Research regarding the optimal fielding of online surveys is in its infancy and just beginning to offer clear suggestions for effective recruiting of participants as well as techniques for maximizing the response rate. In this article, the authors discuss the process of recruiting participants by e-mailing invitations to a list of recipients…

Promoting the development of students' scientific inquiry capabilities is a major learning objective in science education. As a result, teachers require effective assessment approaches to evaluate students' scientific inquiry-related performance. Teachers must also be able to offer appropriate supplementary instructions, as needed, to students.…

This dissertation questions the common assumption that e-learning requires a "learning management system" (LMS) such as Moodle or Blackboard. Based on an analysis of the current state of the art in LMSs, we come to the conclusion that the functionality of conventional e-learning platforms consists of basic content management and…

There is a critical need for research into the use of digital technologies to support the assessment of performance on complex tasks in schools. This paper reports on a component of a pilot study aimed at investigating the use of digital forms of performance assessment, manageable within schools, with high levels of reliability and capable of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present details of a study investigating learning styles differences of Thai students in England compared to local students in England and Thailand. It also discusses key issues in using learning styles in multicultural and international education, given their wide availability online.…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) assumes that state-mandated tests provide useful information to school administrators and teachers. However, interviews with administrators and teachers suggest that Minnesota's tests, which are representative of the current generation of state-mandated tests, fail to provide useful information to administrators…

The Educational Testing Service is moving rapidly to computerize its tests for admissions to postsecondary education and occupational licensure/certification. Computerized tests offer important advantages, including immediate score reporting, the convenience of testing when the examinee wishes, and for adaptive tests, equal accuracy throughout the…

The relationships among teaching, testing, and learning are examined and reconceptualized based on different theories and computer adaptive testing. Approaches that integrate teaching, testing, and learning include: (1) behavioral psychology; (2) cognitive psychology; and (3) computer adaptive testing (CAT). Some behaviorists have assumed that all…

The instructional validity of computer administered tests was studied with a focus on whether differences in test scores and item behavior are a function of instructional mode (computer versus non-computer). In the first of 3 studies, performance test scores for approximately 400 high school students in 1990-91 for tasks accomplished with the…

The reliability of four branching algorithms commonly used in computer adaptive testing (CAT) was examined. These algorithms were: (1) maximum likelihood (MLE); (2) Bayesian; (3) modal Bayesian; and (4) crossover. Sixty-eight undergraduate college students were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions using the HyperCard-based CAT program,…

Responses to previously calibrated items administered in a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) mode may be used to recalibrate the items. This live-data simulation study investigated the possibility, and limitations, of on-line adaptive recalibration of precalibrated items. Responses to items of a Rasch-based paper-and-pencil licensure examination…

This document collects five presentations in the field of vocational counseling and guidance. Its aim is to share research reports with vocational counselors, enhancing the level of this service in Canada. In the first paper, Benjamin Gottlieb discusses social networks and the gestalt of help-seeking, pointing out that persons are attached to…

This paper is the final report of a multi-year project sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 1987 through 1990. The main objectives of the research summarized were to: investigate the non-parametric approach to the estimation of the operating characteristics of discrete item responses; revise and strengthen the package computer…

Conventional mastery tests designed to make optimal mastery classifications were compared with fixed-length and variable-length adaptive mastery tests. Comparisons between the testing procedures were made across five content areas in an introductory biology course from tests administered to volunteers. The criterion was the student's standing in…

The Broad-Range Tailored Test (BRTT) is a computerized adaptive test. Each testee responds to 25 items; at the conclusion of the test the computer calculates a verbal ability score for the individual. The test was designed to yield a verbal ability score from the fifth grade level to the graduate school level. Two forms of the BRTT were…