The present study examined issues pertaining to the reliability of writing assessment in the elementary grades, and among samples of struggling and nonstruggling writers. The present study also extended nascent research on the reliability and the practical applications of automated essay scoring (AES) systems in Response to Intervention frameworks…

In this experimental study, 151 middle school students explored 3 historical controversies, first reading and discussing primary source documents in groups, then writing arguments on their own. Students were either randomly assigned to an experimental condition, using argumentative schemes and critical questions as guides during discussions, or to…

This study was concerned with assessing knowledge of concept interrelationships. Comparisons were made between performance on the concept comparison task (making a comparative judgment in the form of a rating on each pair of a set of concept labels) and essay test performance. (Author/PN)

Results with short-answer essay items suggested that a logical presentation sequence is important, even if sentences have been constructed to be sequence independent. (Authors)

Alternatives to multidimensional scaling analysis of numerical relationship judgments in extracting information about students' knowledge were investigated. Undergraduate students completed a multiple choice test over knowledge of individual concepts, an essay test covering relationships among concepts, and a relationship judgment test that…

The hypothesis that multiple-choice exams load higher on Level II ability than on Level I ability was confirmed by correlating multiple choice tests with the Cognitive Abilities Test Nonverbal Battery, the forward digit span test, and essay measures. Differences in scores among Asian, black, white, and Mexican American students are discussed in…

Students from 38 colleges with high scores on an advanced placement examination essay and low scores on the multiple-choice portion were compared with students with the opposite pattern. The pattern was not related to college grades, but was related to other test performance. (SLD)

Two experiments were conducted to examine the possibility that varying college students' methods of encoding advance organizers would influence the memorability of the organizers and subsequent reading materials. Results indicated that students dealing with the semantic base of organizers had significantly greater memory for the organizers and…

The relationships among scores on traditional college entrance tests and scores on an essay placement test for women and men and four ethnic groups were examined. The tests correlated highly with essay performance. However, women tended to be underestimated and men and ethnic minorities overestimated by these measures. (Author/PN)