This study set out to empirically determine the reliability and validity of the Vocabulary Levels Tests, both the passive and productive versions. Furthermore, attempt was made to investigate the nature of the students' vocabulary knowledge with regard to their passive and active knowledge of the L2 words as a whole and at different word frequency…

The goal of the current study was to examine the influence of providing more optimal testing conditions and evaluate the effect this has on the validity of the score inferences across ELL students with different needs, strengths, and levels of language proficiency. It was expected that the validity of the score inferences would be similar for 3rd…

In this technical report, the authors describe the development and piloting of reading comprehension measures as part of a comprehensive progress monitoring literacy assessment system developed in 2006 for use with students in Kindergarten through fifth grade. They begin with a brief overview of the two conceptual frameworks underlying the…

This study focused on the predictive validity of fluency measures that comprise Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Data were gathered from first through third graders attending 44 schools in 9 districts or local educational agencies that made up the first Reading First cohort in Michigan. Students were administered DIBELS…

The EDUCAUSE Advisory Committee for Teaching and Learning (ACTL) has identified the key technology-related teaching and learning issues in higher education for 2007. The 10 important teaching and learning issues are: (1) Establishing and supporting a culture of evidence; (2) Demonstrating improvement of learning; (3) Translating learning…

The analysis of the process of collaboration is a central topic in current CSCL research. However, defining process characteristics relevant for collaboration quality and developing instruments capable of assessing these characteristics are no trivial tasks. In the assessment method presented in this paper, nine qualitatively defined dimensions of…

"Curiosity Corner" is a comprehensive early childhood curriculum designed to help children at risk of school failure because of poverty. The program offers children experiences that develop the attitudes, skills, and knowledge necessary for later school success with a special emphasis on children's language and literacy skills.…

This review examines the accuracy and the concurrent and predictive validity of brief self-report information, and evaluates the promise and problems involved in its practical use. In section one, the power of self-report information for predicting and understanding grades is reviewed. In the second section, research on the influence of background…

This research report is a review and analysis of all of the published studies during the past 25+ years (since 1974) in the area of differential validity/prediction and college admission testing. More specifically, this report includes 49 separate studies of differences in validity and/or prediction for different racial/ethnic groups and/or for…

This research emerged from an effort to develop a theory of computer anxiety relevant to beginning adult learners in a range of university disciplines. To this end, the first step was to design and refine an instrument which was reliable and valid for this population. The development of the "a priori" model of computer anxiety used in this study…

Contrasts between constructed response items and stem-equivalent multiple-choice counterparts typically have involved averaging item characteristics, and this aggregation has masked differences in statistical properties at the item level. Moreover, even aggregated format differences have not been explained in terms of differential cognitive…

Production-function analysis, a correlation-based analysis, has been used for years to evaluate whether resources deposited into the educational process yielded a definitive result. For example, it has been used in several state cases as a measure of equity in educational funding. This paper is of the opinion that correlation-based analyses are…

An analysis was done of the quality of the data supplied by respondents to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 1987 (NPSAS:87). The NPSAS:87 was a large-scale survey that obtained extensive data on the educational, demographic, and financial aspects of postsecondary students and their parents. The study compared the responses to similar…

This paper presents the validation of an adaptive test developed for placement purposes in French at the post-secondary level, the French CAPT. Results from a second experiment are presented in which verbal protocols were obtained from nine college students of various levels with the thinking-aloud technique used during completion of the exam. The…

Two studies were conducted to develop an academic specific measure of college students' coping styles and to examine the relationship among student stress, coping style, motivation, and performance in a field setting. The measure of student coping style, the SCOPE instrument, included important academic coping strategies. For the first study,…