This report is the fifth in a series concerning English language proficiency (ELP) assessments for English learners (ELs) in kindergarten through 12th grade in the United States. The series, produced by Educational Testing Service (ETS), is intended to provide theory and evidence-based principles and recommendations for improving next-generation…

With growing interest in promoting skills related to the scientific process, we studied performance in solving ill-defined problems demonstrated by graduating biochemistry majors at a public, minority-serving university. As adoption of techniques for facilitating the attainment of higher-order learning objectives broadens, so too does the need to…

The number of Chinese engineering students has increased greatly since 1999. Rating the quality of these students' English essays has thus become time-consuming and challenging. This paper presents a novel automatic essay scoring algorithm called PSOSVR, based on a machine learning algorithm, Support Vector Machine for Regression (SVR), and a…

In the Dublin Institute of Technology, high threshold core skills assessments are run in mathematics for third-year engineering students. Such tests require students to reach a threshold of 90% on a multiple choice test based on a randomized question bank. The material covered by the test consists of the more important aspects of undergraduate…

The tablet is one of the most important developments of the educational environments today. It is used at schools especially at private schools. The number of teacher and student using the tablet is rising day by day due to the development of digital instructional objects. Many approaches are being used in the schools and companies where tablets…

Recent Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) analyses find that cyber charter schools in seventeen states show consistently low reading and mathematics value-added test scores compared to traditional public schools serving comparable students. This generally accords with prior research. We hypothesize that the relatively poor…

Critical thinking skills are sought after in the workforce and are often included in course, departmental, and programmatic learning objectives. However, in the curriculum of many courses we tend to focus on content rather than on fostering the growth of the cognitive skills needed to improve critical thinking ability. Further, skills are…

This study aimed to examine the sources of variability in the second-language (L2) writing scores of test-takers who repeated an English language proficiency test, the Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic, multiple times. Examining repeaters' test scores can provide important information concerning factors contributing to "changes" in…

Video podcasting technology or vodcasting is a burgeoning technological advancement which can make computer assisted language learning more convenient. Video technology is extensively used in traditional L2 classrooms. Yet, video podcasting together with the application of meaningful, logical, reasonable, and challenging tasks is rarely used in…

The primary purpose of International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 is to assess systematically the capacities of students to use ICT productively for a range of different purposes, in ways that go beyond a basic use of ICT. ICILS 2018 includes authentic computer-based assessments that are administered to students in their…

This Eurydice report sheds light on two different but complementary perspectives of digital education: the development of digital competences relevant to learners and teachers on the one hand, and the pedagogical use of technologies to support, improve and transform learning and teaching on the other. The report covers different areas of digital…

Against the background of concerns for how paper-and-pencil testing fits into contemporary language teaching, this brief research report presents the findings of a first study on the difference in scores between in-class testing and online testing in a communicative and proficiency-oriented program. A total of 244 students of third-semester…

This study investigated the impact of anonymizing text on predicted scores made by two kinds of automated scoring engines: one that incorporates elements of natural language processing (NLP) and one that does not. Eight data sets (N = 22,029) were used to form both training and test sets in which the scoring engines had access to both text and…

With recent developments in technology, online tests and digital tools offer school psychologists and school counsellors alternate modes of assessment. These new technologies have the potential to increase accessibility to tests (through greater portability), allow school psychologists and school counsellors to service more students (through…

The popularity of technology use in various aspects of individuals' lives has necessitated integrating some form of technologies into language education to have a more effective teaching and learning process. Considering basic and sub-skills in English, vocabulary is probably the most preferred skill to learn by using different technological tools…