Search

Despite a major expansion in the number of students in higher education, students from rural areas continue to be underrepresented at selective universities. To reduce the urban-rural imbalance of entry to selective universities, institutions in many countries of the world have implemented admission policies favoring rural students. Previous evidence has shown that rural students have lower academic performance than their urban peers, which leads to concern that rural students will reduce the academic excellence of selective universities. Using the introduction of a university admission policy favoring rural students in Taiwan and a unique administrative data set of students' academic records, we compare the academic performance of students from rural areas with that of their urban counterparts during their college years. The results show that rural students have consistently outperformed urban students in semester grade point averages and class rank percentile across time; however, the differences in academic performance are mainly attributed to the rural students' initial outperformance in the first semester of the freshman year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a theoretical and empirical analysis of a number of bibliometric indicators of journal performance. We focus on three indicators in particular: the Eigenfactor indicator, the audience factor, and the influence weight indicator. Our main finding is that the last two indicators can be regarded as a kind of special case of the first indicator. We also find that the three indicators can be nicely characterized in terms of two properties. We refer to these properties as the property of insensitivity to field differences and the property of insensitivity to insignificant journals. The empirical results that we present illustrate our theoretical findings. We also show empirically that the differences between various indicators of journal performance are quite substantial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This 2006 NCME Career Award Address presents observations made over a career in the field of standard setting, summarizes the status of current research, and makes recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a specific standard to the mediation community with the idea of sparking debate that would lead to a commonly accepted standard for competence to participate in mediation for divorce. It delineates the broad contours of an assessment process using the proposed standard and examines practical implications and next steps for mediators related to the establishment of a common standard. It then describes how the proposed standard could be incorporated in mediation trainings, model rules, and state statutes and regulations, leading to more uniform and equitable decisions and increasing the procedural fairness of divorce mediations within and across jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examinations are conventionally used to measure candidates' achievement in a limited time period. However, the influence of text layout on performance may compromise the construct validity of the examination. An experimental study looked at the effects of the text layout on the speed and accuracy of a reading task in an examination-type situation. A survey of the reading strategies used in examinations was conducted to help in defining the reading context in which text layout may have an effect. A set of guidelines was also derived from research on typographic features of text and these were used to select three text layouts (intended to be more or less legible) from the layouts used in English language reading examinations. Results of the experiment showed that task time was significantly shorter and the number of correct answers per second was significantly higher with the layout conforming to legibility guidelines. Participants' judgements indicated that this layout was also the easiest in which to find answers and the most attractive. The main conclusion of the study is that text layout affects performance in a task that involves reading text to search for specific information in order to answer questions on it under time pressure. Consequently, the construct validity of examinations may be compromised by confounding legibility with reading skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONTEXT Continuing professional development (CPD) of general practitioners. OBJECTIVE Criterion-referenced standards for assessing performance in the real practice of general practitioners (GPs) should be available to identify learning needs or poor performers for CPD. The applicability of common standard setting procedures in authentic assessment has not been investigated. METHODS To set a standard for assessment of GP-patient communication with video observation of daily practice, we investigated 2 well known examples of 2 different standard setting approaches. An Angoff procedure was applied to 8 written cases. A border-line regression method was applied to videotaped consultations of 88 GPs. The procedures and outcomes were evaluated by the applicability of the procedure, the reliability of the standards and the credibility as perceived by the stakeholders, namely, the GPs. RESULTS Both methods are applicable and reliable; the obtained standards are credible according to the GPs. CONCLUSIONS Both modified methods can be used to set a standard for assessment in daily practice. The context in which the standard will be used — i.e. the specific purpose of the standard, the moment the standard must be available or if specific feedback must be given — is important because methods differ in practical aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]