Estudio sobre la adecuación de pruebas de rendimiento escolar y de aptitudes a la situación bilingüe.

Detectar la inadecuación de las pruebas tradicionales para evaluar el rendimiento escolar e intelectual de los alumnos, cuando eran aplicadas en la forma estándar a sujetos bilingües. Evaluar la influencia de la Lengua de aplicación de los rendimientos obtenidos en algunas de las principales pruebas usadas en la evaluación psicopedagógica. 472 alumnos de quinto curso de EGB pertencientes a 12 centros escolares. Investigación experimental, en la que después de aplicar los instrumentos de obtención de información, se evalúan para cada individuo, tres medidas: la inteligencia no verbal, el índice de bilingüismo y el contacto de cada sujeto con cada idioma, con el fin de conocer la influencia de la Lengua de aplicación en el rendimiento obtenido en las pruebas usadas en la evaluación psicopedagógica. Se puede tomar como variable independiente la Lengua de presentación de la prueba y como variable dependiente: el rendimiento obtenido por los sujetos en la prueba. Test de matrices progresivas de Raven. Cuestionario socio-lingüístico subjetivo para recoger los datos personales, autoevaluación y comportamiento en el ambiente familiar, social y ante los medios de comunicación así como, la calificación subjetiva de la competencia lingüística de cada individuo. Ejercicios de enumeración léxica contextualizada -'Ward-Naming'- para medir la competencia lingüística del individuo. Test 'Otis sencillo' para medir la inteligencia general. Test de pronóstico académico -APT-. Test de aptitudes escolares -TEA-2-. Test de aptitudes mentales primarias -PMA-. Análisis factorial para conocer los factores que influían en cada prueba, sobre todo, la fluctuación producida al modificar la Lengua de redacción de las mismas. Tablas estadísticas. En las pruebas diseñadas para medir el factor verbal es clara la superioridad del rendimiento obtenido cuando éstas son aplicadas de forma bilingüe. En las pruebas verbales, se manifiesta un déficit para los sujetos bilingües en comparación con los monolingües en sus mismas condiciones. Hay un proceso evolutivo, en el que la máxima deficiencia se presenta en una edad temprana y que va disminuyendo según pasan los años, hasta desaparecer, alrededor de los 18 años. La superioridad de rendimiento en las pruebas verbales disminuye cuando interviene el componente intelectual, desapareciendo cuando la capacidad intelectual es preponderante. El efecto de la presentación bilingüe de la tarea a realizar depende en gran medida de la naturaleza de dicha tarea: si el fenómeno bilingüe tiene poco peso en esta naturaleza, la aplicación de la prueba de forma bilingüe exigirá un incremento de la importancia de dicho fenómeno; en el caso de una tarea en la que influya el bilingüismo, la realización de la misma de forma bilingüe hace bajar la importancia de dicho factor para subir el peso de la capacidad intelectual.

Igualdad de oportunidades.

Averiguar las impresiones de los profesores de EGB y BUP sobre la reimplantación de la selectividad en el curso 1975-76 tras haber sido abolida por la Ley de Educación de 1970; analizar las medias de 50 colegios de Madrid y Guadalajara. 150 Profesores de EGB, 17 de COU, de 50 colegios de Madrid y Guadalajara -capital, provincia-. A partir de algunas preguntas incluidas en el Proyecto Igualdad de Oportunidades se incluyen las respuestas de 150 profesores de EGB y BUP encuestados sobre el tema de la selectividad -pero de EGB a BUP y de éste a la Universidad-. Se pregunta por el criterio de selección, tipo de prueba a aplicar, vigor de la selección y que se deben aplicar y calificar las pruebas. Se presentan respuestas de profesores según distinto nivel -quinto y octavo de EGB, BUP-, tipo de centro -estatal, laico, iglesia-, situación profesional -contratado, numerario, no numerario-. Las preguntas alrededor de la selectividad se consideran variables independientes. Las distintas situaciones profesionales de los profesores son las variables dependientes. Para analizar las medias de los 50 colegios objeto de estudio, se han empleado 4 tests de inteligencia: test de habilidad escolar; test de habilidad general; test de razonamiento formal; test de comprensión verbal. Se ha aplicado después la regresión lineal múltiple. 1) Criterios de selectividad : un tercio proponen criterios diferentes de los normales propuestos en la encuesta -paso a BUP: aprobar octavo, aprobarlo 'bien muy bien', númerus clausus; paso a Universidad: aprobar COU; prueba de selectividad, madurez, numerus clausus-. 2) Procedimientos de selectividad: a) paso a BUP: preferencia por las notas sobre cualquier otra prueba; b) paso a Universidad: igual preferencia -30 por cien- por notas, prueba de madurez, otros procedimientos; c) rechazo unánime, para BUP y Universidad, del numerus clausus. 3) Dónde y quiénes hacen la selección: a) para BUP, en los centros de Básica, por los propios profesores y a través del título de Graduado Escolar; b) para la Universidad, por igual al 30 por cien en la Universidad, en los centros de BUP-COU y por otros procedimientos. Los profesores de centros religiosos son menos partidarios que los laicos de la prueba de madurez -28,41 por ciento-. 4) Rigor en la selección: el 30 por cien rechaza la selectividad, deseando volver a la situación anterior a la primavera de 1976; un 25 por cien dificultaría el título pero facilitaría el ingreso en la Universidad; un 20 por cien dificultaría ingreso y titulación; un 10 por cien escaso dificultaría el ingreso y haría incluso más asequible el título -partidario de la selectividad en sentido estricto-; y una minoría facilitaría ingreso y titulación. El rechazo frontal al numerus clausus, los profesores de BUP consideran buena su selección de alumnos, elevar el nivel, la dificultad de los estudios sin que se limite el acceso -selectividad intraniveles-, la selectividad se centra falsamente en un momento -prueba de madurez-.

La influencia de las características aptitudinales sobre el rendimiento escolar.

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es conocer el valor predictivo que tienen las medidas psicométricas de las aptitudes en el rendimiento académico. Además de estudiar los efectos directos de las aptitudes sobre el rendimiento se plantea un análisis modulacional de las relaciones entre dichas variables. La muestra objeto de estudio estaba compuesta de 11.844 alumnos de la población nacional, de los cuales 4.596 eran de FP, 4.788 de BUP y 2.255 de Enseñanza Experimental. Todos ellos realizaban el primer curso de los distintos tipos de enseñanza. Este estudio analiza la relación entre dos grupos de variables que son: A) Variables dependientes: rendimiento académico medido a través de pruebas objetivas y de calificaciones escolares. B) Variables independientes: aptitud verbal, aptitud espacial, numérica, mecánica, razonamiento e inteligencia general. Test Rotación de figuras macizas, Test de Aptitudes escolares, Test de Razonamiento mecánico, pruebas objetivas de Matemáticas-cálculo, Matemáticas-aplicaciones, Ortografía, Comprensión lectora y notas escolares en las distintas materias de estudio. La aptitud que aparece como más importante predictora del rendimiento es la verbal, seguida de la numérica y del razonamiento. La cantidad de varianza explicada por las aptitus bastante superior cuando se utilizan las pruebas objetivas, que cuando se utilizan las notas como medida del rendimiento. El status socio-económico tiene una escasa incidencia en la relación aptitud-rendimiento, pero ésto se atribuye a la influencia de la edad. En los análisis modulaciones los distintos subgrupos considerados en función de las variables: tipo de población, tipo de status, sexo y cociente intelectual, se parecen bastante entre sí, en cuanto a la forma de asociación de las aptitudes con el rendimiento académico. Se puede decir como conclusión general que las aptitudes ejercen influencia sobre el rendimiento académico, existiendo una jerarquía general en cuanto al poder predictivo de las distintas aptitudes, ocupando la cúspide el índice aptitudinal compuesto. Pero atendiendo individualmente al poder predictivo de cada aptitud, es la verbal la que aparece como más importante predictora del rendimiento.

Introducción a una psico-pedagogía del niño asilado.

Estudiar dos centros de niños asilados. 2 centros de beneficiencia de edades comprendidas entre 7 y 9 años. Inteligencia general, test S. I-57 de García Yagüe (Inadaptación), emotividad (test semiproyectivo de García Hoz . Estadística inferencial. Menor nivel intelectual, quizá debido a un posible bloqueo afectivo. Mayor inadaptación. Emotividad en un nivel menor que en el niño normal.Quizás por una atrofia en su desarrollo, Mayor introversión y menor extraversión, lo que implica un mayor pesimismo y menor optimismo ante la vida. Mayor inestabilidad emocional. El ambiente del asilo o casa de beneficiencia si se estudia y planifica bien puede paliar muchas de esas causas e incluso eliminarlas. Dígase lo mismo de un cuidado celoso en la selección del personal que les atiende.

Neurobehavioral Development in Children With Potential Exposure to Pesticides

Children may be at higher risk than adults from pesticide exposure, due to their rapidly developing physiology, unique behavioral patterns, and interactions with the physical environment. This preliminary study conducted in Ecuador examines the association between household and environmental risk factors for pesticide exposure and neurobehavioral development. We collected data over 6 months in the rural highland region of Cayambe, Ecuador (2003–2004). Children age 24–61 months residing in 3 communities were assessed with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Visual Motor Integration Test. We gathered information on maternal health and work characteristics, the home and community environment, and child characteristics. Growth measurements and a hemoglobin finger-prick blood test were obtained. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Current maternal employment in the flower industry was associated with better developmental scores. Longer hours playing outdoors were associated with lower gross and fine motor and problem solving skills. Children who played with irrigation water scored lower on fine motor skills (8% decrease; 95% confidence interval 9.31 to 0.53), problem-solving skills (7% decrease; 8.40 to 0.39), and Visual Motor Integration test scores (3% decrease; 12.00 to 1.08). These results suggest that certain environmental risk factors for exposure to pesticides may affect child development, with contact with irrigation water of particular concern. However, the relationships between these risk factors and social characteristics are complex, as corporate agriculture may increase risk through pesticide exposure and environmental contamination, while indirectly promoting healthy development by providing health care, relatively higher salaries, and daycare options.

Measuring lexical diversity among L2 learners of French: an exploration of the validity of D, MTLD and HD-D as measures of language ability

In this study two new measures of lexical diversity are tested for the first time on French. The usefulness of these measures, MTLD (McCarthy and Jarvis (2010 and this volume) ) and HD-D (McCarthy and Jarvis 2007), in predicting different aspects of language proficiency is assessed and compared with D (Malvern and Richards 1997; Malvern, Richards, Chipere and Durán 2004) and Maas (1972) in analyses of stories told by two groups of learners (n=41) of two different proficiency levels and one group of native speakers of French (n=23). The importance of careful lemmatization in studies of lexical diversity which involve highly inflected languages is also demonstrated. The paper shows that the measures of lexical diversity under study are valid proxies for language ability in that they explain up to 62 percent of the variance in French C-test scores, and up to 33 percent of the variance in a measure of complexity. The paper also provides evidence that dependence on segment size continues to be a problem for the measures of lexical diversity discussed in this paper. The paper concludes that limiting the range of text lengths or even keeping text length constant is the safest option in analysing lexical diversity.

Breaking the double-edged sword of effort/trying hard: developmental equilibrium and Longitudinal relations among effort, achievement, and academic self-concept

Ever since the classic research of Nicholls (1976) and others, effort has been recognized as a double-edged sword: whilst it might enhance achievement, it undermines academic self-concept (ASC). However, there has not been a thorough evaluation of the longitudinal reciprocal effects of effort, ASC and achievement,in the context of modern self-concept theory and statistical methodology. Nor have there been developmental equilibrium tests of whether these effects are consistent across the potentially volatile early-to-middle adolescence. Hence, focusing on mathematics, we evaluate reciprocal effects models over the first four years of secondary school, relating effort, achievement (test scores and school grades), ASC, and ASCxEffort interactions for a representative sample of 3,421 German students (Mn age = 11.75 years at Wave 1). ASC, effort and achievement were positively correlated at each wave, and there was a clear pattern of positive reciprocal positive effects among ASC, test scores and school grades—each contributing to the other, after controlling for the prior effects of all others. There was an asymmetrical pattern of effects for effort that is consistent with the double-edged sword premise: prior school grades had positive effects on subsequent effort, but prior effort had non-significant or negative effects on subsequent grades and ASC. However, on the basis of a synergistic application of new theory and methodology, we predicted and found a significant ASC-by-effort interaction, such that prior effort had more positive effects on subsequent ASC and school grades when prior ASC was high—thus providing a key to breaking the double-edged sword.

Validity and responsiveness of at-home touch-screen assessments in advanced Parkinson's disease

The aim of this study was to investigate if a telemetry test battery can be used to measure effects of Parkinson’s disease (PD) treatment intervention and disease progression in patients with fluctuations. Sixty-five patients diagnosed with advanced PD were recruited in an open longitudinal 36-month study; 35 treated with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) and 30 were candidates for switching from oral PD treatment to LCIG. They utilized a test battery, consisting of self-assessments of symptoms and fine motor tests (tapping and spiral drawings), four times per day in their homes during week-long test periods. The repeated measurements were summarized into an overall test score (OTS) to represent the global condition of the patient during a test period. Clinical assessments included ratings on Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) and 39-item PD Questionnaire (PDQ-39) scales. In LCIG-naïve patients, mean OTS compared to baseline was significantly improved from the first test period on LCIG treatment until month 24. In LCIG-non-naïve patients, there were no significant changes in mean OTS until month 36. The OTS correlated adequately with total UPDRS (rho = 0.59) and total PDQ-39 (0.59). Responsiveness measured as effect size was 0.696 and 0.536 for OTS and UPDRS respectively. The trends of the test scores were similar to the trends of clinical rating scores but dropout rate was high. Correlations between OTS and clinical rating scales were adequate indicating that the test battery contains important elements of the information of well-established scales. The responsiveness and reproducibility were better for OTS than for total UPDRS.

Psychometric data on the mathematics self-efficacy scale

Descriptive measurement reliability and validity data are reported on scores from the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES) in two contexts—class and test—for a sample of 302 Australian high school students. Summated scores on the MSES correlated r = .74, and together these items yielded one component that explained 49% of the variance. MSES scores demonstrated internal reliability for both class and test (Cronbach alphas = .86 and .90). Statistically significant correlations between MSES scores, past mathematics grades, and Marsh’s Self-Description Questionnaire III (Math) were used to indicate the convergent validity of scores for the MSES. Discriminant validity of the MSES scores was suggested by the lack of significant correlations between the MSES measures and students’ desired English grades. Statistically significant correlations between MSES scores and students’ desired mathematics grades indicated concurrent validity of the MSES measures. A statistically significant difference between class and test scores supported Bandura’s prescription for context specificity in efficacy research.

The effect of private school competition on public school performance in Georgia

This article presents estimates of the effect of private school competition on public school performance. Using data on school districts in Georgia, the authors estimate models relating tenth- and third-grade test scores for either reading or mathematics to the level of private school competition. Test scores are not measurably or significantly higher in areas with greater private school competition, a result robust through multiple estimations using three measures of private school competition and a variety of control variables. The authors address the possible endogeneity between test scores and private school competition using instrumental variables estimators, with percentage of the population that is Catholic, county population in 1980, lagged competition, and various other measures as alternative instruments.

Measuring moral judgement and the implications of cooperative education and rule-based learning

The Defining Issues Test (DIT), developed by Rest (1986), measures a person's level of moral development using hypothetical social dilemmas. Although the DIT is useful for measuring moral development in social settings, it might not adequately capture an individual's moral judgement abilities in solving work-related problems (Weber, 1990; Trevino, 1992; Welton et al., 1994). In the present study, the moral judgement levels of 97 accounting students were measured over a 1 year period using two separate test instruments, the DIT and a context-specific instrument developed by Welton et al. (1994). The test scores are significantly higher on the DIT than the Welton instrument (between the instruments and over time), suggesting that accounting students use higher levels of moral reasoning in resolving hypothetical social dilemmas and lower levels of moral reasoning in resolving context-specific dilemmas. The difference in test scores was highest during cooperative education (work placement programme), implying that the environment is a significant determinant on students' test scores.

The moral reasoning abilities of Australian and Malaysian accounting students : a comparative analysis

If national culture is a significant determinant of ethical attitudes, it is not unreasonable to expect ethical decision-making to be influenced by one's culture. However, problems arise when the notion of right differs from one culture to another. The question addressed in this paper is whether the moral reasoning abilities of Australian and Malaysian accounting students in their final year of study differ because of their cultural upbringing. This study uses primary data collected from 34 final year accounting students (12 Australian and 22 Malaysian) enrolled in an Australian degree program. The test scores collected at the beginning and end of the academic year indicate that culture and other explanatory variables do not have an affect on students' moral judgment. The findings in this study suggest that culture as an independent variable does not influence the way accounting students analyse and resolve ethical dilemmas.

Raising 'standards' in schools : considerations in the first stage of an improvement intervention

This article discusses the initial phase of a government-funded intervention to raise school achievement in a cluster of schools with below average standardised test results. Five schools - four primary schools and one secondary school - in the far outer reaches of Melbourne achieved lower standardised test scores in literacy and numeracy than the state average. Two departmental strategies were in place before my involvement the appointment of a coaching teacher in each school, and funding for a four day intensive residential professional learning workshop for these coaching teachers, to be held at the beginning of the 2009 school year. lt was at this stage that I became involved in what was planned to be an ongoing research program to record, monitor and evaluate the success of the intervention.

The effect of the work environment on accounting students' moral reasoning and development

Puxty et al. (1994) claim that professional accountants are induced to act ethically through two aspects of their socialisation, the education process, and the influence of work experience and role models who show what it means to be ethical. The education of accountants is not simply a matter of becoming technically competent, it is also a process of internalising accepted norms of professional conduct. Student accountants learn acceptable behaviour by learning the principles of good conduct in their education, and receiving advice and observing what significant others do in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of the work environment on accounting students moral reasoning and development by comparing the DIT P-scores of accounting students pre and post cooperative education. Cooperative eduction is an industry placement program where students are required to work in commerce and industry for one year. Findings indicate that DIT P-scores decrease during cooperative education suggesting that accounting students, whilst in the work environment, do not reason according to their capability as measured by their pre-test scores.

Convergent validity of two visual motor integration tests

Background: Occupational therapists often assess visual motor integration (VMI) skills. It is, therefore, imperative that therapists use VMI tests with robust measurement properties.

Objective: This study examined the convergent validity of two VMI tests used to assess children, adolescents and adults.

Method: Three groups of healthy participants (n = 153) completed the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (DTVMI) and the Full Range Test of Visual Motor Integration (FRTVMI). Seventy-three children aged 5-10 years (37 males and 36 females; mean age 7.5 years, SD = 2.20), 19 adolescents aged 11-17 years (8 males and 11 females; 13.1 years, SD = 2.16), and 61 adults (18 males and 43 females; mean age 31.82 years, SD = 11.20) completed the DTVMI and the FRTVMI. Spearman rho correlation coefficients were used to investigate whether each pair of the VMI test scores for each of the three participant age groups were associated.

Results: The Spearman rho correlation coefficients between all three versions of the DTVMI and FRTVMI were statistically significant. For the child group, the correlation coefficient was rho = 0.70 (p<0.000), while the correlation between the VMI scores obtained by the adolescent group on the two tests was rho = 0.77 (p<0.000). For the adult participant group, the correlation coefficient between the DTVMI and the FRTVMI was rho = 0.70 (p<0.000).

Conclusion: The VMI scores obtained by the three participant age groups on the DTVMI and the FRTVMI were all significantly correlated with each other. Overall, the DTVMI and the FRTVMI exhibited large levels of convergent validity with each other, indicating that the two tests appear to measure similar visual-motor integration constructs.