第十二辑（下）

21. The Minimum Grading Controversy: Results of a Quantitative Study of Seven Years of Grading Data From an Urban High School

Author: Theodore Carey and James Carifio

Source: Educational Researcher, 2012, 41(6): 201-208

Abstract: In an effort to reduce failure and drop-out rates, schools have been implementing minimum grading. One form involves raising catastrophically low student quarter grades to a predetermined minimum—typically a 50. Proponents argue it gives struggling students a reasonable chance to recover from failure. Critics contend the practice induces grade inflation and social promotion. The authors performed a quantitative study of seven years of grading data from one school where minimum grading had been implemented to better evaluate these competing claims. Statistical analyses revealed no evidence that minimum grading was inducing either grade inflation or social promotion. These and other related findings have implications for educators looking to institute reforms that lead to fairer and more accurate student assessment.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

22. Do pseudoword false alarm rates and overestimation rates in Yes/No vocabulary tests change with Japanese university students’ English ability levels?

Author: Raymond Stubbe

Source: Language Testing， 2012， 29（4）: 471-488

Abstract: Pseudowords, or non-real words, were introduced to the Yes/No (YN) vocabulary test format to provide a means of checking for overestimation of word knowledge by test takers. The purpose of this study is to assess the assumption that more pseudoword checks (false alarms) indicate more instances of overestimation of word knowledge in YN tests. Thirty English classes in five different Japanese universities with TOEIC® scores ranging from 230 to 730 participated (n = 490). YN test results were compared with a multiple-choice test of the same 96 real words to provide a way to check directly for instances of underestimation and overestimation of word knowledge on the YN tests. Results showed that students from the higher proficiency universities had a slightly higher pseudoword false alarm rate than students from the lower ability universities (4.28% and 3.96%, respectively). However, overestimation rates were considerably lower for these same students from the higher proficiency universities (3.24% and 5.67%, respectively). This discrepancy between false alarm rates and overestimation rates questions the value of pseudowords for measuring overestimation in YN vocabulary tests when student ability levels differ significantly.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

23. Reading Curriculum-Based Measures in Spanish: An Examination of Validity and Diagnostic Accuracy

Author: Milena A. Keller-Margulis, Anita Payan, Carol Booth

Source: Assessment for Effective Intervention, 2012, 37(4): 212-223

Abstract: Substantial research exists to support the use of reading curriculum-based measures (R-CBMs) for screening and progress monitoring in schools; however, nearly all of this work has been done in English. The changing demographics of students who attend public school includes children who speak other languages. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between R-CBMs in Spanish used as a universal screening measure and performance on the state achievement measure in Spanish. Results included moderate correlations at third and fourth grade. Diagnostic accuracy results using the 25th percentile and the selection of cut scores using receiver operating characteristic curves suggest the utility of R-CBMs in Spanish for screening purposes. Practical implications and future directions for research are discussed.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

24. Diverse Schools in a Democratic Society: New Ways of Understanding How School Demographics Affect Civic and Political Learning

Author: Rebecca Jacobsen, Erica Frankenberg, and Sarah Winchell Lenhoff

Source: American Educational Research Journal, 2012, 49(5): 812-843

Abstract: The 2010 Census revealed the extent to which today’s metropolitan areas are growing increasingly diverse. At the forefront of this change are schools. Yet, research on school context continues to rely upon a traditional, cross-sectional bifurcation that designates schools as either diverse or not. This classification may be especially inaccurate for some educational outcomes such as whether schools are cultivating effective citizenship for a diverse democracy. Because of changing demographics, this paper considers whether a new framework for conceptualizing school racial composition, including the number and identity of specific racial groups and the stability of those groups, can determine more precisely the ways in which school diversity impacts students’ citizenship learning.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

25. Cultivating Flourishing Lives: A Robust Social Justice Vision of Education

Author: Carl A. Grant

Source: American Educational Research Journal, 2012, 49(5): 910-934

Abstract: Presented at AERA 2010 as the Social Justice Award Lecture, this article calls attention to the purposes of education in the 21st century and the need for a robust, social justice vision of education. Here, it is argued that education is about the cultivation of a flourishing life and not only the narrow preparation for employment. To realize education that cultivates students’ flourishing minds and lives, this article proposes five core principles for this robust social justice vision: self-assessment, critical questioning, practicing democracy, social action, and criteria for adjudication.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

26. We Are the 5%: Which Schools Would Be Held Accountable Under a Proposed Revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act?

Author: Andrew McEachin and Morgan S. Polikoff

Source: Educational Researcher, 2012, 41(7): 243-251

Abstract: This article uses data from California to analyze the results of the proposed accountability system in the Senate’s Harkin-Enzi draft Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization. The authors analyze existing statewide school-level data from California, applying the accountability criteria proposed in the draft law. Comparing the proposed system to the No Child Left Behind Act’s Adequate Yearly Progress provisions, they draw conclusions about the stability of the proposed identification schemes and the types of schools likely to be identified. They conclude with several policy recommendations that could be easily incorporated into the law, based on their analysis and the existing literature.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

27.The Consequences of International Comparisons for Public Support of K–12 Education: Evidence From a National Survey Experiment

Author: Stephen L. Morgan and Emily S. Taylor Poppe

Source: Educational Researcher, 2012, 41(7): 262-268

Abstract:  Candidates for public office in the United States frequently justify their positions on education policy priorities by stating the need to strengthen the nation’s economic competitiveness against new global challengers. In this article, the authors investigate the consequences of this form of policy motivation for attitudes toward and support of public schooling in the United States. Using a national survey experiment where a two-question prime on international competitiveness is randomized across respondents, the authors test for differential responses to attitude items that have been included regularly since the 1970s in the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll and the General Social Survey. The results suggest that framing educational policy with the goal of enhancing international competitiveness lowers subjective assessments of the quality of local schooling without increasing interest in additional spending to improve the nation’s education system.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

28. The role of extra-linguistic factors in receptive bilingualism: Evidence from Danish and Swedish pre-schoolers

Author: Anja Schüppert, Charlotte Gooskens

Source: International Journal of Bilingualism, 2012, 16(3): 332-347

Abstract: Danish and Swedish are closely related languages that are generally mutually intelligible. Previous research has shown, however, that Danes comprehend more spoken Swedish than vice versa. It has been suggested that this asymmetry is caused by extra-linguistic factors such as literacy, contact with, and attitudes held towards the test language. However, also linguistic factors, such as supra-segmental features or differences in speech rate, could cause or increase an asymmetry. The aim of the experiment reported in this article was to exclude three extra-linguistic factors (attitude, contact and literacy) in order to determine their role in mutual intelligibility. Participants were 19 Danish- and 26 Swedish-speaking illiterate preschoolers. Their task was to match 50 cognate nouns to corresponding pictures in a multiple-choice task. Results revealed that word-recognition scores in Danish children (63 percent) did not differ significantly from the Swedish scores (65 percent). That means that, in contrast to adult Danes, Danish children did not perform better on the word-recognition task than their Swedish peers. This finding suggests that extra-linguistic factors play an important role in intelligibility of a closely related language, and, as extra-linguistic factors develop, the intelligibility asymmetry develops.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

29. Exploiting receptive multilingualism in institutional language learning: The case of Italian in the Austrian secondary school system

Author: Eva Vette

Source: International Journal of Bilingualism, 2012, 16(3): 348-365

Abstract: This contribution begins with a terminological discussion of ‘receptive multilingualism’ and related concepts. Subsequently, approaches to developing receptive competences in Romance languages in general, and Italian in particular, as well as their potential and possible shortcomings, are presented. Against the background of European multilingualism and particularly the Common European Framework’s concept of plurilingualism, the article opts for a broad approach to receptive multilingualism which foregrounds the interactive component. Second, the potential of the Austrian secondary school system for integrating receptive multilingualism is discussed against the background of the current curricula. Finally, a small-scale study involving future teachers of Italian investigates how far they are or are not familiar with the acquisition of receptive competences.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

30. Scoring Yes–No vocabulary tests: Reaction time vs. nonword approaches

Author: Ana Pellicer-Sánchez and Norbert Schmitt

Source: Language Testing, 2012, 29(4): 489-509

Abstract: Despite a number of research studies investigating the Yes–No vocabulary test format, one main question remains unanswered: What is the best scoring procedure to adjust for testee overestimation of vocabulary knowledge? Different scoring methodologies have been proposed based on the inclusion and selection of nonwords in the test. However, there is currently no consensus on the best adjustment procedure using these nonwords. Two studies were conducted to examine a new methodology for scoring Yes–No tests based on testees’ response times (RTs) to the words in the test, on the assumption that faster responses would be more certain and accurate whereas more hesitant and inaccurate ones would be reflected in slower RTs. Participants performed a timed Yes–No test and were then interviewed to ascertain their actual vocabulary knowledge. Study 1 explored the viability of this approach and Study 2 examined whether the RT approach presented any advantage over the more traditional nonword approaches. Results showed that there was no clear advantage for any of the approaches under comparison, but their effectiveness depended on factors like the false alarm rate and the size of participants’ overestimation of their lexical knowledge.