The amount of research evaluating the technical merits of general outcome measures of science and social studies achievement is growing. This study targeted criterion validity for critical content monitoring. Questions addressed the concurrent criterion validity of alternate presentation formats of critical content monitoring and the measure's…

This study further examined the reliability and validity of the Learning Alliance Inventory (LAI), a self-report measure designed to assess the working alliance between a student and a teacher. The LAI was found to have good internal consistency and test--retest reliability, and it demonstrated the predicted convergence with measures of immediacy…

Metacognitive monitoring processes have been shown to be critical determinants of human learning. Metacognitive monitoring consist of various knowledge estimates that enable learners to engage in self-regulatory processes important for both the acquisition of knowledge and the monitoring of one's knowledge when engaged in assessment. This study…

The overclaiming technique is a novel assessment procedure that uses signal detection analysis to generate indices of knowledge accuracy (OC-accuracy) and self-enhancement (OC-bias). The technique has previously shown robustness over varied knowledge domains as well as low reactivity across administration contexts. Here we compared the OC-accuracy…

Multiple-choice questions are a gold-standard tool in medical school for assessment of knowledge and are the mainstay of licensing examinations. However, multiple-choice questions items can be criticized for lacking the ability to test higher-order learning or integrative thinking across multiple disciplines. Our objective was to develop a novel…

We report results of two studies on metacognitive accuracy with undergraduate education students. Participating students were asked to judge their personal performance in a multiple-choice exam as well as to state their confidence in their performance judgement (second-order judgement [SOJ]). In each study, we compared four conditions that…

This study investigated the relationship between emotional responses and reading performance in middle-school students. Although a large number of prior studies have investigated the relationship between emotion and reading, those studies have concentrated primarily on relatively static and distal measures of emotion. In this research, we measured…

Motivated by the multiple-measures clause of recent federal policy regarding student eligibility for alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MASs), this study examined how scores or combinations of scores from a diverse set of assessments predicted students' end-of-year proficiency status on statewide achievement…

The purpose of this article is to describe the vexing issues that arise as researchers try to define and assess the knowledge teachers need to teach reading and writing effectively in the primary grades. Over the past several years, the authors of this article have developed and tested an assessment system of teacher knowledge under a grant titled…

There is much debate on the merits and pitfalls of standardized tests for college admission, with questions regarding the format (multiple-choice vs. constructed response), cognitive complexity, and content of these assessments (achievement vs. aptitude) at the forefront of the discussion. This study addressed these questions by investigating the…

This study examined the relationship between fourth grade primary school students' reading habits/conditions/ situations and their comprehension regarding what they read. For this purpose, a correlational survey method was used in the study. 90 fourth-grade students who were attending a state primary school in the center of Ku¨tahya participated…

Multiple-choice tests of punctuation and usage are used throughout the United States to assess the writing skills of new community college students in order to place them in either a basic writing course or first-year composition. To determine whether using the COMPASS Writing Test (CWT) is a valid placement at a community college, student test…

With universities having difficulty attracting students to study information technology (IT), the scores needed for entry into IT degrees have dropped markedly. IT schools are thus having to cope by adjusting their introductory courses to ensure that students will still learn what is expected but without negatively impacting on pass rates. This…

There is much debate on the merits and pitfalls of standardized tests for college admission, with questions regarding the format (multiple-choice versus constructed response), cognitive complexity, and content of these assessments (achievement versus aptitude) at the forefront of the discussion. This study addressed these questions by…

Results support the contention that a Guttman-weighted objective test can have psychometric properties that are superior to those of its unweighted counterpart, as long as omissions do not exist or are assigned a value equal to the mean of the k item alternative weights. (Author/BJG)