Academic writing and education in foreign and second languages both have lengthy histories. Their histories have diverged but also intersected. Matsuda (2005), for example, described the convergence in policies that led to a distinctive discipline of "L2 writing" in higher education in the U.S.A. during the latter part of the 20th century.…

The purpose of this article is to describe and demonstrate a three-step process of using differential distractor functioning (DDF) in a post hoc analysis to understand sources of differential item functioning (DIF) in multiple-choice testing. The process is demonstrated on two multiple-choice tests that used complex alternatives (e.g., "No…

Research has demonstrated that collaborative testing, working on tests in groups, leads to improved test scores but the mechanism by which this occurs has not been specified. Three factors were proposed as mediators: cognitive processes, interpersonal interactions and reduced test-anxiety. Thirty-three students completed a multiple-choice exam…

In this commentary, the author points out few issues, one being that there are models mislabeled as diagnostic, which deal with linear decompositions of item difficulties rather than estimating multidimensional skill variables. The author discusses the issue that there are many new names for essentially well-known models for multiple simultaneous…

This article reviews the Test of Memory and Learning: Second Edition (TOMAL-2), published by PRO-ED, which constitutes a recent revision of the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL; Reynolds & Bigler, 1994). Advertised as the "single most comprehensive memory battery available for the entire age range of 5 years through 59 years of age", the TOMAL-2…

This study investigated the relationship between high-stakes testing and the stress levels of secondary teachers in Jackson's Jackson Public School District. The independent variables of age, gender, subject taught, teaching experience, degree and school level were used to determine the differences of the various groups. A survey was piloted and…

Most modern research on the effects of feedback during learning has assumed that feedback is an error correction mechanism. Recent studies of feedback-timing effects have suggested that feedback might also strengthen initially correct responses. In an experiment involving cued recall of trivia facts, we directly tested several theories of…

The high-stakes testing climate and the growing immigrant and English language-learning population have changed the face of teaching and learning in today's high schools. In this chapter, the authors emphasize the impact of a new paradigm of schooling based on high-stakes testing on Asian and Latin American students, as they represent the largest…

Infants' auditory processing abilities have been shown to predict subsequent language development. In addition, poor auditory processing skills have been shown for some individuals with specific language impairment. Methods used in infant studies are not appropriate for use with young children, and neither are methods typically used to test…

Increasing public understanding of school testing programs is seen as the joint responsibility of test publishers and schools, and also as a primary responsibility on the part of test publishers to increase the schools' understanding of tests. The most common areas of misunderstanding about tests are addressed: purpose of the testing program; the…

Time spent in contact with academic course materials as a function of two testing schedules was measured using college undergraduates in an introductory Educational Psychology course. A multi-manipulation single organism design was employed with all subjects enabling both individual and group analysis. A study room equipped with an adjacent…

The results of a school district's move to proficiency testing in mathematics are described and discussed. (MK)

Brantmeier [Brantmeier, C., 2006. "Advanced L2 learners and reading placement: self-assessment, computer-based testing, and subsequent performance." 'System 34" (1), 15-35] found that self-assessment (SA) of second language (L2) reading ability is not an accurate predictor for computer-based testing or subsequent classroom performance. With 359…

The Canter-BIP (Background Interfence Procedure) represents an instrument free of many effects found to add to error variance in the application of other instruments. It is essentially free of sex, intelligence level, emotional status and maturational effects, and, at least for young children, is essentially free of ethnic group effects. (Author)

The purpose of the present experiment was to test whether a combination of audio and transparency projection, transparency projection, or the standard paper and pencil method of testing is superior when testing college students on a multiple-choice achievement test in basic psychology. (Author)