Download or read book Methodological Advances in Cross National Surveys of Educational Achievement written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-06-14 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In November 2000, the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BICSE) held a symposium to draw on the wealth of experience gathered over a four-decade period, to evaluate improvement in the quality of the methodologies used in international studies, and to identify the most pressing methodological issues that remain to be solved. Since 1960, the United States has participated in 15 large-scale cross-national education surveys. The most assessed subjects have been science and mathematics through reading comprehension, geography, nonverbal reasoning, literature, French, English as a foreign language, civic education, history, computers in education, primary education, and second-language acquisition. The papers prepared for this symposium and discussions of those papers make up the volume, representing the most up-to-date and comprehensive assessment of methodological strengths and weaknesses of international comparative studies of student achievement. These papers answer the following questions: (1) What is the methodological quality of the most recent international surveys of student achievement? How authoritative are the results? (2) Has the methodological quality of international achievement studies improved over the past 40 years? and (3) What are promising opportunities for future improvement?

Download or read book Brookings Papers on Education Policy 2003 written by Diane Ravitch and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1983 the seminal report issued by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, "A Nation at Risk," charged that most American high schoolers were following a general course of instruction, choosing neither the college-preparatory track nor the vocational option. This pattern, the report complained, had fostered low expectations and a curricular hodge-podge of classes that failed to prepare students for college or work. The commission called on states to implement academic requirements for all students, regardless of background, including four years of English and three years each of science, mathematics, and social studies. Students should not be sorted by their presumed future destinations, the commission reasoned, but should be offered an equal opportunity to get a high-quality education to fit them either for postsecondary education or the modern workplace. Two decades after the commission called on states to reform the high school environment and raise graduation requirements, the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution convened a a group of prominent scholars to explore the current state of America's high schools, focusing on new research about reforming these institutions that are so important in the lives of the nation's adolescents. The questions considered reflected the diversity of the participants and covered a variety of areas—historical, international, sociological, and practical. Data gathered by the U.S. Department of Education show students today are taking many more advanced courses in mathematics and the sciences, while at the same time test scores do not reflect the increases in enrollments in academic courses. In addition, large score gaps remain among students from different social groups. Reform of the high schools must take into account the elementary and middle schools that prepare students and the postsecondary institutions to which students aspire. Adolescent culture and students' views about school and academic work play important roles in student achievement, as do the family and contemporary society in shaping of adolescent behavior. No matter their background, all participants agreed that the key to a successful high school rests with the extent to which it recognizes and strengthens its commitment to the intellectual growth of its students.

Download or read book US educational achievement on international assessments written by Ben Dalton and published by RTI Press. This book was released on 2011-05-23 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The debate about the performance of US students on international assessments of educational achievement routinely fails to account for one consistently stark result: US achievement is bifurcated between a group of high-performing Asian and white students and an exceptionally low-performing group of black and Hispanic students. By summarizing results across 20 major international tests conducted since 1995, this research paper shows that when US racial and ethnic groups are separately compared with other countries, Asian and white students regularly perform at or near the top of international rankings, while black and Hispanic students typically rank at or near the bottom. Furthermore, the United States has a substantially larger minority population than all other developed countries, and minority status is not synonymous with internationally comparable factors such as socioeconomic level or immigrant status. The fact that overall US scores are disproportionately influenced by race and ethnicity suggests that researchers and reformers must reconsider how they use and interpret the results of international achievement tests. The research paper recommends providing and analyzing cross-national data separately by ethnic groups to inform approaches to improving education for all students.

Download or read book The SAGE International Handbook of Educational Evaluation written by Katherine Ryan and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2009-07-15 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together the expertise of top evaluation leaders from around the world, The SAGE International Handbook of Educational Evaluation addresses methods and applications in the field, particularly as they relate to policy- and decision-making in an era of globalization. The comprehensive collection of articles in the Handbook compels readers to consider globalization influences on educational evaluation within distinct genres or families of evaluation approaches. Key Features Discusses substantive issues surrounding globalization, and its implication for educational policy and practice and ultimately evaluation; Includes state-of-the-art theory chapters and method chapters within scientific, accountability-oriented, learning-oriented, and political genres of evaluation approaches; Provides real-world case exemplar chapters to illustrate core concepts within genres; Extends dialogue on controversial topics and contemporary educational evaluation tensions in the context of globalization; Summarizes, by means of an integration chapter, the issues, tensions and dilemmas confronting educational evaluators in an era of globalization. Serving as a state-of-the-art resource on educational evaluation, this volume is designed for graduate students, evaluation scholars and researchers and professional evaluation practitioners with an interest in educational program and policy evaluation.

Download or read book Progress in Reading Literacy in National and International Context The Impact of PIRLS 2006 in 12 Countries written by Knut Schwippert and published by Waxmann Verlag. This book was released on 2012 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 2001, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has been conducting, in cycles of five years, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). The PIRLS program encompasses trend studies designed to monitor progress in reading achievement in an internationally comparative context. PIRLS 2001 and PIRLS 2006 both assessed primary school students in their fourth year of schooling (Grade 4 in the majority of countries). Progress in Reading Literacy in National and International Context is the second book to explore the influence of findings from the PIRLS surveys on different education systems. It presents a compilation of insights from 12 of the 35 countries that participated in PIRLS 2006. These insights relate to the impact of PIRLS on the systemic, governmental, administrative, and school-level aspects of the education systems featured and exemplify how PIRLS has influenced research initiatives, policy development, and national capacity-building. The primary aim of this book and its predecessor (Progress in Reading Literacy: The Impact of PIRLS 2001 in 13 Countries, edited by Knut Schwippert and published in 2007) has been to explore the opportunities that PIRLS’ findings hold for the development of education systems. Five of the 12 countries participating in the current impact of PIRLS project contributed to the 2001 project. For these countries, the current book provided opportunity to view, from a longitudinal perspective, the transformative processes initiated in response to the findings of both surveys. The book thus provides in-depth information on the various aspects of the national education systems represented herein that have originated, been restructured, or otherwise been modified as a direct or an indirect consequence of the results of the 2001 and 2006 PIRLS surveys. The book also gives a brief overview of the design, implementation, and main international findings of PIRLS 2001 and 2006. These introductory chapters are followed by country chapters, each of which is written by authors with unique insider perspectives gained from their work in their home institutions within their national contexts. Findings from these chapters are assembled in a comparative summary.

Download or read book Handbook of Research in Education Finance and Policy written by Helen F. Ladd and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 786 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sponsored by the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), this groundbreaking new handbook assembles in one place the existing research-based knowledge in education finance and policy, thereby helping to define this evolving field of research and practice. It provides a readily available resource for anyone seriously involved in education finance and policy in the United States and around the world. The Handbook traces the evolution of the field from its initial focus on school inputs and the revenue sources used to finance these inputs to a focus on educational outcomes and the larger policies used to achieve them. It shows how the current decision-making context in school finance inevitably interacts with those of governance, accountability, equity, privatization, and other areas of education policy. Because a full understanding of the important contemporary issues requires input from a variety of perspectives, the Handbook draws on contributors from a variety of disciplines. While many of the chapters cover complex state-of-the-art empirical research, the authors explain key concepts in language that non-specialists can understand.

Download or read book Using the Results of a National Assessment of Educational Achievement written by Thomas Kellaghan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2009 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are students learning? Throughout the world, governments striving to improve educational quality are turning to national assessments to provide this much-needed information in key curriculum areas. The capacity for carrying out national assessments has grown remarkably in recent years, but it has not been matched by widespread use of their findings. This book seeks to maximize an appreciation for the value of such data and to assist countries in exploiting the knowledge that national assessments yield. Using the Results of a National Assessment of Educational Achievement identifies the main factors affecting the use of national assessment findings. These include the political context in which an assessment is carried out, the nature of the assessment (census based or sample based), the assignment of accountability for the results, and the quality of assessment instruments. The book describes the type of information that the main report of a national assessment should contain, as well as other means of communicating findings to technical and nontechnical audiences. It outlines general considerations in translating national assessment results into policy and action, and examines specific procedures for using the data in policy making, educational management, teaching, and promoting public awareness. The topics addressed in this volume should be of interest to policy makers, educators, researchers, and development practitioners.

Download or read book Survey Methods in Multinational Multiregional and Multicultural Contexts written by Janet A. Harkness and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-04-30 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique collaboration featuring the latest methodologies and research on multi- and cross-national surveys Over the past two decades, the relevance of cross-national and cross-cultural methodologies has heightened across various fields of study. Responding to increasing cultural diversity and rapid changes in how research is conducted, Survey Methods in Multinational, Multiregional, and Multicultural Contexts addresses the need for refined tools and improved procedures in cross-cultural and cross-national studies worldwide. Based on research submitted to the International Conference on Multinational, Multicultural, and Multiregional Survey Methods (3MC), this book identifies important changes in comparative methodology approaches, outlines new findings, and provides insight into future developments in the field. Some of the world's leading survey researchers gather in this volume to address the need for a standard framework that promotes quality assurance and quality control in survey research, and its impact on various stages of the survey life cycle, including study design and organization, cross-national sampling, testing and pretesting, data collection, and input and output variable harmonization. Self-contained chapters feature coverage of various topics, such as: Question and questionnaire design, from both global and study-specific perspectives The construction and evaluation of survey translations and instrument adaptations The effects of cultural difference on the perception of question and response categories Non-response issues Analysis in comparative contexts, featuring discussion of polytomous item response theory, categorization problems, and Multi-Trait-Multi-Methods (MTMM) The significance of evolving methodologies for current international survey programs, including the European Social Survey, the International Social Survey Programme, and the Gallup World Poll Survey Methods in Multinational, Multiregional, and Multicultural Contexts is a valuable supplement for courses on comparative survey methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as an insightful reference for professionals who design, implement, and analyze comparative research in the areas of business, public health, and the social and behavioral sciences.

Download or read book Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2017 written by Alexander W. Wiseman and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2018-02-03 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume surveys the field of comparative and international education (CIE) from several globally-representative perspectives, providing expert analyses on a range of recent trends and important concerns in the CIE community worldwide.

Download or read book The SAGE Handbook of Survey Methodology written by Christof Wolf and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2016-03-24 with total page 741 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a particular focus on the complexities of cross-national, comparative survey research, explored by a team of international experts at local and national levels, this exciting new handbook provides readers with a cutting-edge resource.

Download or read book The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Studies in Education written by Larry E. Suter and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2019-05-27 with total page 936 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Educational practices have rapidly changed in the last few decades, especially in how exchanges of information and learning are delivered and processed. Yet, while the field of international comparative studies has grown, there has not been an extensive study on the relationship between educational practices, students, and how practitioners are prepared and trained. This handbook explores international educational practices and behaviours through new research and a review of existing research, with chapters spread across six parts: Part I: Introduction to Research Practices in Comparative Studies of Education Part II: Research Methods Part III: Policy Transfer Research through International Comparisons Part IV: Use of Student time in Formal and Informal Settings Part V: School Practices from Early Childhood through Secondary School Part VI: Conclusion - Lessons from Large Scale Studies

Download or read book Educating All Children written by Joel E. Cohen and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experts illuminate the challenges of achieving universal basic and secondary education, discussing the importance and difficulties not only of expanding access to education and but also of improving the quality of education.

Download or read book Socioeconomic Inequality and Educational Outcomes written by Markus Broer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-05-15 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book focuses on trends in educational inequality using twenty years of grade 8 student data collected from 13 education systems by the IEA’s Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) between 1995 and 2015. While the overall positive association between family socioeconomic status (SES) and student achievement is well documented in the literature, the magnitude of this relationship is contingent on social contexts and is expected to vary by education system. Research on how such associations differ across societies and how the strength of these relationships has changed over time is limited. This study, therefore, addresses an important research and policy question by examining changes in the inequality of educational outcomes due to SES over this 20-year period, and also examines the extent to which the performance of students from disadvantaged backgrounds has improved over time in each education system. Education systems generally aim to narrow the achievement gap between low- and high-SES students and to improve the performance of disadvantaged students. However, the lack of quantifiable and comprehensible measures makes it difficult to assess and monitor the effect of such efforts. In this study, a novel measure of SES that is consistent across all TIMSS cycles allows students to be categorized into different socioeconomic groups. This measure of SES may also contribute to future research using TIMSS trend data. Readers will gain new insight into how educational inequality has changed in the education systems studied and how such change may relate to the more complex picture of macroeconomic changes in those societies.

Download or read book Re Evaluating Education in Japan and Korea written by Hyunjoon Park and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-18 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International comparisons of student achievement in mathematics, science, and reading have consistently shown that Japanese and Korean students outperform their peers in other parts of world. Understandably, this has attracted many policymakers and researchers seeking to emulate this success, but it has also attracted strong criticism and a range of misconceptions of the Japanese and Korean education system. Directly challenging these misconceptions, which are prevalent in both academic and public discourses, this book seeks to provide a more nuanced view of the Japanese and Korean education systems. This includes the idea that the highly standardized means of education makes outstanding students mediocre; that the emphasis on memorization leads to a lack of creativity and independent thinking; that students’ successes are a result of private supplementary education; and that the Japanese and Korean education systems are homogenous to the point of being one single system. Using empirical data Hyunjoon Park re-evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the existing education systems in Japan and Korea and reveals whether the issues detailed above are real or unfounded and misinformed. Offering a balanced view of the evolving and complex nature of academic achievement among Japanese and Korean students, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Asian, international and comparative education, as well as those interested in Asian society more broadly.

Download or read book Research Advances in the Mathematical Education of Pre service Elementary Teachers written by Gabriel J. Stylianides and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-11-16 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines new trends and developments in research related to the mathematical education of pre-service elementary teachers, and explores the implications of these research advances for theory and practice in teacher education. The book is organized around the following four overarching themes: pre-service teachers’ mathematics content and mathematics-specific pedagogical preparation; professional growth through activities and assessment tools used in mathematics teacher preparation programs; pre-service mathematics teachers’ knowledge and beliefs; and perspectives on noticing in the preparation of elementary mathematics teachers. Including contributions from researchers working in 11 different countries, the book offers a forum for discussing and debating the state of the art regarding the mathematical preparation of pre-service elementary teachers. By presenting and discussing the findings of research conducted in different countries, the book offers also opportunities to readers to learn about varying teacher education practices around the world, such as: innovative practices in advancing or assessing teachers’ knowledge and beliefs, similarities and differences in the formal mathematics education of teachers, types of and routes in teacher education, and factors that can influence similarities or differences.

Download or read book Understanding Others Educating Ourselves written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2003-04-22 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1988, the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BICSE) at the (U.S.) National Research Council of the National Academies has engaged in activities designed to increase the rigor and sophistication of international comparative studies in education by encouraging synergies between large and smaller scale international comparative education research, to identify gaps in the existing research base, and to assist in communicating results to policy makers and the public. Under the current grant (1998-2002), funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, BICSE has sponsored public events and commissioned papers on the effects of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the power of video technology in international education research, international perspectives on teacher quality, and advances in the methodology of cross-national surveys of education achievement. This report responds to a request from the board's sponsors under the current grant to produce a report that builds on its previous work.

Download or read book How Does Context Matter Comparing Achievement Scores Opportunities to Learn and Teacher Preparation Across Socio economic Quintiles Using TIMSS and PISA written by Frank Marshall Adamson and published by Stanford University. This book was released on 2010 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many people have touted education as a great equalizer because it provides students with the skills and opportunity to succeed in life based on their own merit. While this attitude has helped increase access to education around the world, the quality of that education varies. Globally, education has multiple challenges. On the micro level, educational quality remains inconsistent, and on the macro level, increasing economic inequality has potential to deleteriously affect education. This study analyzes the relationships between micro level education phenomena and these macro level economic forces to determine how economic inequality relates to education quality. This study engages the infamous educational "black box" in three different areas that capture, in aggregate, a meaningful portion of the classroom experience: opportunity to learn (OTL), teacher preparation, and student achievement. The analysis situates educational quality in the context of country-level economics by comparing students across three types of economic disparities: inequality between countries, inequality within countries, and inequality in the socio-economic status (SES) of students. Between-country inequality consists of differences in overall country income while within-country inequality concerns the distribution of income. Between-student inequality gauges the relative SES of families and their ability to provide resources conducive to education. The main hypothesis is that high SES students in more-unequal countries have relatively more access to educational resources, leading to relatively better teachers, relatively more OTL, and higher math scores. The converse would hold true for low SES students. Findings from international comparisons using the international assessments in 2003 (PISA and TIMSS) show that income inequality adversely relates to educational factors for students in all SES groups. Both high and low SES students in more-unequal countries have lower achievement scores, less prepared teachers, and less OTL. More detailed analysis at the country level does not identify any "silver bullets" for low or high income inequality countries, but does show that OTL has a greater relationship to achievement for higher SES students, while environmental factors such as community size matter for low SES students. Theses findings imply that high SES students have the foundation to take better advantage of their educational settings while low SES students must first manage their social and economic environments.