Effects of Font Size in Standardized Testing Research Paper

Effects of Font Size in Standardized Testing - Research Paper Example In an experiment to determine how types of font and font sizes affect people’s ability to read as well as the time they take to read a given piece of writing, researchers reported that font size of 14 is more legible than font size of 12. Similarly, people could read faster under font size 14 as compared to font size 12 (Bernard, Liao and Mills n.p.). This identifies impacts on ability to understand and respond to written materials such as written tests and is essential in determining effectiveness of a test. A test on course content is for example effective when it is free from confounds such as font size barriers. This paper investigates existence of font size effect on standardized tests. It aims at determining existence of a significant relationship between font size in tests and students’ performance. Such a relationship will establish a basis for determination of the most efficient font size for testing potentials and will allow for accurate determination of stude nts’ abilities through written tests. Results of the research are further applicable to employers in their employee selection process. It allows them an efficient basis for determining recruiters’ accurate potentials. ... In this experiment, font size defines the size with which words are presented in tests, while students’ performance defines students’ scores from tests. The research anticipates a significant positive relationship between the variables. Methods Participants The research participants will be a group of psychology students. A sample size of 45 students will be used. Materials Research materials will include sets of examination materials; test papers with different font sizes, answer booklets, and pens. Design The research proposes a quasi-experimental design with a within group testing. The sample will form a single group that will be subjected to repeated tests. Stratified random sampling design will be applied in generating the research sample because of its advantages of generating a representative sample without inducing bias (Lim and Ting 14- 17). Procedure Ethical approval will be obtained for the research before seeking the school administration’s consent fo r implementation. Stratified random sampling method will then be used to select students from different psychology classes but who share a common unit. The sampled students will then be informed of the scope of the research, its application, and involved ethical issues before asking for their voluntary consent to participate. The participants will then be subjected to an examination, under normal test conditions, but with different font size print outs that will be randomly allocated to participants. The fonts will be 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. The procedure will be repeated for four different tests. Quantitative analysis will be used for the data. Descriptive statistics will be generated to identify characteristics of students’ performance by

Journal writting ( refer to the attachment) Essay - 1

Journal writting ( refer to the attachment) - Essay Example The reason for trying to classify things and people is because we want to simplify things and reduce the task of processing information. Stereotypes are â€Å"beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people† (Myers, 1999 p336) Stereotypes may be positive or negative, accurate or inaccurate (Jussim, McCauley & Lee, 1995). Stereotypes may be classified by their characteristics, appearance, activities, occupations, interests, and goals in their lives. Commenting on gender stereotypes (Iackman and Senter (1981) enumerate that people are stereotyped according to the ethnic background and nationality. For eg. Italians are amorous, British are cool and so on†¦They can also be grouped according to their race. Eg. African Americans can dance or Jews can’t dance. They can be segregated even according to their occupation- for e.g Lecturers are intelligent but absent minded or Accountants are boring. No human is perfect and as such are bound to make errors in judgment. We also hold a lot of biases because we deliberately tend to adjust information to suit these biases. â€Å"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy† is a very famous saying that is 100% true. Both leisure and play are vital to a child’s all round development. Both learning and development takes place only through play and therefore it is inevitable that a child is given time for that. According to the children’s charter of the United Nations – â€Å"The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate age; the child shall in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment which would prejudice their health or education, or interfere with their physical, mental or moral development† (Principle 9) While leisure provides an adult with an opportunity to boost his self esteem and self worth, play provides this platform for children. Play is