2,636 research outputs found
Sex differences in Cognitive Abilities Test scores: a UK national picture
Get PDFBackground and aims. There is uncertainty about the extent or even existence of sex differences in the mean and variability of reasoning test scores ( Jensen, 1998; Lynn, 1994, ; Mackintosh, 1996). This paper analyses the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) scores of a large and representative sample of UK pupils to determine the extent of any sex differences.
Sample. A nationally representative UK sample of over 320,000 school pupils aged 11-12 years was assessed on the CAT (third edition) between September 2001 and August 2003. The CAT includes separate nationally standardized tests for verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal reasoning. The size and recency of the sample is unprecedented in research on this issue.
Methods. The sheer size of the sample ensures that any sex difference will achieve statistical significance. Therefore, effect sizes (d) and variance ratios (VR) are employed to evaluate the magnitude of sex differences in mean scores and in score variability, respectively.
Results. The mean verbal reasoning score for girls was 2.2 standard score points higher than the mean for boys, but only 0.3 standard points in favour of girls for non-verbal reasoning (NVR), and 0.7 points in favour of boys for quantitative reasoning (QR). However, for all three tests there were substantial sex differences in the standard deviation of scores, with greater variance among boys. Boys were over represented relative to girls at both the top and the bottom extremes for all tests, with the exception of the top 10% in verbal reasoning.
Conclusions. Given the small differences in means, explanations for sex differences in wider domains such examination attainment at age 16 need to look beyond conceptions of `ability'. Boys tend to be both the lowest and the highest performers in terms of their reasoning abilities, which warns against the danger of stereotyping boys as low achievers
Proficiency in English is a better predictor of educational achievement than English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Get PDFWe compared two tools that have been used to capture the linguistic heterogeneity and achievement of students in England: the exposure-based distinction between English as an additional language (EAL) and monolingual learners, and the 2017–2018 five level teacher rating of proficiency in English (from “New to English” to “Fluent”). Based on a nationally representative sample of 140,000 students aged 5 to 16 years, we assessed the explanatory power of the proficiency in English rating in relation to educational achievement and compared it directly to EAL status. Our results demonstrate that proficiency in English is a significantly better predictor of student achievement than EAL status and that it accounts for up to six times more variance than other student background variables (ethnicity, gender and socio-economic disadvantage) combined. Proficiency in English was particularly (but certainly not solely) predictive for student performance in subjects such as English and reading vis-à-vis mathematics. Our findings are clear in demonstrating the value of a proficiency in English rating for assessing linguistic heterogeneity and student achievement, in contrast to the exposure-based EAL measure. We recommend the (re)introduction of proficiency in English ratings to monitor and support student progress and discuss the value of classroom-based language assessments
English as an Additional Language (EAL) and educational achievement in England: An analysis of the National Pupil Database
No full textThe project was commissioned by three charitable groups – the Education Endowment
Foundation (EEF), Unbound Philanthropy and The Bell Foundation – to analyse the evidence
from national data in England on the achievement of students with English as an Additional
Language (EAL) and to review the literature on effective interventions to raise the attainment
of pupils with EAL. The key questions addressed by the project were:
- Who are the most at-risk groups of EAL learners and what are the predictors of low
attainment for these learners?
- What are the most promising programmes and interventions to address EAL
achievement gaps on the basis of causal evidence?
This report presents an analysis of the most recent England National Pupil Database (NPD)
from 2013 with respect to the first question above. A sister report focuses on the second
question concerning effective interventions and is published in parallel with this report. The
overall purpose of the project is to help schools and policymakers to effectively target policy,
interventions and funding to address achievement gaps.Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Unbound Philanthropy and The Bell Foundation
Apallaga Strand 1911
No full textApallaga Strand, 1911 Libert (2014) re-established the genus Apallaga Strand, with type species A. mokeezi, for a monophyletic group based on barcodes that includes the species with orange markings as well some black and white species of similar biology, but proved far more complex and species-rich than previous treatments (Evans 1937, Ackery et al. 1995). Libert (2014) recognised 12 clades within Apallaga, of which we have reared representatives of the galenus clade (A. opalinus (Butler), A. kakamegae Libert, A. biseriata (Butler)) and kimboza clade (A. sanjeensis Kielland) only. In Cock & Congdon (2011b, Figure 34) we illustrated an adult as Celaenorrhinus intermixtus evansi Berger. Based on Libert (2014) this is A. lourentis (de Jong), but we note that Libert’s A. lourentis has an identical barcode to his A. evansi (Berger) (barcodes in BOLD), suggesting that A. lourentis will prove to be a synonym or subspecies of A. evansi. Libert (2014) illustrates four caterpillars and three pupae of the galenus clade from TCEC’s work in Tanzania (Table 1). We have associated these with their corresponding caterpillars, pupae and, where possible, adults (Figures 15–17), and clarified some identifications.Published as part of Collins, Steve C., 2017, Observations on the biology of Afrotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera). Part 12. New information and corrections, pp. 471-496 in Zootaxa 4312 (3) on page 484, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4312.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/85577
Pupil mobility, attainment and progress in secondary school
Get PDFThis paper is the second of two articles arising from a study of the association between pupil mobility and attainment in national tests and examinations in an inner London borough. The first article (Strand & Demie, 2006) examined the association of pupil mobility with attainment and progress during primary school. It concluded that pupil mobility had little impact on performance in national tests at age 11, once pupils’ prior attainment at age 7 and other pupil background factors such as age, sex, special educational needs, stage of fluency in English and socio-economic disadvantage were taken into account. The present article reports the results for secondary schools (age 11-16). The results indicate that pupil mobility continues to have a significant negative association with performance in public examinations at age 16, even after including statistical controls for prior attainment at age 11 and other pupil background factors. Possible reasons for the contrasting results across school phases are explored. The implications for policy and further research are discussed
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DNA damage responses in the context of the cell division cycle
Get PDFDuring my PhD, I have investigated aspects of the DNA damage response (DDR) in the context of three different cellular scenarios: DNA damage signalling in response to double-strand breaks during mitosis, coordination of DNA replication with DNA damage responses by regulation of the GINS complex, and checkpoint activation by the prototypical checkpoint protein Rad9. Here, I show that mitotic cells treated with DNA break-inducing agents activate a ‘primary’ DDR, including ATM and DNA-PK-dependent H2AX phosphorylation and recruitment of MDC1 and the MRN complex to damage sites. However, downstream DDR events and induction of a DNA damage checkpoint are inhibited in mitosis, with full DDR activation only ensuing when damaged mitotic cells enter G1. In addition, I provide evidence that induction of a primary DDR in mitosis is biologically important for cell viability. The GINS complex is an evolutionarily conserved component of the DNA replication machinery and may represent an ideal candidate for transferring the DNA damage signal to the replication apparatus. Here, I show the identification of a consensus ‘SQ’ PIKK phosphorylation motif at the carboxyl end of the GINS complex subunit, Psf1. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, switching the conserved serine to a glutamic acid is lethal, indicating that the site is crucial for the protein’s function. Moreover, in human cells, I identified UV-DDB, a heterodimeric complex involved in NER repair, as a binding partner that specifically interacts with the Psf1 C-terminus in vitro. Finally, I discuss my findings in characterizing functional interactions between Rad9 and Chk1 in S. cerevisiae. I show that specific consensus CDK sites within Rad9 N-terminus are essential to enable Chk1 phosphorylation and activation, and that MCPH1, a human homologue of Rad9, may share a conserved function in binding and activating Chk1, underscoring the evolutionarily conservation of checkpoint activation mechanisms
Do some schools narrow the gap? Differential school effectiveness by ethnicity, gender, poverty and prior achievement
Get PDFThis study analyses the educational progress of an entire national cohort of over 530,000 pupils in England between age 7 in 2000 and age 11 in 2004. The results show that Black Caribbean boys not entitled to free school meals, and particularly the more able pupils, made significantly less progress than their White British peers. There is no evidence that the gap results from Black Caribbean pupils attending less effective schools. There is also no evidence of differential effectiveness in relation to ethnic group; schools that were strong in facilitating the progress of White British pupils were equally strong in facilitating the progress of Black Caribbean pupils. There was some evidence of differential school effectiveness by pupil prior achievement, gender and poverty, but the absolute size of the effects were small. The results suggest the poor progress of Black Caribbean pupils reflects a systemic issue rather than the influence of a small number of ‘low quality’ schools
Contemporary Unionism and the tactics of resistance
No full textRevised version of a paper presented to the IBIS conference, From political violence to negotiated settlement : the winding path to peace in twentieth century Ireland, University College Dublin, 23 March 2001.This paper emphasises the importance of the political context for shaping unionist tactics for defending the Union and resisting Irish unity. Some draw a sharp dichotomy between “constitutional” and “unconstitutional” unionism. The Ulster Unionist Party, and perhaps the Democratic Unionist Party, are seen as “constitutional”, while the loyalist parties associated with paramilitary organisations, the Ulster Democratic Party and the Progressive Unionist Party, are seen as “unconstitutional”. Some unionists readily advocate violence while others completely reject any use of violence. The principal unionist parties (UUP, DUP), it is argued, have operated in the “grey area” between violent and non-violent politics, veering towards one pole or the other depending on the wider political context. In particular, it will be suggested that unionists tend towards “more direct” methods of political action when they fear—often with good reason—that their position within the Union is becoming undermined. When these fears are heightened the room for unionist political elites to contemplate accommodation with nationalists is constrained.Not applicableti,ke,ab,co.kpw7/7/1
The limits of social class in explaining ethnic gaps in educational attainment
Get PDFThis paper reports an analysis of the educational attainment and progress between age 11 and age 14 of over 14,500 students from the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE). The mean attainment gap in national tests at age 14 between White British and several ethnic minority groups were large, more than three times the size of the gender gap, but at the same time only about one-third of the size of the social class gap. Socio-economic variables could account for the attainment gaps for Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students, but not for Black Caribbean students. Further controls for parental and student attitudes, expectations and behaviours indicated minority ethnic groups were on average more advantaged on these measures than White British students, but this was not reflected proportionately in their levels of attainment. Black Caribbean students were distinctive as the only group making less progress than White British students between age 11 and 14 and this could not be accounted for by any of the measured contextual variables. Possible explanations for the White British-Black Caribbean gap are considered
Nation
No full textThe state of civic participation in the U.S. is the subject of much hand-wringing. The lament is generally that citizens are withdrawn - that civic life is less vibrant than it once was and should be. This book review welcomes Downsizing Democracy: How America Sidelined its Citizens and Privatized its Public, by Matthew Crenson & Benjamin Ginsburg (2002), as an alternative to the tendency to blame citizens for the current malaise. Crenson & Ginsburg make the case that the government itself has disinvited civic participation in several key ways. The author observes that, notwithstanding this lack of invitation, citizens can and should still take on themselves the responsibility for civic action - not just in traditional political spheres, but in the myriad venues of our everyday lives.525-2927
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