Investigating scientific reasoning comprehensively with large sample sizes is a challenge, especially in young children where there is little evidence showing that paper-and-pencil instruments can be used to reliably measure competencies. The present study with 122 third graders compares three test modalities: an established interview (Science-K…

In the quest to improve measured educational outcomes national governments across the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and beyond have instituted large-scale assessment (LSA) policies in their public schools. Controversy almost universally follows the implementation of such testing, related to such topics as: a)…

Catch Up® Literacy is a structured one-to-one literacy intervention for pupils between the ages of 6 and 14 who are struggling to learn to read. It teaches pupils to blend phonemes (combine letter sounds into words), segment phonemes (separate words into letter sounds), and memorise particular words so they can be understood without needing to use…

This paper investigates the use of new media technologies, in particular wikis, for the compiling and grading of group assessment tasks. Wikis are open web pages that can be viewed and modified by anyone with internet access and are well known for their collaborative nature. Wikis are also transparent, which means that any edit/modification is…

This study explored how teachers and school administrators connect large-scale assessment results with school improvement planning. Using a semi-structured format, 20 teachers and 18 administrators were interviewed from two school districts in southern Ontario, Canada. The interview protocol contained a range of questions related to teaching and…

This study examined factors at the school, district, and provincial level that influenced school administrators' responses to large-scale assessment. To understand administrators' perspectives, 5 secondary and 4 elementary administrators from a suburban school district in southern Ontario, Canada were interviewed. Key factors noted by…

Speaking tasks involving peer-to-peer candidate interaction are increasingly being incorporated into language proficiency assessments, in both large-scale international testing contexts, and in smaller-scale, for example course-related, ones. This growth in the popularity and use of paired and group orals has stimulated research, particularly into…

This article discusses practical and theoretical problems related to the measurement of formal operations. The first section of the article discusses problems in measuring formal operations using the clinical interview method. These problems include the lack of both a standardized interview and a uniform scoring procedure. Section two discusses…

Study funded by the Exploratory Committee for Assessing the Progress of Education (ECAPE).

Findings from a study involving 141 Israeli student teachers suggest that a group assessment procedure is a better alternative for predicting success in a teacher training program than individual interviews, because group assessment more effectively assesses the personality factors most related to teacher success. (IAH)

THE MAJOR PROBLEM OF THIS INVESTIGATION WAS TO DETERMINE TO WHAT EXTENT FIRST-GRADE PUPILS ARE CAPABLE OF LEARNING ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURES THROUGH PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION. IN THE EXPERIMENT APPROXIMATELY 130 FIRST-GRADERS WERE INSTRUCTED THROUGH AUDIOVISUAL TEACHING MACHINES FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 WEEKS. AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM, THE CHILDREN WERE…

Despite policy mandates to include students with disabilities in educational assessment and accountability programs, current practices suggest a substantial lack of capacity for effective inclusion. Continuing professional development (CPD) is an essential component of disseminating and implementing effective inclusion practices. Recent reviews of…