Free Essays on Standardized Tests

A standardized test is a test that is consistent and controlled in its administration, scoring, and interpretation procedures. These tests are scored by comparing a student’s score on a specific test with scores made by a very large number of similar students who have taken the same test. The two major distinctions of standardized tests are aptitude tests and achievement tests. An aptitude test measures a student’s general potential to learn. An achievement test measures what a student knows in a subject area. There are five standardized test that are generally in use: California Achievement Test, Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Tests, and Stanford Achievement Tests. Standardized testing first began in the United States in the 1800’s. Their first use was to ensure that all students were receiving the same standard of education. Even then, there was much criticism about the tests but they quickly took hold in the United States. The tests were then being used â€Å"to sort and classify students, reflecting education’s lingering elitism, as well as educators failure to address the problems of low achievers† (Haladyna, 1998, pg 263). Today, standardized tests are still used because people believe that test scores are valid indicators of children’s learning. Standardized tests were developed to be used as an assessment tool to evaluate the knowledge and/or skills a student has in a particular subject area. Standardized tests are norm-referenced, which means that a student’s knowledge and/or skills are compared with a national sample of students of the same age or grade level. An advantage of using standardized testing is that the information given, if interpreted properly, can â€Å"illuminates a child’s strengths and weaknesses, can be helpful not only in dealing with their child’s teacher, but also in determining at-home assistance† (Popham, 1999, pg 9). ... Free Essays on Standardized Tests Free Essays on Standardized Tests In 1957 Americans watched stunned as the Soviet Union successfully launched their space craft Sputnik. The â€Å"space race† had been won by the Soviets leaving the Americans with one question, how could we have lost? The answer to this question lied in the school systems and if they were really pushing the kids to their full potential. This got educators and politicians to start thinking about changing the curriculums. It was a gradual change at first, just in the science and math programs, with arts and social studies being pushed into the background. It wasn’t until the late 1960’s and 1970’s that arts and social sciences made a comeback, at the at the expense of science and math. Over the past 20 years, the focus has swung back and forth between the math and sciences and the liberal arts. Parents today are now demanding schools the give a quality product. Standardize testing helps parents and school districts determine how well a child is doing and guide them to their highest potential. Parents and politicians look to the schools to be responsible for student learning and the schools are holding the students accountable for their learning. The schools can do this by administering standardized tests. A type of test is a norm-referenced test. This is one that evaluated a student’s progress. Before standardized testing, teachers were the ones analyzing students. This caused several problems with the teacher knowing the child and knowing their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers could work with the students who did not do well on tests and give them alternate assignments so that they could succeed. This did not accurately show how children were doing in schools because of the special attention. Standardized tests are tests with the ability to test large groups of students on the same level as kids all over. Tests are first given to a â€Å"sample† group of children and from there do test makers develop their c... Free Essays on Standardized Tests A standardized test is a test that is consistent and controlled in its administration, scoring, and interpretation procedures. These tests are scored by comparing a student’s score on a specific test with scores made by a very large number of similar students who have taken the same test. The two major distinctions of standardized tests are aptitude tests and achievement tests. An aptitude test measures a student’s general potential to learn. An achievement test measures what a student knows in a subject area. There are five standardized test that are generally in use: California Achievement Test, Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Tests, and Stanford Achievement Tests. Standardized testing first began in the United States in the 1800’s. Their first use was to ensure that all students were receiving the same standard of education. Even then, there was much criticism about the tests but they quickly took hold in the United States. The tests were then being used â€Å"to sort and classify students, reflecting education’s lingering elitism, as well as educators failure to address the problems of low achievers† (Haladyna, 1998, pg 263). Today, standardized tests are still used because people believe that test scores are valid indicators of children’s learning. Standardized tests were developed to be used as an assessment tool to evaluate the knowledge and/or skills a student has in a particular subject area. Standardized tests are norm-referenced, which means that a student’s knowledge and/or skills are compared with a national sample of students of the same age or grade level. An advantage of using standardized testing is that the information given, if interpreted properly, can â€Å"illuminates a child’s strengths and weaknesses, can be helpful not only in dealing with their child’s teacher, but also in determining at-home assistance† (Popham, 1999, pg 9). ...

Strategic Leadership - Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Leadership - - Case Study Example It will not be correct to say that Wal-Mart chose a particularly attractive industry because firstly it is evident that throughout Wal-Mart’s lifespan, the retail industry has been having intense internal rivalry among several major players. Secondly, in all areas of retail that Wal-Mart ventured into it began as an underdog for example to Price Club in Warehouse Clubs; to Meijer and Fred Meyer in Supercentres; and to King’s, Korvette’s et al in discount chains. The fact is that Wal-Mart developed unique competitive advantages to propel itself to industry leadership. Some of the key drivers to its competitive advantage are as follows. Putting good-sized stores into little one-horse towns which everybody else was ignoring (Bradley & Ghemawat 3), heavy investment in Information Technology (IT), the pushing-from-the-inside-out pattern of expansion and its human resource management – characterized by empowering its employees at all levels. How have Wal-Mart' s strategy and source of competitive advantage changed over time? How do Wal-Mart's costs compare to those of the industry? Please be specific. Wal-Mart’s strategy at inception was to set up stores in those small towns that were being ignored by the other big retailers. To encourage the residents of these towns to shop locally instead of travelling to the big towns Wal-Mart provided goods at attractive prices. This strategy ensured that by mid-80s one-third of Wal-Mart stores were located in areas that were not served by its competitors (Bradley & Ghemawat 3). The organization then moved to a strategy that involved investing heavily in information systems (IS) and empowering its store managers with freedom to set prices to meet local market conditions (Bradley & Ghemawat 4). The IS increased the efficiency and effectiveness of its supply chain management system which enabled the company to reduce operational costs, increase efficiency and maintain their low price competit ive advantage. As the Wal-Mart grew in size and market share it began using its huge buying power to influence the behavior of its suppliers. For example it set up vendor-managed inventory systems with key suppliers to replenish stocks at its stores and warehouses. When other competitors began catching up with the use of information systems, Wal-Mart implemented a diversification strategy which involved investing in the development of supercenters and international expansion. Wal-Mart’s prices were typically 2 – 4% lower than their competitors in most markets. How sustainable is Wal-Mart's source of competitive advantage at the time of the case? Identify the main threats to Wal-Mart's competitive position. Put yourself in the role of CEO of one of Wal-Mart’s rivals: How would you attack Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart’s has been exploiting the low pricing strategy for a long time such that it has an effective organization design that ensures that it operates like a we ll-oiled machine. As lastname (118) states, Wal-Mart has coherent and logical strategies in place to maximize on its

International society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International society - Essay Example The group of people triumphed with the help of human forces of the world, and they returned back to reunite with their families. In the end, human resistance around the world destroyed the craft of the aliens. This shows the relevance of the myth that there is an international society. International society refers to values and norms that are shared by states and how they guide international relations (Weber p57). Some of the norms that states of the world share include: diplomacy, international law, and order. It is mainly concerned with humanitarian intervention. Independence Day shows a good example of humanitarian intervention as human forces across the world came together to destroy the aliens who had invaded the world. In the movie, the moral good shared by human populations around the world defeated irredeemable evil forces. Comically, the Independence Day movie demonstrates that even without formal order like in anarchy, it is possible for the world to set aside their differences and unite for the good of all humankind. The invasion of the world by aliens in the movie united humanity against the invaders. In the movie, humans are defined as being morally good. This can be seen in the movie when everyone starts to focus on helping one another as the aliens begin to destroy cities worldwide. In a world full of divisions and individuality, there could be looting of goods and extortion of services. Instead, people helped one another (Weber p47). A good example of this situation of humanity is seen when Jasmine rescues everyone she comes across as she roams the streets of Los Angeles, without considering their backgrounds or asking for anything in return. The Independence Day was therefore considered in the movie to be a time when people are morally good and are ready to help other people who share in that moral goodness. Morse code was used in the movie as a form of international communication to bring together militaries across the world. It was

Debt Predictions Using Data Mining Techniques

Debt Predictions Using Data Mining Techniques

Divorce :: essays research papers

They’re getting a divorce What do you think of when you hear about a single mother raising her three kids? Usually, people think of a deadbeat mom, and low life, rebellious kids. However, in my mother’s case, you see an independent woman, who is confident in her kids and in her job. My mother isn’t the kind of parent that you would see in the newspaper for killing she was desperate for money or love, or too depressed from a divorce to care for us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Living in my house as a youngster was rough. The holidays were the worst. My parent fought about everything, from the Christmas tree, to the turkey on Thanksgiving. Nothing was ever â€Å"normal† in my home. The day my parents got divorced was probably the best day in my mother’s life. It was most likely because she wanted to make my brother’s life and mine easier. Because we would no longer have to hear the screaming and yelling at three AM about the house not being clean. My mother was a happier person when she wasn’t fighting with my father. And the house was a lot quieter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I’m sure my mother had been thinking about divorcing my father for sometime. But, why hadn’t she done it when all hell broke loose? Or when all the fighting had started? That question still burns in my brain. I know things would have been worse if they had stayed together. My mother and my father were completely wrong for each other. My mother was all about organization and my father was just a big mess.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As for us kids, we turned out pretty well. Even though some of my childhood years were hard, the rest of those times were golden. My brothers and I got along with each other very well. When my mother was at work, my older brother (who is about four years older than me) took care of my younger brother and I until she got home around five. My older brother is now at the University of Santa Barbara, studying to be a screenplay writer. My younger brother attends College Park, and is focusing on school, football and wrestling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I would not call what happened between my parents a failure. I would call it THE INEVITABLE. Once upon a time, we all dreamed of the perfect family that had a big house surrounded by a white picket fence and a dog that would never run away.

Ramifications of Participation Contracts Essay

Providers must review participation contracts very carefully before signing and agreeing to one to avoid any consequences or negative effects for themselves. These participation contracts are put in place to allow the providers to have an overview of a plan to make decisions of participation. Providers can either gain financially or lose revenue when they participate in these contracts so it is best they go over them cautiously. Participation contracts can either be a gain or a fail for the provider. There have been cases where the provider loses revenue because the contract offers or pays less than the physicians set fees but can also increase patient numbers at the same time. With discounted fee-for-service, physicians are paid for every service and test provided based on a fee schedule or pre-determined discount from the usual fee charged by the physician. Physicians are only at risk if the cost of their care is greater than the payment the health plan will give them. This is typically why physicians will only test what is absolutely necessary. There are positive and negative ramifications of discounted fee-for-service arrangements. Positive ramifications of discounted fee-for-service arrangements are mainly geared towards the patient. When a patient is insured by a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and uses a physician within their network, their co-pays tend to be lower and they only pay an annual premium. Using an out-of-network provider would result in higher out-of-pocket costs for the patients. The most significant negative ramifications of discounted fee-for-service arrangements is that preventative care is not covered. This really affects the patient more so than the physician because any unnecessary tests or exams would be an out-of-pocket cost for the patient. There are benefits and disadvantages for not only the physician but also the patient when it comes to discounted fee-for-service and participation contracts. It is very  critical that the physician look closely at the participation contracts and choose what is best for their practice or facility. References: Valerius, J., Bayes, N., Newby, C., & Blochowiak, J. (2014). Medical insurance: An integrated claims process approach (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Distance Education (online education) Free Essay Example, 1000 words

The learner has the freedom to schedule his learning and this self-paced learning is suitable for both slow and quick learners. As Shelton there can often be institutional cost savings and time savings over traditional place-based education; and there are often advantages to the instructor such as ease in updating and revision of courses† (Husain p. 42). For him, online education can make use of the existing infrastructure for course delivery and because the internet is widely available to the learners the teaching-learning process becomes easier. For Shelton however, the authors purport that campus administrators very often fail to offer 24 hours support for its distance education learners (Shelton & Saltsmanp 84). We will write a custom essay sample on Distance Education (online education) or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page