In this article, we challenge the notion that aptitude--operationalized as grammatical sensitivity as measured by the Words in Sentences section of the Modern Language Aptitude Test--is central to adult second language (L2) acquisition. We present the findings of a study on the acquisition of two properties of Japanese, head-final word order and…

This study aims to unravel the relationships between student teachers' learning patterns and how they actually learn in practice as measured during multiple concrete learning experiences. In previous research aptitude and event measures often pointed in different directions. 90 student teachers' learning patterns were measured with an aptitude…

This state-of-the art paper focuses on the issue of linguistic giftedness, somewhat neglected in the second language acquisition (SLA) literature, attempting to reconceptualize, expand and update this concept in response to latest developments in the fields of psychology, linguistics and neurology. It first discusses contemporary perspectives on…

Eliciting, responding to, and advancing students' mathematical thinking all lie at the heart of great teaching. In this article, the authors describe a formative assessment approach that teachers can use to learn more about their students' mathematical thinking and inform their instructional decisions. This assessment approach draws on a widely…

Peers affect individual's productivity in the workforce, in education, and in other team-based tasks. Using large-scale language data from an online college course, we measure the impacts of peer interactions on student learning outcomes and persistence. In our setting, students are quasi-randomly assigned to peers, and as such, we are able to…

It is still under debate whether learners' interaction data within e-learning and/or open learning environments could be considered as reflections of their learning experiences to be effective or not. Therefore, it is meaningful to explore the nature of these interactions and to make meaningful conclusions. This study aims to explore what the…

Because of concerns about test security, different test forms are typically used across different testing occasions. As a result, equating is necessary in order to get scores from the different test forms that can be used interchangeably. In order to assure the quality of equating, multiple equating methods are often examined. Various equity…

South Africa's esteem is low with regard to current learner achievement in mathematics. Results from international studies, such as TIMMS and SACMEQ, continuously indicate that South African learners perform below international benchmarks in mathematics. Research and evaluation studies assert that teacher practices and poor early mathematics…

This report presents a question-driven exploration of growth and achievement data using SAS EVAAS reports. The purpose of this exploration was to bring additional data, information, and ways of thinking about student growth to ongoing district conversations about the measurement of campus-level student growth.

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model is a comprehensive model of the major dimensions of individual differences that underlie performance on cognitive tests. Studies evaluating the generality of the CHC model across test batteries, age, gender, and culture were reviewed and found to be overwhelmingly supportive. However, less research is available…

Medical doctor and engineer are highly esteemed STEM professions. This study investigates academic and motivational characteristics of a sample of high school students in Thailand who aspire to become medical doctors or engineers. We used logistic regression to compare maths performance, gender typicality, gender contentedness, and maths and…

Aptitude tests are widely used in selection. However, despite certain advantages their use remains controversial. This paper aims to critically appraise five sources of evidence for the construct validity of the Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT)-Ireland, an aptitude test used for selecting undergraduate medical students. The objectives are…

Student employment subsidies are one of the largest types of employment subsidies and one of the oldest forms of student aid. The Federal Work-Study program (FWS) is the largest student employment subsidy program; since 1964, it has provided about $1 billion per year to cover 75 percent of wages for student employees, who typically work on campus…

A large linguistic distance exists between spoken Arabic and the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) the literary language (a diglosia). Novice readers, therefore, struggle with the complex orthography of Arabic as well as the mastering of MSA. Here, we tested whether structured activities in MSA would advance kindergarteners' MSA aptitude by the end of…

Although women are underrepresented in the most mathematically intensive fields, the gender gap in these fields has narrowed over the past 2 decades. In my E. L. Thorndike address I summarized the temporal trends in sex differences for 8 fields and considered factors that drive both the underrepresentation of women and its recent narrowing. I…