This report was designed to respond to two major methodological shortcomings in the item bias literature: (1) misfitting test models; and (2) the use of significance tests. Specifically, the goals of the research were to describe a newly developed method known as the "plot method" for identifying potentially biased test items and to…

A collection of papers of directions in second language education includes: "The Improvement of Foreign Language Competency in the United States" (Richard D. Lambert); "The Measurement of Foreign/Second Language Proficiency" (Lyle F. Bachman, John D. Clark); "Advanced Technology in Foreign Language Instruction and Translation" (John Fought);…

Fourth, seventh, and ninth grade students in Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I programs were tested with the reading comprehension subtests of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, at each of two levels: on-level for each respective grade, and an easier out-of-level form. Approximately half of these students were found to be…

The reading portion of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) was equated to the reading comprehension subtest of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) using the Rasch Model. Both tests were administered to 366 low achieving fourth grade students. MEAP was treated as both a 95-item test and a 19-item (number of objectives…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Budget Impasse Continues in the House of Representatives: Moderates' Push for Additional Domestic Spending Postpones…

A study investigated influences on attrition in Japanese second language instruction in one U.S. university. Subjects were students enrolled in the fall semester of beginning (n=134 students) and intermediate (n=79) levels of Japanese courses. In the fifth week of classes, students were administered a series of questionnaires to gather data on…

The six issues of this newsletter for teachers and tutors of adult English as a second language (ESL) contain articles on classroom teaching techniques and activities, including dictations, presentations, hints for teaching beginners, multi-level crossword puzzles, conversation activities, reading exercises, guessing and describing games, use of…

The Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) sets forth a vision for technology immersion in Texas public schools that links ubiquitous access to technology with student achievement. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) directed nearly $14 million in federal Title II, Part D monies toward funding a wireless learning environment for high-need middle schools…

A bilingual (Japanese/English) electronic mail survey of over 1,100 computer science students at the University of Aizu elicited recommendations for content and design of a curriculum in English for Special Purposes (ESP). Features students preferred included these: a four-skills introductory course during the first year; materials encouraging…

The goal of the study was to compare the literacy challenges faced by children who speak nonstandard dialects of English and for whom Standard English is a "second dialect" with challenges faced by children for whom Standard English is a "second language." The study focused on the extent to which discourse patterns in the…

This investigation compares and analyses the experiences and subjective cognitive workload of students undertaking a lesson on an aspect of micro-level writing skills in a web-based and paperbased version. Both versions of the lesson were based on the principles of interactive learning, specifically on a modified version of Chou's (2003) model.…

Criteria for the selection of judges (evaluators) for setting item-based standards involved in tests for which cutting scores must be established are investigated. Focus is on cases in which test standards are based on specialists' judgments concerning the difficulty of test items in tests used to determine who will be awarded a diploma, admitted…

A bibliography of brief annotations of instructional materials for the Russian language includes 93 documents from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), and the Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS), that do not go out of print and are widely available in depository systems.…

In an effort to determine the causes of student attrition, a study was conducted at American River College (ARC) in December 1979, involving: (1) a survey of 1,174 students who had dropped at least one class while at ARC, and (2) a categorization of the reasons for college withdrawal indicated by 591 students on ARC's standardized withdrawal form.…