Why has large-scale standardised testing attracted such a bad press? Why has pedagogic benefit to be derived from test results been downplayed? The paper investigates this question by first surveying the pros and cons of testing in the literature, and goes on to examine educators' responses to standardised, large-scale tests in a sample of low…

The study evaluated the extent to which Continuous Assessment (CA) was practiced by university lecturers in Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. The evaluation of continuous assessment focused on the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of students' behaviour. That is teaching and learning should focus on these areas. Two research…

The study assessed social studies teachers' competences in the use of the inquiry method in secondary schools. The target population for the study consisted of 1,110 social studies teachers from all the public secondary schools in Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states of Nigeria. The sample size was 600 social studies teachers drawn from 300 junior…

The aims of this research were to determine the effect of cooperative learning model and learning styles on learning result. This quasi-experimental study employed a 2x2 treatment by level, involved independent variables, i.e. cooperative learning model and learning styles, and learning result as the dependent variable. Findings signify that: (1)…

In his focus article, Koretz (this issue) argues that accountability has become the primary function of large-scale testing in the United States. He then points out that tests being used for accountability purposes are flawed and that the high-stakes nature of these tests creates a context that encourages score inflation. Koretz is concerned about…

Background: The use of computers has increased in speaking assessments; however, there are concerns about how the absence of an interlocutor affects performance on speaking tests. Method: In the current study, the test scores and the underlying factor structures of monologic tasks were compared between two delivery modes: computer delivery and…

"Flipped" or inverted classrooms are designed to utilize class time for application and knowledge building, while course content is delivered through the use of online lectures and watched at home on the students' time. It is believed that flipped classrooms promote student engagement and a deeper understanding of the class material. The…

This study sought to explore the technological, organizational, and environmental determinants of e-learning adoption in University of Ghana using a multistakeholder approach. Another construct (nature of the course) was added to the traditional constructs of the technology-organization-environment framework. Using survey research, e-learning…

Research on learning about science has revealed that students often hold robust misconceptions about a number of scientific ideas. Digital simulation and dynamic visualization tools have helped to ameliorate these learning challenges by providing scaffolding to understand various aspects of the phenomenon. In this study we hypothesize that…

Older student reading of informational texts like those found in most high school classrooms continue to be a concern. College entrance exams scores attest to the fact that this age group of readers remain largely unprepared for the rigorous, discipline area reading and comprehension demands of higher education. In response to this issue content…

Programming tools are being used in education to teach computer science to children as young as 5 years old. This research aims to explore young children's approaches to programming in two tools with contrasting programming interfaces, ScratchJr and Lightbot, and considers the impact of programming approaches on developing computational thinking.…

US teacher education has been scrutinized for years. In this essay, the author discusses the four major questions that have driven educational reform. Afterward, a historical account of teacher education focusing on teacher certification, teacher testing, and the teaching of modern languages is presented. An international perspective is added by…

How are teacher characteristics related to teaching practices in reading instruction? Melton, Smothers, Anderson, Fulton, Replogue, & Thomas (2004) maintained teachers are the most powerful dynamic in the classroom. African American students often attain lower reading scores than other students. It is important to determine which teacher…

This paper reports on the implementation of Japanese extensive reading with international students studying at a Japanese university using graded readers (GRs). GRs chosen for the present study were simplified versions of original Japanese literature and were used to support students in acquiring a top-down reading strategy, a wide range of…

Technology and innovation are the power of human civilization. In face of such a changeable era, the rapid development and circulation of information technology has hastened the diversification of society. To cope with the approach of information society, teaching methods should also be changed, as traditional injection education could no longer…