Background: In the context of large-scale educational assessments, the effort required to code open-ended text responses is considerably more expensive and time-consuming than the evaluation of multiple-choice responses because it requires trained personnel and long manual coding sessions. Aim: Our semi-supervised coding method eco (exploring…

Univocal discourse, characterized by its function of conveying information from one person to another, is common in mathematics classrooms but dialogic teaching aims at students coming to participate in dialogic discourse, that is, discourse functioning to generate new meaning within a community. Many mathematical practices are directed at the…

The authors of this article strongly advocate for a change to the current Australian model of primary education in order to, among other things, establish the concrete practicalities of systematic mathematics thinking thereby limiting the "re-teaching" time required of secondary school mathematics teachers; bring a clear focus to the…

Automatic coding of short text responses opens new doors in assessment. We implemented and integrated baseline methods of natural language processing and statistical modelling by means of software components that are available under open licenses. The accuracy of automatic text coding is demonstrated by using data collected in the "Programme…

Attending to precision (ATP) is essential in mathematics. This study examined ATP instances through the lens of univocal (functioning to convey information) and dialogic (functioning to generate new meaning) discourse. Analysis of data from five secondary mathematics classrooms focused on whole-class instances of ATP with coding based on the…

We present a new system for automated scoring of graph construction items that address complex science concepts, feature qualitative prompts, and support a range of possible solutions. This system utilizes analysis of spatial features (e.g., slope of a line) to evaluate potential student ideas represented within graphs. Student ideas are then…

In this meta-analysis, we investigated the effects of methods for providing item-based feedback in a computer-based environment on students' learning outcomes. From 40 studies, 70 effect sizes were computed, which ranged from -0.78 to 2.29. A mixed model was used for the data analysis. The results show that elaborated feedback (EF; e.g., providing…

A formative design experiment methodology was employed to investigate the acquisition of early reading skills for high school English language learners (ELLs) beginning to read English. A fundamental challenge facing high school ELLs entering schools in the United States for the first time is learning how to read. While there is considerable…