Nearly all undergraduate biology courses rely on quizzes and exams. Despite their prevalence, very little work has been done to explore how the framing of assessment questions may influence student performance and affect. Here, we conduct a quasi-random experimental study where students in different sections of the same course were given…

The past [approximately]15 years have seen increasing interest in defining disciplinary core concepts. Within the field of physiology, Michael, McFarland, Modell, and colleagues have published studies that defined physiology core concepts and have elaborated many of these as detailed conceptual frameworks. With such helpful definitions now in…

The completion rates were compared for long-form questions where a large blank answer space is provided and for long-form questions where the answer space has bullet-points prompts corresponding to the parts of the question. It was found that students were more likely to complete a question when bullet points were provided in the answer space.…

Assessment is an integral part of any teaching learning process. Assessment has large number of functions to perform, whether it is formative or summative. This paper analyse the issues involved and the areas of concern in the classroom assessment practice and discusses the recent reforms take place. [This paper was published in Edutracks v20 n8…

With the widespread use of technology in the assessment field, many testing programs use both computer-based tests (CBTs) and paper-and-pencil tests (PPTs). Both the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, & NCME, 2014) and the International Guidelines on Computer-Based and Internet Delivered Testing (International Test…

Geography educators have been, and continue to be, interested in spatial thinking, especially since they have been convinced of its importance in their students' ability to learn and do geography. As they developed strategies to improve students' spatial thinking, they searched for assessment instruments to evaluate their interventions' effects.…

In this insightful math resource for grades 3-8, popular professional developer Marian Small helps teachers understand and facilitate meaningful assessments to advance student understandings. Small shows new and veteran teachers how to do three fundamental things well: identify the most important math to assess; construct meaningful…

On the grounds that assessment stands for a mirror of teaching and learning practices, its value cannot be ignored in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programmes as all those involved in foreign language teaching in non-native settings need constant feedback about the effectiveness of their ventures. Assessment of young learners of…

Summative evaluation for large classes of first- and second-year undergraduate courses often involves the use of multiple choice question (MCQ) exams in order to provide timely feedback. Several versions of those exams are often prepared via computer-based question scrambling in an effort to deter cheating. An important parameter to consider when…

The Next Generation Science Standards propose a multidimensional model of science learning, comprised of Core Disciplinary Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and Crosscutting Concepts (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Accordingly, there is a need for student assessment aligned with the new standards. Creating assessments that validly and reliably…

The Maine Legislature requested the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) to conduct an assessment of standardized testing in Maine schools to understand the amount, cost, and usefulness of it. This report summarizes the resulting effort, which included a literature scan, document analysis, and surveys of two groups of school…

We introduce a specific type of item for knowledge tests, confidence-weighted true-false (CTF) items, and review experiences of its application in psychology courses. A CTF item is a statement about the learning content to which students respond whether the statement is true or false, and they rate their confidence level. Previous studies using…

Professors who teach introductory astronomy to students not majoring in science desire them to comprehend the concepts and theories that form the basis of the science. They are usually less concerned about the myriad of detailed facts and information that accompanies the science. As such, professors prefer to test the students for such…

"Scientific argumentation," defined as the ability to develop and analyze scientific claims, support claims with evidence from investigations of the natural world, and explain and evaluate the reasoning that connects the evidence to the claim, is a critical component of current science standards and is consistent with "Common Core…

Since 1973, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has gathered information about student achievement in mathematics. Results of these periodic assessments, produced in print and web-based formats, provide valuable information to a wide variety of audiences. They inform citizens about the nature of students' comprehension of the…