This paper provides evidence that a short, fully online, well-constructed diagnostic test based on research literature can give teachers information about their students' thinking and strategies that is sufficiently accurate to use for formative assessment purposes. The example is a test for students beginning to learn to solve equations. The main…

This study was conducted at a college in Ontario with a sample of students from the Game Development program for 5 intake years: 2014-2018, with the purpose of determining the validity of the Mathematics Diagnostic Test used to place 1st semester college students directly into an advanced math course (Math 10), or to leave them in the introductory…

It is well known that learner performance in mathematics in South Africa is poor. However, less is known about what learners actually do and the extent to which this changes as they move through secondary school mathematics. In this study a cohort of 250 learners was tracked from Grade 9 to Grade 11 to investigate changes in their performance on a…

In this study, we investigated the value of a concept map marking guide as an alternative formative assessment tool for science teachers to adopt for the topic of energy. Eight high school science teachers marked students' concept maps using an itemized holistic marking guide. Their marking was compared with the researchers' marking and the scores…

Diagnostic assessment approaches intend to provide fine-grained reports of what students know and can do, focusing on their areas of strengths and weaknesses. However, current application of such diagnostic approaches is limited by the scoring method for item responses; important diagnostic information, such as type of errors and strategy use is…

The study explores the effectiveness of the Reading Success Academy on the reading achievement of the selected group of ninth-grade students in a comprehensive high school. We examine in what ways the Reading Success Academy may improve the reading proficiency rates and amount of reading growth of ninth-grade students. The results indicate that…

New findings are presented for children in Grades 1 to 9 who qualified their families for a multigenerational family genetics study of dyslexia (impaired word decoding/spelling) who had either superior verbal reasoning ("n" = 33 at or above 1 2/3 standard deviation, superior or better range; 19% of these children) or average verbal…

A group of children with dyslexia (mean ages 9 and 14 years) was studied, together with group of children without dyslexia matched for age. Participants were monolingual native speakers of the Bosnian language with transparent orthography. In total, the diagnostic tests were performed with 41 children with dyslexia and 41 nondyslexic children. The…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by high levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity; however, these symptoms can result from a variety of reasons. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the various difficulties of individuals with ADHD, especially when co-occurrence difficulties are present, it is…

Student conceptions related with matter and the particulate nature of matter (PNM), are vital for advanced understanding in chemistry, and have been a research area of significant attention. Lacking in the literature are studies addressing chemical misconceptions from an ontological point of view. The purpose of the current study was to develop a…

In Study 1, children in grades 4-9 (N = 88, 29 females and 59 males) with persisting reading and/or writing disabilities, despite considerable prior specialized instruction in and out of school, were given an evidence-based comprehensive assessment battery at the university while parents completed questionnaires regarding past and current history…

The nature and behavior of gas particles are essential concepts in teaching and learning of school chemistry. However, findings about students' understanding of gas particles--their composition, structure, and interactions involving movement and distribution--revealed that the difficulties students encounter in understanding gas particles vary…

This study involved the evaluation of the efficacy of a planned instructional program to facilitate understanding of the macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic representational systems when describing and explaining chemical reactions by sixty-five Grade 9 students in a Singapore secondary school. A two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic instrument…

The authors aimed to propose a valid and reliable diagnostic instrument by developing a three-tier test on simple electric circuits. Based on findings from the interviews, open-ended questions, and the related literature, the test was developed and administered to 124 high school students. In addition to some qualitative techniques for…

An alternative program of instruction was implemented with 33 high-achieving Grade 9 students (15-16 years old) in Singapore that overtly focused on the use of macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic representations to describe and explain the changes that occurred during the burning of metals, reactions of dilute acids, ionic precipitations,…