Flow and diffusion of high-stakes test scores.

Full Abstract

We apply visualization and modeling methods for convective and diffusive flows to public school mathematics test scores from Texas. We obtain plots that show the most likely future and past scores of students, the effects of random processes such as guessing, and the rate at which students appear in and disappear from schools. We show that student outcomes depend strongly upon economic class, and identify the grade levels where flows of different groups diverge most strongly. Changing the effectiveness of instruction in one grade naturally leads to strongly nonlinear effects on student outcomes in subsequent grades.

Author information

Author/s: Marder, M (M); Bansal, D (D);

Affiliation: Center for Nonlinear Dynamics and Department of Physics, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA. marder(-atsign-)mail.utexas.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Oct; vol 106 (issue 41) : pp 17267-70

Dates: Created 2009/10/15; Completed 2009/11/03;

PMID: 19805049, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/3/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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