Procedures that could be used to assess progress in instructional programs designed to enhance cognitive skills are reviewed, discussing measures of the following parameters: (1) knowledge acquisition, organization, and structure; (2) problem representation; (3) mental models; (4) metacognitive skills; (5) automaticity of performance; and (6)…

The Computer Attitude Scale was adapted for use with Turkish university students. Translation to Turkish and back to English established the scale. Results with 282 university students indicates the utility of the scale with Turkish students, although the construct functions differently between the cultures. (SLD)

Describes the workings of computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Focuses on the key concept of information and then discusses two important components of a CAT system: the calibrated item bank and the testing algorithm. Describes a CAT that was designed for making placement decisions on the basis of two typical test administrations and notes the…

The focus is on partitioning the evaluation of the consequences of assessment programs among the sponsors, developers, users, and reviewers of tests. Five parties that share responsibility are discussed: (1) the state legislature, (2) the state board of education, (3) the school district, (4) the test publisher, and (5) the measurement profession.…

This study, utilizing data from 208 educators, obtained estimates of the reliability of the four subscale version of the 40-item Computer Attitude Scale (CAS); provided detailed information regarding the factor patterns of the CAS subscales; and provided evidence about the differential validity of the CAS among four groups with differing intensity…

This article describes the construction of instruments for evaluating statistics texts that are grounded in the statistical education and text evaluation literatures. Student, instructor, and expert evaluator instruments were piloted with 36 graduate students and 5 faculty members. Results suggest the usefulness of the developed instruments. (SLD)

Investigated the acquisition of base-generated topics in Mandarin Chinese by British students learning Chinese. The hypothesis is not confirmed that it would not be difficult for English speakers to acquire the base-generated topic in Chinese because in the acquisition of Chinese, English-speaking learners are exposed to positive evidence of…

Examines the definition of fluency in the literature, and proposes a qualitative and quantitative approach that may be used to produce a "thick" description of language use for use in rating scale construction. The article suggests that validity considerations must be addressed in the construction phase of developing scales. (69 references)…

What occurs in most schools and colleges is a ritual pretense lacking substance. Test scores and memorized facts mean little. John Dewey felt that education must be a continuous expansion of a web of connections and understanding that continues throughout one's life. Wisdom is education's true goal. (MLH)

The growing interest in assessing the quality of education outcomes can be seen in the ever-increasing frequency of use of international and national surveys (e.g., Program for International Student Assessment [PISA], the Progress in Reading and Literacy Study [PIRLS], or the Third International Mathematics and Science Study [TIMSS]). These…

Parental meta-emotion, assessed through interviews, involves parents' philosophy about emotions and has been found to be related to parenting behaviors and children's emotional and social competence (e.g., Gottman, Katz, & Hooven, 1996; Katz & Windecker-Nelson, 2004). The Emotion-Related Parenting Styles Self-Test is a true-false…

Multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models have been proposed for better understanding the dimensional structure of data or to define diagnostic profiles of student learning. A compensatory multidimensional two-parameter partial credit model (M-2PPC) for constructed-response items is presented that is a generalization of those proposed to…

This paper presents a summary of outcomes from the first stage of a 3-year project funded through the Australian Research Council Strategic Partnership Industry Research Training (ARC-SPIRT) scheme and the Catholic Education Office in Victoria. This longitudinal study, in Catholic primary and secondary schools, will investigate the effectiveness…

Over the last 20 years, writing about technology (and more recently about its use in assessment systems) has been a joyful experience, in part because the author was usually right about how fast and how unexpected technology progress would be made. In this article, the author suggests to rethink assessment systems from design perspectives and the…

This article presents a framework for developing internally sustainable evaluation systems for environmental education organizations, although the framework can be applied to other types of organizations. The authors developed a sustainable evaluation framework (SEF) with the intent of creating an evaluation system that could be self-administered…