Galen (2012), critically reviewing recent research on religion and prosociality, concludes that the religious prosociality hypothesis is a (congruence) fallacy. The observed effects are not real: They only reflect stereotypes and ingroup favoritism, are due to secular psychological effects, are inconsistent, and confound (e.g., by ignoring…

As writing-program administrators and faculty are being called upon more frequently to help design and facilitate large-scale assessments, it becomes increasingly important for us to see assessment as integral to our work as academics. This article provides a framework, based on current historical, theoretical, and rhetorical knowledge, to help…

The validity of students' evaluations of university teacher effectiveness must be demonstrated through a construct validation approach. Empirical relations between students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness (such as the Students' Evaluation of Educational Quality instrument) and other indicators of effective teaching are examined. (SLD)

Contends that the high probability of error in placement decisions based on high school records and standardized test scores delays the academic development of many students placed unnecessarily in mandatory skill development programs. Advocates skills assessment based on current classroom performance. (DMM)

Questions the observed correlation between job experts and naive raters using the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ); and conducts a replication of the Smith and Hakel study (1979) with college students (N=39). Concluded that PAQ ratings from job experts and college students are not equivalent and therefore are not interchangeable. (LLL)

In this paper, I describe how undergraduates can develop their understanding of the concept of proof by viewing the act of proving as a procedure. Such undergraduates first understand proof as an algorithm, or a step-by-step mechanical prescription for proving certain types of statements. The students can then condense this algorithm into a…

Discussion of the practice in the United Kingdom of permitting disabled students to take an alternative form of assessment focuses on implications vis-a-vis assessment principles. It concludes that alternative assessments are compensatory in nature, violate the principles of assessment, and undermine the validity of assessment in higher education.…

In this paper the notion of "procept" (in the sense of Gray & Tall, 1994) is extended to advanced mathematics by considering mathematical proof as "formal procept". The statement of a theorem as a symbol may theoretically evoke the proof deduction as a process that may contain sequential procedures and require the synthesis…

To assure the fair and honest grading of student achievement, validity and reliability are key to writing test items. Clarity in writing each item is essential. Multiple procedures of assessing the achievement of university students should be implemented, and instructors and professors should be held accountable for the fair and honest grading of…

Addresses issues of internal and external validity in the Miner et al. motivation to manage research. Discusses difficulties with the scoring manual, possible sex bias in the Miner Sentence Completion Scale, and the fact that Miner's thesis rests on comparisons with a single sample from a single university. (BH)

Concerns about and objections to competency-based assessment in higher education are examined, including superficiality, use of inference, neglect of knowledge and of process, and subjectivity. It is concluded that, although each objection raises an important issue, in each case, a well-designed competency-based assessment system can overcome…

An investigation of the use of probabilistic methodologies for identifying cheaters on classroom multiple-choice examinations concludes that imperfections in the detection techniques, coupled with legal issues, necessarily limit the applicability and utility of these strategies. (Author)

The effectiveness of value-added programs can be enhanced by employing appropriate methods of faculty judgments to support content-related and instruction-related evidence for validity by adapting standard-setting techniques to judge gains observed and by using appropriate caution and research designs when making causal inferences. (Author/MLW)

Discusses application of the Health Belief Model to the prevention of bulimia, describing each model component. The article considers the individual's beliefs about bulimia and bulimic-like behaviors as a means of predicting the likelihood of behavior change to prevent clinically diagnosable bulimia. (SM)

Analysis of the content of and student responses to college course evaluations suggests that, in general, students are seeking entertainment, comfort, high grades, and less work and are hostile to the necessary routines and rigors of higher education. The commonly used numerical evaluation form is not only unreliable and invalid, it is an…