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The school educational system in South Africa needs to improve the level of percentage pass rate in education. Therefore, the premise of the study reported on was to examine the key enablin...

In many disciplines of engineering, the professional engineering license is an important credential for career advancement. To attain an engineering license, one must pass the Principle and Practic...

Research comparing continuous assessment (e.g. coursework) with examinations generally reveals a student preference for the former. The perceived increased use of continuous assessment periodically captures media attention, with claims of greater numbers of higher degree classifications being awarded. This paper takes a case-study approach to investigate the extent to which different types of assessment allow students to effectively demonstrate and apply their learning. By considering data gathered from second-level, undergraduate students completing 60 point, online psychology modules, this paper investigates assessment effectiveness in terms of student satisfaction, pass rate and level of pass rate. Findings reveal that modules with an end of module assessment (EMA), rather than an examination, have higher completion and pass rates. Whilst students who took a seen examination also performed well, those who completed an unseen examination recorded the lowest overall pass and completion rates, des...

Separate approaches in engineering education, research and practice are not very useful when preparing students for working life; instead, integration of education, research and industrial practices is needed. A triangular approach (TA) as a method to accomplish this integration and as a method to provide students with integrated expertise is proposed. The results from the application of TA, both at the course and programme level, indicate that the approach is suitable for developing engineering education. The student pass rate for courses where TA has been used has been higher than for previous approaches, and the student feedback has been very positive. Although TA aims to take both theoretical and practical aspects of engineering as well as research and education into account, the approach concentrates mainly on activities and therefore leaves the goals of these activities as well as the values behind these goals uncovered.

This paper describes how one university mathematics department was able to improve student success in Calculus I by requiring a co-requisite lab for certain groups of students. The groups of students required to take the co-requisite lab were identified by analyzing student data, including Math ACT scores, ACT Compass Trigonometry scores, and grades in Pre-Calculus. Following the creation of the required lab, we collected the same data on the lab students as we had on similar students enrolled in Calculus I prior to the creation of the lab. The data were analyzed comparing the grades of students who had taken the co-requisite lab with the grades of similar students that had taken Calculus I prior to the creation of the lab. Our observations indicate that there is an improvement in the pass rate (grade of C or better) in Calculus I for a certain group of lab students.

An artificial neural network, mid- to long-term runoff forecasting model of the Nenjiang basin was established by deciding predictors using the physical analysis method, combined with long-term hydrological and meteorological information. The forecasting model was gradually improved while considering physical factors, such as the main flood season and non-flood season by stage, runoff sources and hydrological processes. The average relative errors in the simulation tests of the prediction model were 0.33 in the main flood season and 0.26 in the non-flood season, indicating that the prediction accuracy during the non-flood season was greater than that in the main flood season. Based on these standards, forecasting accuracy evaluation was conducted by comparing forecasting results with actual conditions: for 2001 to 2003 data, the pass rate of forecasting in the main flood season was 50%, while it was 93% in the non-flood season; for 2001–2010, the respective values were 45% and 72%. The accuracy of...

In this paper the relationship between attendance and attainment in a standard calculus course is investigated. Calculus could in principle be studied without attending lectures due to the wealth of material available (in hardcopy and online). However, in this study we will show that the pass rate of students attending classes regularly (>75% of the classes) is much higher than the pass rate of students attending fewer classes. We use a logistic model to investigate whether this correlation is significant. We will argue why we believe that this correlation between attendance and attainment is causal, i.e. why it is necessary for most students to attend classes in order to (improve their chances to) pass the exam.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has proposed to amend the certification rules for half mask air-purifying particulate respirators. The amendment would require the certified respirator to fit a minimum percentage of the intended users. The fail/pass rate for a respirator fitting a worker population has not been part of the certification process for particulate respirators since 1995. The amendment would also add a new requirement for the manufacturer to inform whom the respirator is intended to fit.

Second year mathematics is a compulsory course for all students enrolled in engineering and mathematics programmes at the university, and it is taken by approximately 120 students each year. The pass rate of the course had been below expectations in the past years. In order to improve the predicament, quizzes which provided a mark incentive were introduced in 2009 as a pilot study. The pass rate was improved compared to the previous year. Hence, quizzes were added to the course assessment in 2010. This article compares and reports the outcome to the 2009 and 2010 quizzes based on the students� feedback and results at the end of the course. From the data of the surveys, students welcomed the regular quizzes, although the pass rate still did not meet the expectation.

Nationwide, pass rates of developmental education students barely reach 60 percent, cutting short the promise of higher education for too many students. We believe that a national pass rate of 80 p...

All medical schools in Nepal use academic merit as the criterion for selecting students. Medical educationists in Nepal seek to make the selection process more transparent and fair to applicants from different socio-economic backgrounds, while striving to raise the educational standards.To evaluate the efficacy of selection methods in relation to academic success.Formative and Summative scores of three groups that had used different selection criteria were obtained and subjected to statistical analysis.The group selected through an interview (INT) showed significantly better performance on the formative exam in Year 1. Scores of the first come first served group (FCF) on Summative exam in Year 1 were significantly lower than those of INT or the group selected from the entrance exam merit list (KUM), with also the lowest pass rate. No significant differences were present amongst the formative or summative scores of the groups in Year 2, albeit INT which showed the highest pass rate.The academic performance of students at the end of two years of basic sciences does not appear to correlate with pre-admission academic merit. The usefulness of an interview is reflected in a higher pass rate. It might be worthwhile to include an interview in the selection process with a concomitant change in the methods of student assessment.

Objectives. To quantitatively assess the quality of homepages of medical records, for further improvement. Methods. Twenty quality control points were set up according to “Some Regulations in Instructions for Filling in Homepages of the Medical Records”, issued by the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the PRC in 2012; and a Homepage Inspection Marking Table was developed and used for the quality control of the homepages of 167 medical records with the same date of discharge. Results. The pass rate for the filling-in of the homepages of medical records was 95.2%; the rate of omission of the patient's basic information was the highest, accounting for 29.9%; the rate of incorrect diagnostic conformances was up to 12.6%; and the rate of omission of the pathology number, the reason for damage and poisoning, and the anaphylactic drug, accounted for 10.8%. Conclusions. The quality of the homepages of the medical records can be improved through strengthening the learning assessment and the...

This paper considers the introduction of online tests and exams at Charles Darwin University from 2009, and concludes that the improved pass rate is a result of the introduction of improved learning methods and not a lowering of standards. The paper also addresses the nature and timing of the tests and exams, student feedback on the assessment regime, and academic dishonesty in the virtual classroom. The analysis is conducted in the context of the arrival of a competitive tertiary education sector in Australia in 2012 in general, and the resources and student cohort of Charles Darwin University in particular.

Effort assessment is of particular importance in pediatric epilepsy where neuropsychological findings may influence treatment decisions, especially if surgical interventions are being considered. The present investigation examines the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) in 60 children and adolescents with epilepsy. The overall pass rate for the sample was 90%. TOMM scores were unrelated to age, though there was a significant correlation between TOMM Trial 2 scores and intelligence estimates. Overall, the TOMM appears to be a valid measure of effort in young epilepsy patients, though caution should be used when interpreting scores for those with very low IQ, especially if behavioral problems are also evident. Caution should also be exercised in interpreting scores in children with ongoing interictal epileptiform activity that may disrupt attention.

The Korean Version of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:K) was adapted and studied in order to determine Korean norms. In total, 271 subjects (175 males and 96 females) participated in the study. Comparisons are made between the Korean samples and previously published international samples. The normative data from the Korean sample on the HGSHS:K are generally congruent, including means and standard deviations, with data from international reference samples. However, the pass rate on the hallucination item on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A, was significantly different from that of the American sample. Females showed higher overall scores than males.

The high failure rate of first-year Economics students has become a concern at most South African universities. It affects the throughput of students and has financial implications for the institution as well as the students. At academic departmental level it may impact on the number of students who consider continuing their studies in Economics. At the beginning of 2007, Stellenbosch University (in the Western Cape, South Africa) launched a pilot summer school with the aim of improving students' learning outcomes and pass rates. Techniques used were geared towards actively involving the students in their own learning process. Various authors indicate the importance of active learning for student performance. This may include techniques such as in-class experiments and the writing of assignments. The case study presented in this paper investigates these techniques. The summer school programme combined traditional lectures and interactive learning approaches, primarily co-operative learning (through small tutorial sessions) and writing tasks, thereby ensuring active participation by students. The results achieved in the summer school (a pass rate of 89%) provide a justification to explore the success of this structured approach for future applications.

Despite the widespread use of binary measurement systems, little has been written about assessing them. Two plans are proposed here for assessing binary measurement systems that may be used under the assumption that the pass rate of the system is known..

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) have attracted a great deal of interest from audiologists, biophysicists, cell biologists, and engineers worldwide. Despite great achievements having been made in recent years, many theoretical and practical aspects of OAE assessment still remain to be explored. One important area of focus for further OAE research is the development of optimal recording techniques and methods of data processing, which are expected to offer: 1) an improvement in the amplitude and the SNR of the OAE response, and thus increase the pass rate in newborn hearing screening; and 2) a decrease in OAE acquisition time. This paper examines the current limitations of OAE recording for neonatal hearing screening, analyses the possible reasons for these constraints, and reviews possible clinical and technological solutions that have been considered to date.

This study analyses results from the first Swedish UNHS program. It includes over 33 000 measurement files from 14 287 children at two maternity wards. The screening program uses a two-stage TEOAE test procedure. A database was created in MedLog after data transformation in Word and Excel. The coverage rate was 99.1%. Bilateral pass rate after retesting was 97.0%. A unilateral pass criterion would have resulted in 1268 fewer children (9.0% of target group) for retesting and 231 fewer children (1.6% of target group) for diagnostic evaluation. When the first test was performed on the day the child was born, the pass rate was 64.8%; the pass rate increased to 89.2% when testing> or =3 days after birth. High coverage rates and pass rates were found to be possible, independent of the number of children born at the maternity ward. Learning curves were observed in the program with improvements distributed over time. Test performance was clearly better when the children were tested day two after birth or later.

This study, part of the Survey of Painters and Repairers of Auto bodies by Yale (SPRAY), evaluated the effectiveness of respiratory protection against exposure to aliphatic polyisocyanates. A total of 36 shops were assessed for respiratory protection program completeness; 142 workers were measured for respirator fit factor (FF) using PortaCount Plus respirator fit tester. Twenty-two painters from 21 shops were sampled using NIOSH method 5525 to determine the workplace protection factor (WPF) of negative pressure, air-purifying half-facepiece respirators equipped with organic vapor cartridges and paint prefilters during spray-painting and priming activities. Only 11 shops (30%) had written respiratory protection programs. Eighty percent of all fit tested workers passed the test on the first try with FFor= 100, and 92% passed the second test after respirator use training. Overall geometric mean (GM) FF was 1012 for all fit tested workers. Significant differences on pass rate (92% vs. 72%) and on FF (1990 vs. 736) were found between previously fit tested workers vs. nontested workers. Twenty-nine WPF samples were collected. The outside facepiece GM concentration of total isocyanate group (NCO) was 378.4 micro g NCO/m(3) with 96% concentrations exceeding the U.K. short-term exposure limit, 70 micro g NCO/m(3), but no in-facepiece concentrations exceeded the limit. The GM WPF of total NCO was 319 (GSD 4) and the 5th percentile was 54. WPF of total NCO was positively correlated with the duration of painting task. FF positively correlated with WPF when FF wasor=450 but negatively correlated with WPF when FF was450. We conclude that negative pressure, air-purifying half-facepiece respirators equipped with organic vapor cartridges and paint prefilters provide effective protection against isocyanate exposure in spray and priming operations if workers are properly trained and fitted.

Applying microeconomic theory to No Child Left Behind predicts that its use of significant consequences for schools that do not reach 100% proficiency on rigorous standardized tests by 2014 will likely prevent most, if not all schools, from providing a high-quality education for their students. The central problem is cost. Quality assurance models predict that costs associated with achieving the required 100% pass rate will rise well above typical school budgets. Thus, No Child Left Behind, or any reform that combines a rigid demarcation between passing and failing with a 100% proficiency requirement, will fail as prohibitively expensive.

Two models are presented in this article for estimating the proportion of students who would pass all of three or more content area tests given that none have actually been tested in more than two of the content areas. The first model allows one to estimate the proportion of students who would pass all of three or more content area tests from the test results of a study in which no student took more than two of the tests; the second model (which requires an outside estimate of the correlations between the different content area tests) allows one to estimate the proportion of students who would pass all of three or more content area tests from the test results of a study (or field test results) in which students took only one content area test. The models were tested on the Texas End-of-Course test battery (which consists of four content area tests) results of students who took all four content area tests prior to or in the spring of 2001, with at least one of the end-of-course content area tests taken in ...

The aim of this study was to compare two hearing-screening methods in well newborn infants within the postnatal ward environment prior to discharge. Eighty-one newborn infants underwent one-step hearing screening by measurement of automated auditory brainstem responses (aABRs), using the ALGO-3 screener. These were compared with a further cohort of 81 neonates who underwent two-step screening using transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) followed by aABR. The pass rate was 78/81 (96.3%) for the one-step screen, 74/81 (91.4%) for the two-step screen, and 54/81 (66.7%) for TEOAE alone. There was no significant difference between cohorts in time required to complete the screening protocol. We conclude that pre-discharge hearing screening of newborn infants on the postnatal ward is feasible and acceptable. Use of TEOAE alone for pre-discharge screening is associated with an excessively high false-positive rate. At our institution, one-step screening resulted in a lower referral rate compared with a two-step approach. The performance of aABR screening may be affected by prior TEOAE screening.

Seven conclusions for professionals who administer state assessment programs are drawn from the GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency ruling: (a) the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education (1999) standards are appropriate to use; (b) items showing different p values for subgroups may be used if they are selected as adequate for sound educational reasons; (c) a cut score setting process should be educationally justified; (d) a high-stakes testing program can appropriately address unfair access to education; (e) multiple opportunities to pass satisfies the standard that a single test score should not be the sole basis for a high-stakes decision; (f) a conjunctive decision-making model can appropriately motivate both students and schools; and (g) an 80% pass rate criterion applied to eventual, as opposed to initial, success rates for subgroups is a reasonable threshold for adverse impact. Caution is recommended because circ...

Background: The Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board of the General Medical Council examines foreign candidates wishing to practice medicine in the United Kingdom. Several separate tests and I conjoint test of each component (medicine and English) are used.Purpose: This investigation aimed to determine how much the candidate's knowledge of English affected the ability to pass the medical component, and vice versa, and how much dependence between tests there was within each component.Methods: The 14 examinations held during 1993 for 1,940 foreign candidates were analyzed. The technique used was to note whether, by and large, the candidates who failed I test were the same as or different from those who failed the other test(s). If the same candidates failed 2 tests, the overall pass rate was approximately the average of the separate pass rates of the 2 tests. If the candidates who failed I test passed the other and vice versa, then the product of the 2 pass rates approximated to the observed over-all pass rate.Results: Using this method, it was found that the language component of the examination was one-third dependent, two-thirds independent of the medical component that the one-third dependence was due to the Oral Language Test, and that the two-thirds independence was due to the Oral Medical Test. Moreover, the objective tests of medicine were independent of the subjective Oral Medical, and there was a similar incongruity between the subjective and oral tests of language.Conclusions: Two hypotheses are advanced that might explain these results. They are not mutually exclusive, and data do not exist at present to demonstrate their relative importance. The method used should be applicable to other examinations using more than one test procedure.

Babies without any of the known risk factors for hearing impairment were taken from normal maternity wards and tested daily for 3 days post-partum. Tympanometric and evoked otoacoustic emission data were obtained from 121 babies. Middle-ear pressure and middle-ear compliance values were obtained with a Grason Stadler Middle-Ear Analyser (GSI-33) using a 1000-Hz probe tone. All babies had their evoked emissions measured on the Programmable Otoacoustic Emissions Measurement System (POEMS) equipment. The middle-ear compliance, the proportion of normally shaped tympanograms, the middle-ear pressure and the proportion passing EOAE testing all improved over the 3 days. However, the statistically significant factors affecting the pass rate appeared to be only the middle-ear pressure (for a small number of babies) and the degree of obstruction of the external ear canal. Whilst both these factors play a part in determining emission pass/fail rates they do not fully account for the observed changes in pass rate. There are developmental and other mechanisms which must contribute to the increase in pass rate as the baby matures.

The present paper reports on the implementation of a maternity based neonatal hearing-screening program in a private hospital. A retrospective analysis is performed on the test pass rate, the coverage and the number of children that become lost to follow-up. The data show a steady learning curve with a time course of several years. In the current screening practice, the test pass rate is at 99.0%, the coverage is at 96% (birth rate of 2000 per annum) and almost no babies get lost to follow-up.

Over the past few years the achievements of Bhekuzulu High School have baffled the South African government. It is a black school in South Africa run by black anti-apartheid activists determined to disprove the notion that blacks are educationally inferior to whites. In this they seem to succeed. The latest national examination statistics indicated that Bhekuzulu outshone the majority of white schools in South Africa. Whereas the pass rate for black South Africans annually sitting for the School Leaving Certificate hovers around 50% (compared to about 97% for whites), the pass rate at Bhekuzulu was 100%. But, more importantly, while the average percentage of black candidates who qualify for university entrance is about 13% (compared to 35% for whites), Bhekuzulu last year achieved a record when 97% of its candidates qualified for university entrance. And, according to Bhekuzulu's headmaster, "This is just the beginning. We intend to become the top school in South Africa". What makes Bhekuzulu particularly interesting is that its academic successes were accomplished with minimal financial assistance from outsiders and parents. It is an economi

Gudmund Grønhaug,1 Jon Hagfors,2 Ingebjørg Borch,2 Nina Østerås,1 Kåre Birger Hagen11National Advisory Unit on Rehabilitation in Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, 2Norwegian Rheumatism Association, Oslo, NorwayObjective: To assess the perceived quality of care received by people with osteoarthritis (OA) in Norway and explore factors associated with the quality of care.Methods: A national survey in which members of the Norwegian Rheumatism Association with OA registered as their main diagnosis completed a questionnaire. The perceived quality of care was reported on a 17-item OsteoArthritis Quality Indicator questionnaire, covering both pharmacological and non-pharmacological aspects of OA care. In addition, the four-page questionnaire covered areas related to demographic characteristics, the location and impact of the OA, and utilization and satisfaction with health care services. The quality of care is calculated as pass rates, where the numerator represents the number of indicators passed and the denominator represents the number of eligible persons.Results: In total, 1,247 participants (response rate 57%) completed the questionnaire. Mean age was 68 years (standard deviation 32) and 1,142 (92%) were women. Respondents reported OA in hand only (12.4%), hip only (7.3%), knee only (10.4%), in two locations (42%) or all three locations (27%). The overall OsteoArthritis Quality Indicator pass rate was 47% (95% confidence interval [CI] 46%–48%), and it was higher for pharmacological aspects (53% [51%–54%]) than for non-pharmacological aspects of care (44% [43%–46%]). The pass rate for the individual quality indicators ranged from 8% for “referral for weight reduction” to 81% for “receiving advice about exercises”. Satisfaction with care was strongly associated with perceived quality. The pass rate for those who were “very satisfied” was 33% (25%–40%) higher than those who were “very unsatisfied” with care.Conclusion: While the OA patient seems to be rather satisfied with the perceived OA care, there is still room for improvement in the quality of care. Although the quality of care in the present study is somewhat higher than in other studies, less than 50% of the recommended care has been provided.Keywords: quality indicator, physiotherapy, general practitioner, pass rate

Introduction: Academic history is a well-established predictor of educational success. Prerequisites to advanced emergency medical services (EMS) educational programs are a highly debated topic, especially in the face of possible workforce shortages. While it may be intuitive that academic history should have a bearing on success in EMS education, no empirical evidence demonstrates this relationship. Hypothesis: There is a relationship between high school class rank and first-attempt success rate on the written portion of the national paramedic certification examination. Methods: Candidates taking the National Registry of EMTs paramedic exam in 2002 were asked to report their high school class rank at the bottom of the exam answer sheet. High school class rank was correlated to first-time pass rate. Results: The paramedic written exam was administered 12,623 times during the study period, of which 8,176 were first attempts (64.8%). Of these, 5,774 (70.6%) candidates reported their high school class rank. More than half (55.9%) of the candidates taking the exam reported graduating in the top 30% of their high school classes, with only 5.5% in the lower 30%. Conclusion: There is a strong relationship between a candidate's self-reported high school class rank and the first-time pass rate on the written portion of the national certification exam. More research is needed to determine whether this relationship is causal or correlational. First-time Pass First-time Fail Self-reported High School Class Rank n % n % n % Bottom 10% 94 1.6 55 58.5 39 41.5 Lower 20% 223 3.9 113 50.7 110 49.3 Middle 40% 2,234 38.7 1,305 58.4 929 41.6 Upper 20% 1,926 33.4 1,291 67.0 635 33.0 Top 10% 1,297 22.5 1,029 79.3 268 20.7 Chi-square = 185.63 (p ≤ 0.001).

Examination results were compared among two cohorts of pupils(n = 2,012) at three comprehensive schools which had adopted different policies in the provision of examination opportunities at 16 #pl. Some possible effects of these were considered by: (1) testing the significance of differences between the schools in the numbers of ‘O’ level and ‘O’ level equivalent passes; (2) examining the relationships between examination success at 16#pl and sex, measured intelligence and social background for each school separately; and (3) comparing differences in ‘A’ level performance between the schools for the same two cohorts. Results showed no significant differences in examination performance between the schools at 16 #pl, either in the mean pass rate or in the relationships between success and the chosen background variables. This indicated that very much the same kind of pupil (in respect of sex, measured intelligence and social background) was achieving this token of success under all three conditions...