One of the challenges of developing assessments for young language learners is the shortage of evidence-based information about such assessments for languages other than English. In light of this situation, this paper discusses the development of an assessment for young languages learners in the context of Japanese as a second language (JSL). In…

This paper presents the theoretical and empirical foundations of the "TOEFL Junior"® assessment and its development process. The TOEFL Junior test was developed to address the increasing need for objective measures of English language proficiency for young adolescent learners, who are being introduced to English as a second or foreign…

The primary goals of this project were to develop a reliable instrument to measure the chemistry course perceptions (CCP) of undergraduate chemistry students and to determine the predictors of CCP of undergraduate students as they enter their first college chemistry class. In a pilot study, 250 undergraduate students were solicited with 57…

Integral to higher education, academic integrity stands as a cornerstone of academic life. However, compelling evidence of widespread academic dishonesty among Net-Generation students threatens to undermine both the environment of trust that nourishes integrity and the safeguards that help ensure it. Working from their experience with widespread…

A hierarchical modeling approach is used in studying the predictive validity of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination, a key aid in selecting students for secondary education. Results from 51 schools indicated a modest predictive validity for the examination, with school and student characteristics influencing results. (SLD)

The interrelationship between the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (ADOS-G) and clinical classification was studied in 184 children and adolescents with Mental Retardation (MR). The agreement between the ADI-R and ADOS-G was fair, with a substantial difference between younger and older…

With the purpose of highlighting the validity and use of student evaluations of teaching (SETs), this article analyzes student grades and student evaluations of teaching performance along with nine other independent variables in the Spanish program of a major university. Data analyzed for this project represents four years of teaching and includes…

Words and pictures with earlier learned labels are processed faster than words and pictures with later learned labels. This age-of-acquisition (AoA) effect has been extensively investigated in many different types of tasks. This article provides a review of these studies including picture naming, word naming, speeded word naming, word…

Editor-in-Chief James L. Morrison interviews Scott Howell, the co-editor of a three-volume book series entitled "Online Assessment and Measurement" that was published in 2006 by IDEA Group. In discussing his own research, Howell first highlights the value of test blueprints as a valuable tool for ensuring an effective alignment of…

A project to develop a measure of English language proficiency (MELP) for use in a national survey of income and education, to estimate the number of people of limited English proficiency, is reported. The preferred form of the instrument was a short series of questions to be asked by an interviewer and answered by an adult member of a household.…