"Research Messages 2021" highlights the diverse range of research activities undertaken over the past year by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). In 2021, research was shaped both by the VET (vocational education and training) reform agenda, and issues emerging from the pandemic. The 2021 national VET research…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 18th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2021), held virtually, due to an exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, from October 13-15, 2021, and organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society…

Teachers can determine the content validity of standardized tests before using them. Two tests are compared to illustrate the process. (MP)

Describes a study which tested the reliability and validity of the Barth-Shermis Social Studies Preference Scale as a measure of teaching orientations with respect to Barth and Shermis' three traditions. Subjects were 190 secondary social studies teachers. (AM)

The aim of the 2018 International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA) conference was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There have been advances in both cognitive…

Reports the results of a study of the match between teacher-made tests and level of instructional objectives for 74 secondary social studies teachers. Concludes that: (1) only a slight majority of teachers think higher order objectives are important, and (2) that few translate this opinion into their instruction or testing. (JDH)

Course of study, target student population, structure of matriculation examination, student outcomes and attitudes of student toward various components of this examination are described. It was found that this examination not only offers a fair, educationally valid assessment but also provides support and direction which result in more effective…

Defining course objectives and testing these objectives are inseparable components of the education process. The development of a model using eleven language functions as the basis for testing communication in a second language is described. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Summarizes an experiment that expanded the types of variables and approaches used in statistical analyses of subject attainment in secondary education. The experiment compared students' grades in a given subject with their expected grades based on performance in other subjects. Considers applications and limitations to this approach. (MJP)

This study is second in a series demonstrating that achievement tests are multidimensional and that using psychologically meaningful subscores in national educational surveys can enhance test validity and usefulness. National Education Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS:88) 8th- and 10th-grade science tests were subjected to full information item…

Fifty-four standardized tests and subtests are examined, including achievement batteries, specific domain tests, and criterion-referenced tests. Individual test items are examined for their relationship to curriculum objectives developed by the Ministry of Education, Ontario for grades 7, 8, 9, and 10. The objectives are examined in four subject…