Intelligence tests are used in a variety of settings such as schools, clinics, and courts to assess the intellectual capacity of individuals of all ages. Intelligence tests are used to make high-stakes decisions such as special education placement, employment, eligibility for social security services, and determination of the death penalty.…

In recent decades the doctorate and its purposes have undergone fundamental change. The scholarly model has evolved from one of 'apprentice' to independent, supported learner and the doctoral training process has been revolutionised; many candidates now experience cohort-based, structured research. The UK's final PhD examination, however, has…

Encouraging doctoral students to publish during their candidature is becoming more widely accepted and practised, both in Australia and internationally, although it is still less common in some fields. Almost all universities in Australia now offer candidates an option to include publications in their doctoral thesis. This paradigm shift has…

Doctoral examiners are increasingly assessing theses that include publications that have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. This paper presents insights into the nature of commentary that examiners provide on doctoral theses that include publications. Data were gathered from examiners who had experience assessing publication-based…

This study examined the scoring errors across three widely used achievement tests (Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement--Second Edition [KTEA-2], Woodcock--Johnson Tests of Achievement--Third Edition [WJ-III], and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test--Third Edition [WIAT-III]) by novice examiners. A total of 114 protocols were evaluated for…

Although many articles have been written about thesis assessment, none provide a comprehensive, general picture of what examiners do as they assess a thesis. To synthesise this diverse literature, we reviewed 30 articles, triangulated their conclusions and identified 11 examiner practices. Thesis examiners tend to be broadly consistent in their…

Protocols from 108 administrations of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales were evaluated to determine the frequency of examiner errors and their impact on the accuracy of three test composite scores, the Composite Ability Index (CIX), Verbal Ability Index (VIX), and Nonverbal Ability Index (NIX). Students committed at least one…

The writing of student theses is an important activity at universities and is expected to demonstrate the students' academic skills. In the teacher-education programme, examiners from different academic disciplines are involved in supervising and examining student theses. Moreover, different subject disciplines have different traditions concerning…

In practice and process PhD examination is distinctive, reflecting the high expectations of students whose learning has been directed to their becoming researchers. This article builds on previous research on the examination of Australian theses that revealed that examiners in Science (n?=?542) and Education (n?=?241) provide a substantial…

Increase in numbers of postgraduate students worldwide represent an opportunity and necessity for nurturing and recognising the diversity of culturally inflected research topics, methodologies and expression. However, there are tensions in the definitions, encouragement and recognition of diversity in theses, and in balances of power in…

The PhD viva has been described as mysterious (Burnham 1994; Morley et al. 2002), unpredictable (Rugg & Petre 2004) and potentially frightening for students (Delamont et al. 2004), with its form and duration a function of the predilections of individual examiners as well as a function of differences across disciplines. Despite its myriad…

The question of what a doctorate is has been looked at before. The author argues that the issue of "doctorateness" is a recurring debate which needs to kept alive and revisited regularly. The aim of this article is to suggest five different areas or arenas in which the question can be addressed, forming a framework which can perhaps be…

Traditionally, examiners' reports on theses at the doctoral and Master's level consist of two components: firstly, summative assessment where a judgement is made about whether the thesis has met the standards established by the discipline for the award of the degree, and, secondly, the developmental and formative component, where examiners provide…

To evaluate the implications of deliberate practice when teaching test administration skills, novice, but trained, graduate student examiners administered intelligence tests to a convenience sample of volunteer school-age examinees assigned to a first test session. A second, different convenience sample of volunteer school-age examinees were…

Objective: The authors investigated whether curriculum change could produce improved performance, despite a reduction in clerkship length from 8 to 4 weeks. Methods: The exam performance of medical students completing a 4-week clerkship in psychiatry was compared to national data from the National Board of Medical Examiners' Psychiatry Subject…