The aim of this study was to investigate the direction of the effect between goal orientation, self-regulation and deep processing strategies in order to understand the impact of these three constructs on students' achievement. The participants were 110 freshmen from the engineering faculty at the Universite catholique de Louvain in Belgium, who…

To what extent does the intense and direct involvement of internal stakeholders, such as program managers and staff members, play a significant role toward evaluation use? Stakeholder involvement is a key element in evaluation and evaluation use is considered within a broader sense that includes organizational knowledge, individual skills, and…

This study examines why some public elementary school teachers openly refuse participation in a mandatory national, standards-based teacher evaluation program. We describe the perceptions these "rebel" teachers have of the evaluation system, studying their open resistance based on the meanings they construct, and elaborated an…

Mathematical word problems represent a common item format for assessing student competencies. Automatic item generation (AIG) is an effective way of constructing many items with predictable difficulties, based on a set of predefined task parameters. The current study presents a framework for the automatic generation of probability word problems…

Detailed reanalyses of data reported in Studies in Educational Evaluation: Monograph No. 1 by Y. Kashti and Monograph No. 5 by U. Kattmann, 1979, were performed using an explicitly structurally oriented approach via target analysis (PINDIS). Results contradict those reached by Kashti and Kattmann. (RL)

This study examined the ability of Israeli students to transfer mathematical concepts necessary for the tenth grade chemistry curricula. Both quantity (the percentage of students capable of successfully transferring), as well as quality (building a causal model of student and situational factors contributing to transfer of training) were…

This discussion analyzes basic principles of widely used learning-environment instruments in the light of theoretical problems in psychological and educational research. (PN)

The present paper aims at a cross-validation of two theoretical constructs (the construct of cognitive preferences and the logical/associative model of a concept) that have been used as nonroutine measures of student assessment and curriculum evaluation. (BW)

The facility index of a test item is the percentage of testees choosing the correct response. A common curriculum model presents process and content as two dimensions of the difficulty of an educational task. Wheeler suggested a third dimension: precision. This three-dimensional model is applied to chemistry education. (BW)

A multidimensional definition was developed for the content universe of "organizational effectiveness" (OE) by using a mapping sentence. The definition's applicability was examined in an effectiveness study of an Israeli university, using data for 1,001 undergraduates. Relations among measures reflecting aspects of OE specific to…

This study investigates how different types of prior knowledge influence student achievement and how different assessment measures influence the observed effect of prior knowledge. We introduce a model of prior knowledge that distinguishes between different types of prior knowledge and uses different assessment measures to assess different types…

As part of a major review of teachers' professional conditions of service in Scotland the "Chartered Teacher Programme" has been introduced offering experienced teachers the option of a substantial salary enhancement, not by promotion to a school management role, but by staying in the classroom and engaging in a programme of professional…

Four approaches to prediction of learning success are described and discussed: the two-point model and the technique of multiple regression; the learning test model; the contingency model and the technique of time-series analysis; and the causally defined multipoint model and the technique of path analysis. (BW)

A theoretical conceptualization of training needs assessment is developed using the example of distance education of paramedical personnel (nurses) in the developing countries of Africa. Accurate training needs analysis and a baseline survey are essential for program development. (SLD)

Discriminant analysis can be used in the early detection of achievers and nonachievers in a university so as to provide additional attention for these students. Results with 292 Turkish college students support the accuracy of analysis results and the use of the approach for advice and counseling. (SLD)