Journal articles on the topic 'Preparatory course for university entrance exams'

In Vietnam, since 2015, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has decided to abolish university entrance exams and advocates the use of high school graduation exam results of candidates for admission to go to universities. The 2015 and 2016 exam questions for the Math exam are the essay questions. From 2017 up to now, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has applied the form of multiple-choice exams for Mathematics in the high school graduation exam. There are many mixed opinions about the impact of this form of examination and admission on the quality of university students. In particular, the switch from the form of essay examination to multiple-choice exams led the entire Vietnam Mathematical Association at that time to send recommendations on continuing to maintain the form of essay examination for mathematics. The purposes of this article are analysis and evaluation the effects of relevant factors on the academic performance of advanced math students of university students, and offer solutions to optimize university entrance exam. The data set was provided by Training Management Department and Training Quality Control and Testing Laboratory of the University of Finance – Marketing. This dataset includes information about math high school graduation test scores, learning process scores (scores assessed by direct instructors), and advanced math course end test scores of 2834 students in courses from 2015 to 2019. Linear and non-linear regression machine learning models were used to solve the tasks given in this article. An analysis of the data was conducted to reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the change in university enrollment of the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training. Tools from the Python libraries have been supported and used effectively in the process of solving problems. Through building and surveying the model, there are suggestions and solutions to problems in enrollment and input quality assurance. Specifically, in the preparation of entrance exams, the entrance exam questions should not exceed 61-66 % of multiple choice questions.

Deterioration in the spatial visualization ability of students entering University, being much researched in other countries has also been detected in Serbia. The Department of Architecture entrance exam includes a geometric exercise in spatial forms testing the students' capability to rotate, cut and frame objects drawn in axonometric projections and the design of a free form geometric composition. The results vary from poor solutions deprived of three-dimensionality to extremely rich three-dimensional free forms. Based on numerous pieces of research on the topic, and on the results of both entrance and subjects exams we felt that the traditional course of descriptive geometry had to be reformed. We carefully reviewed all the topics of the existing course by closely analyzing the connections with most other subjects. The reforms are based on the characteristic views as well as characteristic elements of the structure of geometric forms, releasing the course from all unnecessary planimetric constructions and details. Therefore, a successful geometric understanding (from two-dimensional drawing to three-dimensional thinking) of the examined spatial form became possible only on the basis of the minimal information. This paper presents the concept of geometric problems' at the entrance exam and reformed course of geometry and perspective at our Faculty.

Background Entrance examination (admission test) is the most important and widely accepted method of student selection for admission into medical schools in Nepal. For many schools it is the only criterion of student selection. Objectives To examine relationships of scores obtained in schooling (grade 10 and 12), medical entrance and MBBS professional examinations in a cohort to identify predictive strength for entry into medical school and success in medical education. Methods Exam scores from grade 10 to medical entrance and professional exams of undergraduate medical education of a total of 118 medical students who entered medical school between 1994 and 1998 only through the merit of open competitive medical entrance examination at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) were assessed. Results Student selection for admission in MBBS course at BPKIHS and their subsequent success were not determined by difference in outcomes of public & private management of schools at grade 10 (selection p= 0.80 & success p= 0.32 ) and grade 12 (selection p= 0.59 & success p= 0.55). Grade 12 averaged scores had no relationship in getting these students selected for admission into medical course (r= 0.08, p= 0.37), but did show correlation with the overall success in medical education (r= 0.32, p= 0.00). Scores in physics at grade 12 retained predictive strength in success in medical education (r= 0.19, p= 0.04). Conclusion The present student selection criteria for medical education are not appropriate and need to incorporate other attributes of candidates along with cognitive aspects. KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL JOURNAL VOL.10 | NO. 1 | ISSUE 37 | JAN - MAR 2012 | 66-71 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/kumj.v10i1.6918

This paper describes the research conducted in the Republic of Croatia during the 2012/13 academic year. We have gathered opinions from experts, i.e. teaching methods teachers from seven faculties of teacher education, regarding the music teaching competencies necessary for primary education teachers teaching music in the first several grades of elementary school. We used the Delphi method in our research, i.e. in our sample survey among teaching methods teachers. The teachers also evaluated the competencies of their students and some elements of teacher education studies course syllabi and programmes. The sample survey among the teachers was implemented via email. The goal of the research was to determine if the programmes of the music courses at the teacher education studies are appropriate for the development of the competencies necessary for students of music education. Teaching methods teachers emphasized the need for more practical training, primarily regarding playing instruments and singing, and they pointed out that the course Teaching Methods in Music is the most important course for the training of future music teachers. Aside from that, they believe that more classes should be devoted to music courses, i.e. they propose to reorganise the contents of the courses by increasing the amount of practical classes and reducing the amount of theory classes. They also believe that it is necessary to introduce testing of musical ability at entrance exams for admission into the teacher education studies.

ABSTRACT In this article I discuss the results of a doctoral research that focused on the language policy for English in Brazil, specifically the effects of the English questions of ENEM in the representations and practices related to this language. According to the theoretical conception in which the study was based, the comprehension of language policy goes beyond the analysis of what is manifested in laws and official programs, since the real policy, called de facto policy, is put into practice through mechanisms, namely implicit resources, such as exams, traffic signs, among others (SHOHAMY, 2006). Thus, in addition to the analysis of legislation dealing with English, interviews were conducted with students from a preparatory course to enter university, teachers, and English coordinators from public schools. The initial assumption that the presence of English in the ENEM would place the exam as a language policy mechanism was not confirmed, since there was not a significant impact of ENEM on the representations and practices reported by the participants of this study.

本稿では、明治期から大正期、特に1880年代から1910年代にかけて、高等学校の入学試業で英語・ドイツ語・フランス語がどのように扱われたのかを第一高等学校の入試を中心に明らかにし、その位置づけが中学校の外国語教育に与えた影響を考察する。重要な転機として、（1）1895年の第一部（法文学志望者）の一部においてドイツ語受験が可能とされ、また第三部（医学志望者）はドイツ語のみ受験が可能とされたこと、（2）1899年に第三部の受験がドイツ語に加えて英語でも可能となったこと、（3）1919年の規定により、文科乙類・理科乙類ではドイツ語による受験が、文科丙類ではフランス語による受験が可能となったことが挙げられる。ドイツ語やフランス語が入試科目に加えられたことは、高等教育におけるこれらの言語の重要性を維持する一助となった。しかし、どの専門であれ英語での受験が可能となった状況では、東京府立第一中学校の例が示すように、中学校でのドイツ語・フランス語教育推進にはつながらなかった。 Extensive research has been conducted on English entrance exams in Meiji- and Taisho-era Japan (e.g., Erikawa, 2011; Imura, 2003; Matsumura, 1997; Sasaki, 2008). However, very few studies have explored how other foreign languages were treated in entrance exams during this period of secondary and tertiary educational development. This paper, therefore, offers an examination of how English, German, and French were treated in higher school entrance examinations during this period, especially from the 1880s to 1910s, with a focus on Daiichi Koto Gakko (the First Higher School; named Daiichi Koto Chu Gakko, the First Higher Middle School, between 1886 and 1894), a predecessor of several university programs in the current system. How the treatment of these languages in entrance exams influenced foreign language education at middle schools, many of which turned into senior high schools after World War II, is also discussed. During the Meiji and Taisho eras, foreign language education in Japan received criticism from education experts for its English-only focus (Shimo, 2018; cf. current criticism in, e.g., Morizumi, Koishi, Sugitani, & Hasegawa, 2016; Otani, 2007). Foreign languages other than English that were important at that time were German and French. An advisory committee to the Prime Minister, Rinji Kyoiku Kaigi (Extraordinary Education Committee: September 21, 1917, to May 23, 1919) proposed in its report on May 2, 1918, that German and French, in addition to English, be promoted as foreign language subjects to be taught at middle schools. Discussion in the advisory committee was reflected in Higher School Order, which was promulgated in December 1918. According to the National Higher School Higher Course Entrance Examination Regulations promulgated in the following year, English, German, and French were included in the foreign language subjects for entrance exams. A unified-test system—with all higher schools using the same test questions—was also introduced. Until 1919, most higher schools offered only English, with an exception of Daiichi Koto Gakko. Daiichi Koto Gakko had three departments: The First Department was for candidates for law and literature majors; the Second Department for candidates for science, engineering, and agriculture majors; and the Third Department for candidates for medicine majors. Back in 1886, the school announced that they were going to offer only English from the 1891 entrance examinations, but their entrance examination rules also went through further changes. Among the changes, important turning points were as follows: (a) the change in 1895 allowed the First Department to offer German language as an entrance exam subject for certain groups of majors and the Third Department to offer German as the only foreign language option in their entrance exam; (b) in 1899, the Third Department started to offer English, in addition to German, as an entrance exam subject; and (c) in 1919 (two departments, Humanities and Sciences, were then formed instead of three), one section of Humanities and one of Sciences allowed German exams, and one section of Humanities allowed French ones. The last regulation was implemented nationwide, but not all higher schools offered French and German. By including German and French as entrance exam subjects, their importance in tertiary education was made stronger or at least kept the same. In spite of all these changes, however, the number of middle schools that taught German or French did not increase; it was limited to a few private middle schools. One notable case was Tokyo Furitsu Daiichi Chu Gakko [Tokyo Prefectural First Middle School]. German was added as a foreign language subject in their curriculum in 1902 when Tomoo Katsuura was the principal. In 1901, Katsuura attended the sixth meeting of Koto Kyoiku Kaigi (Upper-Level Education Committee; the first advisory committee of the Ministry of Education: 1896-1913), where the committee agreed on their proposal to the Ministry that German be taught in addition to English at one middle school in each prefecture. Katsuura’s effort turned out to be ineffective in promoting German education at the middle-school level because Daiichi Koto Gakko had already added English to the entrance exam for the Third Department in 1899. This historical examination indicates that when English was offered as an entrance exam subject for all majors at the tertiary level, simply providing other languages in entrance exams was ineffective in promoting those languages at the secondary level.

This longitudinal study on the predictive value of ‘simultaneous’ Italian-to-Italian oral paraphrasing as an aptitude test for interpreting was conducted on 64 conference interpreting students at the University of Bologna (Forlì). All students completed their course with Italian as their ‘A’ language, having passed the entrance examination (which included a paraphrase test, recorded for evaluation) during the period 2004–2006. Using paraphrase as a pre-interpreting aptitude test in a smaller sample, Russo and Pippa (2004) found a significant correlation between course outcome measures (average interpreting exam mark and number of exam sessions needed to pass all interpreting exams) and two of the evaluation parameters for paraphrasing: ‘synonymic substitution’ (use of synonyms and equivalent expressions) and ‘loss of coherence’. The present study examined whether, in a different setting, these two parameters and the students’ actual admission test mark for paraphrase/recall testing correlated with the same outcome measures. Ability to use synonyms showed the highest validity in relation to the number of interpreting exam sessions, correctly classifying 48 out of 64 students (75%) as ‘slow’ (> 6 sessions: test sensitivity = 80%) or ‘fast’ (≤ 6 sessions: test specificity = 71%). Results thus indicate that an oral ‘real time’ paraphrasing test can help identify such prerequisites of effective interpreting as mental flexibility and expressive ability.

Background The inverted classroom model differs from the traditional teaching model as it reverses the pattern of knowledge transfer and internalization. In recent years, this new teaching model has received much attention in undergraduate medical education. Pathophysiology is a course in the undergraduate Chinese medical curriculum that is critical in bridging basic medical science and clinical medicine. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of inverted classroom in delivering the course on pathophysiology to Chinese undergraduate medical students. Methods In the spring semester of 2018, inverted classroom teaching was implemented for second-year clinical medicine students at the College of Medicine at Nanchang University. The topics of hypoxia and respiratory failure were selected for the inverted classroom study. The effect of the inverted classroom on teaching pathophysiology was evaluated using classroom performance metrics, a final examination, and questionnaires. Results This study found that students in the inverted classroom group achieved higher scores in their in-course assessments (82.35 [SD 11.45] vs 81.33 [SD 9.51], respectively) and in their final exams (73.41 [SD 10.37] vs 71.13 [SD 11.22], respectively) than those in the traditional lecture-based group, but the scores were not significantly different (P=.13, unpaired two-tailed t test). There was also no significant difference in the distribution of the score segments in the class quiz (P=.09, chi-square test) and in the final exams (P=.25, chi-square test) between the 2 groups. Further, most of the students reported that the inverted classroom increased their learning motivation, made them more confident, and helped them understand the content on pathophysiology better. The students in the inverted classroom also improved in their problem-solving skills and teamwork abilities. However, some students from the inverted classroom group also reported that the self-learning and preparatory work before class increased their learning burden. Conclusions This study shows the feasibility and promise of inverted classroom for teaching pathophysiology to undergraduate Chinese medical students. The inverted classroom improves students’ learning interests and attitudes toward learning. However, further studies are required to assess the benefits of broader acceptance and implementation of the inverted classroom among Chinese undergraduate medical students.

The 30th anniversary of the English Program at the Facult y Of Medicine. The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Debrecen celebrated the 30th anniversary of the English Program in medical education in 2017. The program was initiated in 1986 with a one-year premedical course and this training has been upheld with great successes up to now. In the 1987/88 academic year 52 students from 15 countries started their studies on the General Medicine course and eight of them graduated as medical doctor (MD) at the end of the six year training period in 1992. During the 30 years the number of the admitted and then the graduated students had increased yearly. Thus, 307 students started on the first year and 180 sixth year students received MD diploma in 2017 implying the significant development and a continuous interest in medical education in English in Debrecen. From the very beginning, the curriculum of English language programs is identical with that of the Hungarian one. Students apply for admission directly or via recruiting agents while entrance exams are conducted exclusively by the staff members of the University. The English language medical education in Debrecen has been accredited in many countries including some states in the USA. From 2000 to date other medical and health related programs such as Dentistry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Public Health, Molecular Biology and Complex Rehabilitation have been started and in the last year altogether 264 students graduated in these courses including also General Medicine. Parallel to the extension of the above programs from 2007 the other faculties also started education in English. By 2017 more than 5000 foreign students from 109 countries study at the University of Debrecen. Now the Coordinating Center for International Education organizes the English programs and its duties, among many other responsibilities, include contracting with recruiting agents, organizing entrance examinations, caring for the incoming students with respect to visa, health control and insurance. The income from the tuition fees has increased during the years and now represent a significant portion of the University budget, therefore it allows the renovation and also the establishment of new facilities at the University to the benefit of students. Although the students of the English Programs have different cultural, political and religious background, they establish good relation with each other and with the students studying in Hungarian. In summary, as a result of the high standards in education in English the University of Debrecen became a well-known and important institution on the educational map of the world and our intention is to uphold and further develop this acquired status in the future.

In recent years, the learning of English as a Foreign Language in Japanese high schools has become the focus of new educational policies applied at the national level. One of these is The Course of Study issue by the Ministry of Education, in which teachers are, for the first time in a long series of curriculum guidelines, adjured to develop students' "positive attitudes towards communicating in English." Another is the JET program, which has put thousands of native English speaking assistant language teachers (ALTs) into Japanese secondary classrooms for the purpose of team teaching with Japanese teachers. Data resulting from a survey project of 876 Japanese high school English teachers was used to provide empirical evidence of teachers' levels of approval of communicative, audiolingual and traditional (yakudoku) activities. Teachers were also asked to rate the strengths of a variety of influences on their instruction, including university entrance exams, and pre- and in-service teacher education programs. Teachers' perceptions of both activities and instructional influences were examined in light of teachers' length of career, type of school (private versus public, academic versus vocational), and level of contact with an ALT. The data revealed the complexities of imposing broad, national educational policies on a diverse group of teachers, and in an educational culture which likely precludes teachers' use of communicative activities.

Cognitive complexity is traditionally used for describing human cognition along a simplicity-complexity axis in tests like TOFEL IBT and GRE where text creation and rhetorical organization are quintessentially important. Accordingly, this study sought to investigate the impact of mentor text modelling on cognitive complexity of academic writing tasks in terms of students’ responses to the test inputs. For this purpose, from the population of applicants applying for various high stake exams at Jihahde Daneshgahi, Isfahan University, three intact classes were selected based on a convenient sampling method. The students, both male and female, were graduates from various majors in applied sciences whose age range was between 24 and 29 and they had all passed the preparatory classes required for attending academic writing courses. Each targeted class with twenty-five applicants was concurrently programmed for three writing tasks with various cognitive complexity levels: Independent, integrated, and analytical. The classes, a total of 75 EFL learners, were randomly assigned to three equal groups labeled as product based (PBG), process based (PRBG), and mentor text modeling (MTMG) respectively. Employing a posttest only quasi-experimental design, learners in the three groups received their instruction on advanced writing during a sixteen session course. The learners in each group were taught based on the selected writing approaches. At the end of the treatment, the learners' writing performance was assessed on test tasks within the pre-specified time and word limits by utilizing a relevant posttest. Data analysis reflected that mentor text modeling enjoyed a potentially higher pedagogical efficacy since the learners in the MTM experimental sample performed better in terms of both accuracy and fluency compared with the groups receiving their writing instruction through either product or process based approaches. Notably, the findings revealed that mentor text modeling is a functionally dependable resource for managing writing tasks cognitive complexity and neutralizing the trade-off effect between accuracy and fluency by offering insightful pedagogical hints to EFL teachers, test takers, and writing material developers who have always had a hard time calibrating writing accuracy and fluency in high stake exams.

SummaryThe autonomy of the students refers to the control that the student has in the learning process, to decide on the content, the goals and the way of learning and is connected with the concepts of self-direction and self-regulation. The concept of autonomy presupposes the development of a psychological relationship with the process and the content of the learning act, while the autonomous student is able to make decisions, to distance himself but also to reflect critically. Autonomy is related to the notion of personal responsibility that the learner assumes in his learning process, while two dimensions are distinguished. The first is autonomous learning, in which the learner assumes responsibility for the design, organization and evaluation of the educational process, which concerns its external characteristics. The second is the autonomous student, which refers to the internal characteristics of the learner. However, an important factor for the autonomy of the students is considered to be the context in which the educational process takes place, ie when the general socio-political and learning context encourages the learners to take responsibility for their learning, then their autonomy is promoted.In the context of distance education, students are at a distance from their teachers, their classmates and the institution that provides education, but they are called to meet the requirements of the study program they choose. And while the concept of autonomy is intertwined with the method of distance education, the factors that hinder its realization have not been sufficiently explored. This empirical research, therefore, comes to fill the gap in the literature on the obstacles that students themselves face in the realization of autonomy.This paper explores the barriers faced by distance education students in achieving their autonomy. In particular, it focuses on exploring the obstacles that students face with regard to autonomy in distance education and the factors that contribute to removing the obstacles to student autonomy in distance education. The quantitative approach was chosen and the tool of our research was the online questionnaire, which was completed by 215 research participants, postgraduate and undergraduate students of the Hellenic Open University. The selection of the sample was random sampling as the questionnaire was published on a social networking page (facebook) in specific groups formed by the Hellenic Open University students and the participants chose to answer and complete the questionnaire. The empirical research took place in March - April 2019.The questionnaire included two axes. The first axis concerned demographic data. The second axis included twenty-one (21) questions that answered the research questions. Seventeen (17) of the questions were closed-ended, graded Likert scale, one (1) question with answer options, while three (3) questions were open-ended. Open-ended questions were included in order for participants to express their views on the obstacles they face, and to enrich the data from the closed-ended questions.For the analysis of the data collected from the closed-ended questions of the questionnaire, the statistical program SPSS and the descriptive statistics were used. Regarding the data of the open-ended questions, after their inclusion in broader categories, the next step was to codify the conversion of the data from nominal to numerical. In order to identify any differences in the answers of the participants, depending on the gender and the level of studies, correlations were used.The theoretical framework of the present study is closely related to the empirical research carried out. Obstacles to the autonomy of distance learning students identified in the theoretical part are confirmed by the empirical research, with the difference that the empirical research has shown that students' personal characteristics as well as the "distance" factor do not constitute a significant obstacle to the realization of their autonomy.However, the empirical research also revealed several factors that were not identified in the bibliographic review as barriers to student autonomy, such as inadequate administrative organization, financial factors, the small number of group meetings, the lack of different types of papers, exams based on memorization and exams with books closed. It is also worth noting that while the majority of students consider that they have developed skills in order to be autonomous, they agree that a preparatory course that would prepare them for the requirements of distance education would be very helpful. The analysis and discussion of the results highlighted the prominent role of the teacher in distance education, as the lack of support for students can impede their autonomy, however, the teacher has the potential to contribute to its realization by guiding and encouraging students. The multidimensional role of the teacher in distance education also emerges from our research, as described in the theoretical part of our work, since the participants expressed the need for teachers combining a number of characteristics in order to promote their autonomy.Another important finding of the research is that students feel their personal characteristics and personal abilities can help them realize their autonomy. In line with the bibliographic review, the factors that are an obstacle to the autonomy of the students of distance education, as well as the factors contributing to the removal of these obstacles, are related both to the students themselves and to the educational process.As for the factors that contribute to the removal of barriers to the autonomy of distance learning students, they coincide with the factors that have a positive effect on the realization of autonomy and have been identified in the theoretical framework of our work. The most important factor is the personal characteristics of the students themselves and their own personal effort. Following, the support, guidance from the teacher on a psychological and practical level and communication with him. Also very important factors are the existence of appropriate educational material and the conduct of group meetings, which students ask to be more frequent.The need for a digital learning framework to promote student autonomy, as found in the theoretical framework, is confirmed by the empirical research, as well as the need for electronic group meetings and the use of electronic libraries, access to specialized digital material, and easier access to the Hellenic Open University platforms.A very important factor in removing the barriers to student autonomy as it emerged from the empirical research is more flexible schedules concerning the delivery of papers, while access to educational material and a better administrative organization are also considered important.Regarding the correlation of the curriculum with the factors that constitute an obstacle to autonomy, the majority of postgraduate and undergraduate students agree with some differentiation regarding the factors "comments of the teacher on written work", "educational material", "psychological support from the teacher ”and“ lack of psychological support from the teacher” while gender did not appear to have any particular effect on the factors that impede students’ autonomy

Purpose: This study focuses on courses that prepare applicants for universities’ highly competitive entrance examinations in Finland. The analysis clarifies the market-making practices and the construction of this field. Design/Approach/Methods: To understand these processes, we use Çalişkan and Callon’s five framings for studying marketization as a heuristic framework. In our analysis, we combine different data sets, including data on course provision, thematic interviews, documents, and ethnographic notes. Findings: In this article, we argue that the preparatory course markets in Finland are an example of private tutoring which operates in the privacy of the university applicants’ exam preparation process, thus commercializing this process. The market making of this type of private tutoring is an assemblage of a variety of agents that interact in parallel with each other. Originality/Value: This study aims to contribute to the systemic understanding of the assemblage of private tutoring markets in an equality-focused Nordic country by providing new heuristic lenses from economic sociology through which to view private tutoring.

Entrance exams at the university level in Japan contain a particular type of English vocabulary known as “juken-eigo,” which is specifically employed in entrance examinations and has--in some cases--no other practical application. It has been noted that such juken-eigo vocabulary is comprised of high-level words that are not even included in junior and senior high school (JSH) English textbooks. This study undertakes (1) to scrutinize the language used in the Examination of the National Center for University Entrance (Center exams) and the entrance exams administered by the individual universities (University exams) and (2) to discover how the language compares with the vocabulary to which students are introduced in JSH textbooks. Because Japan's Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture revises its Course of Study guidelines approximately every ten years, exams from 1988, 1998, and 2004 were chosen to be used as samples for the study. The authors reviewed three Center exams and 48 University exams that had been administered during those years and they made quantitative/qualitative observations about the juken-eigo vocabulary. To fulfill the study, the changes in the characteristics of juken-eigo vocabulary were observed, by year, from the following five aspects: (1) the total number of words (types and tokens) used in Center and in University examinations, respectively; (2) the coverage of JSH English textbook vocabulary for individual Center and University exams; (3) the vocabulary level of Center and University exams with respect to the level presented in JSH English texts, then compared to the high-frequency words of the British National Corpus (BNC); (4) the number of outstanding juken-eigo words in the University examinations, as identified from available usage statistics and compared with the high-frequency words of the BNC; and (5) the scope of the vocabulary used in the University exams compared with the coverage of the related JSH textbooks, with regard to seven practical applications in spoken English and in written English, respectively. The study reveals that students are expected to be familiar with more words every year and that there are a higher percentage of juken-eigo words appearing in the individual University exams than in the Center exams. This study data prove that the juken-eigo vocabulary used in University exams is, in fact, above the level taught in JSH English textbooks, while the vocabulary used in the Center exams is very nearly appropriate for students who have just graduated from a senior high school in Japan. The authors discuss the implications of those findings and of the data collected when the vocabulary in respective entrance exams was compared with the high-frequency words of the BNC. Although there is some controversy over the esoteric nature of some of the words used in the vocabulary of University exams, it is important to note that, as time passes, the words deemed to be a part of the juken-eigo vocabulary are more in line with current events and practical spoken applications than are the words presented in the standard JSH textbook vocabulary. The fact is that if the public's increasing demand for practical communicative English language ability is taken into account, a student's modest vocabulary can be supplemented with much of the juken-eigo vocabulary such as that used in the University exams. During the study, it was noted that the level of usability exhibited in the "exam vocabulary" has increased, slightly--in both spoken and written English. It is the authors' contention, however, that students can be better prepared for the entrance examinations if the level of vocabulary used in the University exams was brought more into line with what students actually study when they are in school. This study provides valuable information and basic data, which can provide a solid foundation for the important discussion about what an entrance examination should be. 日本の大学入試英語問題の英語は｢受験英語｣と呼ばれ、大学に入るための特殊な英語であると一般には考えられる。またその語彙の難易度は、文部（科学）省の学習指導要領に基づく中高英語教科書語彙のそれを超えて、難しすぎるのではないかと言われる。そこで本研究は、大学入試英語問題全体に使用される英語語彙の難易度と有用性を、1980年代以降を３年代に分けて定量的・定質的に調査し検証することを目的とした。調査分析は、（1）異語数と延べ語数、（2）中高英語教科書語彙によるカバー率、（3）British National Corpusを基準尺度にした語彙レベル、（4）特徴語の抽出、（5）音声英語と文字英語の各７分野に対するカバー率の測定、という５項目で実施した。結果からは、共通一次・センター試験問題語彙の難易度はほぼ適切であるのに対し、個別大学入試英語問題語彙のそれは高すぎることが確認された。一方、個別大学入試英語問題語彙の有用性は高いことが判明した。

AbstractEngineering students particularly struggle with mathematics in the first year of their university studies. A result of these difficulties are high drop-out rates among the engineering students. There are various measures to support the students in their studies such as preparatory courses or bridging courses. The contribution of this research is to investigate the impact of certain factors on engineering students’ success in their first year of studies in a supportive environment which includes a preparatory course, tutorials, a bridging course and a drop-in centre. First, we ask how the students’ use of support measures impact the students’ success. Second, we clarify which affective, motivational and cognitive factors affect the students’ success in mathematics. Our further aim is to investigate the relationships between the factors that impact students’ success. We consider potential factors during the first year of studies. Our results suggest that particularly students’ mathematical abilities before the first semester and a support in tutorials during the first semester account for students’ success in the final exams in the first year of engineering studies.

In today's education world there are many number of students who want to pursue higher education after engineering or any graduate degree course. Higher education in the sense, some people want to do M.tech through GATE or through any educational institute entrance examination and some people want to do MBA through CAT or through any respective educational institute entrance examination and some people want to do Masters in abroad universities. we are focusing on only the students who want to pursue their higher education in abroad universities. Generally Higher education in abroad universities means we have many options like canada, USA ,UK Germany, Italy, Australia etc. But we are focusing on only the students who want to do their Masters in America. Students who want to do masters in America have to write GRE (Graduate Records Examination) and TOEFL/IELTS (Test of English as a Foreign Language/International English Language Testing System). Once they have attended the exams they have to prepare their SOP(statement of purpose) and LOR(letter of reccomendation) which are one of the crucial factors they have to consider. These LOR and SOP plays a vital role if the student was looking for any scholarship. Then the students have to choose the universities they want to study or apply, we cannot apply to all the universities that will lead to lot of application fees. Here comes the problem that the student dontt know to which university he might get admission. There are some online blogs which help in these matter but they are not that much accurate and dont consider all the factors and there are some consultancy offices which will take lot of our money and time and sometimes they will give some false information.so our goal is to develop a model which will tell the students their chance of admission into a respective university. This model should consider all the crucial factors which plays a vital role in student admission process and should have high accuracy. The model name is UAP. To access this model we will develop a simple user interface.

PurposeSome degree programs in colleges and universities utilize entrance exams to ensure that students pursuing a given degree have mastered foundational concepts needed for that program. However, often these exams become a barrier to student success. The purpose of this study is to discuss the impact of policies governing an undergraduate Computer Science (CS) entry/qualifying exam at a large public university in the United States on overall student success in the program. This case study focuses on whether reforming program policies impacts students' time-to-degree, graduation and mastery in CS core skills.Design/methodology/approachThis case study describes how the CS student success was improved by updating program policies based on institutional data and the input of course instructors. The policy changes include introducing a maximum limit to attempt the exam, changing the exam requirements as well as the structure of the exam itself.FindingsThe pass rates of students taking this qualifying exam were significantly and consistently low over the years. Students who were potentially a better fit for programs other than CS delayed their start in those other programs by taking and failing to pass the CS qualifying exam multiple times. As a result of implementing new CS program policies, many more students attempted the exam at an appropriate time. Also, they graduated on time in the years 2016–2018.Originality/valueThis paper presents a case study in which the graduation rates and time to degree of a CS program with a qualifying exam were improved after a policy intervention. The results demonstrate that simple policy changes can improve student success. Findings from this study may guide other programs with similar characteristics to improve their student success.

El intervalo de confianza es un procedimiento básico en inferencia estadística y, por ello, su estudio se incluye en las Matemáticas Aplicadas a las Ciencias Sociales II para alumnos de dicha modalidad de Bachillerato y en el primer curso de la licenciatura de Psicología. Además, en las pruebas de acceso a la universidad se propone con frecuencia un problema relacionado con este contenido. Con el objetivo de evaluar la dificultad que implica la construcción del intervalo, en este trabajo se analizan los pasos requeridos para resolver un problema abierto tomado de las pruebas españolas de acceso la universidad y se comparan las soluciones aportadas por 58 estudiantes de Bachillerato y 57 de Psicología, después de haber estudiado el tema. Los resultados muestran una mayor proporción de respuestas correctas en estos últimos estudiantes, que han seguido un método ligeramente diferente a sus compañeros, que parece ser más comprensible para ellos. Se informa también de la frecuencia con que se completan diferentes pasos y de los principales errores en el proceso.Palabras clave: Intervalo de confianza, Construcción, Estudiantes de Bachillerato, Estudiantes de PsicologíaDificuldades dos alunos do ensino médio e de psicologiana construção de intervalos de confiançaResumoO intervalo de confiança é um procedimento básico na inferência estatística e, portanto, seu estudo está incluído na Matemática Aplicada às Ciências Sociais II para estudantes da referida modalidade de Bacharelado e no primeiro ano do curso de Psicologia. Além disso, nos exames de admissão na universidade é frequentemente proposto um problema relacionado a esse conteúdo. Com o objetivo de avaliar a dificuldade envolvida na construção do intervalo, este trabalho analisa as etapas necessárias para solucionar um problema em aberto realizado nos exames de ingresso na universidade espanhola e compara as soluções fornecidas por 58 alunos do ensino médio e 57 do ensino médio. Psicologia, depois de ter estudado o assunto. Os resultados mostram uma proporção maior de respostas corretas nesses últimos alunos, queseguiram um método ligeiramente diferente do de seus colegas, o que parece ser maiscompreensível para eles. A frequência com que etapas diferentes são concluídas e os principaiserros no processo também são relatados.Palavras-chave: Intervalo de confiança, Construção, Estudantes de Bacharelado, Estudantes dePsicologiaHigh school and Psychology students’ difficulties in building confidence intervalsAbstractConfidence interval is a basic procedure in statistical inference and, therefore, its study is included in the Mathematics Applied to Social Sciences II for high school students and in the first course of the Psychology degree. In addition, a problem related to this content is frequently proposed at the university entrance exams. In order to evaluate the difficulty involved in the construction of the interval, in this work the steps required to solve an open problem taken from the Spanish university entrance exams are analysed and the solutions provided by 58 high school students and 57 Psychology students are compared after they studied the topic. The results show a higher proportion of correct answers in these last students, who have followed a slightlydifferent method from their peers, which seems to be more understandable to them. The frequency with which different steps are completed and the main errors in the process are also reported.Keywords: Confidence interval, Construction, High school students, Psychology students.

El intervalo de confianza es un procedimiento básico en inferencia estadística y, por ello, su estudio se incluye en las Matemáticas Aplicadas a las Ciencias Sociales II para alumnos de dicha modalidad de Bachillerato y en el primer curso de la licenciatura de Psicología. Además, en las pruebas de acceso a la universidad se propone con frecuencia un problema relacionado con este contenido. Con el objetivo de evaluar la dificultad que implica la construcción del intervalo, en este trabajo se analizan los pasos requeridos para resolver un problema abierto tomado de las pruebas españolas de acceso la universidad y se comparan las soluciones aportadas por 58 estudiantes de Bachillerato y 57 de Psicología, después de haber estudiado el tema. Los resultados muestran una mayor proporción de respuestas correctas en estos últimos estudiantes, que han seguido un método ligeramente diferente a sus compañeros, que parece ser más comprensible para ellos. Se informa también de la frecuencia con que se completan diferentes pasos y de los principales errores en el proceso.Palabras clave: Intervalo de confianza, Construcción, Estudiantes de Bachillerato, Estudiantes de PsicologíaDificuldades dos alunos do ensino médio e de psicologiana construção de intervalos de confiançaResumoO intervalo de confiança é um procedimento básico na inferência estatística e, portanto, seu estudo está incluído na Matemática Aplicada às Ciências Sociais II para estudantes da referida modalidade de Bacharelado e no primeiro ano do curso de Psicologia. Além disso, nos exames de admissão na universidade é frequentemente proposto um problema relacionado a esse conteúdo. Com o objetivo de avaliar a dificuldade envolvida na construção do intervalo, este trabalho analisa as etapas necessárias para solucionar um problema em aberto realizado nos exames de ingresso na universidade espanhola e compara as soluções fornecidas por 58 alunos do ensino médio e 57 do ensino médio. Psicologia, depois de ter estudado o assunto. Os resultados mostram uma proporção maior de respostas corretas nesses últimos alunos, queseguiram um método ligeiramente diferente do de seus colegas, o que parece ser maiscompreensível para eles. A frequência com que etapas diferentes são concluídas e os principaiserros no processo também são relatados.Palavras-chave: Intervalo de confiança, Construção, Estudantes de Bacharelado, Estudantes dePsicologiaHigh school and Psychology students’ difficulties in building confidence intervalsAbstractConfidence interval is a basic procedure in statistical inference and, therefore, its study is included in the Mathematics Applied to Social Sciences II for high school students and in the first course of the Psychology degree. In addition, a problem related to this content is frequently proposed at the university entrance exams. In order to evaluate the difficulty involved in the construction of the interval, in this work the steps required to solve an open problem taken from the Spanish university entrance exams are analysed and the solutions provided by 58 high school students and 57 Psychology students are compared after they studied the topic. The results show a higher proportion of correct answers in these last students, who have followed a slightlydifferent method from their peers, which seems to be more understandable to them. The frequency with which different steps are completed and the main errors in the process are also reported.Keywords: Confidence interval, Construction, High school students, Psychology students.