Breadth and depth of curriculum are important for success in science teaching and learning. Curriculum theorists recommend less breadth and more depth than overloaded, superficial science curricula. This study investigates breadth and depth in the official biology syllabi in the seventh to eighth or ninth years in four diverse jurisdictions,…

In educational and psychological research, it is common to use latent factors to represent constructs and then to examine covariate effects on these latent factors. Using empirical data, this study applied three approaches to covariate effects on latent factors: the multiple-indicator multiple-cause (MIMIC) approach, multiple group confirmatory…

This study compares the successes of numbers 94 7th grade students in science education with assessment-evaluation questions based on skill and acquisition. Assessment-evaluation achievement tests based on skill and acquisition were developed by researchers towards the measurement of force and acquisitions in friction units taking place in the…

Inquiry-Based Teaching Practice (IBTP) is an essential component of science education, and promoting its implementation is at the heart of various reform efforts. Even though science teachers regard IBTP as an essential pedagogical method, they rarely use it for various reasons. This study utilizes Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework to examine…

Large-scale assessments (LSAs) use Mislevy's "plausible value" (PV) approach to relate student proficiency to noncognitive variables administered in a background questionnaire. This method requires background variables to be completely observed, a requirement that is seldom fulfilled. In this article, we evaluate and compare the…

On international comparisons, the development of Oman's education system in terms of the increase in educational enrolment rates and in the level of teacher qualifications has been remarkably rapid. Almost 100% access to basic education has been achieved, and almost all students progress onto post-basic education. A report from the World Bank in…

The last two decades have seen fast-moving and wholescale changes in the ways that education is now provided in French schools, in the nature of learner assessment, and in the form and scale of system evaluation. Innovation and reform have in part followed international trends, themselves triggered by the global impact of the international…

This policy profile on education in Kazakhstan is part of the Education Policy Outlook series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectorial policy knowledge base, the series offers a…

Purpose: This paper presents a moderated discussion on popular misconceptions, benefits and limitations of International Large-Scale Assessment (ILSA) programs, clarifying how ILSA results could be more appropriately interpreted and used in public policy contexts in the USA and elsewhere in the world. Design/methodology/approach: To bring key…

The different strategies and methodologies used by teachers in their day-to-day activity may have an impact on the academic performance of their students. Indexes constructed to summarize how teachers address different teaching tasks can be used to quantify the teaching activities' associations with academic results. In the IEA's Trends in…

Trend estimation in international comparative large-scale assessments relies on measurement invariance between countries. However, cross-national differential item functioning (DIF) has been repeatedly documented. We ran a simulation study using national item parameters, which required trends to be computed separately for each country, to compare…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of dimensionality, common-item set format, and different scale linking methods on preserving equity property with mixed-format test equating. Item response theory (IRT) true-score equating (TSE) and IRT observed-score equating (OSE) methods were used under common-item nonequivalent groups design.…

Across Europe we can observe the reinforcement of monolingual education policies, despite increasing multilingualism. Recent research has shown that the emphasis is on language proficiency in the socially dominant language. This is viewed as the key to educational success. The use of other languages or linguistic repertoires is not valued in…

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is one of the world's leading educational research centres. ACER's mission is to create and promote research-based knowledge, products and services that can be used to improve learning across the life span. This annual report describes ACER's milestones and accomplishments for the 2015-2016…

This article examines key lessons learned by Russia while developing national assessment system in education. It shows that reforms are more likely to succeed backed with sustained political support, clearly defined goals or priorities, gradual introduction, and open discussion with stakeholders. [This article was translated by Lucy Gunderson.]