Teachers' Predictions and Pupil Achievement in School Certificate

<p>This thesis examines the estimates of pupils' performances in School Certificate made by teachers at Hutt Valley High School over a six year period. It aims to assess the degree of accuracy of teacher predictions, in particular at the pass/fail boundary, and to identify and evaluate the relative importance of some correlates of accurate prediction. The data for this study is taken from school records showing for each class the name of the teacher and the estimated and achieved marks of each pupil in School Certificate for the period 1973 to 1978. The statistical analyses include the calculation of the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient between the estimated and achieved marks of pupils in English, Mathematics, Science and French. Expectancy tables are provided to give greater detail of the accuracy of teacher's estimates at different points across the mark range. A multiple regression analysis is carried out in order to identify and evaluate the relative importance of some correlates of accurate prediction. The statistical section concludes with a summary analysis of the data from the subjects for the year following the major analysis. The results of the study show that the correlations between the estimated and achieved marks are greater in Mathematics and French than in English and Science, however, the estimated and achieved class means across subjects show greatest agreement in English and least agreement in Mathematics. Whilst variations across subjects and across years occur, in general teachers show a tendency to underestimate pupils at the upper end of the ability range and overestimate the marks of pupils at other points of the scale. A movement of approximately 16.5% across the pass/fail boundary was observed when comparing the estimated and achieved marks of pupils. The study also concludes that the only factor to reveal a substantial and systematic link with the quality of teachers' predictions was the ability level of the class under analysis - teachers were generally more able to predict the results of their pupils for higher ability than lower ability classes (English excepted).</p>

Teachers' Predictions and Pupil Achievement in School Certificate

<p>This thesis examines the estimates of pupils' performances in School Certificate made by teachers at Hutt Valley High School over a six year period. It aims to assess the degree of accuracy of teacher predictions, in particular at the pass/fail boundary, and to identify and evaluate the relative importance of some correlates of accurate prediction. The data for this study is taken from school records showing for each class the name of the teacher and the estimated and achieved marks of each pupil in School Certificate for the period 1973 to 1978. The statistical analyses include the calculation of the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient between the estimated and achieved marks of pupils in English, Mathematics, Science and French. Expectancy tables are provided to give greater detail of the accuracy of teacher's estimates at different points across the mark range. A multiple regression analysis is carried out in order to identify and evaluate the relative importance of some correlates of accurate prediction. The statistical section concludes with a summary analysis of the data from the subjects for the year following the major analysis. The results of the study show that the correlations between the estimated and achieved marks are greater in Mathematics and French than in English and Science, however, the estimated and achieved class means across subjects show greatest agreement in English and least agreement in Mathematics. Whilst variations across subjects and across years occur, in general teachers show a tendency to underestimate pupils at the upper end of the ability range and overestimate the marks of pupils at other points of the scale. A movement of approximately 16.5% across the pass/fail boundary was observed when comparing the estimated and achieved marks of pupils. The study also concludes that the only factor to reveal a substantial and systematic link with the quality of teachers' predictions was the ability level of the class under analysis - teachers were generally more able to predict the results of their pupils for higher ability than lower ability classes (English excepted).</p>

An analysis on the Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement among the students in the District of Kottayam, Kerala

Academic achievement considered as self-perception and self-evaluation of one’s objective academic success. Academic achievement indicates the learning outcomes of pupil. Achievement of those learning outcomes requires a series of planned and organized experiences. There is equal gender participation in the study. Among the respondents 17 boys and 18 girls shown high level of Emotional Intelligence. Out of 50 respondents 16 boys and 17 girls shown high level of academic achievement. There is a strong positive correlation between emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement.

Methodological lessons on measuring quality teaching in Southern contexts, with a focus on India and Pakistan

Quantifying the impact of teaching quality on pupil learning, and understanding what teacher characteristics or practices are likely to improve student achievement, are pressing research questions in all countries. Empirical evidence also needs to be context specific since different education systems are likely to have different facilitators and barriers to good teaching. Existing evidence, largely from the US, suggests a number of strong research designs that enable researchers to model the impact of teaching on pupil achievement. However, operationalising these models in more resource-constrained contexts is challenging. In this paper we describe our attempt to model the impact of teachers and their practices on pupil achievement using the quantitative data generated for this research (household and school surveys with a teacher survey and an attempt to assess teacher knowledge). We describe the challenges when trying to implement this approach in the Indian and Pakistan context and the methodological adaptions needed. We reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of our approach. We note that existing literature tends to provide relatively minimal descriptions of the specific research design and instruments used to model teacher quality and hence provides a partial picture of methodological considerations. In this paper we contribute a detailed and frank account of developing a workable research design and the challenges we encountered.

Leadership Strategies in Diverse Intake Environments

The case study subjected in this paper was designed to illuminate how school leadership strategies and interventions mediate external demands, in the form of the academic press, for raised outcomes, imposed from the policy environment on a school with a heterogeneous pupil population. The Norwegian research site is situated in a demographic environment of low pupil socioeconomic status, a group of factors that in other systems predicts 60%—70% of academic achievement. More specifically, the intake environment in which the school is situated is characterized by high ethnic heterogeneity and, for some parts, low scores on parents’ social welfare indicators. Data was collected from a school characterized as low performing, defined by pupil achievement on national tests, yet these outcomes had been progressing over time. Find-ings are based on observations as well as interviews with school leaders, teachers, the superintendent in the municipality, and pupils, together with a pupil survey. The paper analyzes various leadership strategies and interventions as mediating functions between the external academic press from the school district level and the internal cultural context of the school. Specifically, the findings suggest that building a core culture of inclusive ethos for all pupils, paired with pedagogical collaboration, and democratic and servant leadership, are important devices for mastering this form of diversity. The leadership practices and collaborative focus were furthermore anchored in a systemic and more integrative school organization that purposefully com-bined hierarchical structure with horizontal elements in a matrix-like design.