The Importance of Math Education for a Just Society

by Herman Bailey | Apr 22, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

Many understandings exist for teaching for social justice and can be designated as “sliding signifiers” as postulated by Apple (1995). That is, the actual meaning of social justice teaching is struggled over and is subject to various meanings by various groupings with agendas that are sometimes very different educationally and ideologically. Varying audiences, content, and goals affect an individual’s conception of teaching that is socially just, and various conceptions might limit the approaches toward equity and justice (Chubbuck & Zembylas 2008; North 2008). This papers conceptualization of teaching mathematics for social justice draws mainly from Paulo Freire’s work who came up with a critical pedagogy that was aimed at forming a society where the humans transform their society actively to make it better. According to Freire (1993, p. 30), “this pedagogy belonging to the people who are oppressed must be forged with the pedagogy for the individuals who are not oppressed… in the continuous struggle for regaining their humanity.” the education purpose is not to integrate the marginalized people into the existing society but instead to make changes to the society, so all everyone is included. Therefore, education should assist students in analyzing oppression and criticizing inequities, point out how these issues link to their lives and engage them so as to challenge the structures the are inequitable (Bartell 2013).

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The literature of mathematics education outlines equity as a process of offering all students the opportunity of learning the academic, classical or the dominant mathematics, including specific norms, processes, and content (Gregson 2013). This includes the efforts of helping the students who are marginalized such as the students from low-income families, Latinos, and the African American students, in bridging their differences between their daily linguistic and cultural knowledge and the domain specific, dominant mathematics knowledge (Nasir, Hand, & Taylor 2008). Moses & Cobb (2001) pointed out that the algebra project is an example that is frequently noted. The algebra project applies a curriculum driven by the common experiences of the students, pedagogy that was influenced W.V. Quine, who was a philosopher and also advanced mathematic problems.

The algebra project according to Moses et al (1989, pp. 438–439) is modeled on an approach of community organizing to educational innovation. The approach encompasses discussion of the community of the algebra purposes and how all child might gain access to the preparatory mathematics curriculum for the college. From the description, the major focus is on dominant mathematics access through the distribution of the mathematical goods that are existing equitably. Moreover, the recent literature places focus on algebra project on access as well (Gresalfi et al 2008; Greeno & Hall 1997). Such presentations contradict the critical conceptions of equity that regard access but also addresses the social influence questions. That is how the relationship of the learners to mathematics and the relationship of mathematics to students is reflected in political, economic and social relations. From a critical standpoint, equitable mathematics education outcomes must include the capacity of navigating and reducing social inequity both despite and with the mathematics power (Gregson 2011).

Critical standpoints on mathematics education

Darder et al (2003) asserted that the critical educators who typically outside of mathematics educations indicate that education should assist people in recognizing inequity as an outcome of economic and social relations that are created by humans that can be challenged. Based on the constructs of praxis and dialogue, critical education engages classroom social problems and beyond. Such educators regard knowledge as a socially mediated process that is ongoing. That is simultaneously objective and subjective and always affected by power relations. Therefore, the people who take a critical standpoint towards education must grapple with issues of power and identity necessarily. This is also true in other domains including mathematics education (Gutiérrez 2013). For example, critical educators understand the students who have been marginalized by social class or racism will not overcome their marginalization automatically by acquiring mathematics skills that are advanced. They need resistance and more analysis tools.

The critical literature on mathematics education advocates for assisting the students in confronting and applying mathematics in ways allowing them and the other students get access to futures that are just. The insight into how this work might be informed by the Freirean theory is provided by Frankenstein (1987). Frankenstein applied co-investigations in statistics courses and dialogue in helping working class adults to understand statistics as a creation of human, practiced in particular economic and historical contexts and used to confront and maintain inequity. In addition, the researchers writing about approaches to mathematics education that are culturally relevant in the 1990s in the contexts of K-8 brought a clear attention to such world’s political nature (Tate 1995; Ladson-Billings 1995).

Teaching mathematics for social justice

An increasing but a small number of researchers have started investigating teaching mathematics for social justice (Skovsmose, 1994; Gutstein 2003; Frankenstein 1997). For instance, Skovsmose (1994, pp. 208) considered whether “mathemacy,” which means a “competence in which people can understand and interpret social reality features,” can be used for empowering since it can be a mechanism for organizing and reorganizing how to interprete social traditional, organizations and proposals for reforms of politics. Skovsmose (1994), in his work, examined mathematics focused projects, relevant to the lives of the Danish students and associated to the society’s significant processes, in supporting the students to achieve a broader awareness of the degree in which mathematics is incorporated in the everyday life and for preparing the students for democratic citizenship. Economic Relationships in the Childs World, one such project, involved students to analyze their personal use of money, examined and critiqued a social program awarding money to families based on the family’s number of children, and creating a budget for a club for the youth (Bartell 2013). Skovsmose (1994) used each project in highlighting specific critical mathematics education aspects intended at social justice promotion.

Similarly, Gutstein (2003) suggested a theoretical framework for social justice pedagogy that included the student’s goals in writing and reading the universe with mathematics. Gutstein (2003) defined “reading the world” as applying mathematics in understanding relationships of resource inequities, power and unequal opportunities amongst various social clusters and in understanding clear discrimination centered on language, gender, class, race and other dissimilarities. For instance, students used mathematics in addressing whether there exists evidence of racism in data for housing. On the other hand, “writing the world “entailed application of mathematics in changing the world, which is a process of development, or starting to perceive oneself as having the capability of creating transformation, and creating a form of social organization (Gutstein 2006, p.27). For instance, the students attended community meetings and wrote essays as they used mathematics in examining and confronting gentrification their neighborhood. Gutstein (2006, p. 70) in his study found that students grew in their ability in understanding society’s complex aspects, whereby, “mathematics became a powerful and a necessary tool for analysis that use students used in studying their sociopolitical existence.” Furthermore, Gutstein’s (2006, p. 127) data suggested that “mathematics in context” supported students to learn mathematics to understand and develop mathematical power, and that the views of his students grew about mathematics. They saw it as essential for sociopolitical realities investigation that shaped their lives.

Educating Teachers to Teach for Social Justice

Despite the fact that virtually there is no existing research about in-service teachers tat teaches how to learn mathematics, and how to educate for social justice as indicated by Gates & Jorgensen (2009), a large number of studies does exist addressing teachers learning in their preparation programs and disciplines, to teach for social justice, other than mathematics (Cochran-Smith 1995; Barton 2003; Darling-Hammond et al 2002; Adams et al 1997).

Teaching for social justice is a process that needs teachers to adapt to a specific context their students and themselves are part of, and, therefore, is not a matter of method (Cochran-Smith, 1999). According to Bartell (2013) learning to teach social justice does not occur in one graduate course, but is a complex process and a lifelong undertaking that require reflection, perseverance and effort (Darling-Hammond 2002). Gutiérrez (2009) also stated that it needs teachers to see it that way.

In a study conducted by Bartell (2013), the authors used a design of a graduate course in the study that was informed by four main factors that guided the educators in learning teaching for social justice. The four main factors were drawn from a theoretical model of equity pedagogy of Darling-Hammond (2002), and they included schools, students, society, and self.

Teachers who are learning to educate for social justice must also get to understand themselves, both about others and in person (self). According to Darling-Hammond (2002), this includes making a reflection on how their opinions about learning and teaching get predisposed by the economic, historical and cultural perspectives wherein they grew up, and trying to understand experiences and perspectives of others to make a reflection on how their personal biases may affect their teaching (Bell et al 1997). Because schooling, learning and teaching are associated to social, political and economic structures of power in the community (Kozol 2005), classrooms and schools are not sites that are neutral. According to Cochran-Smith (1999), teachers learning how to educate for social justice contend with getting to understand how these structure of power interact with their understanding of learning and teaching (society).

Teachers learning how to educate for social justice must also get to understand and know well their students. Darling-Hammond (2002, p. 209) asserted that they must know and understand their students in ways that are non-stereotypical while comprehending and acknowledging the means in which context and culture impact their learning and lives. Teaching for social justice entails making issues such as classism, racism, equity, and power explicit classroom parts (Cochran-Smith, 1999). According to Griffin (1997), students have a broad range of reactions to the issues, from immobilization to resistance, to anger, and to excitement. Knowing and understanding your students well includes anticipating the myriads students’ responses that they might be having.

Lastly, teachers learning teaching social justice to make consideration of the evolving understanding of students, self and social contexts affecting teaching and learning so as to enact and develop classroom practices supporting their students (school). It is also here that the teachers start developing pedagogies for social justice that maintain connections with the social contexts and students while also building on the existing knowledge of the students in creating new knowledge.

A close examination of the studies on social justice in education are in support with the argument that colored students frequently need an method that is different to be successful in mathematics classes. From the qualitative study conducted by Gutiérrez’s (1999) that focused on the Latino high school students success in calculus found out that Latino students in urban settings and from socioeconomic backgrounds that are low have the same capability of achieving similar success like their counterparts who are white and from suburban settings. According to Gutiérrez’s (1999), the key is the dedication and sensitivity of professional educators who have confidence in in the abilities of their learners. In the study, Gutiérrez’s (1999) pointed out that the mathematics department was aware of the needs of the students and took them into account so as to provide the support necessary for the success of the student. The mathematics department members also embraced diversity and was also valuable in developing positive relationship inside and outside the classroom with the students. The tutors valued relationships with their students that were meaningful which they built and maintained all through the academic year. Moreover, the teachers took their time in learning about their students, coordinated extra time outside their work and collaborated during the days of the schools to discuss the progress of the student, lessons and evaluating the lessons of each other. The teachers offer to tutor at different points in the course of the school time to reduce the student’s probabilities of leaving the school devoid of the help needed in completing the assignments. This support allows the students receive accommodations equitably and enter classrooms at different levels to meet their personal and academic needs. In the study, Gutiérrez’s (1999) used observations and interviews to examine calculus program success thoroughly and relate its achievement to a pedagogy that is culturally relevant that was adopted by the department of mathematics (Ladson-Billings 1994). The tutors also shared the belief that the learners at high school level who had access to calculus also had access to fields of study and colleges that have excluded colored people historically. As concluded by Gutiérrez, this access provided an environment that is just culturally for the Latino students, who may not be offered equitable resources that are essential for their success, in a different environment.

Teaching with social justice is as significant as educating for social justice. In his study, Mitescu et al (2011) measured implementation activities of the syllabus of social justice in primary school classes. The research applied a mixed methodology that was unique to the literature body in that in linked directly the teachers teaching practices to the outcomes of the students on the state mandated end of unit tests. The study findings indicated that the learners who received more teachings from the context of social justice demonstrated reasoning of greater degrees and scored higher eventually on the state tests compared to those with the less context of social justice. Despite the fact that the study by Mitescu et al (2011) used only twenty-two novice teachers of the elementary school and their students, the results are dependable since they validate social justice use in the curriculum. The gotten results are also reflected for entirely other subdivisions and not only the white students. For these learners who are in elementary school, the early exposure to social justice concepts helps in providing a classroom that is just socially and allows the students to start questioning the enacted policies and work towards an inclusive and equitable situations.

In a study conducted by Rousseau and Tate (1995) noted a lack of pedagogy that is relevant culturally inside the classroom and its outcomes for the males who are African-American. The researchers interviewed and observed teachers and documented a classroom environment that is seriously inequitable. In the study, one teacher claimed to be just to her all learners in her class by delegating the duty of assisting other learners in her class to that of the students from her agenda. The aim was to inspire the students to start discussions allowing for help with the tasks of the day. However. The outcome was the white students seeking help while the students who were African-American especially the males were missing out in the process of learning. Furthermore, the learners who suffered most in during the process were further marginalized and at the end failed in the course. However, the teacher understood the trend and allowed it to persist. The reluctance of the African American students to seek for assistance in which the teacher and themselves knew they needed desperately, resulted in an unbalanced state that brought inequality to the doorsteps of the students directly. The teacher believed she was being equitable since the same opportunities offered to the African American male students were also provided to the whole class. The male students who were African American “decided” not to utilize the chances. Therefore, according to the teacher, the failures of the students are not because of unfair treatment, but a result of chronological consequences of their decisions. The transfer of the blame to the learners left the teacher with no motive of considering changing her strategies of teaching to make sure that her class have an opportunity that is equitable in learning mathematics.

Based on a study by Rousseau and Tate’s (2003) a significant reminder can be gotten that equal does not imply fair. As noted by Hodge (2006) and Gutiérrez (1999), in many cases students vary in motivation, family values, and abilities that require the teacher to be cognizant of the student’s differences and accordingly respond. What may be applicable for an individual student may not work for the next student. This is evident in a study by Rousseau and Tate’s (2003). In the research, the tutor was not changing the plan when the plan in place was not working to expectations or effective. It is important for the teachers to increase accountability instead of expecting it from the students in a single day whose cultural basis may not be fitting with the prospects of the classroom. In other words, a balance must be there. The teachers must apply their professional judgment in initiating changes for the students who need it and also when necessary (Colquitt 2014). Too much mathematics class’s remediation, for instance, may suppress the students’ improvement who are prepared to move to the next class. On the other hand, too little remediation in mathematics classroom may leave behind less prepared students. Again, to be impartial is to be familiar with the student’s differences, make the modifications that are necessary to the instruction practices, and to begin the important help to all students’ success.

The research by Ensign (2003) provided an example of teaching that is culturally linked and the supportive evidence of its effect on the learning and teaching in the mathematics classes. The study used qualitative or descriptive measures in delving more into the teaching matter that is culturally connected and noted that learners, notwithstanding their upbringings, have a higher likelihood of contributing to the solving and writing mathematical problems that they often come across daily. The problems are authentic, contextual and mirror a curriculum that is revolving around students. Just like Gutiérrez (1999), Ensign (2003) chose an urban setting and got similar results. That is when the students from the low socioeconomic status and the colored students have the content and households that are favorable to learning; the results are analogous to those of their white colleagues. Similarly, Ensign (2003) noted the lack dependency by the students on the problems of the textbooks in generating interest of the students in mathematics. Despite the fact that writers of mathematics textbooks claimed to provide examples and problems that are relevant, they are reliable to the writers themselves but not to the learners (Ladson-Billings 1995; Ensign 2003). This leads to a “disconnect” between learning and teaching of mathematics and can be eliminated by letting the learners to get in the mathematics from their communities and their homes.

For every discussed researches, they offered a glimpse of the mathematics classes that are full of mathematics that is engaging, relevant and rich. According to Colquitt (2014), these factors are significant to the student’s success, especially the colored students. Students will work when the context is significant. Similarly, Tate (1995) posited that it is no longer an option for the classrooms providing authentic learning for the students, but is a prerequisite, if the learners are to realize success in mathematics subject. Tate (1995) indicated that colored students are often compelled to comprehend the white’s understandings to be to realize success in a mathematics classroom. The tutors who in most instances are normally white select textbook problems that were written by majorly white authors from a perspective of the whites. This is also noted by Ensign (2003) who claimed that the textbook problems are irrelevant to the colored students hence forcing them to learn mathematics and also get identified with a new context that sometimes they have no understanding or experience previously. For instance, changing the Eurocentric faces and names to the traditional faces and names of the Hispanics, for instance, does not brand mathematics relevant culturally. This shows the textbook writer’s deficiency of cultural sensitivity and contributes to the students difficulties in doing mathematics. The approach of textbooks in teaching mathematics results and put up with the learning atmospheres that are inequitable and holds captive social justice in mathematics classes’ progress in United States.

A demonstration on how educators must and can decamp from the traditional practices and teaching textbooks is provided by Tate (1995). The illustration lets the students convey in issues plaguing their societies and apply mathematics as a tool for advocacy in promoting change. Tate (1995) used interviews, artifacts, and observations in describing a discussion in a classroom that evolved into a project for social justice in a qualitative study tutor who implemented social justice pedagogy successfully. The social justice project incorporated mathematical concepts and skills use in defining a community problem, initiated change improving the quality of the community of students, and presented the issue to the policy makers. This was a sincere study that illuminated the sincere desire of the teacher for learners to recognize, right the wrongs and analyze in their localities. This led to the enablement of the student, knowing deeper of mathematics as a tool for advocacy, and the student’s duty in making modifications for the better (Colquitt 2014).

In literature reviewing a small section of Frankenstein (1997) and Ladson-Billings (1995), the ultimate teaching responsibility is a socially just and equitable classroom heavily rests upon the preparation programs of the teacher Gay and Howard (2000) offered a basis preparing of the future teachers deliberately to teach student populations that are diverse ethnically. The future teachers in most instances are uncomfortable discussing teaching from a perspective of multi-culture or race. “Both in services and pre-service are perplexed on how they can simultaneously teach for multicultural education and meeting academic excellence standards. Most of them think it is impossible, even as they claim to accept the necessity of doing both” (Gay and Howard 2000). Every educator comes with a list of principles to the classes, whether unsubstantiated or substantiated, and such values influence how the teachers teach their students. Using a disaggregated data, Gay and Howard (2000) also expounded on the multicultural education need. Native American, Latino and African American learners poorly achieve continually in mathematics, and this substantiates the results by Ladson-Billings (1995) and Tate (1995). The difference between teacher preparation program and desirable teaching practices is a racism side effect, particularly about mathematics education since mathematics is often regarded as the “gateway “allowing or denying access to many careers and colleges. Gay and Howard (2000) further suggested that more preliminary courses in diversity and multicultural teaching be necessary of everyone who is planning to be accredited to educate the aspiring teachers and the children. Lastly, Gay and Howard (2000) declared that pedagogy for cultural education teaching need to be an effort shared. All instructors of teachers, not only the colored, have the responsibility to prepare a future teacher to teach with social justice and cultural sensitivity in mind. Given that majority of the tutors are not the colored people, the duty must begin with the undergraduate students and be spread amongst all teacher educators to have major role potentially in teaching mathematics in classrooms that are fair socially.

The idea of preparation of the teacher is not exclusively for the coursework but also incorporates a component of reflecting on oneself once the educator is in the classroom. This is significant for the teachers of the twenty-first century. According to Gay and Howard (2000, pp.8), reflections include (a) critical honesty of white perceptions of truth and dominance that is culturally conditioned; (b) genuine empathy perspectives, issues and experiences of other tribal groupings; (c) advocacy for distribution of privileges and power again amongst different ethnic groupings; and lastly (d) making investments on energies and resources in the real change process.

Similarly, Rousseau and Tate (2003) stressed the significance of reflection of the teacher as means of improving the equity in mathematics classrooms amongst students. To further elaborate on this argument, the idea of color-blind teaching is regularly used in justifying all students’ equal treatment. However, from a perspective of CRT, color blind teaching is an instrument for keeping intact the present structures of education. Not recognizing color means a conscious choice of the teacher to distinguish and disregard the variances amongst students that are undeniable and then refute that the variances lead to teaching practices that are inequitable and should be taken into account when lesson planning (Ensign 2003; Ladson-Billings 1994).

Lastly, Rousseau and Tate (2003) noted that reflection of oneself by the teacher is significant in assisting in the elimination of classroom inequities. The educators viewing equity as equal distributing of resources see equity not as an outcome but as a process. Additionally, when teachers make a reflection on equity as a socio-economic matter, they may not recognize the racism consequences and shift the blame of learner academic failure and apathy on the deficiency of education of their parents. This leaves the prevailing power sharing as it is and obscure the necessity for changing the practices and policies contributing to the failure of the colored students in mathematics.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the partial literature review on social justice in education places the teacher educators and teachers with consequences to improve the present mathematics education state. Education courses for teachers should implement the viewpoint to prepare all tutors to be able to educate all students. This needs the teacher to be aware of issues of equity, classroom diversity and the needed support to implement these ideas appropriately. The rule should be the relevant teaching needs, and not the exemption of fairness in mathematics learning will assist in the obstacles linked with learners and educators preparation for the societies where they are anticipated to flourish. Rousseau and Tate (2003, pp. 212) asserted that “equal treatment if it leads to different outcomes is not equitable.” It is significant that teacher educators and teachers rise to the occasion to provide socially, equitable just environments by doing what is right for all students of mathematics.

References

Bartell, T. G. (2013). Learning to Teach Mathematics for Social Justice: Negotiating Social Justice and Mathematical Goals. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 44, 129-163.

Colquitt, R. (2014). Social Justice in Mathematics Education. [online] Trace.tennessee.edu. Available at: http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4016&context=utk_graddiss [Accessed 3 Jan. 2016].

Darder, A., Baltodano, M. P., & Torres, R. D. (Eds.). (2003). The critical pedagogy reader. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.

Ensign, J. (2003). Including culturally relevant math in an urban school. Educational Studies, 34(4),414-423.

Frankenstein, M. (1987). Critical mathematics education: An application of Paulo Freire’s epistemology. In I. Shor (Ed.), Freire for the classroom: A sourcebook for liberatory teaching (pp. 180–210). Portsmouth, NH: Boyton/Cook. (Reprinted from Journal of Education, 165, 315–339, 1983).

Frankenstein, M.F. (1997). In addition to the mathematics: Including equity issues in the curriculum. Yearbook (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics), pp. 10-22.

Gay, G. and Howard, T.C. (2000). Multicultural teacher education for the 21st centuryTeacher Educator, 36(1), 1-16.

Greeno, J., & Hall, R. (1997). Practicing representation: Learning with and about representational forms. Phi Delta Kappan, 78, 361–367.

Gregson, S. (2011). The equity practice of mathematics teachers in a secondary school committed to community connection, social justice, and college preparation. Manuscript in preparation.

Gregson, S. A. (2013). Negotiating Social Justice Teaching: One Full-Time Teacher’s Practice Viewed from the Trenches. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 44, 164-198.

Gresalfi, M., Martin, T., Hand, V., & Greeno, J. (2009). Constructing competence: An analysis of student participation in the activity systems of mathematics classrooms. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 70, 49–70.

Gutiérrez, R. (1999). Advancing urban Latina/o youth in mathematics: Lesson from an effective high school mathematics department. The Urban Review, 31(3), 263-281.

Gutiérrez, R. (2013). The sociopolitical turn in mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44, 37–68.

Gutstein, E., Lipman, P., Hernandez, P., & de los Reyes, R. (1997). Culturally relevant mathematics teaching in a Mexican American context. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 28, 709–737. doi:10.2307/749639

Hodge, L.L. (2006). An orientation on the mathematics classroom that emphasizes power and identity: Reflecting on equity research. The Urban Review, 38(5), 373-385.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). What we can learn from multicultural education research Educational Leadership, 51, 22-6.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case of culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159-165.

Mitescu et al. (2011). Measuring practices of teaching for social justice in elementary mathematics classrooms. Educational Research Quarterly, 34(3), 15-.39.

Moses, R. P., & Cobb, C. E., Jr. (2001). Radical equations. Math literacy and civil rights. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Moses, R., Kamii, M., Swap, S., & Howard, J. (1989). The Algebra Project: Organizing in the spirit of Ella. Harvard Educational Review, 59, 423–443.

Nasir, N., Hand, V., & Taylor, E. V. (2008). Culture and mathematics in school: Boundaries between “cultural” and “domain” knowledge in the mathematics classroom and beyond. Review of Research in Education, 32, 187–240. doi: 10.3102/0091732X07308962

Rousseau, C. and Tate, W.F. (2003). no time like the present: Reflecting equity in school mathematics. Theory Into Practice, 42(5), 210-216.

Tate, W.F. (1995). Returning to the root: A culturally relevant approach to mathematics pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 166-173.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.

Making a Difference: My Passion for Teaching and Inspiring Students

by Herman Bailey | Apr 21, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

The first two questions an adult is asked when they meet someone new: what is your name? and two, what do you do for a living? A person’s occupation is the way they are depicted throughout life. Their occupation usually stems from the quality of education they received. The quality of education determines a child’s future.

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As a child, I always dreamed of having my classroom. My passion for teaching started at a very young age; at age five, I began to teach my younger brother addition before he could even walk. With dreams of having my classroom, I would beg my mother to take me to the teacher’s supply store instead of taking me to the toy store on my birthday. I have grown up in a loving environment which has taught me to be grateful for what I have and to give to others who are less fortunate. I plan to give my students the same love I received; every child deserves to be treated fairly with reassurance that they can and will succeed.

My enthusiasm to implement to understand the true essence of connecting the growth of students has always been the catalyst for my dream to become a teacher. I am passionate about teaching and am thrilled for my opportunity to impact a child’s life.

Throughout my educational experiences, I have truly appreciated the beauty of a cooperative relationship cultivated from a teacher to a student. As a child that was interested in becoming a teacher, I have always been a strong believer in creating durable relationships that can encourage students. Throughout my life, I have always been prepared and organized in my academic career. I want to be a teacher to narrow the gap between theory and practice. The theory and pedagogies that I acquired in the classrooms truly expanded and implemented theories and practices that I can embed in the classrooms. I believe it is important for an educator to account for the differences in learning styles that are prevalent between students. I feel that the role of the teacher is to act as a facilitator, paving the channels of knowledge, nurturing, and creating an environment of collaboration that can create an atmosphere of inspiring experience for a student. As a dedicated student, my work ethic and superb leadership skills have become the catalyst for my academic success.

I look forward to a fresh set of challenges that I will overcome as a student and young adult, ready to explore the essence of the real world.

In my career, I hope to affect a child’s life positively. I plan to motivate every student to their fullest to achieve excellent results. I will make a difference in their lives and always have their best interest in mind. I will be remembered for setting high standards, raising the bar, and helping my students jump over them! I will help students discover their strengths, teach passionately and encourage a love for learning. I strongly believe that a mind is a terrible thing to waste! A clear focus on educating all students despite their diverse needs and differentiated instruction are essential.

The recipe for an outstanding citizen starts in their childhood. A childhood is

based on schooling. An education brings students …With a dash of love, a sprinkle of encouragement, a spoonful of care & a cup full of wisdom, a child will succeed in life. I strongly believe the influence of a good teacher can never be erased.

I believe an educator’s role is to bring out the ultimately enriched intellect of a student. I, as an educator, am selfless and understand not all children are the same. I believe in all students, no matter the situation, and plan to encourage and support them to do their best. This goes beyond encouraging words down to creating assignments and teaching strategies to fit their needs. I will call my students to a higher standard of excellence and maturity.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.

Photography, War, and Representation: Virginia Woolf’s Three Guineas by Sontag

by Herman Bailey | Apr 20, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

Introduction

Photography is an art, yet it also a domain for scientific questions from diverse disciplines of science, which requires a multidisciplinary approach. The art of photography focuses on shedding light on the perception of the image from a neuroscientific viewpoint to describe the esthetic reactions to pictures. Sontag is one great author that debunks a particular number of commonplaces concerning the images of war and atrocity, underscoring the significance of these images and undercutting hopes that they can convey very much. According to Sotag (2003), photographs are accessories to the act of remembering. Regarding the Pain of Others written by Sontag highlights more about what we do and don’t remember as it is about representations of suffering-photographs of war and disaster, for their value. Sontag provides a robust analysis of regular people using a filmic catalog offering robust relationships. Besides, Sontag focuses on inciting the readers using arguing statements to consider the activities in times when suffering comes as a third hand. Overall, Sontag reminds her audience that they can only see what the photographer wanted them to see. As such, this paper summarizes the first chapter, Virginia Woolf’s Three Guineas, of Sontag, and later applies it in the description of specific Photographic Images.

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Chapter Summary

Chapter 1: Virginia Woolf’s Three Guineas

The chapter introduces the concept of photography of war, which Sontag notes that war tears, the war ends, and war ruins. The author provides brave, yet unwelcome reflections of the roots in the face of the escalating fascist insurrection in Spain and fearless media coverage of the war in Iraq (p. 3). The impetus of Three Guineas is professionally documented in the initial pages of the book. It focuses on the Woolf suffering from a naïve illusion that war is universally repugnant to everyone and that the representations of the photographs of the war will no doubt generate collective consensus against it. In her book, Woolf had coached a particular response to a letter she received from a lawyer based in London, asking, “How in your opinion are/we/ to prevent war?” The feedback from Woolf immediately challenges the very grounds of the question from the London spectral lawyer and suggests that despite the lawyer and she may belong to similarly educated and privileged class, women, and men cannot, and do not, have similar responses to war. Consequently, she invites the lawyer to look together for her at a specifically gruesome set of photographs of war depicting the bodies mutilated and maimed beyond the recognition of any viewer as human. As a result, Woolf discovers this with a lot of rhetorical vivacities that the lawyer and she, irrespective of their differences, think the photographs horrific, disgusting, barbarous, and abominable.

Based on the observations, Woolf hurtles off to the conclusion that according to the author unthinkingly collapses the individual distinction she had used to start. Precisely, despite being separated by the age-old affinities of practice and feel of their respective sexes, the claim by Woolf is that both the lawyer and her respond similarly to the photographic representations of war. As such, given the state of the happy coincidence of emotions, they will unite and develop the ability to call for a stop to the destruction and abomination of mindless death (p. 6). Therefore, despite having attacked her interlocutor based on his presumption of the consensual “we’re in asking the initial question, Sontag observes, Woolf herself slips into the similar danger of proposing that there is any consensus at all in war repudiation. The images of the butchering of noncombatants, in the political occasion, begin to seep Iraq, and it is challenging by any imaginative stretch to argue that such representations evoke a refutation of war. Rather, as Sontag asks, do they not, in fact, often enough inspire greater militancy? Can they be indeed a universal “we” when the issues of question involve looking at people’s pain? Indeed, the posting of these rhetorical questions itself challenges the assertions by Wolf of a liberal consensus that draws its wordings from the goodwill and magnanimity of the educated demographic agreements.

Furthermore, the chapter proceeds by discussing the intellectual positioning of Woolf and rhetorically indicates that Woolf may not be naïve enough to let easily go of her intellectual positioning distinguishing between, besides, bellicose men that get seduced to battle by the torrid allure of sacrifice, as well as its promise of glorious patriotism. Also, the Lysistrata-inspired women who at all times must be distinguished from their warlike male equivalents. Sontag inscribes that the sweeping generalization by Woolf based on the universal repudiation of humanity wars rests on uncritical assumptions. Particularly, one that assumes that violence is by, and largely condemned by all civilians or citizens of goodwill. Likewise, the dogmatically believes in the photographic image transparency and its aptitude to deliver an undiluted truth. At this juncture, it is fairly easy for Sontag to convince the readers that the question of violence is much contested and depicts this self-evident issue, except to write that the history of wars has indicated that violence represents unjust or least necessary in the faces of the threatening enemies. Mainly, this context of Sontag’s attack on Woolf’s faith is that photographs have the ability to reflect an undistorted truth.

Sontag, (2003) argues that weaving in and out of the historical aspects of photographic images, the photograph is interpretative and has an author whose viewpoint we see, a frame that includes and excludes cognitive objects, a career depicting that moves away from the sovereignty of the author’s clutches, dissemination, and life of circulation that may or may not take make it the plaything of various interest groups struggling for authority and legitimation. The photographs, like other texts and representations, are flawed in being intimately tied up with the power, interests, positions, whether it was a victim of their struggle or not. Surprisingly, having argued in this approach on the representational quality of the photographic image, the author does not decode Woolf’s texts within her individual paradigm of thought. In essence, based on the suggestion of Sontag, photographic images depict their truth or untruths do exhibit individual polemic and rhetorical effects.

Photographic Images Description

World War II: Damage and Destruction Images (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/pictures)

The picture shows big buildings demolished and destructed as there are spillovers of the walls. Also, there are two people, a man, and a woman, with the man holding the woman and walking away from the photographer. The pictured man and the woman are carrying light bags on their back with the man putting on a cap. Tall buildings have been brought down fully and partially due to military action. Perhaps, this was after the war, and the two were walking to an unknown destination and that this was a developed city with a well-constructed road. Seemingly, the author wanted to show the demolitions and destructions, and the appearance of the two people is by a coincidence. Based on the assumption that they are walking away from the photographer, they might not have been the central focus. The readers of the images in the photograph can clearly see a massive loss of infrastructural development due to war. As Sontag writes that the quickest, driest way to convey the inner commotion caused by these photographs of war, so thorough is the ruin of stone and flesh they depict (Sotag, 2003). Indeed, people of different education and traditions would have diverse responses, but “we” might well respond in the same words. Therefore, it would be hard to credit the desperate resolve produced by World War II. However, as Sontag reflects that the shock of such pictures cannot fail to unite people of goodwill, the people portrayed in the photographs are antiwar, and perhaps consoling each other as they walk down the rocky road.

The images in the photographs show the destructions and damages that were done during World War II. Taking an aerial view, the picture indicates demolitions made by the soldiers during World War II. Although that author does not indicate the place where the picture was taken, it is obvious that there was massive destruction done on the infrastructure during the war. Sontag indicates that people perceive images of war from personal positions and that “we” should be taken for granted when looking at people’s pain. The photograph of World War II destructions and demolitions reflects the disturbing images of the aftermath of World War II. Also, the photo that has circulated all over the world through the media indicates the bravest humanitarian actions in the history of war. In chapter one of, “Regarding the Pain of Others”, Sontag reflects the Virginia Woolf of 1938. Looking at the image in the photograph, the image represents war even without further explanation. Even though we see may see different things in the same photograph, there are holes in the building walls and leftovers of spilled parts of the walls on the ground showing military actions.

The Photo of Kim

The photograph was captured during the dreadful Vietnam War in June 1972 following consequent war events. The image in the photograph shows a young woman running naked down the road alongside other children screaming in agony. The horrifying image of the Vietnamese girl running unclothed down the road away from the American soldiers with her arms outspread, while she screams in pain. The historical aspects of photography offer entry of the photography of war and something Sontag indicate that war ruins, war tears, and war is less necessary. The identification of the subjects in the photographs follows the weaponry, dressing code, and age. As such, from behind, the soldiers dressed in combat were the American napalms, and in front were the Vietnamese children running down the road. Notably, the images in the photograph represent particular stated positions, on the accuracy, genuineness, and reliability of the representations of the author of the photograph. According to Sontag, the suffering and death resulting from war are only for children, and since they are children, without any adjective attached to the word, the photograph that is considered one of the world iconic images arouses one of the bravest and biggest humanitarian actions in history.

The picture helped spread the suffering and pain of the civilians of the Vietnam War. Indeed, the picture provides a platform for our ability to understand the pain of others as it represents the problems of limits. The picture indicates an image of the atrocity showing the violence depicted through cruelty. The photograph shows the emanations of reality, discrete and perpetual renderings of truth, rather than the universal grammar of a consistently unfolding tale. There are no writings on the photograph; thus the message relayed and diffused represents assemblages of effect, unnecessarily appealing for to rational and consciousness, and narrative understanding of an interpretation photographic image. As Sontag critiques the illusions of Woolf that photographic representations of war generate universal consensus against it, it is observable that men and skeletal muscles. In a study conducted by (), the findings indicated that HRT improves the functions of muscles in women lack a similar response to war. Indeed, while Kim is in the midst of another young boy, she is the only one necked and screaming more with intense agony. The image of Kim depicts moments of disgust, barbarous, and the horrific aftermath of the war.

D-Day Photograph (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/pictures)

The photograph named D-Day shows two American soldiers standing in the cemetery saluting some of the fallen heroes of World War II. The two male soldiers in uniform with the American flag stuck on their combat are paying their last tribute to the numerous fallen colleagues. On the far end, two skeletal muscles. In a study conducted by (), the findings indicated that HRT improves the functions of muscles in women are standing in an opposite direction also facing the graveyard. The middle-aged woman holding her hands close to the chest is looking at the soldiers while the other woman on the far right corner is looking at the graves. It may be that the American soldiers in the photograph are saluting just one, several or the entire bodies rested on this graveyard. Reading from Sotag (2003), in chapter one, the soldiers are indeed in pain, and they can only show it professionally by saluting the buried bodies. Sontag indicates that observers of the photographs usually see the same images in the photograph through hypothetical shared experience. These pictures show how war shatters, evacuates, breaks apart and levels the built the world (Sotag, 2003). She further writes, “War tears, rends. War rips open, eviscerates. War scorches. War dismembers. War ruins.” (p. 8). The photograph documents the slaughtering of noncombat and armies that fosters greater militancy on behalf of the Republic.

Conclusion

Regarding the pain of others is a book that provides an example of differentiation. Particularly, in chapter one reviewed in the earlier pages of this essay, Sontag reminds the readers about Virginia Woolf Three Guineas published in 1938, yet written during the previous two years in the climax of the Spanish civil war. Based on the review and the analysis of the three pictures showing the war in Vietnam and World War II, the pictures show what war does. They indicate a particular way of waging war, away the time routinely describes as barbaric in which the civilians are the victims. The photographs rekindle the memories of pain undergone by the victims when the soldiers used tactical approaches to massacre, torture, mutilating, and killing of people during the war. In a nutshell, war is generic, and the images describe generic victims.

Reference

Sontag, S. (2003). Regarding the pain of others. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.

The Importance of Effective Testing and Assessment in Education

by Herman Bailey | Apr 20, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

Introduction

The paper details developing a writing test and evaluating its validity, reliability, and practicality. This is a group work of partners of a designed short test that is relevant to ELI context on writing skills. The test has been evaluated in the light of principles of language assessment. The paper first reviewed the literature on how to assess the writing skills and techniques of testing. Furthermore, the literature review examined the principles of language assessment which included content validity, construct validity, inter-rater reliability, and practicality. Additionally, the literature on test specifications was reviewed and how they are related to validity, reliability, and practicality before discussing the models and formats of test specifications. The paper chose Bachman and Palmer’s format as the test specification model. The developed writing test in the appendix has been analyzed by discussing its test specifications according to Bachman and Palmer’s format. Finally, the paper discussed the test evaluation methods about the content and construct validity, inter-rater reliability, and practicality evaluation. A writing test developed on test specifications is valid, reliable, and practical.

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Literature Review

Assessing Writing Skill

Continuous assessment of the writing skills is vital to the effective teaching of writing skills to the students. Assessments based on curriculum can be used in assessing the process and product of writing and should also consider the purpose as well. According to Diane (1990), the writing skills can be assessed through self-observational and observational checklists. However, the writing products can be evaluated based on five product factors which include content, fluency, conventions, vocabulary, and syntax. Douglas (2010) asserted that samples of writing should also be assessed across different writing purposes to give a holistic picture of the writing performance of the students across different text genres and structures. These simple measures can fulfill different assessment functions including planning instruction, identifying the strengths and weaknesses, giving feedback, evaluating instructional activities, reporting progress, and monitoring performance.

The first responsibility of the teacher is to provide writing opportunities and encouragements to the students who are attempting to write. The second responsibility of the teacher is promotion of success in students’ writings. These are done by teachers through careful monitoring of student writings to assess their weaknesses and strengths, teaching specific strategies and skills of writings in response to the needs of the students, and finally giving feedback that reinforces skills newly learned and correct the recurring problems. These responsibilities of the teachers upon inspection reveal that the assessment of writing skills is a vital part of good classroom instruction.

Airasian (1996) in his study identified three types of assessments in the classroom for writing skills. The first was referred to as “sizing up” assessments, which is usually conducted during the first week in school to give the teacher quick information about the level of the writing skills of the students before beginning their instruction. Instructional assessment, which is the second type, is applied during the daily tasks of planning for the classroom instruction, monitoring the progress of the students and, giving feedback. The third type Airasian (1996) referred to as official assessments which are the formal assessment functions that are periodic for grading, grouping, and reporting. In summary, teachers apply assessment methods in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the students, for instruction planning to fit the needs that have been diagnosed, giving feedback, evaluating instructional activities, reporting on the progress, and monitoring the performance.

Test Technique

According to Fulcher (2010), assessment of writing skills based on the curriculum must start with curriculum inspection. Many curricula of writing are based on conceptual models that encompass purpose, process, and product. Therefore, the conceptual model forms the framework for the assessment techniques

Fultcher and Davison (2007) pointed out that diagnostic uses of the assessment that is determining the instructional needs of the students and the reasons for their writing problems are best met by examining the writing process. For instance, the strategies students use and the steps they go through as they work on their writing. Does the student have a strategy for organizing his or her ideas? How much planning is done by the student before writing? What are the possible obstacles of getting the thoughts to the paper? Does the student go through or related what they have written? How does the student attempt spelling words they do not know? Does the student share or talk with others as they write? What type of changes does the student make on his or her first written draft?

Hughes (2003) indicated that to make relevant instructional observations, the observer must use a conceptual model of how the process of writing should be done. The educators have not reached any consensus regarding the number of steps in the process of writing. Elbow (1981) proposed two steps while Frank (1979) proposed nine. On the other hand, Englert et al (1991) provided a five-step model for the process of wring using the acronym of POWER which stands for Plan, Organize, Write, Edit, and Revise. Additionally, each step has its own strategies and sub-steps that progressively become sophisticated as the students mature up in writing. Observation can also be used as a test technique in assessing the process of writing of the students as they progress through the writing steps.

According to Messick (1989), having the student assessing their own process of writing as a test technique is also advantageous for two reasons. The first advantage of self-assessment as a test technique is that it offers an opportunity for the students to observe and make a reflection on their approach, hence drawing attention to significant steps that they may have overlooked. The second advantage of self-assessment that follows a conceptual model like the POWER model is that it provides a means of internalizingan explicit strategy, and this allows the student to rehearse mentally on the steps of the strategy

Principles of Language Assessment

Content Validity

Validity is the extent to which the inferences gotten from the results of the assessments are meaningful, appropriate and useful in terms of assessment purpose (Gronlund, 1998, p.226). According to Hughes (2003) and Mousavi (2002), if a test samples the actual subject matter from which conclusions are to be drawn and also if the test requires the takers of the test to perform the measured behavior, then it can claim content validity. Nation (1993) asserted that an individual can usually identify content validity through observation if they can clearly define the achievement they are measuring. A test administered in written form and requires students to read a passage then write down their responses makes it high in content validity for a writing class

Brown (2010) stated that another way to understand content validity is by considering the difference between indirect and direct testing. In direct testing, the test taker actually performs the task targeted, while in indirect testing, the learners do not perform the task itself but instead perform a related task in some way. For instance, testing learners on oral production of the syllable stress and yet the tasks is having the learners mark the syllable stress with written accent marks in a list of the written words. Logically, the argument can be that the learners are indirectly tested on oral production of the stress syllables. However, the most feasible rule of achieving content validity is directly assessing performance

Construct Validity

Construct validity is a construct in a hypothesis, model, or theory attempting to explain phenomena observed in the people’s perceptions of the universe. Constructs may be or even may not be empirically or directly be measured since their verification often needs inferential data. Every issue virtually in the learning of language and teaching involves theoretical constructs. Brown (2010) observed that in the assessment field, construct validity asks whether the tests actually tap into the defined theoretical constructs. Davidson, Hudson and Lynch (1985) stated that in a manner of speaking, tests are operational constructs definition in that they operationalize the entity being measured.

For instance, suppose a teacher has a created a simply written vocabulary quiz, that covers the content of the recently completed unit. The test asks the students to define correctly a set of words, which are a perfectly adequate sample of everything that was covered in the entire unit. However, the unit’s lexical objective was the communicative use of the vocabularies. Therefore, certainly writing the definitions of the words fails to match the construct of communicative use of language.

Construct validity according to Brown (2010) is a major issue invalidation of the large-scale proficiency standardized tests. Since such test must adhere to the practicality principle, for economic reasons and also because they must sample limited areas of the language, these proficiency standardised tests may not be able to contain all of the content of a specific skill or field. For example, TOEFL has not attempted sampling oral production until recently, yet oral production is a significant part for success in academics in a course of study of a university. The omission of content oral production by TOEFL, however, has been justified ostensibly by research done by Duran et al (1985) that has indicated positive correlation between behaviours, writing, grammatical detection, reading and listening and oral production actually sampled from TOEFL. Because of the need of offering financially affordable proficiency tests and also of the high cost of scoring and administering tests on oral production, the omission of oral content from the proficiency TOEFL has been justified as a necessity economically.

Inter-Rater Reliability

According to Brown (2010), a reliable test is dependable and consistent. If you give the same examination to the student or even matched students on two occasions different, the examination should produce similar results. The matter of reliability of tests may be addressed best by making consideration to several factors that may contribute to a test’s unreliability. Mousavi (2002, p. 804) proposed the following possibilities: in scoring, fluctuations in the student, the test itself, and in test administration.

Student-Related reliability

According to Mousavi (2002, p. 804), the most common reliability issue that is related to learners is caused by fatigue, temporary illness, anxiety, bad day and other psychological and physical factors which make the “observed score” be deviated from the learners “true score.” Similar factors also included in the category include test-wiseness of the test takers or efficient test-taking strategies.

Rater Reliability

Bias, human error, and subjectivity may enter into the process of scoring. According to Mousavi (2002, p. 804), inter-rater reliability takes place when two or more scores produce inconsistent scores from the same test, possibly due to inexperience, lack of attention to the criteria of scoring, preconceived biases or even inattention.

The issues of rater reliability are not only limited to the context where two or more of the scores are involved. Mousavi (2002, p. 804) pointed out that intra-rater reliability is a very common occurrence for the classroom teachers due to the unclear criteria for scoring, bias towards particular bad and good students, fatigue, and even simple carelessness.

When a teacher or examiner is faced with many tests to grade in a very short period of time, however subliminally, the examiner knows the standards they will apply. The first few tests will be different from the last few tests. The examiner may be “harder” or “easier” on these first few papers or they may get tired, and the results, therefore, may be inconsistent across all the tests. Mousavi (2002, p. 804) suggested that the best solution to intra rater unreliability of the teachers is to read through approximately half of the tests before giving any final grades or scores, then recycle back again through the entire test for an even-handed judgment.

Brown (1991) indicated that in the tests for the skills in writing, rater reliability is specifically hard to achieve since proficiency in writing involves several traits that is also difficult to define. However, careful specification of the instrument for analytical scoring cab increases rater reliability

Test Administration Reliability

Mousavi (2002, p. 804) pointed out that unreliability may also come from the test administration conditions. For instance, an oral comprehension test administered through a tape recorder can be affected by street noise if the classroom is situated in a noisy environment, hence hindering accurate hearing by the students. Other unreliability sources are found from different amount of lighting in a classroom, variations in photocopying, the conditions of the chair and tests, and even variations in temperature

Test Reliability

The nature of the test itself sometimes can cause errors in measurement. If a test is too long, the takers of the test may be fatigued by the time they have reached the last items f the test and therefore incorrectly respond hastily. Similarly, Mousavi (2002, p. 804) asserted that tests that rare timed may discriminate against the students who do not perform at their best in tests that are timed. Additionally, test items that are poorly written for instance, they have more than one correct answer or even are ambiguous, may also be a further source of the unreliability of tests.

Practicality

According to Brown (2010), an effective test is a practical test. This implies that the test is not expensive excessively, is within the appropriate constraints of time, is easy to administer relatively, and finally has an evaluation/scoring procedure that is time-efficient and specific.

Brown (2010) indicated that a test that is prohibitively very expensive is very impractical. Similarly, a language proficiency test that takes five hours for the student to complete is also impractical since it consumes more money and time than necessary in accomplishing its objective. Furthermore, Brown (2010) stated that a test requiring individual one-on-one administration or proctoring is also impractical to a student group or hundreds of test-takers with only a few examiners. A test-taking a few minutes to take by the students but many hours for an examiner to do an evaluation is also impractical in a classroom situations. Similarly, a test that can only be scored by a computer is also impractical if the test is done miles away from a place with the nearest computer for scoring. The quality and value of a test sometimes hinge on these practical, nitty gritty considerations (Brown, 2010).

Test Specifications

Test specifications are the generative blueprints for the design of the test (Davidson and Lynch, 2002). Test specifications for use in classrooms can be a practical and simple outline of the tests, while the tests intended for large-scale distribution and use, the test specifications are much more detailed and formal

Models and formats

Davidson and Lynch Model

Davidson and Lynch (2002) stated that there is no single magic formula or best format for test specifications since there are many ways of designing one. They base their model on a model earlier developed by Popham (2008). Davidson and Lynch’s (2002) model has five components.

General description

This section of the test specification is the focus and object of the assessment indicating the skill and behavior to be tested. Also included in this section is usually the motivation or reason for testing and a statement of purpose.

Prompt Attributes

This is the second section of the model and it details what will be given to the taker of the test. The section includes information about test format, item selection, the actual item or form, and a detailed description of what the takers of the test will be asked to perform. Moreover, this section includes instructions and directions the test taker will read.

Response Attributes

This section details how the test taker will respond to the task or the item

Sample Item

The purpose of this section is to make the language of the general description, prompt attributes, and response attributes lively (Davidson and Lynch, 2002, p. 26).

Specification Supplements

The design of this section allows the specification to include as much information and detail as possible without making unwieldy the language of the general description, prompt attributes, and response attributes.

Alderson, Clapham and Wall Model

This test specification as recommended by Alderson et al (1995) should vary in content and format according to their audience according to the audience. Alderson et al (1995) propose various specification documents for test users, test validators, and test writers. In a test specification developed for writers, Alderson et al (1995) propose the inclusion of information on the following areas: General purpose statement, test focus, test battery, sources of texts, test tasks, item types and rubrics.

Similarly, Alderson et al (1995) recommended that specification documents for the validators of tests should include information on constructs that are assessed and the ability of language these constructs are based on. Specifications for test users probably should be written in the language of the lower level and include important information for the taker of the test. The authors recommended that specifications for the test users contain information like the test’s statement of purpose, complete tests, or sample items to review, and a description of the performance expected at key levels.

Bachman and Palmer Model

Their specification has two parts, test task specifications and the structure of the test. In the structure of the test part, Bachman and Palmer (1996) advise including information like several subtests, their relative importance, and order as well as the number of tasks/items per part. On the section of test task specifications, it has the following components: purpose, definition of the construct, setting, time allotment, instructions, input characteristics and the expected response and the scoring methods.

The Bachman and Palmer model has been choosing because of several reasons. First, its two component parts which make it inclusive and detailed compared to other models. Secondly, Bachman and Palmer model represents reorganization and relabeling of the Davidson and Lynch Model, hence an improvement to it. Therefore, the model has been chosen because of its advanced specification and inclusive nature.

Developing A Writing Test

Reverse engineering

There is a ready-made test (See Appendix 1) and therefor this section will simply detail its specification according to the format of Bachman & Palmer format. Reverse engineering according to Miller (2011) is the creation of specification document from a set of test items or test that already exists. Davidson and Lynch (2002, p. 41) stated that not all testing is specification driven. They further defined tests that are specific driven as those which have been created from a specification. Additionally, much of the investment at the setting of the test is in the creation, maintenance,, and evolution of the specs and also the tests themselves. In many institutions, testing programs and tests exists without usage of the test speculations that are formalized. In these scenarios, the developers rely on history and institutional memory in constructing their tests or even intuitions on what will create an effective test.

The reverse engineering process can be a useful one in situations when a school wants to move from a situation of non-spec driven testing to a spec driven situation (Davidson and Lynch, 2002, p. 43). Similarly, this process can help in clarifying whether a particular test is spec-driven, improve specifications, create a spec for tests, and even critique the specifications existing.

Test Specifications:

Bachman & Palmer’s format

The specifications of the test in appendix 1 will be done according to Bachman and Palmer’s format. The model adopted the five components of the Popham model but under different labeling.

Purpose

This is the statement of how the task/test item should be used. The purpose of the text is explicitly clear that it is a writing exam

Definition of construct

This is the detailed description of a particular language ability aspect being tested, or construct. This also includes inferences which can be made from the scores of the test that overlaps with the purpose of the test. In the test, the construct being defined is writing ability. The aspects of writing that will be tested include paragraph structure and length, content and cohesion, lexical range, grammar and mechanics, and sentence completeness

Setting

This is the listing of the characteristics for the setting where the test will be done, such as time of administration, participants, and physical location. The setting for the test is unclear since no physical location has been indicated, the participants and the time the test will start and end is also not indicated

Time allotment

This is the allowed amount of time for completing specific task or set of items on the test. The time allotment for the test is 50 minutes

Instructions

This is the listing of the language that should be used in the directions to takers of the test for that particular task/item. The instructions for the test to the test takers is for them to choose one of the given jobs (Businessman/businesswoman or a pilot), and then write a paragraph of at least 40 words describing the job and to say why they want or do not want to have the job in future.

Characteristics of the input and the response expected

This is the description of what will be presented to the takers of the test and what will be expected of them to do with it. The characteristics of the input in the test is to select one of the jobs and then write a paragraph of 40 word describing it.

The response expected is a detailed description of the selected job and the reasons why they want or even do not want to have it in the future in 40 words

Scoring methods

This is the description of how the response of the test taker will be evaluated (See Appendix 2) and also the results in Appendix 3. The scoring methods will include the following:

Paragraph structure and length- whether the paragraphs of the test taker consisted of a clearly organized topic sentence, is supported in the body and has a concluding sentence. Moreover, it is approximately 50 words
Content and cohesion- whether the content is relevant and is focussed showing full understanding of the topic with no digression. Moreover, the learner properly links his sentences with linking words
lexical range- the test taker used a wide range of relevant appropriate lexical items with no confusion
grammar and mechanics- whether the test taker accurately and effectively use grammatical mechanics and structures with minimal errors intense choice, spelling, subject-verb agreement, capitalizations and prepositions
sentence completeness- whether the test taker does not produce no incomplete or garmented sentences

Test Evaluation Methods

The principles of language assessment provide useful guidelines for both evaluation of the existing assessment procedures and also in designing one. Tests, quizzes and final exams can also be evaluated through the lenses of these principles.

Content Validity Evaluation

Content validity evaluation is the extent to which evaluation requires students to perform the tasks which were included in the previous lessons and which represent directly the unit’s objective on which the evaluation Is based. Brown (2010) proposed two steps for content validity evaluation of a classroom test.

Are the objectives of the classroom appropriately defined and formed?

The objectives of the unit, module or lesson are what underlies every good classroom hence identification of the objectives is the first measure of effective tests. In most instances, teachers work with poorly framed objectives or with little or no cognizant of the objectives they are seeking to fulfill that determining whether or not the objectives were fulfilled is impossible.

Are the objectives of the lesson represented in the form of test specifications

The concept of test specifications on the lesson objectives means that the test should be having a structure that logically follows from the unit of the lesson being tested. Several tests have the design which divides them into several sections perhaps, corresponding to the objectives under evaluation; offers variety of item types to the students; and provides appropriate weight to each section. (Brown, 2010).

Construct Validity Evaluation

Construct validity evaluation is the extent to which evaluation requires teachers to evaluate tasks based constructs underlying the unit, lesson or module. This evaluation can be empirically be measured from the inferential data from the evaluation scores of the students. The teacher should ask himself or herself whether the tests and the evaluation involves the defined theoretical constructs of the lessons (Brown, 2010).

Inter-Rater Reliability Evaluation

Rater reliability is an issue commonly overlooked since classroom tests in most instances do not involve two scorers. Brown (2010) asserted that inter-rater reliability is not an issue in most cases but intra-reliability is of constant concern. The teachers need to find mechanisms of maintaining their stamina and concentration over the time it takes in scoring assessments.

Practicality Evaluation

Practicality evaluation is determined by the students ‘and the teachers’ time constraints, administrative details, and costs, and also to some extent what occurs after and before the test. The practicality evaluation checklist suggested by Brown (2010) is listed below:

1. Are the administrative details instituted before the test?
2. Can the test takers complete the test within the reasonable time frame set?
3. Can the test be smoothly be administered with glitches in the procedures?
4. Are the equipment and material ready?
5. Is the test costs within the limits of the budget
6. Is the evaluation/scoring system feasible in the timeframe of the teacher?
7. Are the mechanisms of reporting the results laid down in advance? (Weir and Cyril, 2005).

Table 1: Results of the Students

N. Student Name Rater 1 Mark Rater 2 Mark
1 Alyaa Alzahrani 7 7
2 Amjaad Alotaibi 7 7
3 Asalah Almotairi 6 6
4 Batool Alhabeeb 9 9
5 Boshraa Almalki 6 5
6 Danya Alaydaros 6 6
7 Hind Almoaalm 9 9
8 Johara Alzahrani 10 10
9 Lama Alfarran 5 5
10 Lamees Blal 7 7
11 Maha ??? 4 4
12 Manal Hazazi 7 7
13 Mashaael Alsolami 9 9
14 Mezneh Alshaikhi 4 3
15 Momainah Barood 4 4
16 Norah Khalaf 7 7
17 Rawan Alamodi 8 8
18 Rawan Alghamdi 8 7
19 Rehab Alzahrani 6 6
20 Sanaa Mohammad 9 9
21 Sondos Zaini 7 7

One-Sample T: Rater 1 Mark

Variable N Mean StDev SE Mean 95% CI

Rater 1 Mark 21 6.905 1.758 0.384 (6.105, 7.705)

Figure 1

From the above graph we can see that the rater 1 mark is normally distributed with a mean of 6.905 and variance to be 1.758 we use here t statistic to test the results the bell curve shows that the average mark of rater 1 is round about 7 and the variation is 1.76 it means that on average each student is taking marks of variation 1.75 from the above graph we can say that the rater 1 mark is valid but the performance level of the students is below the average.

Figure 2

The graph shows the inter reliability of the rater 1 and rater 2 from this we can see that alyaa alzahrani mark remain same for rater 1 and rater 2 that is and she is below level next amjad alotabi he shows same results like alyaa alzharani most of the people are below the level from this we can see that there are no variation in the rater mark 1 and rater mark 2 so the test is reliable as it does not impact on the mark of students.

The grading system used for the class is in table 2 below and the graphical representation in figure 3:

Table 2: Grading system

A 100 to 90
B 89 – 80
C 79 – 70
D 69 – 60
F 59 – and less

Figure 3

Conclusion

In conclusion, a writing test developed on test specifications is valid, reliable, and practical. The developed test was valid, reliable, and practical. The test was content valid since it tested the writing content of the lessons, furthermore, it was based on the underlying theoretical constructs of the lessons hence making it construct valid. The test was also inter-rater reliable because of the minimal differences between the findings of the marker and the cross checker. Lastly, it was practical because the time allocated was enough, the number of students was adequate, and had enough number of examiners. The paper believes that the test was properly tested, was organized, marked properly hence making it content and construct valid, reliable and practical.

References

Airasian, P. W. (1996). Assessment in the classroom. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Alderson, J. C., Clapham, C., & Wall, D. (1995). Language test construction and evaluation. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press.

Bachman, L. & Palmer, A. (1996).  Language Testing in Practice. UK: Oxford University Press.

Brown, H. D. & Abeywickrama, P. (2010). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. New York: Pearson Education.

Davidson, F., & Lynch, B. K. (2002). Testcraft: A teacher’s guide to writing and using language test specifications. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Diane, T. (1990). ESL writing assessment: Subject-matter knowledge and its impact on performance. New York: Elsevier Ltd.

Douglas, D. (2010). Understanding language testing. UK: Hodder Education.

Elbow, P. (1981). Writing with power: Techniques for mastering the writing process. New York: Oxford University Press.

Englert, C. S., Raphael, T. E., Anderson, H. M. A. L. M., & Stevens, D. D. (January 01, 1991). Making Strategies and Self-Talk Visible: Writing Instruction in Regular and Special Education Classrooms. American Educational Research Journal, 28, 2, 337-372.

Fulcher, G. (2010). Practical language testing. UK: Hodder Education.

Fultcher, G. and Davison, F. (2007). Language testing and assessment: an advanced resource book. New York: Routledge.

Goldberg, N. (1986). Writing down the Bones: Freeing the writer within. Shambhala Publications.

Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teachers (2nd Ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Messick, S. (1989). Validity. In R. L. Linn (Ed), Educational measurement, 13-103.

Miller, M.M. (2011) “The Spice of Writing: Extracurricular Projects for Technical Writers”. IPCC 92 Santa Fe. Crossing Frontiers. Conference Record. pp. 384–390.

Mousavi, A. (2002). Textbook trends in teaching language testing. Language Testing, 25, 3, 327-347.

Nation, P. (1993). Vocabulary size, growth, and use. The bilingual lexicon, 115-134.‏

Popham, W. J. (2008). Transformative assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Weir, Cyril, J. (2005). Language testing and validation: an evidence-based approach. Macmillan: Palgrave.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.

Managing Finance: Key Strategies for Effective Financial Management

by Herman Bailey | Apr 19, 2023 | Essays | 0 comments

Introduction

As a new assistant financial director to Cheesecake Factory, Inc, a company that distributes cheesecakes, supplying cakes to retailers,, and operates restaurants in the city, I will write a financial report to the financial director. Our company buy cakes in the wholesale from the manufacturing company and supply it to coffee stores, restaurants, hotels and even to the travelers. The discussion in the paper will elaborate on the sources of finance to a business, the understanding of the implication of finance as a resource to business, make decisions from financial information,, and lastly evaluate the financial performance of the business.

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TASK 1

LO1.1-financial resource/internal and external finance; short and long term finance

According to Williams et al (2009pp 167), the sources of finance for a business can be grouped according to their own sources. The sources of finance can either be from outside or within the business. That is either external or internal sources. The main sources of finance from within the business include the sources from the entrepreneur such as the personal debts, credit cards, cash balances,, and the investments by the entrepreneur (Adams 1977pp 44). Hatten et al (1997pp 109) also pointed out some of the internal sources of finance such as the profits retained in the business from the cash generated in the company after gaining profits in the business. The investor’s amount that has been invested in the business or the share capital is also essential in a sole proprietorship business.

Butler (2006pp198) observed that finance for a business from external sources include the long term or the short term loan capital. The loans can be gotten from banks and other financial institutions. The other external sources of finance include the outsides investors share capital to a business. The share capital can be gotten from the family and the friend’s entrepreneur.

The professional investors to a company referred to as the business angels also form part of the external sources of finance to a business. Venture capital can also be used for an already established business (Awe 2006pp56).

LO1.2 cost implications of the different sources of finance to a chosen business

Funding a business is of greater significance for it to operate well in the industry. However, Burton et al (2001pp276) found out that various financing sources to a business have different implications. The retained profits implications only apply to the operating businesses that are already established. Therefore, the retained profits do not apply to a new business.

According to Zimmerer et al (2008pp 79), if the entrepreneur has limited capital, the share capital may be limited. Furthermore, the entrepreneur’s investments in a business lose the investment to the company, and therefore, ceases to be the owner of the capital invested. The entrepreneur who has invested the capital in the sole proprietorship business can only benefit by receiving the dividends upon making of profits by the company, or when the company is entirely sold, the owner can get the total value of the company (Hillstrom et al 2002pp154).

Bates et al (2003pp 25) pointed out that the loan capital implications are the incurred interest rates that are high. The banks upon giving out loans to business entities always impose high-interest rates, and this eventually results in an increased companies cost of operation. Moreover, the financial institutions require collaterals for the loans to be given out. This impedes the business especially new companies which do not have any securities. According to Buera et al (2012pp 234), the loan capital is not also flexible to the new business as a finance source but can be used as an option to companies that are already established. The bank overdrafts despite their high rates of interest also assist in funding a business.

The funds contributed by the friends and the breast cancer. Ann has been a staunch Christian since childhood just like the rest of her family or the share capital towards a business are good for new businesses. However, tensions escalate amongst the quality of life. Arthur should be educated during the discussion with the doctor and also his family members and the friends, especially if they form part of management, or also shareholders. The venture capitalists and the business angels also act as a source of finance, but the proprietor losses part of the business control (Mancuso 1980pp 356).

LO1.3- Appropriate source of finance-positive and negative sides

The Cheesecake Factory, Inc supplies cakes to the restaurants, coffee stores, hotels,, and retailers in the outskirts of the city required a good amount of capital for its operation. The appropriate sources of capital that have been chosen include borrowing from friends and working environment. The worker needs proper shelter, transport, medical attention, and time for their family and personal savings. These are the internal sources of finance for the business.

To acquire the fixed assets for the company, the company will need long term loans to facilitate the acquisition. Moreover, credits of the short term will also be employed to help until the products will have been sold. Overdrafts from the will also be used.

If the merchant banks and the investment capitals offer to pump in their venture capital into the business, the option will be welcomed. This will enable the business to gain from the expertise and finance of the investors. Furthermore, the business will consider applying for the grants offered by the state and the central governments for its expansion.

Given that the business does not have many machineries and motor vehicles, the company will consider other financing sources such as getting expensive equipment through leases from the companies that lease their equipment. Moreover, the business will also incorporate trade credit by obtaining the raw material for the company and paying later after selling the goods.

TASK 2

LO2.1 Analyze the costs of different sources of finance

Various finance sources have different interest or costs. According to the National Executive of Small Business Agencies (Australia) et al (2005pp14), the type of finance that a business adopts depends on the nature and type of business. Savings as a financing source for a business is good for a business cost-wise. Savings incurred no interest rates because the cash belongs to the entrepreneur. Similarly, obtaining funds from the families and friends is important in financing a new business because of of friends and family member’s loans the entrepreneur cash interest-free in most cases.

Confederation of British Industry (1974pp 25), however, observed that loans obtained from the banks and other financial institutions always have higher rates of interest on the capital loaned. This raises their costs. Similarly, bank overdrafts also possess high rates of interest and they are important in cash flow management. This raises their costs and interest when compared to other finance sources for funding a business.

Use of the creditors in a business offers a low cost. This is where a business agrees with the suppliers to take credits from the suppliers for a short term, and will pay back after making sales. This method offers low cost because the business can sell more goods than when it had goods acquired only through purchasing by the limited funds (Bodie et al 2000pp79).

Use of the guardian angels, grants and venture capital also offers minimal financing cost to the business. This is because they make investments in the business and helps it to expand without including any high rates of interest. They expand the business making it get more profits. Application of the credit cards as a source of finance enhances the quickness of getting cash but it has a high cost during the transaction process (Williams et al 2009pp 187).

LO2.2 Explain the importance of financial planning of the business organization you have chosen

It is of great importance to make financial planning to the business of supplying cakes to the hotels, restaurants, coffee stores,, and the neighborhoods of the city suburbs. The first importance of financial case study in Los Angeles. Los Angeles: School of Architecture and Urban       planning is to assist inthe efficient management of the income. Adams (1977pp 324) observed that the making of budgets to the expenditure and the income is the most efficient way of income management.

Financial service delivery and policy making. The experience, capabilities and thinking of makers of policy, and those individuals who have liability for planning also helps in increasing the flow of cash and spending habits. Planning of the finance helps in determining the things that need to be attended for cash to be generated and investment to be made (Hatten et al 1997pp98).

Furthermore, for the long term capital base of a business to be built and to make a shape to the business financial future, financial planning is needed (Butler 2006pp 160). Awe (2006pp270) noted that financial planning assists in the identification of the investment opportunities that are relevant to the situation of the business. This will enable the change of the goals of the company to the desired realities from the business dreams.

According to Burton et al (2001pp28), planning of the finance also helps in the understanding the finance by making the entrepreneur budget for the business and gaining over control of the financial lifestyle of the business. Moreover, financial planning helps in saving which can assist the business by proving the emergency fund for the business during the hour of need.

Financial planning according to Zimmerer et al (2008pp303) helps the business of supplying cakes to the restaurants, hotels,, and other retail shops in liabilities cancellation and insuring assets accumulation to maximize the wealth of the company. Lastly, it assists the proprietor to realize the main objective of mastery and security of the finance. This is because the planning of finance gives meanings and directions to the financial decisions of the entrepreneur.

LO2.3- Assess the information needs of different decision-makers in your chosen business

The business of supplying cakes to the restaurants, hotels, retail shops,, and the clientele in the city outskirts will be managed by many managers who are the decision-makers of the business. Moreover, the business has employed many workers who assist in running, and they are also free to make decisions when there is a need or in cases of emergency. This has created flexibility in management and decision making.

However, in situations where an investment specialist or a guardian angel intends to make an investment in the business and expand it, they will be entitled to right of making decisions that are important to the business.

According to Hillstrom et al (2002), it is very important to make decisions in a business. Therefore, for a good decision to be made, possessing some experience and having good information in information interpretation is important to the entrepreneur, the investors,, and the employees. The workers consult their supervisors and managers in most cases. The general manager; however, seeks expertise and professional views.

The workers of the business in the positions of the management have been given proper training on decision-making mechanisms. The business also has made an environment that is supportive where the management or the worker’s body are not be unfairly criticized in case they make wrong decisions. It is always expected that the managers make tactical decisions, and the workers to decide on their conduct, response to the customers,, and the improvement of the business practice (Bates et al 2003pp68).

LO2.4 Explain the impact on the financial statement of your chosen business

For reporting the financial statements, events of the business are categorized into three types; investing, financial events,, and operating (Buera et al 2012pp 296). Investing in the funds on the business assets assists in running the business operations.

According to Mancuso (1980pp35),, the business creditors and the owners may periodically need to know the business financial information to help in the management and decision making. The creditors need the business financial information to evaluate the ‘sbusiness’s ability to repay the loan.

The income statement of a business reports the expenses and the revenue of the business that took place during the reporting on the financial period. The balance sheet, on the other hand, reports on the business assets, the owner’s equity,, and the company’s liability. The report on the cash flow statement shows the inflows and the outflows of the funds from the financing and investing events of the reporting financial period (Bodie et al 2000pp79).

National Executive of Small Business Agencies (Australia) et al (1995pp12) pointed out that the financial statements of a business portray a reflection of the business economic events. When the company makes asset investments like the inventory or the equipment, payments will be done on the purchase. However, if the cash was used in buying the assets, the report will be made in the balance sheet.

TASK 3

LO3.1 Analyze budgets and make appropriate decisions

For the past six months Cheesecake Factory, Inc has made big sales in the financial period that will end on December 31st,, 2015. In the profits and loss account, the sales are shown to be £35,880. The sales costs on the products is £18, 875 giving Cheesecake Factory, Inc £16,952 as its gross profit. Form the financial statements; the company obtains most of its profits from the sales. This positions it in a good area of increasing its income. The gross profits can be further be increased if the cost of sales is reduced. This is because of the cost of sales which is high and derails the company’s profits that the company could have gained.

Moreover, the business can gain extra profits from the disposal of some of its equipment it does not need. This can be realized by employing a mechanism that is efficient and advanced technologically in its operations. Confederation of British Industry (1974pp32) pointed out that this will eventually reduce the company’s cost of sales to maximize its profits from the disposal of the equipment.

The expenses of the Cheesecake Factory, Inc can be reduced by reducing the administrative costs and reducing also the improve its customer service to its clients. The associates or the employees of the company that is redundant, to remain with a small group of employees that are efficient and does most duties. The high cost of the distribution for the company can be reduced by removing the middlemen in the distribution channel. Furthermore, Williams et al (2009pp221) noted that it is important for the company to directly deal with their clients to help them improve and get their customer’s feedback.

Cheesecake Factory, Inc operates on high-interest loans, which further increases their expenses. The company should apply cheap ways of reducing their expenses such as equipment leasing and obtaining credits from their suppliers and making payments upon making of the sales of their goods.

LO3.2 Explain the calculation of unit costs and make pricing decisions

According to Adams (1977pp79), the cost a business incurs in the production, storage,, and selling of one of its products is the unit cost. The unit costs include fixed costs such as the plant and the variable costs like the involved labor in the production. In making the calculation of the variable costs, the incurred fixed and variable costs in the production process are divided by the produced unit’s number.

For instance, the Cheesecake Factory, Inc is expected to make, and supply cakes and make sales for six months of 650,036 cheesecakes and cakes. The selling price of the goods is expected to be reduced from the current £55.12 per unit by 10%. This will result in a new selling price of £49.61 per unit. This will be expected ultimately to make the sales increase by 20%. Furthermore, the cost of sales will rise by 20% with the other remaining costs being constant.

The reduction on the unit cost by 10% ultimately leads to profits increase. In price decision making, the selling costs of the products should also be reduced to get a competitive edge in the industry and increase their profits (Hatten et al 1997pp70).

From the profit and loss budget, the various costs are (amounts in € 000)

Fixed costs (amount in € 000)

Loan interest: 500

Corporation tax; 2299

Administration costs; 3075

Variable costs

Costs of sales; 18878

Total costs = 24752

At the initial price point the price per unit cost =

Hence from the initial 55.12- 38.08 = 17.04 was the profit per unit

However with the new projections

Projected sales 120% of 35880 = 43056

Projected reduction to 90% 0f 55.12 = 49.6 per unit

The projected cost of sales 22654

Total costs will be

Fixed costs

Loan interest: 500

Corporation tax; 2299

Administration costs; 3075

Variable costs

Cost of sales; 22654

Total costs 28528

Total costs/ total output = unit per cost

28528/650.036= 43.9

Whereas the projected prices will be 49.6

The company will make a profit per unit of 49.6-43.9 = 3

LO3.3 Assess the viability of a project using at least two investment appraisal techniques

In measuring the impact of the investment on the accounting profits, the AAR is used. Admittedly, the method is used as the main factor in the determination of the worth of an investment in which the level of profitability may be achieved.

ARR = average profit after depreciation/ average of capital investment ×100

Average capital of investment = (

From the business (amount in 000) initial outlay = 8000

Year 1 2000

Year 2 2800

Year 3 3200

Year 4 1200

Year 5 800

Year 6 500

Residual value = 400

ARR = average profit over 6 years = (2000+2800+3200+1200+800+500) = = 1750

Average capital investment = initial investment + residual outlay/2

=

Hence ARR = × 100 = 41.67%

Net present value

Year cash flow discounting present value10% present value 15%

10% 15%

1 1333.33 0.909 0.870 1212 1160

2 1333.33 0.826 0.756 1101 1008

3 1333.33 0.751 0.658 1001 877

4 1333.33 0.683 0.572 911 763

5 1333.33 0.621 0.497 828 663

6 1333.33 0.564 0.432 752 576

Total present value 5805 5047

Initial investment =- 8000 + 5805 = (2195)

Initial investment = -8000 + 5047 = (2953)

Both investments are yielding a negative value hence the investment should not be undertaken

Cheesecake Factory, Inc cannot sustain the project given that the estimated cost of capital of £8,000 is far more beyond the reality in year one. Moreover, the subsequent years portrays a reduction in capital costs as the company gets itself established in the market. This could be because of market competition, fixed goods that do not move easily,, or product irrelevancy. Furthermore, the plans of the company to give up to 15% discount with the gloomy cost of capital and sales.

TASK 4

LO4.1 Discuss the main financial statements (the discussion should focus on the basic form and purpose of main financial statements)

According to Butler (2006pp90), there exist three types of financial statements; the cash flow, balance sheet,, and the income statement. The income statement outlines all the expense and income of of business items. Moreover, it also portrays a reflection of the particular time period. The income statement as observed by Awe (2006pp158) is also known as a profit and loss account. The less expense in income is the bottom line in the sheet of profit and loss account. If the income is more than the expense, the business realizes a net profit. However, in a situation where the expense exceeds the income, the business realizes a loss.

Burton et al (2001pp120) noted that the balance sheet shows the business health from the first day of the writing of the balance sheet. It always reports on the late date of the reporting period.

The cash flow statements of a business show the business ins and outs of the cash during the reporting period. It incorporates the balance sheet aspects and income statement and compounds them together to portray the cash sources and their uses for the period of reporting.

LO4.2 Compare appropriate formats of financial statements for different types of business

According to Zimmerer et al (2008pp402), there exist various formats of financial statements. Despite the differences in the formats applied, the results will always be the same. There is no permanently prescribed format in the preparation of the income statement. Therefore, the business should choose the format it wishes to make a presentation of its expenses by either nature or function. This can either be encouraged on the face of the income statement or in the notes.

Hillstrom et al (2002pp189) observed that there are standards of accounting like the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) whose practices are universally accepted worldwide.

Different types of businesses use various formats of financial statements. For instance, a sole proprietor would choose to apply a simple profit and loss account. However, a big company like the public limited company may apply the financial statements based on the GAAP or IFRS. Bates et al (2003pp46) observed that when preparing the financial statements and disregarding the standards, it becomes a great problem when comparing with the other organizations. Some businesses prepare single format income statements where expenses are classified to function and deduction made finally from the overall income to give an income of the business before taxation is made.

The multi-step format is where the cost of sales is subtracted from the sales to show the gross profit. Moreover, other expenses and income are presented to show the business income taxation. Buera et al (2012) observed that the difference between the two formats are that the multi-step shows margin by grouping the indirect and direct cost while the single step does not.

In a balance sheet of a company, some business types do the matching of the liability and equity. The liabilities and the equities represent the amount invested and the borrowing of the lenders and the creditors.

LO4.3 Interpret financial statements using appropriate ratios and comparisons, both internal and external using the data given below

The Gross margin of WM Morrison supermarkets showed a decline from 6.97% to 6.89 % in the year 2010 to 2011. This has also been replicated in J Sainsbury PLC. This shows good business performance in both companies (Mancuso 1980pp76)

The turnover of WM Morrison increased over the years. This is similar to the turnover of J Sainsbury PLC for the financial years. Furthermore, The percentage of the returned to the shareholders was quite high in WM Morrison supermarkets in both years compared to the other company although both recorded a high percentage of returns to the shareholders.

As much both companies registering high return on the capital invested, the percentage return of capital invested in WM Morrison supermarkets was high. This shows a large volume of sale as observed by (Bodie et al 2002pp98)

Similarly, both companies showed a decline in stock turnover in the two consecutive years with J Sainsbury PLC performing well in stock turnover. This is an indication of the good use of their raw materials.

Conclusion

In summary, the very integral and key part of the business when it is being set up is finance. Getting to understand the financing of business importance is good for smooth business operations. There are many finance sources for a business, however, their implications must be considered before using any source of finance. Moreover, planning of the finance and the information is significant and should be followed by the entrepreneur for smooth business operations. The information needs of the business decision-makers are important in a business. Moreover, the financial impact on different financial statements should be considered in a business.

Reference List

Adams, C. R. (1977) Appraising the information needs of decision-makers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Awe, S. C. (2006) The entrepreneur’s information sourcebook: charting the path to small business success. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.

Bates, M. E., & Basch, R. (2003) Building & running a successful research business: a guide for the independent information professional. Medford, N.J: CyberAge Books.

Bodie, Z., & Merton, R. C. (2000) Finance. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Buera, F. J., & Moll, B. (2012) Aggregate implications of a credit crunch. Cambridge: Mass, National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://papers.nber.org/papers/w17775.

Burton, E. J., Bragg, S. M., & Burton, E. J. (2001) Accounting and finance for your small business. New York: Wiley.

Butler, D. (2006) Enterprise planning and development small business start-up, survival,, and development. Amsterdam, Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780750680646.

Confederation of British Industry. (1974) Sources of finance for industry and commerce; characteristics, advantages,, and disadvantages of the main forms and sources. London: Confederation of British Industry

Hatten, T. S., & Coulter, M. K. (1997) Small Business: entrepreneurship and beyond. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice-Hall.

Hillstrom, K., & Hillstrom, L. C. (2002) Encyclopedia of small business. Detroit: MI, Gale Group.

Mancuso, J. (1980) The small business survival guide: sources of help for entrepreneurs. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall.

National Executive of Small Business Agencies (Australia), & National Industry Extension Service (Australia). (1995) Sources of finance for small businesses. Canberra, A.G.P.S.

Williams, T. M., Samset, K., & SunnevåG, K. J. (2009) Making essential choices with scant information: front-end decision making in major projects. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Zimmerer, T., Scarborough, N. M., & Wilson, D. (2008) Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.