Interest is growing at the precollege level in computer testing (CT) instead of paper-and-pencil testing (PT) for subjects in the school curriculum, including economics. Before economic educators adopt CT, a better understanding of its likely effects on test-taking behavior and performance compared with PT is needed. Using two volunteer student…

To investigate undergraduate students' perceptions of the role of the textbook in psychology courses, the authors surveyed 311 psychology students. Using an online survey, students answered questions about textbook importance, usage, and preferences and about scenarios that described a textbook as a resource or central course element. If an…

A well-edited assessment can enhance student's learning motives. Applicability of items, which includes item content and template, plays a crucial role in authoring a good assessment. Templates in discussion contain not only conventional true & false, multiple choice, completion item and short answer but also of those interactive ones. Methods…

This article presents the author's commentary on "Updating the Duplex Design for Test-Based Accountability in the Twenty-First Century," in which Isaac I. Bejar and E. Aurora Graf propose the application of a test design--the duplex design (which was proposed in 1988 by Bock and Mislevy) for application in current accountability assessments.…

This study examined the encoding specificity principle in relation to traditional and computer-based note taking and assessment formats in higher education. Students (N = 79) took lecture notes either by hand (n = 40) or by computer (n = 39) and then completed either a computer or a paper-based assessment. When note taking and assessment formats…

This paper explores automated methods for measuring features of student writing and determining their relationship to writing quality and other features of literacy, such as reading rest scores. In particular, it uses the "e-rater"™ automatic essay scoring system to measure "product" features (measurable traits of the final…

The criteria by which raters judge pragmatic appropriateness of language learners' speech acts are underexamined, especially when raters evaluate extended discourse. To shed more light on this process, the present study investigated what factors are salient to raters when scoring pragmatic appropriateness of extended request sequences, and which…

We present "Science Assistments," an interactive environment, which assesses students' inquiry skills as they engage in inquiry using science microworlds. We frame our variables, tasks, assessments, and methods of analyzing data in terms of "evidence-centered design." Specifically, we focus on the "student model," the…

One of the main problems relating to language courses offered at language centres is measuring the students' entry-level skills in a fast, efficient and reliable way. This problem is particularly acute in language centres with large numbers of students, especially at the beginning of the academic year, as a mechanism has to be implemented which…

The current study investigated the relative effects of Before and After relational cues on temporal order judgments. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 20) were exposed to a 5-phase temporal relational responding task. Participants observed a sequence of 2 familiar shapes and then completed either a Before or an After statement to describe the…

Although the TOEFL iBT does not have a discrete grammar section, knowledge of English sentence structure is important throughout the test. Essential Grammar for the iBT reviews the skills that are fundamental to success on tests. Content includes noun and verb forms, clauses, agreement, parallel structure, punctuation, and much more. The book may…

This qualitative study considers the perceptions of teachers from one rural county in North Carolina who implemented the program implementation of mCLASSRTM: Reading 3D. Reading 3D is an electronic early literacy assessment that is designed to assist teachers in planning appropriate literacy instruction based on student needs by offering immediate…

The purpose of this quantitative study is to compare a new assessment tool, the SkillsUSA Connect Assessment with the NOCTI assessment to determine which test results in more students achieving success. A quantitative study, designed to compare test scores of students taking the NOCTI assessment and new assessments from SkillsUSA, called the…

Data from 181 college students were used to assess whether math reasoning item response times in computerized testing can provide valid and reliable measures of a speed dimension. The alternate forms reliability of the speed dimension was .85. A two-dimensional structural equation model suggests that the speed dimension is related to the accuracy…

Computer Based Assessment (CBA) is propounded as a technique which seeks to meet competing pressures within higher education, both economic and pedagogic. There is, however, a need to better understand the use of CBA across different subject areas and levels, identifying barriers and enablers to its efficacy whilst also ensuring its fit with other…