The design and development of subject matter tests for the Florida Master Teacher Program are described. The psycho- metric qualities of each test and a profile of teachers earning the designation of Associate Master Teacher are presented. Florida’s future directions in testing teachers’ subject matter knowledge are discussed, particularly through the Raymond B. Stewart Career Achievement Program act of 1986.
Empirical techniques to estimate the shrinkage of the sample R2 have been advocated as alternatives to analytical formulae. Although such techniques may be appropriate for estimating the coefficient of cross-validation, they do not provide accurate estimates of the population multiple correlation. The accuracy of four empirical techniques (simple cross-validation, multi-cross-validation, jackknife, and bootstrap) were investigated in a Monte Carlo study. Random samples of size 20 to 200 were drawn from a pseudopopulation of actual field data. Regression models were investigated with population coefficients of determination ranging from .04 to .50 and with numbers of regressors ranging from 2 to 10. Substantial statistical bias was evident when the shrunken R 2 values were used to estimate the population squared multiple correlation. Researchers are advised to avoid the empirical techniques when the parameter of interest is the population coefficient of determination rather than the coefficient of cross-validation.
Relationships between the clarity behaviors of teachers and the dual outcome measures of student achievement and satisfaction were examined. Relatively reliable measures of clarity (both of a low-inference and high-inference nature) on 32 preservice teachers who taught the same lesson within a small-group laboratory setting were generated by (a) trained observers, (b) participating students, and (c) the teachers themselves. The high and relatively low-inference measures of teacher clarity correlated highly, and both were significantly and positively related to postinstructional measures of student achievement and student satisfaction. A number of specific clarity behaviors have been identified that appear to be strongly and directly linked to desirable student outcomes.
The purpose of this studywas to investigate the relationship between sample size and the quality of factor solutions obtained from exploratory factor analysis. This research expanded upon the range of conditions previously examined, employing a broad selection of criteria for the evaluation of the quality of sample factor solutions. Results showed that when communalities are high, sample size tended to have less influence on the quality of factor solutions than when communalities are low. Overdetermination of factors was also shown to improve the factor analysis solution. Finally, decisions about the quality of the factor solution depended upon which criteria were examined.
Relationships between the clarity behaviors of teachers and the dual outcome measures of student achievement and satisfaction were examined. Relatively reliable measures of clarity (both of a low-inference and high-inference nature) on 32 preservice teachers who taught the same lesson within a small-group laboratory setting were generated by (a) trained observers, (b) participating students, and (c) the teachers themselves. The high and relatively low-inference measures of teacher clarity correlated highly, and both were significantly and positively related to postinstructional measures of student achievement and student satisfaction. A number of specific clarity behaviors have been identified that appear to be strongly and directly linked to desirable student outcomes.
A study examined the construct validity of six vocational achievement tests used in the Ohio Vocational Achievement Testing' Program. (Subject areas covered in the tests were agricultural mechanics, carpentry, diesel mechanics, distributive education for food services personnel, fabric services, and home economics/food service.) In order to validate the six tests, they were administered to 4,627 tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students and job incumbents from a wide cross-section of urban, suburban, and rural locations in Ohio. After computing the Ruder Richardson Formula 20 reliability coefficient, for each test to measure its internal consistency, researchers assessed the construct validity of each test through a comparative analysis of the performance levels of the abo.amentioned groups on the six tests. A two-factor analysis of vai:Lance design, incorporating academic aptitude as a blocking factor, was then employed to investigate group differences in performance levels on each test. Evidence gathered from the study suggests the reliability of each of the six tests and their subtests and further suggests that they could be valuable tools to be used by administrators and teachers as part of a curriculum analysis and inspection system. (MN) ************i********************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the bast that can be made * * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** A STUDY OF THE CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF SIX VOCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS IN THE OHIO VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENT
The technique of path analysis was used to test the role of student task engagement as a mediating process variable linking teacher behavior and student achievement in math and social studies classes. Forty teacher-interns and their respective elementary level classes participated in the study. Two measures of teacher behavior and a measure of student task engagement were obtained during lessons from two-week instructional units designed specifically for the study. Achievement was defined as the class mean residualized gain score, residualizing student post- test scores on both content pretest performance and scores on relevant subtests of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. Results suggest different causal paths from teacher behavior to achievement in the two contexts. In social studies classes, task engagement emerged as a mediating variable as hypothesized, while in mathematics classes it played no causal role in achievement. Results were interpreted as an example of the added information obtained from testing path models rather than examining only zero-order correlations.
