We present findings from an analysis of the Calculus Concept Inventory. Analysis of data from over 1500 students across four institutions indicates that there are deficiencies in the instrument. The analysis showed the data is consistent with a unidimensional model and does not have strong enough reliability for its intended use. This finding…

Background/Context: As increasing attention is paid to preparing students to succeed in school, the development and adoption of research-based curricula have become progressively more important. However, many curricular designs lack a basis in scientific evidence; research and curricular design are frequently treated as two separate enterprises.…

This study evaluates the efficacy of a mathematics intervention devised by Essex Educational Psychology Service (EPS), UK. The intervention was designed to develop understanding and skills across four key domains within arithmetical development, by applying the principles of errorless learning, distributed practice and teaching to mastery. A…

We study the properties of two specification tests that have been applied to a variety of estimators in the context of value-added measures (VAMs) of teacher and school quality: the Hausman test for choosing between random and fixed effects and a test for feedback (sometimes called a "falsification test"). We discuss theoretical…

The Student Response to Faculty Instruction (SRFI) is an instrument designed to measure the student perspective on courses in higher education. The SRFI was derived from decades of empirical studies of student evaluations of teaching. This article describes the development of the SRFI and its psychometric attributes demonstrated in two pilot study…

Previous research on the effectiveness of clickers has found their use to be positively associated with exam scores but not without methodological issues that hinder the conclusions that can be drawn. To address these limitations, the current studies isolated the effects of clickers from the effects of questions presented with clickers. Study 1…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe a method of teaching that is based on Novak's concept-mapping technique. Design/methodology/approach: The paper shows how concept mapping can be used to measure prior knowledge and how simple mapping exercises can promote the integration of teachers' and students' understandings in ways that are meaningful.…

This paper discusses the long-term effects of preschool experience on sixth and seventh grade students. Subjects (n=200) were primarily black, lower-SES, Head Start children who, in 1968-69, were randomly assigned to one of four preschool programs: Bereiter-Engelmann, Darcee, Montessori, and Traditional. In 1976-77, approximately 140 of the…

John J. Cannell's late 1980s "Lake Wobegon" reports suggested widespread deliberate educator manipulation of norm-referenced standardized test (NRT) administrations and results, resulting in artificial test score gains. The Cannell studies have been referenced in education research since, but as evidence that high stakes (and not cheating or lax…

Project Information Packages (PIPs) are informative kits that describe remedial educational programs and contain instructions for installing the projects in a new site. Six such PIPs were evaluated using a norm-referenced procedure applied to standardized test scores. Pretest scores were compared to posttest scores which were calculated according…