The main purposes of this study were to develop bi-factor multidimensional item response theory (BF-MIRT) observed-score equating procedures for mixed-format tests and to investigate relative appropriateness of the proposed procedures. Using data from a large-scale testing program, three types of pseudo data sets were formulated: matched samples,…

Source-based writing is a complex and frequently occurring task type in postsecondary education. While a large body of research now exists investigating source-based student writing, few studies have used corpus-based methods to investigate L1 student performance on source-based writing tasks and to connect this performance to the holistic quality…

The current study examined the extent to which cognitive fluency (CF) contributes to utterance fluency (UF) at the level of constructs. A total of 128 Japanese-speaking learners of English completed four speaking tasks--argumentative task, picture narrative task, reading-to-speaking task, and reading-while-listening-to-speaking task--and a battery…

The Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) assessment is a proficiency test for university admission. Most research has focused on the paper edition, not the recent computer edition (CE). Validity research on other proficiency tests found that relationships between proficiency scores and academic achievement measures can be tenuous because…

Using a smartphone is a very convenient way to learn languages in modern life. To understand the impact of the immersive environment created by a smartphone on essay writing in Chinese for second language learners, a study was conducted on 36 Vietnamese students in their first year at a university in Taiwan. This study adopted an experimental…

This study investigated U.S. undergraduates' perceptions of non-native speakers' (NNS) speech which had received 100% proficiency scores on the TOEFL iBT test. Fifty-five U.S. undergraduates rated 20 speech samples for comprehensibility, accentedness, and acceptability. The speech samples were also analyzed for acoustic fluency. Descriptively,…

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, schools are required to provide a free appropriate public education to students with disabilities and show that the students are making academic progress. This study compares within- and across-years academic growth from kindergarten to 4th grade for students who were ever in special education…

Social work educators are compelled to use reliable and valid methods to assess student learning outcomes. This study adapted a clinical simulation by integrating traditional role-play of case scenarios and elements of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, which is often used to assess students' practice skills. Master of Social Work…

Physics education aims to develop sophisticated thinking abilities and enhance conceptual depth, but student interest has decreased, emphasizing the importance of teacher quality in fostering success and positive attitudes. The aim of the study was to examine the physics teachers' self-efficacy, innovative teaching, and comprehensive teaching…

Background: Previous studies used curriculum-based measurement (CBM) maze scores as an indicator of the reading comprehension level of secondary school students with and without special educational needs in multiple grades, pinpointing a high influence of both student- and context-related variables. However, studies on cumulative influence are…

This classroom-based action research aimed to determine the applicability of implementing Collaborative Learning in online setting to help students develop their interaction with one another and improve their academic performance. Participants of the study consisted of Grade 8 intact pilot section of a public school in an urban community which…

Background: Creativity is an important ability for problem-solving in both personal life and academic learning. Few creativity studies have investigated the development of children's creativity in disadvantaged rural areas or compared the rural-urban differences through digital game-based creativity learning. Understanding such differences can…

Cultivation of students' higher-order thinking ability has become the main agenda of the education curriculum. The transfer of knowledge pertaining to higher-order thinking by teachers to the students can prepare the latter with the necessary attributes for the 21st century. The present study is aimed at exploring Malaysian secondary ESL (English…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires annual data collection to monitor the provision of special education services, yet federal reports rarely disaggregate trends for English learners (ELs). In merging all available annual data files required under IDEA from 2006 to 2020, the present study provides the first large-scale…

Over the years, the nation's large urban school districts have consistently learned from the progress of their peer districts across the country. Great City School districts that have embraced the challenge of educating America's urban children have recognized the value of benchmarking their performance and growth against the progress of others.…