked to lower achievement than excused ones. Excessive unexcused absences have also been associated with family problems including insufficient support for school endeavors. This quantitative causal comparative research study will examine the relationship between family structure and absence type to reading achievement in a Title I school. …

Comparing The Success And Experiences Of Developmental Algebra I Students, Christy Lowery-Carter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Students enrolled during the spring 2011 and summer 2011 semesters taking developmental Algebra I were invited to participate in a study. Students were required to complete a researcher-made pretest prior to instruction, complete the course over the semester, and complete an identical posttest at the end of the course. The online students voluntarily completed a researcher-made survey. An ANCOVA analysis, using the pretest scores as a covariate, showed a significant difference between the online and seated students, as the online students scored significantly higher. The survey showed online students tended to utilize the captured lectures, with a larger percentage of …

The Effect Of Differentiated Instruction On Standardized Assessment Performance Of Students In The Middle School Mathematics Classroom, Kimberly Gail Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Changing demographics, student diversity, and increased accountability have compelled educators to challenge the uniform constraints of traditional instruction and create an environment focused on individual achievement. Differentiated instruction empowers teachers to target multiple learning styles through varied themes, adapted content delivery, and assessment options. This quantitative quasi-experimental research study examined the effects of differentiated instruction on seventh grade student performance on standardized mathematics assessments using a repeated-measures design. Two independent research trials, controlling for initial group differences with 2011 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, provided inconclusive assessment results. Significant differences between students who received differentiated instruction compared …