Mathematics Achievement in the Netherlands and Appropriateness of the TIMSS Mathematics Test |
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| Authors: | Wilmad Kuiper Klaas Bos Tjeerd Plomp |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Massachusetts , Lowell, MA, USA Jill_Lohmeier@uml.edu;3. University of Kansas , Lawrence, KS, USA |
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| Abstract: | Evaluators are frequently asked to assess the effectiveness of school programs implemented to improve academic achievement. School connectedness has been shown to be directly related to academic achievement (McNeely, Nonnemaker, &; Blum, 2002 McNeely, C. A., Nonnemaker, J. M. and Blum, R. W. 2002. Promoting school connectedness: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Journal of School Health, 72: 138–146. Crossref], PubMed], Web of Science ®] , Google Scholar]) and is therefore of interest to evaluators. The construct of school connectedness has been shown to consist of 3 elements: connectedness to adults in schools, connectedness to peers, and connectedness to the school (Karcher &; Lee, 2002 Karcher, M. J. and Lee, Y. 2002. Connectedness among Taiwanese middle school students: A validation study of the Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness. Asia Pacific Education Review, 3: 92–114. Crossref] , Google Scholar]). This paper reports the psychometric properties and factor analyses findings from a School Connectedness Scale (SCS) given to adolescents in 2 very different high schools in the Northeast, one a large urban school and one a medium-sized suburban school. The results indicate that the SCS is highly reliable with a stable factor structure across diverse populations. The broad applications of use for the instrument are discussed. |
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| Keywords: | school connectedness adolescents school program evaluation |
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