Two recent lines of research suggest that explicitly naming objects at study influences subsequent memory for those objects at test. Lupyan (2008) suggested that naming "impairs" memory by a representational shift of stored representations of named objects toward the prototype (labeling effect). MacLeod, Gopie, Hourihan, Neary, and Ozubko (2010)…

Assessment results collected under low-stakes testing situations are subject to effects of low examinee effort. The use of computer-based testing allows researchers to develop new ways of measuring examinee effort, particularly using response times. At the item level, responses can be classified as exhibiting either rapid-guessing behavior or…

In validating uses of testing, it is helpful to distinguish those that rely directly on the information provided by scores or score distributions ("direct" uses and consequences) versus those that instead capitalize on the motivational effects of testing, or use testing and test reporting to shape public opinion ("indirect" uses and consequences).…

The purposes of this study are twofold. First, to investigate the construct or factorial structure of a set of Reading and Mathematics computerized adaptive tests (CAT), "Measures of Academic Progress" (MAP), given in different states at different grades and academic terms. The second purpose is to investigate the invariance of test…

We discuss the limitations of hypothesis testing using (quasi-) experiments in the study of cognitive development and suggest latent variable modeling as a viable alternative to experimentation. Latent variable models allow testing a theory as a whole, incorporating individual differences with respect to developmental processes or abilities in the…

The Talent Search model, founded at Johns Hopkins University by Dr. Julian C. Stanley, is fundamentally an above-level testing program. This simplistic description belies the enduring impact that the Talent Search model has had on the lives of hundreds of thousands of gifted students as well as their parents and teachers. In this article, we…

In the human sciences, a common assumption is that latent traits have a hierarchical structure. Higher order item response theory models have been developed to account for this hierarchy. In this study, computerized adaptive testing (CAT) algorithms based on these kinds of models were implemented, and their performance under a variety of…

Traditional methods for item selection in computerized adaptive testing only focus on item information without taking into consideration the time required to answer an item. As a result, some examinees may receive a set of items that take a very long time to finish, and information is not accrued as efficiently as possible. The authors propose two…

This article systematically examines differences between student and faculty perspectives on quality instruction, using local data for a regional university's college of business matched to RateMyProfessors.com evaluations. Particular attention is focused on gender bias, "hotness," and "easiness." In addition to documenting a…

Prismatic refraction is a classic topic in science education. To investigate how undergraduate students think about prismatic dispersion, and to see how they change their thinking when observing dispersed images, five teaching experiments were done and analysed according to the Model of Educational Reconstruction. For projection through a prism,…

One major threat to validity in high-stakes testing is construct-irrelevant variance. In this study we explored whether the transition from a paper-and-pencil to a computer-based test mode in a high-stakes test in China, the College English Test, has brought about variance irrelevant to the construct being assessed in this test. Analyses of the…

According to Question-Under-Discussion (QUD) models of discourse interpretation, clauses cohere with the preceding context by virtue of providing answers to (usually implicit) questions that are situated within a speaker's goal-driven strategy of inquiry. In this article we present four experiments that examine the predictions of a QUD model of…

This study provides a new conceptualization of educational leadership with a multilevel and integrative approach. It examines the impact of multilevel leadership (MLL) on the effectiveness of technical educational institutes through the mediating effects of organizational communication, bases of power and organizational culture. Data were…

This study is a fraction of a larger research on cheating, at the School of Engineering (SOE). The study design used a descriptive survey approach and a document analysis. A designed confidential self-report questioner was used as the main instrument, for this study, with the sample size of 100 subjects and response rate of 95%. The tool was…

This study aims to explore the users' behaviour and acceptance of social media for learning in higher educational institutions with the help of the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). TAM has been extended to investigate how ethical and security awareness of users affect the actual usage of social learning applications. For this purpose, a…