Studies in Educational Evaluation最新文献

With the rise of secondary alternative schools in the Netherlands, such as Montessori and Dalton, research into its effectiveness has become crucial. Alternative schools’ greater focus on autonomy and independence may better equip students with the self-regulated learning (SRL) skills essential for higher education. The aim of this study is to investigate the transition of secondary (alternative) education to higher education. More specifically, former Dalton (N = 184), Montessori (N = 150), and regular (N = 8614) secondary education students are compared on the perceived fit between secondary education and higher education, for example in regard to learning to work together and work alone, and SRL skills in a bootstrapped hierarchical regression. Results show that former Dalton students rate the fit of their secondary education to their higher education significantly better than students who attended regular education. No other significant differences were found when comparing Montessori and regular education students regarding fit, or when comparing both Montessori and Dalton to regular education regarding the SRL skills of students. Alternative explanations regarding the differences between alternative and regular educations are discussed.

Several studies have indicated the presence of a retention effect of admission testing in higher education, but so far little is known about the possible mechanisms behind such an effect. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between admission testing, selected psychological attributes, program performance and early dropout at university for two admission tracks (grade-based admission and test-based admission). Students from five faculties were surveyed at baseline in a prospective cohort study design. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model first-year dropout for 499 students. Results indicated the presence of a retention effect of pre-academic exam self-efficacy (PAE-SE) for the subgroup of students admitted via test-based admission. Implications of the results for research and admission testing practice are discussed.

Previous research suggests that girls get better school marks and are more often recommended for academic school tracks after primary school. Using data from a representative sample of 4529 students who were followed longitudinally between grades 1–4 in Germany, this study adds nuance to this picture. In simple logistic regression models, girls were found to get more favourable teacher ratings in terms of language and written skills and more favourable school track recommendations, while boys got better teacher ratings in terms of nature knowledge and mathematical skills. In models that included control variables (achievement test scores, teacher-rated ability to concentrate, teacher-rated social skills, and teacher-rated personality characteristics), gender gaps shifted to the boys’ advantage, with written skills remaining the only domain with female advantages. Linear growth models showed that in three out of four cases, gender gaps in teacher-rated skills widened over the course of primary school.

In the future world of work, problem-solving skills will continue to be important assets for youths. The present study tested the effectiveness of a 16-week and an additional 5-week project-based learning program designed for improving problem-solving skills. Data were collected from 97 youth (M_age = 23.03), who participated in the program, using three different sources of assessment (i.e., self, peer, rater) and two methods of measurement (i.e., survey questionnaires, task performance). A two-level hierarchical linear model was applied to data. Results from self-reports showed that problem-solving skills increased after 16-week participation, but no extra improvement was found by participating in an additional 5-week booster program. When using peers’ and raters’ reports, the participants’ skills also significantly improved throughout the 16-week program. The implications of the findings on theory are discussed.

This paper explores the power of collaborative peer feedback within doctoral writing groups by examining the effects of the feedback process that was implemented as part of a book project. Using communities of practice as a guiding theoretical framework, we identify that participants discovered how working together helped them foster collegiality, trust, and collective learning. Furthermore, writing group members felt that collaborative peer feedback helped them develop a shared repertoire and understanding of academic writing and publishing. Participants perceived collaborative peer feedback as a way to improve academic writing proficiency, build self-esteem, and foster confidence. Importantly, participants saw the experiential learning process applied in this book project as a way to discover previously tacit understandings or obscure practices in academia. Consequently, the findings of this study demonstrate that collaborative peer feedback within a safe space can foster learning-focused feedback when students are active and reflexive agents in the feedback process.

Psychometrics traditionally has assumed that the changes occurring during learning have the same dimensionality as the targeted construct. This approach is akin to understanding learning as climbing a mountain: for each ability a student can increase their ability, decrease it, or not change it. However, an alternative approach has recently been suggested – learning score analysis. This analysis is grounded in the assumption that students “slide through” the curriculum rather than “climb it”: they forget something to learn something. This approach suggests that positive and negative dynamics can occur at the same time. This suggestion is also supported by the evidence from cognitive psychology that learning and forgetting are separate cognitive processes. Hence, we contrast the traditional approach to conceptualizing growth and change to the alternative approach. We use IRT-based modeling to compare the results from both approaches, and show that the alternative approach provides more insight into learning.

The aim of this study was to explore the impact mechanism of teachers' formative assessment on students' creativity competence. Herein, structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to investigate the potential mediating role of self-confidence in learning and intrinsic motivation based on large-scale longitudinal tracking data. The results indicate that, after controlling for pretests of creativity competence, socioeconomic status (SES), and gender, it was found that formative assessment practices have a direct and positive predictive power for creativity competence (the direct effect accounts for 39.4 %). Furthermore, formative assessment practices indirectly and positively predict creativity competence through the mediation of self-confidence in learning (the indirect effect accounts for 10.0 %) and intrinsic motivation (the indirect effect accounts for 50.6 %). We conclude that the main contribution from formative assessment to creativity may be in building an environment that fosters self-confidence in learning and intrinsic motivation.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a Swedish nation-wide professional development on participating teachers’ teaching practice and their knowledge, where collegial work, as a central part of the professional development, is taken into account as a factor to influence the outcome. We conducted statistical analyses (linear mixed models) on observational and interview data from a random selection of 105 teachers (grades 1–10/primary and secondary school). The results show effects on several aspects of teacher knowledge and teacher practice. However, the results show no connections between how the teachers have worked collegially and the observed changes in the teacher’s knowledge and practice.

Despite extensive research on Assessment for Learning (AfL) in the classroom, the importance of contextual factors as perceived by teachers remains underexplored. This study examines the extent to which elements of the classroom context, in particular heterogeneity, influence the frequency of AfL. Using 2018 TALIS data from 47 countries, this study found that teachers who perceived higher levels of heterogeneity in their classrooms conducted more frequent classroom assessments. The degree of AfL was most significantly influenced by the perception of heterogeneity among academically gifted students, followed by socioeconomically disadvantaged students, immigrant students, students whose first language is different from the language of instruction, and students with behavioral problems. Interestingly, when teachers perceive a higher proportion of low-achieving students, the frequency of AfL tends to decrease. These findings suggest that AfL can be used not only as a tool in circumstances where learning processes are challenging, but also as an approach to understanding and addressing the diverse learning potentials and backgrounds in the classroom.

Small classes may affect students’ science achievement, but research evidence for small-class effects on science achievement in secondary education has been scarce. To fill this literature gap, this study examines small-class effects on 15-year-old students’ science achievement using the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 data from 26 countries including 24 European countries plus U.S. and Canada. To reduce confounding factors and estimation bias, propensity score analysis was conducted to control significant differences between students in small versus non-small classes on important observed covariates. Results indicate that the effects of small classes on science achievement were statistically significant and negative in 9 countries (e.g., Germany) whereas in other 17 countries small-class effects were non-significant. Fixed-effects meta-analysis was utilized to combine effect sizes, and findings reveal that the effects of small classes were significant and negative, suggesting that students in non-small classes had higher science achievement, but the overall effect size was small.