This paper presents the development and initial validation of new measures of critical thinking and noncognitive attributes that were designed to supplement existing standardized tests used in the admissions system for higher education in Chile. The importance of various facets of this process, including the establishment of technical rigor and…

As part of Phase 3 of the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS-3), Mathematica Policy Research worked with the First 5 LA Children and Families Commission and Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) to conduct a descriptive study of the characteristics of classrooms in LAUP programs during winter 2010. This study has a particular focus…

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD's) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys, which take place every three years, have been designed to collect information about 15-year-old students in participating countries. PISA examines how well students are prepared to meet the challenges of the future,…

This study evaluates an abbreviated version of the Hispanic Stress Inventory-Immigrant version (HSI-I) with a nonclinical sample of 143 adult Hispanic immigrants residing in a large midwestern city. The HSI-I consists of 73 items and 5 distinct subscales that assess psychosocial experiences on five dimensions, namely, occupational/economic,…

International studies like PISA use context student or school questionnaires to collect data on student family background, attitudes and learning context. Questionnaire constructs are typically measured using dichotomous or Likert-type items. Scaling of questionnaire items in order to obtain measures of family background, student attitudes or…

This report describes a study conducted by the Audio-Visual Media Research Group of the Open University to investigate student attitudes, over time, to the value of radio as a course component. Results of a January 1979 survey using a questionnaire are reported with tables and analyzed according to (1) whether a student had access to a VHF radio…

The London Challenge is a Department for Education and Skills (DfES) initiative, which aims to raise levels of attainment in London secondary schools and to create a world class education system in the capital. In 2005, London Challenge commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to carry out a survey of Year 7 pupils,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure of a Factors Influencing Pursuit of Higher Education (FIPHE) Questionnaire which addresses factors influencing a person's decision to pursue higher education. Researchers used a literature-based, rational factors approach to develop the questionnaire; the three-part study included a…