Little research in physics education focuses on graduate student experiences related to structural elements of their programs. This departmental case study examines the impact and perceptions of written qualifying exams (QEs) from a student perspective, following recent research which questions the role and utility of such exams. We conducted…

This paper aims to determine the opinions of prospective teachers about biology lessons conducted through distance education during the pandemic. In the study, the focus group study technique was applied as one of the qualitative research methods. 15 prospective teachers from the Department of Science Education, studying in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th…

The global COVID-19 pandemic is testing the responsiveness of school systems. Extensive discourse about disruptions to the standardized examinations students take in their final year of secondary school is symbolic of their high-stakes status worldwide. The interruptions provide an opportune moment to question the efficacy of exams as a…

The implicit sociocultural functioning of the "content" of high-stakes English language proficiency tests is a rarely-explored concern in language assessment. This study attempts to bring critical views of language testing and critical discourse studies together to examine the content of IELTS preparation materials in search of topics…

This study aims to examine teacher candidates' learning responsibility through goal-setting activities carried out on a weekly basis. The research employed case study method, one of the qualitative research methods. The study group consisted of 36 fourth-year teacher candidates studying at a state university in the spring semester of the 2018-2019…

Studies have investigated contextual factors such as family, school, and peer support for test preparation, and results generally indicate that students with a stronger support system are more successful at increasing their scores by the use of test preparation. One important contextual factor, often overlooked in the literature, is how a testing…

This study aimed to learn if a guided metacognitive exercise helped students analyze their past behavior in their preparation for assessments to influence their future practices and performance on assessments. Specifically, this study used a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design which followed two groups of student participants…

Standardized tests like the ACT® provide a common basis for comparison of students across schools and states and have been a key point of consideration in postsecondary admissions for over 60 years. Research has shown that, in general, test preparation has a small but positive effect on standardized test scores. In this study, we focused on how…

Past work has shown that generating explanations can improve both comprehension and metacomprehension outcomes. Although practice testing may sometimes improve comprehension, it is unclear if it affects metacomprehension (the ability to monitor one's understanding). The current study tested whether online homework activities involving practice…

As college-bound high school seniors know, the ACT examination is possibly the single most important assessment students take during their academic careers. ACT scores can determine college entrance, scholarship dollars, and whether students will be placed in remedial courses. Parents pay large sums of money to prepare their children for this…

We use student-level online resource usage data for students in four different introductory accounting courses to explore the impact on exam performance of both student study effort and students' revealed preferences for reading text or watching video lectures. The online learning tool tracks student study choice (read text, watch video, or skip)…

The purpose of the study reported here was to observe the effects of examination practices on the extent to which university students procrastinate. These examination practices were: (1) limiting the number of resits, (2) compensatory rather than conjunctive decision-making about student progress, and (3) restricting the time available for…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of a year-long writing intervention located in an urban high school in partnership with a university teacher education professor and the students. The goals were as follows: to increase student self-efficacy about writing overall; to increase the number of students who successfully…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with Questar Assessment Inc. (Questar) for the online delivery of the 2022 Elementary-Level (Grade 5) and Intermediate-Level (Grade 8) Science Computer-Based Field Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability…

E-tutorial learning aids as worked examples and hints have been established as effective instructional formats in problem-solving practices. However, less is known about variations in the use of learning aids across individuals at different stages in their learning process in student-centred learning contexts. This study investigates different…