Proposes new method for calculating probability that student meets eligibility criteria for special education which avoids the distortion of dichotomous classification, uses multiple sources and measurement error in a meaningful manner, and promotes the accurate use of test data in eligibility decisions. (Author/NB)

The results of survey that found out how many of 269 engineering schools deliver accredited programs via television are discussed. Information about the technologies employed, the use of tutors in conjunction with videotaped courses, and logistics of exam monitoring and exam security is provided. A list of colleges offering televised engineering…

Describes administration of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) to three groups of United States Military Academy students in order to evaluate changes in student performance as a result of taking a student-success course (RS101). LASSI measures students' affective growth upon completion of the RS101 course and their growth in…

A sample of Australian Year-12 students (n=16) who participated in the TIMSS testing were interviewed immediately after the test about their responses to test items. Students had trouble relating TIMSS questions to generalized aspects of everyday life and to school science topics. Students seemed to place little value on performing well on the…

Curriculum-based measurement and performance assessments can provide valuable data for making special-education eligibility decisions. Reviews applied research on these assessment approaches and discusses the practical context of treatment validation and decisions about instructional services for students with diverse academic needs. (Author/JDM)

Traces the history of experimental educational research, based on application of the scientific method to pedagogy. Highlights the beginnings of educational research in German studies of psychology and child development; U.S. development of standardized tests and research-based administration; and European experimental studies. Discusses the…

A study was conducted of the public's interest in standardized student testing by reviewing the test-related sections of about 70 polls and surveys of public opinion. In general, the public favors more testing with higher stakes, perhaps because they consider testing in the context of real alternatives and find it best. (SLD)

Discusses state and federal efforts to improve the skills and knowledge of special-needs students, including opportunities to move to postsecondary education. Describes accommodations, measuring and reporting yearly progress, transitions, and cost. (PKP)

Extending previous studies, the authors examined a larger set of variables to identify predictors of student performance on the Educational Testing Service Major Field Exam in Business, which has been shown to be an externally valid measure of student learning outcomes. Significant predictors include gender, whether students took the SAT, and…

In the context of reviewing an article for this journal (van der Linden & Sotaridona, this issue, pp. 283-304) the topic of unconditional and conditional hypothesis testing came under consideration. While this is hardly a new issue (consider, for example, arguments regarding the chi square vs. Fisher exact test of independence for a 2 x 2…

Despite the prevalence of multiple choice items in educational testing, there is a dearth of empirical evidence for multiple choice item writing rules. The purpose of this study was to expand the base of empirical evidence by examining the use of the "all-of-the-above" option in a multiple choice examination in order to assess how…

This handbook will assist principals and school testing coordinators in implementing the spring 2007 administration of the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). Information regarding administration timeline, reporting, process, online tools and contact personnel is discussed. Contents include: (1) Scheduling; (2) Identify Primary Test…

The current school reform era has moved through a series of phases, coupling state centralization with a focus on school-level change at each step. Yet this era of reform also has a deeper history. Its deeper history reveals the dynamics that would plague the school reform era until the present day. While the school reform era seemed to focus on…

This paper defines Bayesian network models and examines their applications to IRT-based cognitive diagnostic modeling. These models are especially suited to building inference engines designed to be synchronous with the finer grained student models that arise in skills diagnostic assessment. Aspects of the theory and use of Bayesian network models…

The accuracy of achievement test score inferences largely depends on the sensitivity of scores to instruction focused on tested objectives. Sensitivity requirements are particularly challenging for standards-based assessments because a variety of plausible instructional differences across classrooms must be detected. For this study, we developed a…