In this article we present results from a project to develop survey measures of the content knowledge teachers need to teach elementary reading. In areas such as mathematics and science, there has been great interest in the specialized ways teachers need to know a subject to teach it to others -- often referred to as pedagogical content knowledge.…

Few would disagree that grade inflation is a major problem at colleges and universities across the country. In this article, the author argues that a significant contributing factor-perhaps the single most important factor has been the institution of the now almost universal practice of administering anonymous, multiple-choice student evaluations…

This article examines whether an analysis of student answers to a standards-based, summative examination can be used to improve a teacher's instruction. The author, who is a chemistry teacher at Saratoga Springs High School, analyzed both the multiple-choice and the constructed response questions of the June 2003 New York State chemistry exam…

This paper describes and evaluates a new type of multiple-choice test question that is relatively easy to construct and that challenges students' understandings of biological concepts. The questions involve a small narrative of scientific text that students must evaluate for accuracy. These are termed "You are the Teacher" questions because the…

In this investigation of student performance in introductory business statistics classes, the authors performed two separate controlled studies to compare performance in (a) distance-learning versus traditionally delivered courses and (b) multiple choice versus problem-solving tests. Results of the first study, based on the authors' several…

Laird studies the relationship between two computerized nursing tests and finds a relationship between the two sets of scores. (Contains 2 tables.)

A new computerized testing system, which facilitates the use of short-answer-type testing, has been developed. In this system, the question of a multiple-choice problem is presented first, and the options appear briefly on the request of the test taker. The crux of this manipulation is to force students to solve the problem as if they were solving…

Examination of a test's internal structure can be used to identify what domains or dimensions are being measured, identify relationships between the dimensions, provide evidence for hypothesized multidimensionality and test score interpretations, and identify construct-irrelevant variance. The purpose of this research is to provide a…

This study explores the role of culturally familiar background knowledge in inferential and literal comprehension in L2 reading. Ninety-eight Turkish EFL (English as a Foreign Language) university students were divided into two groups of equivalent English proficiency. They read either the original of an American short story or a "nativized"…

Purpose: To examine the validity of using scores from a clinical evaluation form as an assessment of clinical competence. Method: Investigators collected a longitudinal clinical skills assessment database that included scores reflecting performance on standardized patient interactions, case-based learning performance, scores on multiple-choice…

Student assessment has long been a major component of the tasks that teachers perform. As such, it is important that school leaders consider teachers' assessment strategies as part of the normal supervisory process. In a political climate ruled by the No Child Left Behind Act, one important consideration is how well teachers' assessments prepare…

We administered announced, multiple-choice quizzes to 1 of 2 sections of a Psychology of Learning course in each of 2 consecutive semesters. We administered the quizzes between the first and second exams and discontinued them between the second and third. At the end of each semester, students completed a questionnaire about their studying and…

This study examined the multiple true-false (MTF) test format in second language testing by comparing multiple-choice (MCQ) and multiple true-false (MTF) test formats in two language areas of general English: vocabulary and reading. Two counter-balanced experimental designs--one for each language area--were examined in terms of the number of MCQ…

This paper describes an ongoing project to create an online version of a reading programme, a custom-designed English language proficiency course at a university in Japan. Following an interactionist view of second language acquisition, it was hypothesised that comprehension of a reading passage could be enhanced by online materials promoting…

This paper describes qualitative and quantitative research conducted with middle school students participating in a Future Cities Engineering course. Insights were sought regarding both affective and cognitive changes which transpired during the one-semester schedule of activities focused on modeling the infrastructure of a city built 150 years in…