This study investigated the attitudes of primary school students towards computer based testing and assessment in terms of different variables. The sample for this research is primary school students attending a computer based testing and assessment application via CITO-OIS. The "Scale on Attitudes towards Computer Based Testing and…

In this study, the effectiveness of detection of differential item functioning (DIF) and testlet DIF using SIBTEST and Poly-SIBTEST were examined in tests composed of testlets. An example using data from a reading comprehension test showed that results from SIBTEST and Poly-SIBTEST were not completely consistent in the detection of DIF and testlet…

If a person were to ask an educator to identify the two most important attributes of an education test, the response most certainly would be "validity and reliability." These two tightly wedded concepts have become icons in the field of education assessment. As far as validity is concerned, the term doesn't refer to the accuracy of a test. Rather,…

As an extension of the effort devoted to updating the questionnaires for TIMSS and PIRLS 2011, this dissertation explored a new reporting strategy for contextual questionnaire data. The study investigated the feasibility of constructing "global indicators" from a large number of diverse background variables, which could provide policy…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Hybrid Schools for the iGeneration: New Schools Combine "Bricks" and "Clicks" (Brigid Schulte); (2) Dual Language Programs on the Rise: "Enrichment" Model Puts Content Learning…

Achievement goal theory is considered to be a well-researched field. However, this research has been primarily through surveys, and not enough attention has been paid to the cognitive aspects of how children perceive goals. Additionally, the mastery-avoidance construct is relatively new to the achievement goal literature, with little research to…

The purpose of this research study was to conduct exploratory research to examine federally-mandated annual English language proficiency (ELP) assessment of English language learners (ELLs) and their use of accommodations on the assessment. First the researcher provides a review of the literature regarding accommodations provided for ELLs,…

This dissertation illuminates relationships between micro-level practices of schools and macro-level structures of society through the socio-historical lens of New York State Regents mathematics examinations, which were administered to public school students throughout the State of New York between 1866 and 2009, inclusive. Fundamental research…

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) has been an important element of Australia's Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy since it was officially adopted as a key national principle in 1991 (VEETAC 1991, cited in Wilson and Lilly 1996:2). The aim of RPL is to formally assess a person's skills gained through life and work experience, in order…

A simultaneous equating of four new test forms to each other and to one previous form was accomplished through a complex design incorporating seven separate equating links. Each new form was linked to the reference form by four different paths, and each path produced a different score conversion. The procedure used to resolve these inconsistencies…

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) created the Graduate Major Field Test in Business (GMFT-B) for MBA students. This test is administered to all MBA classes at Jacksonville University for the purpose of measuring student academic achievement and growth, as well as to assess educational outcomes. The test is given in the capstone course,…

The Classroom Assessment Practices and Skills (CAPS) questionnaire was administered to a sample of 691 primary and secondary school teachers in Botswana, Southern Africa to survey their thoughts about classroom assessment and identify classroom assessment practices teachers perceive to be skilled and those that they used most. The study examined…

This explanatory case study researched the writing experiences of 11 community college students who differed subculturally and who were all part of the African diasporic community. The theoretical perspectives used for this study were Arthur Chickering's (1969) classical concept of academic competence and community dialect theory (Baxter &…

States are increasingly interested in including measures of student achievement growth, or "value- added," in evaluating teachers. Annual state assessments, however, which are the typical measure of student growth, usually cover only reading and math teachers and only in grades 4-8. These state assessments thus cannot …

States and school districts are exploring alternatives to state tests for measuring teachers' contributions to student learning. One approach applies statistical value-added methods to alternative student assessments such as commercially available tests and end-of course tests. The evidence suggests that these methods can reliably distinguish…