In this study, a peer assessment system using the grid-based knowledge classification approach was developed to improve students' performance during computer skills training. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted in a computer skills certification course. The participants were divided into three…

Given the importance of large-scale assessments to educational policy conversations, it is critical that subpopulation achievement is estimated reliably and with sufficient precision. Despite this importance, biased subpopulation estimates have been found to occur when variables in the conditioning model side of a latent regression model contain…

This study presents an examination of how institutional characteristics might influence a four-year institution of higher education's achievement in sustainability, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS). Specifically, it examined the potential role Carnegie classification, sector, location, number of…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a model of motives and career choice based on learning styles in order to apply the model in teaching business. Although the relationship between learning and McClelland's (1961) three motives (achievement, affiliation, and power) as confirmed that motives are "learned," little research…

Large-scale assessment programs such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) use a sophisticated assessment administration design called matrix sampling that minimizes the testing burden on individual…

This article describes 5 experiments investigating the role of prior knowledge in incidental category learning. Experiments 1 to 3 showed that prior knowledge improved learning only if the categories in a given set were related to contrasting themes; there was no consistent knowledge effect if the categories were related to the same theme.…

[Slides] presented at the Annual Meeting of National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) in San Diego, CA in April 2009. This presentation discusses a methodology for directly connecting evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) to score interpretation and use through the development of Achievement level descriptors.

Evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) explicates a transparent evidentiary argument to warrant the inferences we make from student test performance. This article describes how the vehicles for gathering student evidence--task models and test specifications--are developed. Task models, which are the basis for item development, flow directly…

In many large-scale assessment programs, achievement level descriptors (ALDs) provide a critical role in communicating what scores on the assessment mean and in interpreting what examinees know and are able to do based on their test performance. Based on their test performance, examinees are often classified into performance categories. The…

This study contributes to ongoing research in the field of school psychology by examining some of the effects of using the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) to classify students aged 6-16 years according to their results on an individual measure of intelligence, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III, 1991).…

Examined the degree of variation in the accuracy of classifying student performance proficiency-level scores with changes in the number of proficiency levels and the measurement accuracy. Simulation results show the limitations of interpretability of single indexes that are intended to represent classification accuracy. Suggests ways to estimate…

This study was designed to investigate (a) the feasibility of modifying an existing question classification scheme for use in measuring the inquiry level of teachers' questions and (b) the relationship between the inquiry level of teacher questioning and student achievement. Data for the study were collected from three specific classroom…

The taxonomy presented in this paper lends structure to the range of tasks or problems possible within an interactive graphical medium. Some 70 items from a testing project were the basis for forming the categories described in the taxonomy. Items were drawn from science and technology domains. The categorical scheme was refined iteratively by two…

Classical test theory is based on the concept of a true score for each examinee, defined as the expected or average score across an infinite number of repeated parallel tests. In most cases, there is only a score from a single administration of the test in question. The difference between this single observed score and the underlying true score is…

A classification task, involving the sorting of pictures of animals and plants into major orders and classes, was administered to 12 year old students from four schools in Great Britain. Students with above average intelligence did better if they had been taught by the Nuffield method. Students below average did better if they had been taught by a…