Although creativity is considered one of the key "twenty-first-century skills", this ability is still often misunderstood. Persistent conceptual and methodological barriers have limited educational implications. This article reviews and discusses the three critical issues of "nature", "measure", and…

In the attempt to identify or prevent unfair tests, both quantitative analyses and logical evaluation are often used. For the most part, fairness evaluation is a pragmatic attempt at determining whether procedural or substantive due process has been accorded to either a group of test takers or an individual. In both the individual and comparative…

Although pair programming has proved its usefulness in teaching and learning programming skills, it is difficult to assess the individual roles and abilities of students whilst programming in pairs. (Note that within this manuscript, the term assessment refers to evaluating individual student performance.) Assessing only the outcomes of a pair…

Alternatives to a solitary testing format can involve students working in teams to arrive at the correct answer. We compared two group assessment methods, cooperative and competitive, to a solitary testing approach. In most comparisons examining the undergraduate respondents' (N = 77) performance, the two group-testing methods were equivalent.…

Describes a type of individual laboratory-activity examination developed for use in an undergraduate general physics class whose enrollment was more than 100 persons. Test preparation, procedure, evaluation, and outcomes are discussed. (BT)

Examined how well three measures, representing points on a traditional-alternative mathematics assessment continuum, discriminated fourth graders achieving above, at, and below grade level, and how cooperative testing affected performance assessment. Found strong discriminative validity for the more traditional measures but not for performance…

Reasons why there are few incentives for test publishers to make significant innovations in what is tested or how it is tested are given. A brief discussion of research on growth spurts in the brain, hemispheric differences, and other neurological phenomena is followed by a discussion of some conclusions drawn from this work. While skepticism is…

This guide provides a framework for planning the triennial evaluation of students in the state of New York who receive special education services to determine whether there is a continuing need for those services. Following an introductory section which explains the rationale and basic requirements for such an evaluation, recommendations are made…

Because of the diversity, range, and combination of disabilities at the Center for Multiple-Handicapped Children, operated under the auspices of the New York City Board of Education, a unique instrument was needed for assessing functional levels, setting goals, and charting progress of handicapped children in special education facilities, regular…