Quality Assessment Frameworks (QAFs) are standardized templates that include pre-defined criteria, open questions, or a combination to assess the quality of evaluations. They support organizations to limit risks associated with poor-quality evaluation. Qualitative research focused on four QAFs shows that five dimensions of quality are assessed…

The present study investigated the effects of text-based and audio-based dynamic glosses on L2 vocabulary learning within a sociocultural approach. Dynamic glosses were operationalised as a set of incrementally ordered prompts, provided during text-based and audio-based interactions that guided the participants to identify the meaning of unknown…

Research design is a critical topic that is central to research studies in science, social science, and many other disciplines. After identifying the research topic and formulating questions, selecting the appropriate design is perhaps the most important decision a researcher makes. Currently, there is a plethora of literature presenting multiple…

The use of controlled comparisons pervades comparative historical analysis. Heated debates have surrounded the methodological purchase of such comparisons. However, the quality and validity of the conceptual building blocks on which the comparisons are based have largely been ignored. This article discusses a particular problem pertaining to these…

Competency-based education (CBE) is the hot new thing in higher education. While forms of CBE have been around since the 1970s, there has been a surge of interest in CBE, with more than 600 postsecondary institutions now reporting that they are either offering competency-based degree programs or are planning to do so. Similarly, institutional…

This paper aims at highlighting the overlapping between the qualification mismatch and the skill mismatch, using a specific Italian data set drawn from PIAAC survey (2012). The main concern, regarding skills and competences, is that they may be gathered and accumulated, but also potentially become obsolete, thus, qualifications (formally…

This article examines definitions, rationales, and calculations associated with higher education performance measures: persistence, retention rate, attrition rate, drop-out rate, and graduation rate. Strengths and limitations of these measures are scrutinized relative to online master's programs. Outcomes of a sample of students (N = 96) enrolled…

In this paper we discuss several key challenges encountered when conducting a study of the continuity of participation in the child care subsidy program. While many of these issues are familiar to those who have studied participation dynamics in other assistance programs, and to those familiar with survival analysis, we describe these challenges…

The purpose of this article is to define and clarify the process of instructional problem-solving using assessment data within action research (AR) and Response to Intervention (RtI). Similarities between AR and RtI are defined and compared. Lastly, specific resources and examples of the instructional problem-solving process of AR within…

A comprehensive assessment system is one in which three types of assessments: summative, benchmark, and formative assessments are routinely administered to all students in K-12 classrooms. The first part of this report summarizes the research on comprehensive assessment systems and provides clarity in terms of how each individual assessment type…

The serious games community is moving toward research focusing on direct comparisons between learning outcomes of serious games and those of more traditional training methods. Such comparisons are difficult, however, due to the lack of a consistent taxonomy of game attributes for serious games. Without a clear understanding of what truly…

The method of Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) incorporates aspects of both systematic direct observation and behavior rating scales to provide an efficient means to collect time series data. This study extended the development and evaluation of DBR Single-Item Scales (DBR-SIS) as a behavior assessment tool. Eighty-eight undergraduate students used…

Much of the argument about comparability of examination standards is at cross-purposes; contradictory positions are in fact often both defensible, but they are using the same words to mean different things. To clarify this, two broad conceptualisations of standards can be identified. One sees the standard in the observed phenomena of performance…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate student understanding and application of computational thinking patterns to novel situations. Over 500 students, who had just designed and programmed a Frogger-style game using the AgentSheets platform, responded to a newly developed video-prompt survey instrument administered in the Fall 2010 semester.…

Paul Newton (2010), with his characteristic concern about theory, has set out two different ways of thinking about the basis upon which equivalences of one sort or another are established between test score scales. His reason for doing this is a desire to establish "the defensibility of linkages lower on the continuum than concordance."…