The 1992-93 school year was the second year of the implementation of the Vermont assessment program. Evaluation of the 1991-92 year yielded mixed results, with some evidence that the assessment program was having a strong impact on instruction, but other indications that the reliability of the portfolio scoring in both writing and mathematics was…

A study examined how pragmatic form influences evaluation of student essays in university placement testing. Specifically, the study documented how patterns in students' use of information (assumed to be either old, inferable, or new for readers) affected the holistic scores for quality given to the essays. Subjects, 99 randomly selected entering…

The stability of teaching behavior was examined by observing student/teacher interaction over one academic year. One teacher was studied using a time-series analysis. He had 14 years experience and taught physical education in grades K-6 in a single school. Data were collected over one academic year using the Cheffers Adaptation of Flanders…

Based on the premise that composition skills and their evaluation are crucial to the educational process, this paper presents a tentative research program for conducting future English as a second language (ESL) composition evaluation studies. The program developed in the paper covers the following topics as areas which merit further rigorous…

The feasibility of reducing scoring costs for the Test of Spoken English (TSE) by using one rater was investigated. Currently, two raters are used. It was found that, because of the possibility of different standards used by potential raters, it does not appear feasible to use a single rater as the sole determiner of speaking proficiency under the…

The statistical properties of two methods of estimating gain scores for groups in quasi-experiments are compared: (1) gains in scores standardized separately for each group; and (2) analysis of covariance with estimated true pretest scores. The fan spread hypothesis is assumed for groups but not necessarily assumed for members of the groups.…

This review of research on second-language oral testing outlines the nature of early research in interview-format proficiency testing, then reports on new directions in investigation of construct validity of interview-format and other oral skills tests through examination of examinee, interviewer, and rater performance. Research on empirically…

The purpose of this study was to profile the preferred productivity and learning style preferences of participants enrolled in distance education courses at Marshall University (West Virginia) (Spring of 1995). The accessible population of this study consisted of 167 distance education participants in nursing, education, and paralegal programs. A…

This study investigates the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), in particular the relative contributions to score dependability (analogous to classical theory reliability) of various numbers of items and subtests as well as the decision dependability at different cut points. Research questions that apply to the overall TOEFL battery and…

An analysis of variance approach to estimating reliability is examined. This approach uses an internal-consistency index for estimating the reliability of survey instruments containing ranked items, and is recommended when the relative ranking of item means is of interest to survey researchers. The computation of this index is demonstrated using…

The multi-trait-multimethod procedure was used to assess the validity of Spillberger's dual conception of anxiety and the interpretation of his scales in a graduate level, educational environment. (Author/KM)

Findings indicate that students are capable of matching the relative changes in the level of experiences test anxiety with changes in the amplitude of auditory stimulus. (Author/KM)

Various item selection techniques are compared on criterion-referenced reliability and validity. Techniques compared include three nominal criterion-referenced methods, a traditional point biserial selection, teacher selection, and random selection. (Author)