With the recent implementation of Assembly Bill (AB) 705, assessment and placement practices for math and English have taken center stage in many California Community Colleges. However, it is just as important to develop an understanding of how best to assess and place English language learner (ELL) students as well. In February 2019, the Research…

The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate a measure of motivation for use with basic college writers that would measure self-efficacy, achievement goals, beliefs, and affect. As part of a design research project on curriculum for community college developmental writing classes, 133 students in 11 classes completed the motivation…

This case study critically evaluates benefits and challenges of a form of assessment included in a final year undergraduate Religious Studies Open University module, which combines a written essay task with a digital audio recording of a short oral presentation. Based on the analysis of student and tutor feedback and sample assignments, this study…

Several studies have addressed the subject of the preferences of L2 student-writers for receiving teacher feedback (FB) on macro level features (feedback related to meaning) and micro level features (feedback related to surface level issues); however, none of these have investigated their preferences when it comes to giving and receiving peer…

This study used think-aloud protocols to compare essay-rating processes across holistic and analytic rating scales in the context of China's College English Test Band 6 (CET-6). A group of 9 experienced CET-6 raters scored the same batch of 10 CET-6 essays produced in an operational CET-6 administration twice, using both the CET-6 holistic…

This study investigated the effects of assessment strategies and self-regulated learning skills on students' learning and perceptions of assessment for learning. The results revealed no statistically significant difference in the immediate skill-based and cognitive learning outcomes, but peer assessment teams scored significantly higher than the…

This article discusses an empirical study on the use of history as a goal. A historical module is designed and implemented in a Danish upper secondary class in order to study the students' capabilities at engaging in meta-issue discussions and reflections on mathematics and its history. Based on videos of the implementation, students' hand-in…

To assess the effectiveness of various composition evaluation methods, a study asked two freshman English classes to respond to three questionnaires on the writing of personal essays and methods of evaluation they had experienced. Responses indicated that all students had a fear of having their essays evaluated. Evaluation methods considered a…

The author suggests that schools should try to adopt a systematic approach to personnel and institutional evaluation, presents the findings of a questionnaire on evaluation and professional development, and describes some key factors which will determine the success of any evaluation system. (KC)

Examined feasibility of using observation, interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, checklists, essay writing, drawing, ranking, activities mapping, and participatory rural appraisal with disadvantaged children. Feedback was provided by children from a capacity-building program on child-centered research, psychologists, and program trainees.…

This study examined 412 college students' essay performance on two prompt types, a traditional prose essay and a type incorporating graphics, modeled on those from English Language Challenge Examination (ELCE) developed for the University of Southern California (USC). The majority of the participants were international students at USC. Each…