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School Grades (school + grade)
Kinds of School Grades Selected AbstractsNew Perspectives on the Correlation of SAT Scores, High School Grades, and Socioeconomic FactorsJOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 1 2007Rebecca Zwick In studies of the SAT, correlations of SAT scores, high school grades, and socioeconomic factors (SES) are usually obtained using a university as the unit of analysis. This approach obscures an important structural aspect of the data: The high school grades received by a given institution come from a large number of high schools, all of which have potentially different grading standards. SAT scores, on the other hand, can be assumed to have the same meaning across high schools. Our analyses of a large national sample show that, when pooled within-high-school analyses are applied, high school grades and class rank have larger correlations with family income and education than is evident in the results of typical analyses, and SAT scores have smaller associations with socioeconomic factors. SAT scores and high school grades, therefore, have more similar associations with SES than they do when only the usual across-high-school correlations are considered. [source] School grades and myopiaOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 2 2007Seang-Mei Saw Abstract Aim:, To evaluate the association between school performance and myopia in Singapore children. Methods:, Children aged 10,12 years from two schools in the Singapore Cohort study Of the Risk factors for Myopia (SCORM) were included. Results of a Year 4 standard nation-wide examination were obtained. Cycloplegic autorefraction and A-scan ultrasound biometry measurements were performed in the schools. Results:, The odds ratio for myopia (defined as right eye spherical equivalent at least ,0.5 D) was 2.5 (95% confidence interval 1.4,4.5) for children with average school examination scores in the fourth quartile compared with the first, after adjusting for confounders including reading in books per week and IQ test scores. Similar significant associations were found for English language (p = 0.001) and native language school examination scores (p < 0.001), while the associations with mathematics school examination scores were of borderline significance (p = 0.055). Conclusion:, School grades, a possible indicator of either cumulative engagement in near work activity or intelligence, were positively associated with myopia in Singapore children. [source] Use of QuantiFERON® -TB Gold to investigate tuberculosis contacts in a high schoolRESPIROLOGY, Issue 1 2007Kazue HIGUCHI Background and objective: QuantiFERON® -TB Gold (QFT-G) was employed in a contact investigation in a high school to evaluate its performance in adolescents. Methods: Students of the same school grade as the index case were screened with tuberculin skin test (TST) and CXR examination as an initial contact investigation. QFT-G was performed for students demonstrating a positive TST (erythema larger than 30 mm). Results: Of 349 students whose TST was completed, 95 had positive TST responses, although the distribution of TST responses was similar for both high and low exposure groups. In contrast, only four of the 88 TST-positive students tested with QFT-G were positive by this test, and three of these were from the high exposure group. Chemoprophylaxis was provided to only those four QFT-G-positive students. Follow up of the 91 students who were TST-positive, but QFT-G-negative (or not tested), for more than 3.5 years revealed that none have developed active tuberculosis. Conclusions: QFT-G appears more specific than TST as contacts with positive TST and negative QFT-G responses were not offered prophylaxis and none developed tuberculosis during 3.5 years of follow up. The replacement of TST with QFT-G, or perhaps combined use of TST and QFT-G, may be more useful in diagnosing true infection and thus reducing the number of subjects indicated for chemoprophylaxis. [source] Subclinical late cardiac toxicity in childhood cancer survivorsCANCER, Issue 8 2008Impact on self-reported health Abstract BACKGROUND The authors analyzed how self-reported health and self-reported modified New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function scores were related to cardiac systolic function, cardiac risk factors, and cancer treatment history in childhood cancer survivors who reported no symptoms of cardiac disease. METHODS Long-term survivors of pediatric cancer who were treated between 1971 and 1995 (current ages, 16,39.7 years) underwent noninvasive clinical and laboratory cardiac risk evaluation and responded to selected subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey. Results were compared with survivor history of anthracycline therapy alone or with radiotherapy (n = 127 patients; mean, 10 years after diagnosis) versus no anthracycline therapy (n = 32 patients; mean, 11 years after diagnosis). RESULTS Sex, current age, highest school grade completed, race, age at diagnosis, diagnostic group, years off therapy, fractional shortening (FS), heart rate, and smoking status were found to be independently predictive of self-reported health. Interaction between female sex and higher low-density lipoprotein values and between diagnosis and abnormal FS variably predicted low reported vitality and low reported modified New York Heart Association (NYHA) scores. Echocardiographic findings, cardiac risk factors, and treatment history explained 13% to 28% of the variance in perceived health and self-reported modified NYHA scores. CONCLUSIONS Systolic function and cardiac risk factors were linked to lower self-reported health and NYHA scores even in the absence of clinically evident cardiotoxicity. Cancer 2008. ©2008 American Cancer Society. [source] SAT Validity for Linguistic Minorities at the University of California, Santa BarbaraEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2004Rebecca Zwick The validity of the SAT as an admissions criterion for Latinos and Asian Americans who are not native English speakers was examined. The analyses, based on 1997 and 1998 UCSB freshmen, focused on the effectiveness of SAT scores and high school grade-point average (HSGPA) in predicting college freshman grade-point average (FGPA). When regression equations were estimated based on all students combined, some systematic prediction errors occurred. For language minorities, using only high school grades as a predictor led to predicted FGPAs that tended to exceed actual FGPAs, particularly for Latinos. Including SAT scores in the equation notably reduced prediction bias. Further analyses showed that, while HSGPA had the highest correlation with FGPA for most groups, SAT verbal score was the strongest predictor of FGPA for language minorities in 1998. An overriding conclusion is that combining data across language groups can obscure important test validity information. [source] Sex differences in school performance as a function of conscientiousness, imagination and the mediating role of problem behaviourEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2008Filip De Fruyt The roles of Conscientiousness and Imagination in explaining sex differences in school performance were examined in two Flemish samples of school children using parental and teacher ratings of school performance (N,=,599) and school grades (N,=,448). Both personality domains predicted parental ratings of school performance and grades. In one sample, girls received slightly higher parental ratings of language achievement and overall performance ratings by teachers. However, controlling for Conscientiousness and Imagination facets, boys scored slightly higher for math and history. In this sample, lower externalising behaviour partially mediated the relation between Conscientiousness facets and school performance in girls but not in boys, but this pattern was not replicated in the second sample. We concluded that sex differences in school performance were small and many could be accounted for by personality traits. In some cases, however, personality traits acted to amplify sex differences in school performance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] New Perspectives on the Correlation of SAT Scores, High School Grades, and Socioeconomic FactorsJOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 1 2007Rebecca Zwick In studies of the SAT, correlations of SAT scores, high school grades, and socioeconomic factors (SES) are usually obtained using a university as the unit of analysis. This approach obscures an important structural aspect of the data: The high school grades received by a given institution come from a large number of high schools, all of which have potentially different grading standards. SAT scores, on the other hand, can be assumed to have the same meaning across high schools. Our analyses of a large national sample show that, when pooled within-high-school analyses are applied, high school grades and class rank have larger correlations with family income and education than is evident in the results of typical analyses, and SAT scores have smaller associations with socioeconomic factors. SAT scores and high school grades, therefore, have more similar associations with SES than they do when only the usual across-high-school correlations are considered. [source] An Educational Needs Assessment of Pennsylvania Workforce: Opportunities to Redefine Secondary Career and Technical Education to Meet Food Industry NeedsJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE EDUCATION, Issue 2 2006Larry Napoleon ABSTRACT: This article describes the outcomes of a needs assessment concerning current training needs and performance targets for non-degreed employees in the food industry. Focus groups were used to gather data from 5 food-processing companies: a fresh vegetable company, a canned vegetable company, 2 snack food companies, and a meat company. Focus group participants consisted of 1 senior-level manager each from human resource, production, quality assurance, purchasing, and product development departments within each company. The needs assessment identified 4 major themes that employers indicated as beneficial knowledge and skills for employees to possess: safety training, knowledge of food and production systems, learning and applying mathematical skills, and professional conduct. The authors anticipate that the knowledge of industry needs, with respect to the desired incoming workforce competencies and knowledge, will facilitate the development of integrated curriculum modules for secondary career and technical education programs (high school grades). These integrated curriculum modules will address the growing needs of the food industry and facilitate the development of employment skills required to function and prosper in the new global economy. [source] Decrease in the Prevalence of Adolescent Alcohol Use and its Possible Causes in Japan: Periodical Nationwide Cross-Sectional SurveysALCOHOLISM, Issue 2 2009Yoneatsu Osaki Background:, Trends in alcohol drinking prevalence were assessed among Japanese adolescents, and possible reasons for a decrease in drinking prevalence observed in 2004. Methods:, Cross-sectional nationwide surveys were conducted periodically. High schools were randomly sampled from throughout Japan in 1996, 2000, and 2004. All enrolled students in sampled schools were subjects of the surveys. Self-reporting anonymous questionnaires were collected from 115,814 students in 1996, 106,297 in 2000, and 102,451 in 2004. Questions about drinking prevalence of students and family members, proportion of students who have no friends, and sources of alcohol were included. Students who drunk at least one day of the 30 days preceding the survey were defined as the current drinkers. Results:, The drinking prevalence in 2004 was decreased in comparison to that in 1996 and 2000 in both sexes and in all school grades. The current drinking rate (monthly drinker) among junior high school boys was 29.4% in 1996, 29.0% in 2000, and 20.5% in 2004, while that among senior high school boys was 49.7%, 48.7%, and 36.2%, respectively. The respective prevalence among junior and senior girls was 24.0%, 25.5%, and 20.0% and 40.8%, 42.1%, and 34.1%. The prevalent sources of alcohol beverages were searching in home, stores (convenience store, supermarket, or gas-stand), liquor shops, and bars. An analysis of the reasons for this decrease identified a decrease in drinking prevalence in students' families, especially by fathers and older brothers, and an increase in the proportion of students who had no friends. Conclusions:, A decrease in drinking prevalence of male family members and a limitation of sources of alcoholic beverages may contribute to the decrease in adolescent drinking prevalence. [source] Spelling development in 6,11-year-old Greek-speaking Cypriot childrenJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 3 2010Nataly Loizidou-Ieridou The aim of the present study was to examine the spelling development of Greek-speaking children in the early school grades. Although Greek orthography is regular for reading, it is much less transparent as far as spelling is concerned. Spelling development was investigated using a word spelling task designed to explore the effects of word length, familiarity and spelling regularity. One hundred and fifty normally developing primary school children living in Cyprus took part in the study. Results suggest that the children employed both phonological and lexical strategies in spelling Greek words. Results indicated that sub-lexical procedures were more marked for younger children, whereas lexical processing was employed more widely by older children. The findings are interpreted in terms of stage developmental models. [source] A Review of 21 Curricula for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage ProgramsJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 3 2005Kelly L. Wilson ABSTRACT: The authors reviewed the content, methods, and overall quality of 21 curricula used in abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Only materials designed for use in middle school grades (fifth to eighth) or with middle school-aged audiences (9,13 years of age), which presented the abstinence message in at least 40% of their content, were included. A rating instrument adapted from 2 sets of education guidelines structured the assessment of each curriculum. Four experienced teachers rated each curriculum. Curricula exhibited considerable variability in overall quality ratings. While on average, materials scored a 3.33 on a 1-to-5 scale (1 = Unacceptable; 5 = Excellent), 12 curricula received summative scores above the average, with 4 scoring 4.0 or higher. Eight curricula, however, received a below-average rating. While abstinence materials vary considerably in terms of overall quality, the values and world views underlying this sample of curricula were clear and consistent: those who develop abstinence education curricula value nonsexual antecedents of sexual behavior such as skills (goal setting, decision making, and assertiveness), ideals (fidelity, friendships), and psychological factors such as self-esteem. [source] The slippery slope: What predicts math grades in middle and high school?NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD & ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT, Issue 110 2005Miriam R. Linver For middle and high school girls in high-ability math classes, interest and self-concept made a difference for school grades, and for all adolescents, maternal expectations were influential in predicting math grades over time. [source] Bullying in School: Evaluation and Dissemination of the Olweus Bullying Prevention ProgramAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2010Dan Olweus The nature and extent of bullying among school children is discussed, and recent attention to the phenomenon by researchers, the media, and policy makers is noted. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) is a comprehensive, school-wide program that was designed to reduce bullying and achieve better peer relations among students in elementary, middle, and junior high school grades. Several large-scale studies from Norway are reviewed, which provide compelling evidence of the program's effectiveness in Norwegian schools. Studies that have evaluated the OBPP in diverse settings in the United States have not been uniformly consistent, but they have shown that the OBPP has had a positive impact on students' self-reported involvement in bullying and antisocial behavior. Efforts to disseminate the OBPP in Norway and the United States are discussed. [source] Children's Weight and Academic Performance in Elementary School: Cause for Concern?ANALYSES OF SOCIAL ISSUES & PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2009David Clark In this study, the authors examined the relationship of 9,471 elementary students' grades in five subject areas (math, reading, language, science, and social studies), their conduct grades, and their scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS) Reading, Math, Writing, and Science measures for the 2006,2007 school year as a function of their weight status in two ways: (1) Obese versus Nonobese and (2) Obese, Overweight, Healthy Weight, and Underweight. Obese children had statistically significantly lower course grades in all areas, as well as poorer conduct grades, than nonobese children. Similar results were present for the four TAKS measures. Comparisons of these measures by the four weight categories indicated the presence of trends such that as students' weight increased from one category to the next, their school grades and standardized test scores decreased. Partial correlation analyses, in which the effects of economic disadvantage and conduct grades were controlled, revealed that obesity was related with teacher-assigned grades and with TAKS scores. Interestingly, within ethnic groups, differences were present between obese and nonobese students only for White students and Hispanic students. The implications of these findings, as well as suggestions for further research, are discussed. [source] Fish consumption and school grades in Swedish adolescents: a study of the large general populationACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 1 2010J-L Kim Abstract Aim:, To study the associations between fish intake and academic achievement as cognitive parameter among Swedish adolescents. Methods:, In 2000, a questionnaire including respiratory items, socioeconomic conditions and dietary information was mailed to all schoolchildren (n = 18 158), aged 15 and living in Västra Götaland region of Sweden. The questionnaire was returned by 10 837 subjects. One year later, the total school grades for each subject who had completed the questionnaire and who included their full personal identification number were obtained from the national registers. Multiple linear regression models were applied to evaluate the association between fish intake and academic grades among 9448 schoolchildren, while adjusting for potential confounders, e.g. parents' education. Results:, Grades were higher in subjects with fish consumption once a week compared with subjects with fish consumption of less than once a week (reference group) [increment in estimate 14.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 11.8,17.1]. Grades were even higher in subjects with fish consumption of more than once a week compared with the reference group (increment in estimate 19.9, 95% CI 16.5,23.3). In the model stratified for parents' education, there were still higher grades among subjects with frequent fish intake in all educational strata (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Frequent fish intake among schoolchildren may provide benefits in terms of academic achievement. [source] Tsunami, War, and Cumulative Risk in the Lives of Sri Lankan SchoolchildrenCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2010Claudia Catani This study examines the impact of children's exposure to natural disaster against the backdrop of exposure to other traumatic events and psychosocial risks. One thousand three hundred ninety-eight Sri Lankan children aged 9,15 years were interviewed in 4 cross-sectional studies about exposure to traumatic life events related to the war, the tsunami experience, and family violence. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, somatic complaints, psychosocial functioning, and teacher reports of school grades served as outcome measures. A global outcome variable of "positive adaptation" was created from a combination of these measures. Data showed extensive exposure to adversity and traumatic events among children in Sri Lanka. Findings of regression analyses indicated that all 3 event types,tsunami and disaster, war, and family violence,significantly contributed to poorer child adaptation. [source] Breastfeeding and school achievement in Brazilian adolescentsACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 11 2005CESAR G. VICTORA Abstract Aim: To assess the effect of breastfeeding duration on school achievement in a Brazilian cohort. Methods: In a population-based birth cohort, we analysed the highest grade achieved in school of over 2000 male 18-y-olds relative to breastfeeding information collected in early life. Analyses were adjusted for birthweight, family income, maternal and paternal schooling, household assets, number of siblings, social class, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and ethnicity. Results: After adjustment for confounding variables, there was a highly significant trend in school achievement with increasing breastfeeding duration. Those breastfed for 9 mo or more were ahead by 0.5,0.8 school grades, relative to those breastfed for less than 1 mo. Data from a cross-sectional survey in the same population suggest that such a difference corresponds to a 10,15% difference in adult income levels. The duration of exclusive or predominant breastfeeding was also positively associated with schooling. Conclusion: Unlike studies from developed countries, there was no clear association between breastfeeding duration and either the family's socio-economic level or parental schooling in our sample and therefore residual confounding is improbable. These results suggest that the impact of breastfeeding on intellectual development may lead to sizeable differences in adult education and wage-earning performance. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||