Detection of students' ability levels is one of the common aims in educational studies. Cognitive Diagnosis Modeling approach has been used recently for the purpose of ability level detection by defined Q-matrices. To evaluate students' strengths and weaknesses, determine their mastery skills, and design instructions and interventions in learning…

Offers five suggestions to help students assess the reasonableness of their answers: (1) giving students a variety of problems; (2) facilitating students' discussions and interpretations of the problem conditions; (3) encouraging students to estimate answers before carrying out calculations; (4) encouraging students to ask whether their answers…

Highlights dynamic assessment, an approach to assessing cognitive ability in which students are instructed on how to perform on certain tasks and measured on their progress in learning to solve similar problems. It describes how dynamic assessment can be used for identifying disadvantaged students for specialized enrichment programs. (CR)

To determine whether objective test items could measure cognitive processes more complex than recall of isolated facts, the committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons preparing the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination classified test items into three taxonomic levels according to the cognitive process required to answer the item.…

This document provides specific examples of what is involved in applying intellectual criteria and standards to students' reasoning, focusing on elements of reasoning (EORs). The significance of reasoning having elements and the need for standards in assessing reasoning are described. The following are the EORs: (1) purpose, goal, or end in view…

Investigates the relationship between student talk in cooperative learning groups and the learning of complex cognitive tasks. Studies 2 classrooms of 51 students in which a social studies unit designed to assess the development of problem-solving skills in a cooperative learning environment was administered. Reports a strong correlation between…

Discusses problem-solving evaluation methods and describes the development of an instrument to evaluate an individual's problem-solving processes. Provides an example of the instrument. (MDH)

This document provides a model for the national assessment of higher order thinking and consists of a preface and four main sections. The preface discusses the problem of lower order learning, summarizes the state of research into critical thinking and instructional reform, and explains the structure of the paper. Section 1 of the paper describes…

Problem solving has become a focus of mathematics programs in Australia in recent years, necessitating the assessment of students' problem-solving abilities. This manual provides a problem-solving assessment and teaching resource package containing four elements: (1) profiles assessment items; (2) profiles diagnostic forms for recording individual…

College-level assessment efforts in New Jersey are described. For more than a dozen years, students in public colleges and universities in New Jersey have been assessed using a common statewide instrument, the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. This test assesses reading, writing, and mathematics skills of entering college students as…

For a national program assessing college graduates to succeed, it must be institutionalized at the majority of colleges and universities in the nation. The information generated must play a clear and key role in formulating state and institutional higher education policy, college matriculation standards, and degree-granting decisions. Such an…

The study is concerned with the recall or recognition of science principles one day after they have been taught and the ability of students to answer higher level transfer items involving the principle. The short term recall and recognition involved students who prior to/learning experience could neither recall nor recognize the science…