Explores the relationship between the strategies second language learners use to interpret unfamiliar words in a target language. English-speaking learners of Japanese completed a beliefs questionnaire and multiple choice Kanji compounds test. Examined how learner beliefs are related to the ability to combine information from word parts and…

Investigates the reliability and validity of the Bentley Measures of Musical Abilities (BMMA) for predicting musical achievement of students entering the Conservatory Alberto Ginastera (Argentina) by measuring the students improvement over the first four-month term. Encourages the use of the BMMA as a means to evaluating the entering students…

Examines classroom Assessment in the English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) school context. Using data from teacher interviews, classroom observations, video and audio recordings of learners, and lesson transcripts, traces different stages in the teacher assessment process and presents a working model for analysis of teacher decision making in…

Explores theoretical and practical issues surrounding authenticity in course-based assessment, drawing on data from a university-level Japanese language course in Australia. Examines a teaching and assessment activity based around interviewing native speakers outside the classroom, which was designed to optimize authenticity. (Author/VWL)

Program-level assessments at community colleges are particularly challenging because students often achieve their goals without completing a program, or they select an array of courses that suit their needs but do not fit within an officially recognized program of study.

Overselective stimulus control was assessed in 29 students at residential schools for individuals with developmental disabilities. Overselectivity testing included three different delayed identity matching-to-sample tasks. Sample stimuli for the Form/Color Test were nine possible combinations of three colors and three forms. On each trial, the S+…

Student learning is a complex incremental cognitive process; assessment needs to parallel this, reporting the results in similar terms. Application of fuzzy sets and logic to the criterion-referenced assessment of student learning is considered here. The constrained qualitative assessment (CQA) system was designed, and then applied in assessing a…

This paper treats methodological issues involved in assessing linguistic competence in the field, specifically in bilingual fieldwork situations. First, the various means of assessment of linguistic competence that have been described and/or used are listed and commented on. Then the authors explain the choice of assessment methods for fieldwork…

Questions regarding the value of standardized testing have been raised by community and school leaders, as well as parents and members of the media. Some have expressed concern that children today are placed under such pressure to perform well on standardized tests that the anxiety adversely affects performance outcomes. This study examined the…

This response argues that, although evaluation of student learning is required for accountability, high stakes testing is not required and may even be counterproductive. It also questions whether the goals of the "No Child Left Behind Act" are reasonable and contends that, if they are not, there may be no justification for imposing…

In the dance studio, the mirror can play a large role in the dancer's learning process. Research on learning and memory shows that reducing the amount of feedback during training enhances long-term motor skill retention and that more externally focused attention may aid performance. Research testing the effectiveness of training with a mirror as a…

According to Martell and Calderon (2005), assessment is an ongoing process that involves planning, discussion, consensus building, reflection, measuring, analyzing, and improving based on the data and artifacts gathered about a learning objective. Impacting education from early childhood through graduate studies, the assessment movement is based…

It is a principle that many teachers have come to trust, from the first time their classes filled test tubes with yeast and loaded mini-volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar, when it comes to science, students learn best by doing, not just sitting and listening. However, some researchers and educators have challenged the argument for hands-on…

This paper offers facts and figures on Utah's state of education for 2007. This paper contains the following: (1) Core CRT Language Arts Testing; (2) Core CRT Mathematics Testing; (3) 2006 Public Education General Fund--Funding by Source and Expenditures by Function; (4) 2006-07 Public School Enrollment Demographics; (5) Public Schools by Grade…

Responses to over 100 of the most frequently-asked questions about the education of language-minority students are presented for Maine school personnel. The book has 12 sections. The first lists and defines common acronyms, and the second addresses various aspects of student evaluation, including: identification of limited-English-proficient (LEP)…