Research examining test taker fluency in simulated and face-to-face oral proficiency interview performances has primarily focused on quantitative spoken utterance fluency data alone, with further qualitative investigation of test taker processing fluency's effect being neglected. This study compared four test takers' spoken utterance and…

Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) offers many attractive benefits over paper-and-pencil interviewing. There is, however, mixed evidence on the impact of CAPI on interview "length," an important survey outcome in the context of length limits imposed by survey budgets and concerns over respondent burden. In this article,…

Studying via the Internet using information tools is a common activity for students in higher education. With students accessing their subject material via the Internet, studies have shown that students have difficulty understanding the complete purpose of an assessment which leads to poor information search practices. The selection of relevant…

This mixed-methods study investigates writers' task representation and the factors affecting it in test-like and non-test-like conditions. Five advanced-level L2 writers wrote two argumentative essays each, one in test-like conditions and the other in non-test-like conditions where the participants were allowed to use all the time and online…

This study sought academic staff and students' views of electronic exams (e-exams) system and the benefits and challenges of e-exams in general. The respondents provided useful feedback for future adoption of e-exams at an Australian university and elsewhere too. The key findings show that students and academic staff are optimistic about the…

This brief research report gives an overview of a visually based methodology that has recently been used to shed light on situated decision-making in a high stakes educational assessment environment. Looking carefully at the feedback interactions taking place between senior and less senior examiners, the project aim was to gain insight into the…

Computer-based testing--is an effective teacher's tool, intended to optimize course goals and assessment techniques in a comparatively short time. However, this is accomplished only if we deal with high-quality tests. It is strange, but despite the 100-year history of Testing Theory (see, Anastasi, A., Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological testing.…

This study examined the use of automatic speech recognition (ASR) scored elicited oral response (EOR) tests to assess the speaking ability of English language learners. It also examined the relationship between ASR-scored EOR and other language proficiency measures and the ability of the ASR to rate speakers without bias to gender or native…

This article reports on a comprehensive study, investigating the use of e-tools for formative assignment assessment. The study conducted a large-scale literature review and interviews with 90 academics at five New Zealand tertiary institutions. The focus of the study was on formative assessment provided in assignments, an area in which educational…

This article uses the notion of professional identity within the framework of actor network theory to understand didactic practices within three faculties in an institution of higher education. The study is based on a series of interviews with lecturers in each faculty and diaries of their didactic practices. The article focuses on the use of a…

This paper explores the feasibility of developing a single-user microcomputer-based testing system. Testing literature was surveyed to discover types of test items that might be used in the system and to compile a list of strategies that such a system might use. Potential users were surveyed. Several were interviewed, and a questionnaire was…

Over the last two decades there has been an increase in the use of qualitative research, particularly in the human sciences. Such a move has resulted in an increasing number of researchers across disciplines using various types of qualitative software specially designed for managing text and facilitating analysis of qualitative data. However, we…

The importance of feedback as an aid to self-assessment is widely acknowledged. A common form of feedback that is used widely in e-learning is the use of model answers. However, model answers are deficient in many respects. In particular, the notion of a "model" answer implies the existence of a single correct answer applicable across multiple…