Within the area of interpretative case studies, there appears to be a vast amount of literature about theoretical interpretations as the main analytical strategy. In light of this theoretically based strategy in case studies, this article presents an extended perspective based on Charles Sanders Peirce's concepts of abduction, deduction and…

This article discusses a range of current issues and future research possibilities in Communicative Language Testing (CLT) using, as its departure point, the key questions which emerged during the CLT symposium at the 2010 Language Testing Forum. The article begins with a summary of the 2010 symposium discussion in which three main issues related…

The "Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory" (CEFI; Naglieri & Goldstein, 2013), published by Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS), is a new executive function (EF) rating scale for children and youth ages 5 to 18 years. The CEFI strives to accurately assess EF abilities based on self, parent, and teacher reports, and provides…

Mechanistically distinct forms of long-lasting plasticity and memory can be induced by a variety of different training patterns. Although several studies have identified distinct molecular pathways that are engaged during these different training patterns, relatively little work has explored potential interactions between pathways when they are…

Rankings are part and parcel of the neoliberal agenda in science aiming at increasing the competitive allocation of funds among universities. This article focuses on the decreasing power of renewal in science as a result of this agenda particularly because of its increasingly consolidated stratification of the academic system into élite and mass…

Many studies show a developmental advantage for transitive sentences with familiar verbs over those with novel verbs. It might be that once familiar verbs become entrenched in particular constructions, they would be more difficult to understand (than would novel verbs) in non-prototypical constructions. We provide support for this hypothesis…

The visual-motor skills of 90 youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs) and 51 typically developing (TD) youth were assessed using the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition (VMI-VI) and Koppitz Developmental Scoring System for the Bender-Gestalt Test-Second Edition (KOPPITZ-2).…

Students are bingeing on large amounts of information and then, in government induced bouts of vomiting otherwise known as national tests, they spew it all out. This is how Frank Coffield introduces the term Bulimia Academica, which he treats every bit as seriously as its medical counterpart. Students resort to bulimic learning to cope with a…

The 1999 "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" defines validity as the degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations of test scores entailed by proposed uses of tests. Although quite explicit, there are ways in which this definition lacks precision, consistency, and clarity. The history of validity has taught us…

Item replenishing is essential for item bank maintenance in cognitive diagnostic computerized adaptive testing (CD-CAT). In regular CAT, online calibration is commonly used to calibrate the new items continuously. However, until now no reference has publicly become available about online calibration for CD-CAT. Thus, this study investigates the…

How do people monitor the correctness of their answers? A self-consistency model is proposed for the process underlying confidence judgments and their accuracy. In answering a 2-alternative question, participants are assumed to retrieve a sample of representations of the question and base their confidence on the consistency with which the chosen…

Across the globe, educational tests are being used at a rapidly increasing rate. More recently, educational tests are being used to inform educational policy and for holding educators accountable for student learning. One reason educational assessments are used for these important purposes is that they are considered to provide reliable and…

This technical report provides an overview of the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA), including a description of the purpose of the NYSAA, the processes utilized to develop and implement the NYSAA program, and Stakeholder involvement in those processes. By comparing the intent of the NYSAA with its process and design, the validity of the…

This article reveals the results of a research study that was carried out in Spain in 2012 with the purpose of discovering the influence of the gender variable on the incorporation of the Internet in the educational programmes of primary and secondary public education centres. By using a multiple case study carried out in situ, the research team…

This study investigates children's acquisition of the distinction between direct speech (Elephant said, "I get the football") and indirect speech ("Elephant said that he gets the football"), by measuring children's interpretation of first, second, and third person pronouns. Based on evidence from various linguistic sources, we…