The current study was designed to extend the current literature to study scale drift in CAT as part of improving quality control and calibration process for ACCUPLACER, a battery of large-scale adaptive placement tests. The study aims to evaluate item parameter drift using empirical data that span four years from the ACCUPLACER Arithmetic…

The "Boston Globe" investigation shows that cheating on US Army exams is truly massive in scale, dwarfing any runof-the-mill scandal. According to the "Boston Globe," "For eight years the Army has known that its largest online testing program--which verifies that soldiers have learned certain military skills and helps them amass promotion…

This paper discusses a possible solution to a problem frequently encountered by educators seeking to use computer-based or multiple choice-based exams for mathematics. These assessment methodologies force a discrete grading system on students and do not allow for the possibility of partial credit. The research presented in this paper investigates…

This simulation study sought to compare four different computerized adaptive testing (CAT) content-balancing procedures designed for use in a multidimensional assessment with respect to measurement precision, symptom severity classification, validity of clinical diagnostic recommendations, and sensitivity to atypical responding. The four…

The original SOCO Scale was reduced to 10 items by Thomas, Soutar, and Ryan (2001). The author conducted a pretest and a posttest in his Personal Selling class during the Fall 2009 semester. Significant differences by gender, student sales experience and family member in the sales field were identified. The author once again pretested the…

Scientific reasoning and scientific argumentation are highly valued outcomes of K-12 and higher education. In this article, we first review main topics and key findings of three different strands of research, namely research on the development of scientific reasoning, research on scientific argumentation, and research on approaches to support…

The work we present in this paper aims to help teachers create multiple-choice science tests. We focus on a scientific vocabulary-learning scenario taking place in a Basque-language educational environment. In this particular scenario, we explore the option of automatically generating Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ) by means of Natural Language…

Fairness training was examined in its effect on resulting third party perceptions of communicating a negative outcome. Twenty-nine students were videotaped communicating an unfavourable decision twice within a one-week interval: before and after having participated in fairness training, or--in the control group--remaining untrained. Results showed…

We describe a study conducted during 2009-12 into innovative assessment practice, evaluating an assessed coursework task on a final year Medical Genetics module for Biomedical Science undergraduates. An authentic e-assessment coursework task was developed, integrating objectively marked online questions with an online DNA sequence analysis tool…

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, geometry and spatial sense are fundamental components of mathematics learning. However, learning disabilities (LD) research has shown that many K-12 students encounter particular geometry difficulties (GD). This study examined the effect of an integrated object representation (IOR)…

Teaching being a dynamic activity requires a favourable attitude and certain specific competencies from its practitioners. Teachers' proficiency depends on the attitude she possesses for the profession. The positive attitude helps teacher to develop a conductive learner friendly environment in the classroom. This also casts a fruitful effect on…

Error-based simulation (EBS) has been developed to generate phenomena by using students' erroneous ideas and also offers promise for promoting students' awareness of errors. In this paper, we report the evaluation of EBS used in learning "normal reaction" in a junior high school. An EBS class, where students learned the concept…

Engaging learners in exploratory problem-solving activities prior to receiving instruction (i.e., explore-instruct approach) has been endorsed as an effective learning approach. However, it remains unclear whether this approach is feasible for elementary-school children in a classroom context. In two experiments, second-graders solved mathematical…

The present study sought to explore (a) the extent to which certain school subjects are perceived "sui generis" more interesting than others and (b) the extent to which students' interest in a subject is related to their study choices. A mixed-methods approach was chosen in which an individual interest questionnaire and an open-ended…

Performance contracting has been acclaimed as an effective and promising means of improving the performance of public enterprises as well as government departments. The government of Kenya introduced performance contract signing in 2004. The aim of performance contracts was to improve resource utilization in public institutions among other…