Effectively evaluating the credibility and accuracy of multiple sources is critical for college readiness. We developed 24 source evaluation tasks spanning four predicted difficulty levels of a hypothesized learning progression (LP) and piloted these tasks to evaluate the utility of an LP-based approach to designing formative literacy assessments.…

This study investigated the effectiveness of using a sequence of worked examples as part of the feedback cycle. Worked examples were either presented as full worked examples or partial worked examples (single-step and completion formats). In two experiments, grade 8 students completed a learning phase on a mathematics topic, which was immediately…

Purpose: Position effects may influence examinees' test performances in several ways and trigger other psychometric issues, such as Differential Item Functioning (DIF) .This study aims to supply test forms in which items in the test are ordered differently, depending on their difficulty level (from easy to difficult or difficult to easy), to…

Diagnostic assessments are intended to support teachers' instructional decision making by providing instructionally relevant information. In this article, we propose that using cognitive theories of learning to design diagnostic assessments can provide teachers with two diagnostic outcomes: (a) the location of a student's thinking within the…

Purpose: The study sought to determine the hierarchical nature of reading skills. Whether reading is a "unitary" or "multi-divisible" skill is still a contentious issue. So is the hierarchical order of reading skills. Determining the hierarchy of reading skills is challenging as item difficulty is greatly influenced by factors…

Learning progressions (LPs) are hypothetical models of how learning in a domain develops over time with appropriate instruction. In the domain of genetics, there are two independently developed alternative LPs. The main difference between the two progressions hinges on their assumptions regarding the accessibility of classical (Mendelian) versus…