In this paper we will examine some of the problems and difficulties in modern university teaching and how these difficulties were overcome and the problems were solved. Because the syllabus in Danish (and other European) high schools has been substantially weakened over the last decade and especially since 2002, the university students have…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe a method of teaching that is based on Novak's concept-mapping technique. Design/methodology/approach: The paper shows how concept mapping can be used to measure prior knowledge and how simple mapping exercises can promote the integration of teachers' and students' understandings in ways that are meaningful.…

The aim of the National Numeracy Strategy is to raise standards in numeracy. Strong evidence for its success has, however, been lacking: most of the available data come from performance on National Test assessments administered in schools or from Ofsted reports, and is vulnerable to suggestions of bias. An opportunistic analysis of data from a…

The defectiveness of the effectiveness of the Hungarian general education revealed in the PISA survey appears in the higher education as well. The "Introduction to Informatics" subject has one of the lowest exam results among the students of the College of Nyíregyháza majoring in Computer Program Designer and Teacher of Computer Science.…

The paper presents a view of the results and progress of Albania in the Programme for International Students' Assessments 2009 (PISA 2009). The overall goal and objectives of PISA are to offer support and expertise in the field of the evaluation of educational development factors in Albania. One of the methods successfully used for monitoring the…

For the last 3 years, more than 80% of the respondents to the "Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools" have stated that they would rather see a school's performance measure based upon "improvement shown by students" than the "percentage passing the test" (Rose & Gallup, 2007, p. 35). If this were to…

The properties of the achievement goal inventories developed by Grant and Dweck (2003) and Elliot and McGregor (2001) were evaluated in two studies with a total of 780 participants. A four-factor specification for the Grant and Dweck inventory did not closely replicate results published in their original report. In contrast, the structure of the…

Among the academic community, there is a perception that there is an upward shift in grade point average over an extended period of time without a corresponding increase in achievement. This trend has become an alarming topic among educators, industry and the general public. Some attribute increases in GPA to improvements in student quality while…

This article describes the students' academic progress in an online course of business statistics through interactive software assignments and diverse educational homework, which helps these students to build their own e-learning through basic competences; i.e. interpreting results and solving problems. Cross-tables were built for the categorical…

This study describes the multifaceted components of an assessment process. The paper explains a novel approach in which an advisory council participated in a "fun," hands-on activity to rank-order learning outcomes. The top ranked learning competency, as identified by the advisory council, was the need for students to gain a better…

Since its debut in 1983, the "U.S. News & World Report College Guide" has become the premier "consumer report" of higher education. We find that peer assessment, which is the largest component of the "U.S. News & World Report" ranking function, contains a penalty for religiously affiliated schools that is independent of the other "U.S. News &…

This paper measures the technical efficiency of 16 selected colleges and universities in Metro Manila, Philippines, using academic data for the SY 2001-2005. Using the data envelopment analysis (DEA), on average, schools posted 0.807 index score and need additional 19.3% efficiency growth to be efficient. Overall, there are top four efficient…

To meet the new AACSB International standards regarding retention assessment and adequately determine "if and what students are learning," this research presents a framework within which expected learning outcomes and specific learning are assessed. This paper presents the framework and describes how the process can be implemented with…

First year students' academic performance in three Life Science courses (Botany, Zoology and Bioscience) was compared. Pass rates, as well as the means and distributions of final marks were analysed. Of the three components (coursework, practical and theory examinations) contributing to the final mark of each course, students performed best in the…

The intent of large-scale assessment systems is to promote student achievement toward specific standards by holding schools accountable for the performance of all students. However, it is difficult to know whether large-scale assessment systems are having this intended effect as they are currently implemented. In this article, the authors examine…