The SAT I: Reasoning Test (SAT) assesses verbal and mathematical reasoning skills that are predic... more The SAT I: Reasoning Test (SAT) assesses verbal and mathematical reasoning skills that are predictive of success in college. According to the technical handbook for the SAT, the speed with which students can answer the questions should play at most a minor role in determining scores. But there is a common belief among many students that if they only had a little more time they could substantially improve their scores. The number of students requesting extra time on the SAT (which is granted to students with learning disabilities) has grown by more than 50% in recent years. The concern, as expressed in K.R. Weiss's January 9, 2000, article in the Los Angeles Times, is that the time extensions "rather than helping those with real disabilities, have increasingly become a way of gaming the systemallowing privileged families to gain advantage on a high-stakes exam." The Times story also quotes the president of the College Board, Gaston Caperton: "We are concerned about people taking advantage of it who are not really qualified to, but have been smart enough to step around the rules." It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to separate the students with legitimate disabilities from those
This article describes two separate, related studies that provide insight into the effectiveness ... more This article describes two separate, related studies that provide insight into the effectiveness of e-rater score calibration methods based on different distributional targets. In the first study, we developed and evaluated a new type of e-rater scoring model that was cost-effective and applicable under conditions of absent human rating and small candidate volume. This new model type, called the Scale Midpoint Model, outperformed an existing e-rater scoring model that is often adopted by certain e-rater system users without modification. In the second study, we examined the impact of three distributional score calibration approaches on existing models’ performance. These approaches included percentile calibrations on e-rater scores in accordance with a human rating distribution, normal distribution, and uniform distribution. Results indicated that these score calibration approaches did not have overall positive effects on the performance of existing e-rater scoring models.
ABSTRACT Established teachers’ self-reports on Five-Factor Model (FFM) scales, interests, and att... more ABSTRACT Established teachers’ self-reports on Five-Factor Model (FFM) scales, interests, and attributions were studied in relation to two outcome criteria, choice of teaching specialty (niche selection) and quality of teaching. Choice of teaching specialty was most strongly associated with openness to experience, interest in the arts and/or sciences, and internal-locus attributions (ability and effort) in response to a positive classroom event. On the other hand, quality of teaching assessed by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards was positively associated with several facets of the FFM, and negatively associated with business interests and with a tendency to externalize blame. Unexpectedly, Conscientiousness was unrelated to teacher performance. Findings suggested that broadly defined personality characteristics impact more on niche selection than on performance within the chosen niche, whereas narrowly defined characteristics better predict performance, at least among established professionals.
This study addressed the role of interests as personality factors in professional development. Us... more This study addressed the role of interests as personality factors in professional development. Using John Holland's model, the interests of established teachers were studied in relation to (1) teaching specialty and (2) excellence of teaching measured by assessments of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Observed differences in interests among teaching specialties were consistent with vocational/developmental theories of niche selection through trait matching. Business-related interests tended to correlate negatively with quality of teaching. For other interests, correlations with quality of teaching were more specialty-specific. Findings suggested a two-phase sequence in which initial trait matching is followed by dynamic engagements of interests that may enhance or impair quality of teaching.
The SAT I: Reasoning Test (SAT) assesses verbal and mathematical reasoning skills that are predic... more The SAT I: Reasoning Test (SAT) assesses verbal and mathematical reasoning skills that are predictive of success in college. According to the technical handbook for the SAT, the speed with which students can answer the questions should play at most a minor role in determining scores. But there is a common belief among many students that if they only had a little more time they could substantially improve their scores. The number of students requesting extra time on the SAT (which is granted to students with learning disabilities) has grown by more than 50% in recent years. The concern, as expressed in K.R. Weiss's January 9, 2000, article in the Los Angeles Times, is that the time extensions "rather than helping those with real disabilities, have increasingly become a way of gaming the systemallowing privileged families to gain advantage on a high-stakes exam." The Times story also quotes the president of the College Board, Gaston Caperton: "We are concerned about people taking advantage of it who are not really qualified to, but have been smart enough to step around the rules." It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to separate the students with legitimate disabilities from those
This article describes two separate, related studies that provide insight into the effectiveness ... more This article describes two separate, related studies that provide insight into the effectiveness of e-rater score calibration methods based on different distributional targets. In the first study, we developed and evaluated a new type of e-rater scoring model that was cost-effective and applicable under conditions of absent human rating and small candidate volume. This new model type, called the Scale Midpoint Model, outperformed an existing e-rater scoring model that is often adopted by certain e-rater system users without modification. In the second study, we examined the impact of three distributional score calibration approaches on existing models’ performance. These approaches included percentile calibrations on e-rater scores in accordance with a human rating distribution, normal distribution, and uniform distribution. Results indicated that these score calibration approaches did not have overall positive effects on the performance of existing e-rater scoring models.
ABSTRACT Established teachers’ self-reports on Five-Factor Model (FFM) scales, interests, and att... more ABSTRACT Established teachers’ self-reports on Five-Factor Model (FFM) scales, interests, and attributions were studied in relation to two outcome criteria, choice of teaching specialty (niche selection) and quality of teaching. Choice of teaching specialty was most strongly associated with openness to experience, interest in the arts and/or sciences, and internal-locus attributions (ability and effort) in response to a positive classroom event. On the other hand, quality of teaching assessed by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards was positively associated with several facets of the FFM, and negatively associated with business interests and with a tendency to externalize blame. Unexpectedly, Conscientiousness was unrelated to teacher performance. Findings suggested that broadly defined personality characteristics impact more on niche selection than on performance within the chosen niche, whereas narrowly defined characteristics better predict performance, at least among established professionals.
This study addressed the role of interests as personality factors in professional development. Us... more This study addressed the role of interests as personality factors in professional development. Using John Holland's model, the interests of established teachers were studied in relation to (1) teaching specialty and (2) excellence of teaching measured by assessments of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Observed differences in interests among teaching specialties were consistent with vocational/developmental theories of niche selection through trait matching. Business-related interests tended to correlate negatively with quality of teaching. For other interests, correlations with quality of teaching were more specialty-specific. Findings suggested a two-phase sequence in which initial trait matching is followed by dynamic engagements of interests that may enhance or impair quality of teaching.
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Papers by Catherine Trapani